HERALDRY: THE CLUES TO HISTORY – Zebulun: The Haven Dweller
Zebulun was Jacob’s tenth son and Leah’s sixth.  His name  means “dwelling”  or “wished  for habitation”. (Genesis 30:20). At his birth Leah, rather sadly, said “Now will my husband dwell with me”.  However, Jacob still loved Rachel best and  Leah was doomed to be disappointed.  In Genesis  49:13 we  read  of Jacob’s blessing to Zebulun:
“Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for a haven of ships; and his border shall be unto  Zidon”.
When the territories were allotted to the tribes in Canaan, Zebulun had no outlet to the sea. The prophecy of the blessing was intended for much later times, after the tribe had left Palestine. The tribal banner depicted a ship in spite of the fact that there was no harbour in the tribe’s area.  It is possible  that some  members of the tribe joined with Dan in their sea-faring, and gained experience in this way which was to stand them in good stead later on in their history.
Moses’  blessing  in Deuteronomy 33:19 was  very short, and  may have been  significant of the fact that Zebulun was going forth from Palestine;
“And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice Zebulun in thy going  out.  They  shall call  the  people unto the mountain, there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness, for they shall suck of the abundances of the seas and  of the treasures hid in the sand”.
In Deborah’s prophetic song in Judges  5:18 she mentions that:
“Zebulun and  Naphtali were a  people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the  field”.
This was said at the same time that Deborah  was criticising Dan for “abiding in ships” when they should have been  helping their brethren’s defence, so it was obvious that the tribe had not left Palestine at that time.
Miss Helene  van Woelderen, who  was  Dutch, did extensive research on the tribe of Zebulun, believing that they became the  bulk of the  Dutch people,  and  her research has unearthed many instances which support her theory.
It is well known  that the original settlers in Holland were  Celtic  tribes, and  we  have  seen how  their symbolism  gives us clues  to their lsraelitish origin.  A ship is the ancient emblem of Holland, and the country has an extensive coastline and a strong maritime history.
The ship also appears in the arms of many towns in England (not all of which are by the sea – so it cannot be argued  that the arms were  chosen because the town was  a port).  It is the emblem of nineteen places  in Scotland, and appears on the arms of over twenty of the Scottish clans.  The ship appears as a heraldic emblem in Ireland and in Denmark too.
In the Wilderness the tribe of Zebulun came  under the aegis of the brigade leader Judah, but it appears that after the captivities there were few members of the tribe left in Judah, and it is possible that they threw in their lot mainly with the Northern House and were dispersed throughout Asia Minor and Europe.
The tribes which settled in the Lowlands in ancient times  were  Celtic, and  were  largely the Frisians, the Kennemers (which is surely a corruption of Cimmerians or Cymri), the Chatti or Katten, the Suevi and, later, the Saxons. These are all oflsraelitish stock, and many went on to the British Isles.
Holland is situated north and west of Palestine just as the British Isles are, and as the Hebrew word which is translated  as “islands” in our Bibles is also translatable as  “coastlands”, the  prophecies of Isaiah  41 :1  and Jeremiah 3:18 refer equally to the Netherlands.
The present day emblem of Holland is a lion (Judah), and Zebulun was in the brigade of Judah, another pointer to the Israelitish origins of the Dutch people. According to ancient Jewish tradition, quoted in the  “Jewish Encyclopedia”, the jewel for Zebulun on the High Priest’s breastplate  was a diamond.  Amsterdam  is the world headquarters of skilled diamond cutters and traders.
Being a sea-faring nation, the Dutch were colonisers like those  of their  other  Israel  brethren and  spread abroad as prophesied.  They colonised in the Dutch East Indies and in Africa, particularly in South Africa, where the  Boers  (which means “farmers”) established themselves in an empty land. The Zulus came from the North at about  the same  time to settle in those parts. There were inevitable conflicts with them, and with the British who were beginning to settle there as well. These culminated in the Boer War. Regrettably, being brother Israelites did not prevent strife. The brothers have often been at loggerheads throughout history. Nevertheless, the Dutch are basically a peaceful people, like the Britons. They prefer to fight only in self defence and are not actively aggressive in pursuance of land. The Dutch Empire, like that of Great Britain was founded on trade.
The ensuing trade with their colonies made the Dutch people prosperous, in spite of being only a small country territorially.
Isaiah also has a prophecy about Zebulun in Isaiah 9:I;
“Nevertheless, the dimness  shall not be such as was  in her  vexation, when  at the  first he lightly afflicted the  land  of Zebulun and  the  land  of Naphtali,and afterwards did more grievously afflict her by way of the sea..”
Holland has been afflicted by the sea, which led to the Dutch being the world leaders in dyke building and land reclamation. They were able to farm the particularly fertile land which resulted, and are great dairy farmers. In this way they have “..sucked the treasures  of the sea and of the treasures hid in the sand.”, as Moses prophesied (Deuteronomy 33:19.) They were some of the first to drill for oil in the North Sea, also.
Holland was one of the first countries  to adopt  the reformed Protestant faith,  and  suffered much persecution as a result.  After the  country  became independent of the  Hapsburg  (Catholic)  dynasty,  it became a refuge for those people who were suffering religious persecution, such as the Huguenots, Walloons, etc., thus becoming  a “haven”  in another sense.  The “Mayflower” settlers stayed in the Netherlands  before going to the New World.
Deborah’s  prophecies also referred  to Zebulun  in Judges 5:14,
“Out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer”.
Holland had the first printing presses, which facilitated the wide distribution of the printed word; this led in a great measure to the Reformation,  as more and more people were  able  to own and  study  the Bible for themselves, without having to rely on the interpretations of priests.  Printing is still a large  industry in the Netherlands, and serves the world in providing this source of education.  This fulfils another prophecy about Zebulun in Isaiah 9:2;
“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined”.
Although this prophecy  was particularly meant  for Zebulun and Naphtali, it refers also to all the people of Israel stock who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Redeemer, and who have worked to carry the wonderful Good News of the Gospel to all the corners of the earth.
