Deuteronomy 33:18

And of Zebulun he said,.... The tribe of Zebulun, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem, with whom Issachar is joined, they being brethren, and of the same mother as well as father; though Zebulun

And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; and, Issachar, in thy tents. Rejoice, Zebulun, In thy going out - namely, on commercial enterprises and voyages by sea.

Thou shalt prosper; and have cause of rejoicing. In thy going out; either, 1. To war, as this phrase is oft used, as , which was in part verified, . Or, 2. To sea, in way of traffic, because their portion lay near the sea. Or both may be joined; and in both respects his course is opposite to that of Issachar, who was a lover of peace and pasturage. See ,15. Issachar is here joined with Zebulun, both because they were brethren by father and mother too, and because their possessions lay near together. In thy tents, i.e. thou shalt give thyself to the management of land and cattle, living quietly in thy own possessions, disliking the troubles of war and of merchandise. So the phrase is used 7:8.

Deuteronomy 33:18 And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; and, Issachar, in thy tents.Ver. 18. In thy going out.] To trade and traffic by sea. Peterent coelum navibus Belgoe, si navibus peti posset, saith one. The lowcountry men are said to grow rich by war; it is sure they do by trade at sea. And, Issachar, in thy tents,] i.e., In thy quiet life and country employments. “ O fortunatos nimium, &c. Regain aequabat opes animis, seraque reversus Nocta domum, dapibus mensas onerabit inemptis. ” - Virg. saith the poet, of a well contented countryman.

(18) Zebulun . . . and Issachar were united with Judah, in the leading division of Israel in the wilderness. The warlike character of the first of these two, and the more peaceful wisdom of the second, are illustrated by Judges 5:18 and 1 Chronicles 12:32-33. (Comp Jacob’s blessing of Issachar in Genesis 49:14-15.)

Verse 18. Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out] That is, Thou shalt be very prosperous in thy coasting voyages; for this tribe's situation was favourable for traffic, having many sea-ports. See Clarke on Genesis 49:13. And, Issachar, in thy tents.] That is, as Zebulun should be prosperous in his shipping and traffic, so should Issachar be in his tents - his agriculture and pasturage.

18And of Zebulun he said: Rejoice, Zebulún, in thine outgoing, And in thy tents, Issachár! 19Peoples they call to the mountain (?), There slay they the sacrifices due. For the affluence of seas do they suck And the hidden hoards of the sand. The territory of Zebulun in Joshua 19:10-16 runs seaward or westward, but apparently without reaching the sea. But in Genesis 49:13 the tribe dwells on the sea-beach, a beach for ships, with his border by Sidon (Tyre is nearer, but at the date of the poem Sidon must have been suzerain of the Phoenician confederacy) therefore favourably placed for commerce. Similarly here. Issachar, Joshua 19:17-23, lay further inland, on Esdraelon under Tabor and Gilboa and down towards Jordan; described in Genesis 49:14 f. as a big-boned ass content to lie between the sheepfolds (or panniers?), the servant of others. Here he is congratulated, not scorned, because of his home-keeping habits, a contrast to Zebulun’s. It is remarkable that nothing is said of the heroism of these tribes, as celebrated by Deborah, Judges 5:15; Judges 5:18, cp. Judges 4:6; Judges 4:10. On Genesis 49:13-15 Skinner remarks that that ‘lends colour to the view that this part of the poem is of older date than the Song of Deborah.’ This is by no means conclusive. 18. going out] Either the tribe’s outlet seaward, Genesis 49:13; or more probably their (foreign) trade; on the Heb. vb as = doing business see above, Deuteronomy 13:13 (14), Deuteronomy 28:6. Issachar, in thy tents] According to Joshua 19:17-23 Issachar had a number of towns, some important, but all (either by name or situation) agricultural with very fertile suburbs on the Plain. Tents, then, is used either poetically for homes (cp. to thy tents O Israel!) or refers to the custom (seen to-day among the townsfolk of Moab) of resorting to tents in summer for the herding of flocks or the tillage of fields at a distance from the towns. Such was the scope of their energies. LXX his tents.

Zebulun possessed a commodious sea-shore and the fisheries of the Lake of Tiberias: and was therefore to thrive by commerce, and to rejoice in his “going out,” i. e., in his mercantile enterprises.

18, 19. Zebulun… Issachar — Moses unites these two tribes. Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out — This is taken to be an allusion to the commercial pursuits of the tribe. Issachar, in thy tents — A reference to a nomadic life.