(##}
This entry contains information known to us from a variety of sources but may not include all the information currently available. Please be in touch if you notice any inadvertent mistakes in our presentation or have additional knowledge or sources to share. Thank you.
According to Lebanese Jewish tradition, the biblical prophet Zebulun is buried here. Zevulun (or Zebulun), founder of the Israelite tribe named after him, was the sixth son of Jacob and Leah. The region inhabited by the tribe of Zevulun includes what is today southern Lebanon.
In the port city of Sidon, south of the city center, lies a small building with a domed roof. The building is known as the Tomb of Zevulun. Towards the end of the springtime month of Iyyar, Jews used to make a pilgrimage to this tomb. The shrine has been cited in historical documents including the 17th century fictional travels of Charles Thompson and the nineteenth century travels of Joseph and Judith Cohen Montefiore.
Today the tomb sits in an overgrown field of grass surrounded by a wall, apparently with a path to the door largely hidden by the overgrowth. The building lies in the shadow of a new mosque. It remains unclear who has the keys to the shrine.
Charles Thompson (fictional name). The travels of the late Charles Thompson esq. (J. Newbery and C. Micklewright, 1744), 49-50. Accessed February 4, 2014, http://books.google.com/books?id=Em4BAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA49&lpg=PA49&dq=%22tomb+of+zebulun%22&source=bl&ots=-Dt4faHobn&sig=5XsqQm6doOmqv0jK82Xqnr4Vf2k&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_PnwUt_LKejLsQTx2IKgCg&ved=0CEgQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=%22tomb%20of%20zebulun%22&f=false.
Judith Cohen Montefiore. Notes from a Private Journal of a Visit to Egypt and Palestine, (London: Joseph Rickerby, 1844), 223-224. Accessed February 4, 2014, http://books.google.com/books?id=47ZAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA223&lpg=PA223&dq=%22tomb+of+zebulun%22&source=bl&ots=8nuwN4ZjOl&sig=eOW-nnNSFH0cNsJsx8uYZjy7AsQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_PnwUt_LKejLsQTx2IKgCg&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=%22tomb%20of%20zebulun%22&f=false.