Genesis 49:13-15

49:13 Zebulun will live ¹  by the haven of the sea

and become a haven for ships;

his border will extend to Sidon. ² 

49:14 Issachar is a strong-boned donkey

lying down between two saddlebags.

49:15 When he sees ³  a good resting place,

and the pleasant land,

he will bend his shoulder to the burden

and become a slave laborer. ⁴ 

Joshua 19:11

19:11 Their border went up westward to Maralah and touched Dabbesheth and the valley near ⁵  Jokneam.

Jude 1:14

1:14 Now Enoch, the seventh in descent beginning with Adam, ⁶  even prophesied of them, ⁷  saying, “Look! The Lord is coming ⁸  with thousands and thousands ⁹  of his holy ones,

[49:13]  ¹ tn The verb שָׁכַן (shakhan) means “to settle,” but not necessarily as a permanent dwelling place. The tribal settlements by the sea would have been temporary and not the tribe’s territory.

[49:13]  ² map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[49:15]  ³ tn The verb forms in this verse (“sees,” “will bend,” and “[will] become”) are preterite; they is used in a rhetorical manner, describing the future as if it had already transpired.

[49:15]  ⁴ sn The oracle shows that the tribe of Issachar will be willing to trade liberty for the material things of life. Issachar would work (become a slave laborer) for the Canaanites, a reversal of the oracle on Canaan. See C. M. Carmichael, “Some Sayings in Genesis 49,” JBL 88 (1969): 435-44; and S. Gevirtz, “The Issachar Oracle in the Testament of Jacob,” ErIsr 12 (1975): 104-12.

[19:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “in front of”; perhaps “east of.”

[1:14]  ⁶ tn Grk “the seventh from Adam.”

[1:14]  ⁷ tn Grk “against them.” The dative τούτοις (toutois) is a dativus incommodi (dative of disadvantage).

[1:14]  ⁸ tn Grk “has come,” a proleptic aorist.

[1:14]  ⁹ tn Grk “ten thousands.” The word μυριάς (muria"), from which the English myriad is derived, means “ten thousand.” In the plural it means “ten thousands.” This would mean, minimally, 20,000 (a multiple of ten thousand). At the same time, the term was often used in apocalyptic literature to represent simply a rather large number, without any attempt to be specific.