Sered
Sered was a son of Zebulun and the ancestor of the Seredite clan.
Biography
Sered was the firstborn son of Zebulun, the sixth son of Jacob and Leah, and is listed among the seventy descendants of Jacob who migrated to Egypt (Genesis 46:14; Numbers 26:26). Through Sered descended the Seredite clan, one of the constituent family groups of the tribe of Zebulun counted in the wilderness census of Numbers 26. His name appears in both the patriarchal descent list and the post-exodus census, placing him at the generational hinge between the family of Jacob and the tribal structure of Israel as it formed in Egypt and the wilderness. Beyond his genealogical notices, Sered receives no individual narrative in the biblical text, though his descendants would eventually receive a territorial allotment in the northern region of Canaan.
Significance
Sered's significance lies in his role as the progenitor of a clan within the tribe of Zebulun, a tribe that would later receive territorial prominence in northern Canaan (Joshua 19:10-16). The prophecy of Jacob in Genesis 49:13 suggests that Zebulun's territory would border the sea, pointing to a future of commercial activity. Zebulun's territory is also notable in the New Testament: Jesus conducted much of His Galilean ministry in the region once assigned to Zebulun (Matthew 4:13-16), fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy (Isaiah 9:1-2). Sered, as a founding ancestor of a Zebulunite clan, thus stands at the remote origin of a lineage whose land would one day resound with the proclamation of the kingdom of God.
Verse Appearances (2)
Genesis
Numbers
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]