Naphtali was the second son of Bilhah, born sixth among Jacob's sons. Rachel named him "My wrestling" (Naphtali) — from her word that she had wrestled with her sister Leah in the competition of childbearing and prevailed.
Jacob's blessing (Genesis 49:21) is the most poetic of the twelve — a single line: "Naphtali is a doe let loose that bears beautiful fawns." The image is swiftness, grace, and fruitfulness. Moses' blessing in Deuteronomy 33:23 adds specific geographic content: "O Naphtali, sated with favor and full of the blessing of Yah — possess the lake and the south."
Naphtali's territory ran along the western shore of the Sea of Chinnereth and northward into the highlands of upper Galilee (Joshua 19:32–39). It was in this territory that Isaiah 9:1–2 located a great light: "In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea... The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light." Matthew 4:12–16 explicitly cites this verse when Yeshua moved to Capernaum and began his Galilean ministry — in the territory of Naphtali.
Barak son of Abinoam, the military commander who fought under Devorah's leadership at Wadi Kishon, was from Kedesh-Naphtali (Judges 4:6). Ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun formed his army. Devorah's Song praises Naphtali (Judges 5:18): "Naphtali too, on the heights of the field."
"Naphtali is a doe let loose that bears beautiful fawns." (Genesis 49:21)
Moses' blessing: "O Naphtali, sated with favor and full of the blessing of Yah — possess the lake and the south." (Deuteronomy 33:23)
