“Zebulun will dwell at the shore of seas, and he will be a shore for ships, and his border will be upon Sidon” (Genesis 49:13). “Zebulun will dwell at the shore of seas” – Rabbi Yehuda bar Naḥman and Rabbi Levi would receive two sela each Shabbat to gather Rabbi Yoḥanan’s congregation.70They would deliver Torah discourses before them until Rabbi Yoḥanan arrived. Rabbi Levi entered and said: That Jonah was from Zebulun; that is what is written: “The third lot arose [for the children of Zebulun].… from there it passed eastward [to Gat Ḥefer]” (Joshua 19:10, 13).
And it is written: “In accordance with the word of the Lord, God of Israel, that He spoke by means of His servant Jonah son of Amitai [the prophet, who was from Gat Ḥefer]” (II Kings 14:25) – this [Gat Ḥefer] is the plateaus of Tzippori. Rabbi Yoḥanan entered and expounded: That Jonah was from Asher. That is what is written: “Asher did not dispossess the inhabitants of Akko, or the inhabitants of Sidon […but the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land]” (Judges 1:31–32).
And it is written: “Rise, go to Tzarefat that is of Sidon, [and dwell there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you]” (I Kings 17:9).71There is a tradition that the widow was the mother of the prophet. [The following week,] Rabbi Levi said to Rabbi Yehuda: ‘Although it is your Shabbat, take two sela and allow me to enter.’ Rabbi Levi entered and said: Rabbi Yoḥanan taught us well this past Shabbat.
That Jonah was from Asher; however, his father was from Zebulun and his mother was from Asher. “And his border [veyarkhato] will be upon Sidon” – the thigh [yarekh] from which he emerged was from Sidon. They said to him: ‘You have spoken words of consolation standing; you will come to say them while sitting.’72You will succeed Rabbi Yoḥanan as the one who delivers the main Torah discourse. He served as the deliverer of the Torah discourse for twenty-two years.
Another matter: “And his border will be upon Sidon” – Rabbi Elazar said: Zevud of the Galilee.73Rabbi Elazar identified Sidon in the verse as the location known in his time as Zevud of the Galilee. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Migdal Deyo.