In vs 13 we read, "Leaving Nazareth, He went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lakein the area of Zululun and Naphtali - to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: (quote from Isaiah 9:1-2)
THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI,
BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE GENTILES--“THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN
DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT,
AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH,
UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED.”
Zebulan and Nephtali were descendents of Israel (Jacob). By Isaiah's time, the area had become populated heavily by pagan peoples and he called it a place of darkness. The Jews living there at the time had a hard time holding on to their ancestral faith. By Jesus' time, the area was called Galilee and was heavily populated by Gentiles and the area was looked down upon by many Jews because of cultural differences and influences. The area was also very fertile and was very populous. Surrounded by so many different cultures, teh people were known to be receptive to new ideas. This was greeatly the result of the influences of the Greek philosophies during Alexander the Greats conquests. It is no wonder that God chose this area to be Jesus' headquarters and where He did most of His teaching. It was here that Jesus could reach the most people very quickly.
The Gospel tells us that Jesus moves from Nazareth to Capernaum on the sea of Galilee—a very highly-populated area…making a definitive and symbolic break with His old, quiet life in Nazareth to His new public life and mission in bringing the Gospel to the world.
And thus now we see the meaning of the prophecy: “the people who sit in darkness [in the lesser sense the Galileans; in the greater sense the whole world] have seen a great light [Jesus].
Jesus fulfilled both a prophecy and a promise....for Isaiah 9:6 goes on to say:
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
At the opening of these verses in Mathew, we learn that John the Baptist had been arrested. At the close of this section, we see that Jesus takes up John’s call:
Vs 17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven has come near."
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Here is another interesting commentary that adds more interest and fact;
One of the more subtle things Matthew likes to do is teach via a sort of “sacred geography”. So, he tells us, after the arrest of John the Baptist, Jesus leaves Judea and, in a strange but obviously deliberate move, continues on from Nazareth to Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee. Why?Matthew tells us. He notes pointedly that Capernaum is, in the “territory of Zebulun and Naphtali” (Matthew 4:13). Zebulun and Naphtali were the very first tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel deported by the Assyrians 700 years before Matthew wrote. It has been an extremely long time since that region was called the area of Zebulun and Naphtali. So to get the hang of how odd it is that Matthew describes the area in that way, imagine a modern-day writer referring to Paris as being in the “territory of the Franks”. We immediately grasp that Matthew is trying to get us to think historically. He then follows this up with a citation from Isaiah. And not just any part of Isaiah, but Isaiah 9:1-2 which is right in the heart of what scholars call “the book of Immanuel” found in Isaiah 7-11 and which Matthew has already quoted twice before. His point then? That Jesus — the son of David — is beginning his restoration of the Davidic kingdom (and his transformation of it into the kingdom of heaven) at ground zero where God’s covenant judgment had fallen seven centuries before.
Ref: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/markshea/2014/01/land-of-zebulun-land-of-naphtali-galilee-of-the-gentiles.html