Zebulun
/ˈzɛbjʊlən/noun
A biblical patriarch, the sixth son of Jacob and Leah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Did you know?Genesis 30:20 gives Zebulun two competing wordplays—Leah connects the name with honor and dwelling—suggesting that ancient names could carry layered symbolic meanings rather than one fixed translation.
Etymological Timeline
Late Bronze Age
Northwest Semitic
zbl
“A root associated with exaltation, princely status, or an elevated dwelling; its precise relationship to the personal name is debated.”
c. 1300–1000 BCE
Ugaritic
Zbl
“An epithet meaning “prince” or “exalted one,” famously applied to the deity Baal in Ugaritic texts.”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
זְבוּלֻן (Zevulun)
“The personal name of Jacob’s sixth son and the tribal ancestor of Zebulun.”
c. 3rd–2nd Century BCE
Greek
Ζαβουλών (Zaboulōn)
“The Greek form used in the Septuagint for the biblical name.”
4th Century CE
Latin
Zabulon
“The Latin biblical form of the name.”
Old English–Modern English
English
Zebulun
“The traditional English spelling for the biblical patriarch and Israelite tribe.”