What Does Genesis 30:20 Mean?

(20) **Zebulun.**—Leah is more than usually obscure in the reasons she gives for this name; for she plays upon two words, which probably both belonged to the Mesopotamian *pato is: *and as this was a Syriac dialect, we must look to that language for their explanation. The first is *zebed; *and here there is no difficulty. It means such presents as a father gives his daughter on her marriage, over and above those enumerated in the marriage contract. Of the second, *zabal, *there is no trace. Nor do the Syro-Arabic lexicons acknowledge in the word “Zebulun” such a sense as that of *dwelling, *given it in our margin. Bar-Ali explains it as meaning “salvation of the night, or a good dowry,” and Bar- Bahlul, “a dowry of the night,” both deriving it from *zebed, *a dowry, and *lun, *to pass the night. The derivation is wrong as far as concerns *lun; *for the word Zebulun is formed simply from *zebed, *the final *d *of which is changed into I for mere reasons of euphony. The Versions take the word *zabal *as mean ing, “to be with,” Vulg.; “to choose,” LXX.; “to cleave to,” Syriac. It occurs nowhere else, but the substantive *zebul *is not uncommon, and means *dwelling, station.* As a woman’s value in the East rises with each son, Leah now hoped for more love from her husband. Nor does she seem to have been disappointed.