Issachar

VIEW:33 DATA:01-04-2020
reward; recompense
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary


ISSACHAR.—The fifth son of Leah, born after Gad and Asher, the sons of Zilpah, and the ninth of Jacob’s sons (Gen_30:18 [E [Note: Elohist.] ], cf. 35:22b ff. [P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] ]). The name (in Heb. Yiss-askar) is peculiar in form, and of uncertain signification; but it is quite probable that it has arisen from a corruption of ’ish-sakhar as Wellhausen (Sam. 95) suggests, and further, that the latter element is the name of a deity. Ball (SBOT [Note: BOT Sacred Books of Old Testament.] , ad loc.) suggests the Egyptian Memphite god Sokar. The name would then correspond to the name ’ish-Gad by which the Moabites knew the Gadites. J [Note: Jahwist.] and E [Note: Elohist.] , however, both connect it with the root sâkhar, ‘to hire’: J [Note: Jahwist.] , because Leah ‘hired’ Jacob from Rachel with Reuben’s mandrakes; E [Note: Elohist.] , because she gave Zilpah to Jacob. The difference shows that the traditions are of little value as linguistic guides. Gen_49:14-15 also appears to play upon the root sâkhar in its description of Issachar as ‘a servant under task work.’ This would harmonize with the interpretation ‘hired man’ or ‘labourer.’ It has, however, little to commend it.
P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] ’s census at Sinai gives the tribe 54,400 (Num_1:29), and at Moab 64,300 (26:25); cf. 1Ch_7:5. For the clans see Gen_46:13 and 1Ch_7:1 ff..
The original seat of the tribe appears to have been S. of Naphtali and S.E. of Zebulun, ‘probably in the hills between the two valleys which descend from the Great Plain to the Jordan (Wady el-Bireh and Nahr Galud)’ (Moore, Judges, 151). On the N.W. it touched upon Mt. Tabor, on the S. upon Mt. Gilboa. Eastward it reached to the Jordan. P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] ’s lot (Jos_19:17-23) assigns to the tribe sixteen cities and their villages, scattered throughout the eastern end of the rich Plain of Esdraelon and the Valley of Jezreel. The tribe participated in the war against Sisera (Jdg_5:15), and Deborah perhaps belonged to it. The ‘with’ before Deborah might be read ‘people of’; but the verse is evidently corrupt. Baasha, the son of Ahijah, who succeeded Nadab, was ‘of the house of Issachar’; and, possibly, also Omri, who gave his name to the Northern Kingdom. The references in the Blessing of Jacob (Gen_49:1-33) would indicate that during the early monarchy Issachar lost both its martial valour and its independence. On the other hand, in the Blessing of Moses (Deu_33:18-19) great commercial prosperity is indicated, and the maintenance of a sanctuary to which ‘the peoples’ flock to the sacrificial worship. Tola the judge, the grandson of Dodo, was a man of Issachar (Jdg_10:1). This name Dodo, occurring on the Mesha stele as that of a divinity, has led to the suggestion that he may have been worshipped in early times by the tribe. According to the Talmud, the Sanhedrin drew from Issachar its most intellectually prominent members. See also Tribes of Israel.
James A. Craig.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909


Hebrew text Yisaskar, ("he is hire"); but the Masoretes as KJV Issachar, ("the hired one").
1. Leah's oldest son, Reuben, by presenting to Rachel, hired Jacob for Leah, the fruit of which intercourse was a fifth son by her, the first born after the interval from Gen_29:35 to Gen_30:17; the ninth son of Jacob. (See MANDRAKES (supposed to produce fertility).) Two reasons for his name are assigned: first, because she hired Jacob by the selfdenying gift of the mandrakes; secondly, as she says "God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden (Zilpah, Gen_30:9) to my husband." Both, in her view, were successive parts of one self denial (her aim being the multiplication of offspring) and the ground for naming him Israel. His sons Tola, Phuvah, Job (or Jashub, Num_26:24), and Shimron, were heads of the four chief families of the tribe (Gen_46:13).
Jacob prophetically describes the tribe, "Israel is a strong donkey crouching down between two burdens (the cattle pens or sheepfolds, Speaker's Commentary; 'the hurdles,' Keil; found only in Jdg_5:16); and he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant (slave) unto tribute" (Gen_49:14-15), namely, unto the tribute imposed by the various invaders attracted to his land by the abundant crops. The strong boned he-ass used for field work (not the lighter and swifter she-ass for riding), crouching down between panniers or amidst sheepfolds, symbolizes a race content with agricultural labours instead of aspiring to political rule; a robust race, with a pleasant inheritance inviting to ease, as not requiring such toil as less fertile lands; ease at the cost of liberty. Pleasant serfdom, however suitable to Canaanites, was unworthy of Israelites, called of God to rule not serve (Deu_20:11; 1Ki_9:21; Isa_10:27).
The name Israel is akin to the Hebrew "daily labourer." But in the conflict with Jabin and Sisera "the princes of Israel were with Deborah, even Israel and also Barak"; indeed the battle was perhaps on Israel's territory, "by Tadhath at the waters of Megiddo" (Jdg_5:15; Jdg_5:19). Conder however suggests that the whole scene of the battle was near Tabor within a radius of five or six miles. The kings assembled at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; but their fall was at Endor, according to Psa_83:10. Barak would not be likely to desert the fastnesses of Tabor and march 15 miles over the boggy plain to attack the Canaanites strongly placed on the sides of the low hills at Taanach. Scripture says, "I will draw unto thee Sisera ... unto the river Kishon." From Endor the kings ventured into the open plain S.W. of Tabor. Megiddo thus answers to Mujedda, a mound with ruins in the Jordan valley.
From it flowed "the waters of Megiddo" in the valley of Jezreel. The defeat of Sisera drove his host into "that river of battles (so Gesenius translates for 'ancient'), the river Kishon." Harosheth of the Gentiles answers to El Harathiyeh. The "wooded country" answers to the oak woods on the hills W. of Kishon, to which those Canaanites who went through the swamps fled. The Kedesh in Jdg_4:9 is not that of Naphtali 30 miles off, but that on the sea of Galilee 16 miles from Tabor, a place suited for a gathering of the tribes, and within Naphtali's boundaries. Between this Kedesh and Tabor there is a broad plain in which is a place called Bessum = Bitzanaim, the plain to which Sisera fled (Palestine Exploration Quarterly Statement, October, 1877, p. 191). On the march in the desert Issachar was on the E. with Judah and Zebulun his brothers, the foremost in the march (Num_2:5; Num_10:14-15); Nethaneel was their commander. Igal represented Issachar among the spies (Num_13:7).
Paltiel, Israel's representative, was divinely appointed to take part in dividing Canaan (Num_34:26). Israel was appointed to stand on Gerizim to bless (Deu_27:12). The tribe's number at Sinai was 54,400 (Num_1:29); at the close of the wilderness march it reached 64,300, inferior to Judah and Dan alone. In Canaan Issachar's proximity to Zebulun continued. "Of Zebulun Moses said, Rejoice, Zebulun in thy going out (enterprise), and Issachar in thy tents" (comfortable enjoyment): i.e., not merely Zebulun was to be noted for "going out" in maritime traffic and Issachar for nomad life" in tents," and grazing, and agriculture; but, according to poetical parallelism, the whole is meant of both tribes, Rejoice Zebulun and Issachar in your labour and your rest, in your undertakings at home and abroad, both alike successful. The thought is individualized by its distribution into parallel members.
"They shall call the people unto the mountain (they will not make their riches into selfish mammon, but will invite the nations to 'the mountain of the Lord's inheritance': Exo_15:17; a moral not physical elevation, the Holy Land and its sanctuary), there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness (not merely outwardly legal sacrifices, but also in a right spirit of faith and loving obedience: Psa_4:6; Psa_51:21; inviting all men to the sacrificial feast, and to join them in the happy worship of Jehovah: Psa_22:28-31; Isa_60:5-6; Isa_60:16; Isa_66:11-12), for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand" (not merely the fish, purple dye, sponges, and glass; but the richest treasures of sea and land shall flow into Israel, of which Zebulun and Issachar were to be flourishing tribes.
Here in Galilee Jesus imparted the spiritual riches, to which the Galilean apostles in due time "called" all "peoples"): Deu_33:18-19; Mat_4:13-16. Its inheritance extended in length from Carmel to the Jordan; in width to Mount Tabor on the N. (Josephus, Ant. 5:1, section 22); it consisted of the very rich plain of Jezreel or Esdraelon. Jezreel (whose name = "the seed plot of God" implies fertility) stood in the center, with Mount Gilboa on one hand and Little Hermon (Ed Duhy) on the other (Jos_19:17-23). It is the thoroughfare from E. to W. and from N. to S. Here Ahab had his palace, selecting the site doubtless for its beauty. D. Kerr thinks that Issachar lay to the E. of Manasseh and Ephraim, along the entire line of the Jordan from the sea of Chinneroth on the N. to nearly the Salt Sea on the S. Its lot thus was of a triangular form, having its apex at Jericho and its base to the N. of the plain of Jezreel, where it was met by Zebulun (Palestine Exploration Quarterly Statement, January, 1877, p. 47).
Tola the judge was of Issachar, though his abode was at Shamir in Mount Ephraim. The nomadic character of Issachar appears in 1Ch_7:1-5; no less than 36,000 of its men were marauding mercenary "bands (giduwdim) of soldiers for war," a term applied elsewhere only to Gad's "troops" and to the irregular bodies of Bedouin-like tribes round Israel. Two hundred "heads" (not as KJV "bands," for it is roshee not giduwdim) of Issachar came to Hebron to help in "turning the kingdom of Saul to David"; they were "men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do ... and all their brethren were at their commandment" (1Ch_10:14 ff; 1Ch_12:23; 1Ch_12:32). Spiritually, Christians are men "knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed" (Rom_13:11; Eph_5:16; see 1Pe_4:1-4).
We should help to transfer the kingdom from Satan to its coming rightful Lord (Luk_19:12-27; Luk_19:44). Jerusalem fell "because she knew not the time of her visitation." They are truly "wise" who "turn many from the power of Satan unto God" (Dan_12:3; Act_26:18). Omri of the great family of Michael ruled in David's time; possibly forefather of Omri who usurped the Israelite throne (1Ch_27:18), and built Samaria (perhaps on the same hill Shamir on which Tola of Issachar judged). Baasha son of Ahijah, another usurper, was also of Issachar (1Ki_15:27-29; 1Ki_16:2; 1Ki_16:11), of lowest birth; his son Elah and all his kindred were murdered by Zimri, even as Baasha had slain Jeroboam's house, "not leaving to him any that breathed." Retributive justice pays blood with blood (Rev_16:6).
The last glimpse of Issachar we have is, when many of the tribe joined in Hezekiah's Passover and religious revival (2Ch_30:18), though unavoidably not cleansed in legal order; for these Hezekiah prayed "the good Lord pardon every one that prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary." But Issachar shall again come forth with his 12,000 sealed ones, when the Lord shall restore again the kingdom to Israel (Act_1:6; Rev_7:7; Rev_14:1).
2. Obed Edom's seventh son, doorkeeper of the sanctuary (1Ch_26:5), one of the eight sons given Obed Edom, "for God blessed him."
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.


Is'sachar. (reward).
1. The ninth son of Jacob and the fifth of Leah. Gen_30:17-18. (B.C. 1753-45). At the descent into Egypt, four sons are ascribed to him, who founded the four chief families of the tribes. Gen_46:13; Num_26:23; Num_26:25; 1Ch_7:1. The number of the fighting men of Issachar, when taken in the census at Sinai, was 54,400. During the journey, they seem to have steadily increased. The allotment of Issachar lay above that of Manasseh. Jos_19:17-23.
In the words of Josephus, "it extended in length from Carmel to the Jordan, in breadth to Mount Tabor." This territory was, as it still is, among the richest land in Palestine. It is this aspect of the territory of Issachar which appears to be alluded to in the blessing of Jacob.
2. A Korhite Levite, one of the door-keepers of the house of Jehovah, seventh son of Obed-edom. 1Ch_26:5.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863


the fifth son of Jacob and Leah, Gen_30:14-18. He had four sons, Tola, Phovah, Job, and Shimron. We know nothing particular of his life. The tribe of Issachar had its portion in one of the best parts of the land of Canaan, along the great plain or valley of Jezreel, with the half tribe of Manasseh to the south, that of Zebulun to the north, the Mediterranean to the west, and Jordan, with the extremity of the sea of Tiberias, to the east.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.


Nothing is known of the man Issachar apart from the fact that he was the fifth son that Leah bore to Jacob (Gen_30:17-18). The tribe descended from him inherited land that covered the important Plain of Esdraelon and Valley of Jezreel in northern Israel (see PALESTINE; JEZREEL). This territory lay between Mt Tabor to the north and Mt Gilboa to the south (Jos_19:17-23).
Important trade routes ran through Issachar’s territory, connecting inland and coastal towns. The commercial activity that resulted, along with the good farming country of the area, brought much prosperity to Issachar. But its desire for prosperity meant that, except for one notable victory, it had to submit to the Canaanite people. Being equipped with an army of chariots, the Canaanites were well able to control the relatively flat country (Gen_49:14-15; Deu_33:18-19; Jdg_4:12-15; Jdg_5:15). At least two national leaders of Israel came from Issachar (Jdg_10:1; 1Ki_15:27).
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming
PRINTER 1990.


is?a-kar (ישׂשׂכר, yissā‛se'khār; Septuagint, Swete Ἰσσαχάρ, Issachár; Tischendorf, Issáchar, so also in the New Testament, Tregelles, and Westcott and Hort, The New Testament in Greek):
(1) The 9th son of Jacob, the 5th borne to him by Leah (Gen_30:17 f).
1. The Name
His birth is in this passage connected with the strange story of Reuben and his mandrakes, and the name given him is apparently conceived as derived from 'ı̄sh sākhār, ?a hired workman.? There is a play upon the name in this sense in Gen_49:15, ?He bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant under taskwork.? Wellhausen (Text der B?ch. Sam., 95) thinks that the second element of the name may denote a deity; and Sokar, an Egyptian god, has been suggested. The name in that case would mean ?worshipper of Sokar.? Practically nothing is preserved of the personal history of this patriarch beyond his share in the common actions of the sons of Jacob. Four sons were born to him before Jacob's family removed to Egypt (Gen_46:13). In that land he died and was buried.
2. The Tribe
At Sinai the tribe numbered 54,000 men of war over 20 years of age (Num_1:29). At the end of the wanderings the numbers had grown to 64,300 (Num_26:25). In the days of David, the Chronicler puts the figures at 87,000 (1Ch_7:5). See NUMBERS. The place of Issachar in the desert-march was with the standard of the tribe of Judah (along with Zebulun) on the East side of the tabernacle (Num_2:5), this group forming the van of the host (Num_10:14 f). The rabbis say that this standard was of 3 colors, sardine, topaz and carbuncle, on which were inscribed the names of the 3 tribes, bearing the figure of a lion's whelp (Tg, pseudȯ Jon. on Num_2:3). The captain of the tribe was Nethanel ben-Zuar (Num_1:8, etc.). Later this place was held by Igal ben-Joseph, the tribal representative among the spies (Num_13:7). The prince chosen from Issachar to assist in the division of the land was Paltiel ben-Azzan (Num_34:26). The position of Issachar at the strange ceremony near Shechem was on Mt. Gerizim, ?to bless the people? (Deu_27:12).
3. The Tribal Territory
Sixteen cities of Issachar are mentioned in Jos_19:17, but the only indications of boundaries are Tabor in the North and Jordan in the East. We gather elsewhere that the territory of this tribe marched on the North with Zebulun and Naphtali (Jos_19:11, Jos_19:33); on the West with Manasseh and possibly Asher (Jos_17:10); and on the South with Manasseh (Jos_17:11). It does not seem to have had any point of contact with the sea. The portion of Issachar, therefore, included the plain of Esdraelon, Tabor, the hill of Moreh, and the slopes East to the Jordan. The fortresses along the South edge of the plain were held by Manasseh. Tola, a man of Issachar, held Shamir, a stronghold in Mt. Ephraim (Jdg_10:1). To Manasseh was given Beth-shean with her ?towns? (Jos_17:11). No reliable line can be drawn for the South border. The district thus indicated was small; but it embraced some of the most fruitful land in Palestine. By the very riches of the soil Issachar was tempted. ?He saw a resting-place that it was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant under taskwork? (Gen_49:15). ?The mountain? in Deu_33:19 may possibly be Tabor, on which, most likely, there was an ancient sanctuary and place of pilgrimage. This would certainly be associated with a market, in which Issachar and Zebulun, the adjoining tribes, would be able to enrich themselves by trade with the pilgrims from afar. Issachar took part in the battle with Sisera (Jdg_5:15). To Israel Issachar gave one judge, Tola (Jdg_10:1), and two kings, Baasha and his son (1Ki_15:27, etc.).
4. Men of Issachar
Of the 200 ?heads? of the men of Issachar who came to David at Hebron it is said that they were ?men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do? (1Ch_12:32). According to the Targum, this meant that they knew how to ascertain the periods of the sun and moon, the intercalation of months, the dates of solemn feasts, and could interpret the signs of the times. A company from Issachar came to the celebration of the Passover when it was restored by Hezekiah (2Ch_30:18). Issachar has a portion assigned to him in Ezekiel's ideal division of the land (Eze_48:25); and he appears also in the list in Rev (Eze_7:7).
(2) A Korahite doorkeeper, the 7th son of Obededom (1Ch_26:5).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.


1. Is?sachar (price-bought), a son of Jacob and Leah, born B.C. 1749, who gave name to one of the tribes of Israel (Gen_30:18; Num_26:25).
2. The tribe called after Issachar. Jacob, on his death-bed, speaking metaphorically of the character and destinies of his sons, or rather of the tribes which should spring from them, said, 'Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens' (Gen_49:14-15). Remembering the character of the ass in Eastern countries, we may be sure that this comparison was not intended in disparagement. The ass is anything but stupid; and the proverbial obstinacy which it sometimes exhibits in our own country, is rather the result of ill-treatment than a natural characteristic of the animal. Its true attributes are patience, gentleness, great capability of endurance, laborious exertion, and a meek submission to authority. Issachar, therefore, the progenitor of a race singularly docile, and distinguished for their patient industry, is exhibited under the similitude of the meekest and most laborious of quadrupeds. The descriptive character goes on:?'And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant, and he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute' which probably does not imply that reproach upon Issachar, as addicted to ignominious ease, which some commentators find in it. It seems simply to mean that finding itself in possession of a most fertile portion of Palestine, the tribe devoted itself to the labors of agriculture, taking little interest in the public affairs of the nation. Accordingly Josephus says that the heritage of the tribe 'was fruitful to admiration, abounding in pastures and nurseries of all kinds, so that it would make any man in love with husbandry' (Antiq. v. 1, 22). But although a decided preference of agricultural over commercial or military pursuits is here indicated, there seems no reason to conclude, as some gather from the last clause, that the tribe would be willing to purchase exemption from war by the payment of a heavy tribute. The words do not necessarily imply this; and there is no evidence that the tribe ever declined any military service to which it was called. On the contrary, it is specially commended by Deborah for the promptitude with which it presented itself in the war with Jabin (Jdg_5:15); and in the days of David honorable testimony is borne to its character (1Ch_12:32). In this passage the 'children of Issachar' are described as 'men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do,' which probably means that they were men held in esteem for their prudence and wisdom, and who knew that the time was come when it was no longer safe to delay calling David to the throne of all Israel. On quitting Egypt the tribe of Issachar numbered 54,000 adult males, which gave it the fifth numerical rank among the twelve tribes, Judah, Simeon, Zebulun, and Dan being alone above it. In the wilderness it increased nearly 10,000, and then ranked as the third of the tribes, Judah and Dan only being more numerous (Numbers 1; Numbers 26). The territory of the tribe comprehended the whole of the plain of Esdraelon and the neighboring districts?the granary of Palestine. It was bounded on the east by the Jordan, on the west and south by Manasseh, and on the north by Asher and Zebulun. It contained the towns of Megiddo, Taanach, Shunem, Jezreel, and Bethshan, with the villages of Endor, Aphek, and Ibleam, all historical names: the mountains of Tabor and Gilboa, and the valley of Jezreel, were in the territory of this tribe, and the course of the river Kishon lay through it.
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.


Gen_49:14 (c) He is a type of the Lord JESUS bearing GOD's burden for man and man's burden for sin, thus making it possible for man to rest. Also a type of the Christian who bears GOD's burden for the lost and man's burden in his need of rest and redemption.
Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types
press 1957.


Issachar
the name of two men in the Bible, and of the descendants of one of them, and the region inhabited by them.
1. The ninth son of Jacob and the fifth of Leah; the first born to Leah after the interval which occurred in the births of her children (Gen_30:17; comp. 29:35). He was born in Padan-Aram early in B.C. 1914. In Genesis he is not mentioned after his birth, and the few verses in Chronicles devoted to the tribe contain merely a brief list of its chief men and heroes in the reign of David (1Ch_7:1-5). At the descent into Egypt four sons are ascribed to him, who founded the four chief families of the tribe (Gen_46:13; Num_20:23; Num_20:25; 1Ch_7:1).
Form and Signification of the Name. — Both are peculiar. The form is יששכר[i.e. Yissaskar'; if pointed as would be regular, ישִּׂשְׂכִּר: such is the invariable spelling of the name in the Hebrew, the Samaritan Codex and Version, the Targums of Onkelos and PseudoJonathan, but the Masoretes have pointed it so as to supersede the second S, יַשָּׂשכָר, Yissa[s]kar'; Sept. Ι᾿σσάχαρ, N.T. Ι᾿σασχάρ, Josephus Ισσάχαρις (Ant. 5, 1, 22), referring to the tribal territory; Vulg. Isachar. (See Gesenius, Thes. Heb. p. 1331.)
As is the case with each of the sons of Jacob, the name is recorded as bestowed on account of a circumstance connected with the birth. But, as may be also noticed in more than one of the others, two explanations seem to be combined in the narrative, which even then is not in exact accordance with the requirements of the name. “God hath given me my hire (שָׂכָר, sakbr). and she called his name Issachar,” is the recoid; but in 1Ch_7:18 that “hire” is for the surrender of her maid to her husband, while in 1Ch_7:14-17 it is for the discovery and bestowal of the mandrakes. Besides, as indicated above, the name in its original form-Isaskar-rebels against this interpretation, an interpretation which, to be consistent, requires the form subsequently imposed on the word, Is-sachar. The verbal allusion is not again brought forward, as it is with Dan, Asher, etc., in the blessings of Jacob and Moses. In the former only it is perhaps allowable to discern a faint echo of the sound of “Issachar” in the word shikmo “his shoulder” (Gen_49:15). The words occur again almost identically in 2Ch_15:7, and Jer_31:16 : יֵשׁ שָׂכָר= “there is a reward for;” A.V. “shall be rewarded.” An expansion of the story of the mandrakes, with curious details, will be found in the Testamentum suachar (Fabricius, Cod. Pseudepigr. p. 620-623). They were ultimately deposited “in the house of the Lord” (according to the same legend), whatever that may mean. Tribe of Issachar. Issachar's place during the journey to Canaan was on the east of the tabernacle, with his brothers Judah and Zebulun (Num_2:5), the group moving foremost in the march (Num_10:15), and having a common standard, which, according to the Rabbinical tradition, was of the three colors of sardine, topaz, and carbuncle, inscribed with the names of the three tribes, and bearing the figure of a lion's whelp (see Targum Pseudo-Jon. on Num_2:3). At this time the captain of the tribe was Nethaneel ben-Zuar (Num_1:8; Num_2:5; Num_7:18; Num_10:15). He was succeeded by Igal ben-Joseph, who went as representative of his tribe among the spies (Num_13:7), and he again by Paltiel ben-Azzan, who assisted Joshua in apportioning the land of Canaan (Num_34:26). Issachar was one of the six tribes who were to stand on Mount Gerizim during the ceremony of blessing and cursing (Deu_27:12). He was still in company with Judah, Zebulun being opposite on Ebal. The number of the fighting men of Issachar when taken in the census at Sinai was 54,400. During the journey they seem to have steadily increased, and after the mortality at Peor they amounted to 64,300, being inferior to none but Judah and Dan-to the latter by 100 souls only. The numbers given in 1Ch_7:2; 1Ch_7:4-5, probably the census of Joab, amount in all to 145,600.
The Promised Land once reached, the connection between Issachar and Judah seems to have closed, to be renewed only on two brief occasions, which will be noticed in their turn. The intimate relation with Zebulun was, however, maintained. The two brother-tribes had their portions close together, and more than once they are mentioned in company. The allotment of Issachar lay above that of Manasseh. The specification of its boundaries and contents is contained in Jos_19:17-23. But to the towns there named must be added Daberath (a Levitical city, 21:28: Jarmuth here is probably the Remeth of 19:21) and Ibleam (Jos_17:11). The boundary, in the words of Josephus (Ant. 5, 22), “extended in length from Carmel to the Jordan, in breadth to Mount Tabor.” In fact, it almost exactly consisted of the plain of Esdraelon or Jezreel. The southern boundary we can trace by En-gannim, the modern Jenin, on the heights which form the southern enclosure to the plain; and then further westward by Taanach and Megiddo, the authentic fragments of which still stand on the same heights as they trend away to the hump of Carmel. On the north the territory nearly ceased with the plain, which is there bounded by Tabor, the outpost of the hills of Zebulun. East of Tabor, the hill-country continued so as to screen the tribe from the Sea of Galilee, while a detour on the S.E. included a part of the plain within the territory of Manasseh, near Bethshean and the upper part of the Jordan valley. In a central recess of the plain stood Jezreel, on a low swell, attended, just across the border, on the one hand by the eminence of Mount Gilboa. and on the other by that now called Ed-Duhy, or “Little Hermon,” the latter having Shunem, Nain, and Endor on its slopes-names which recall some of the most interesting and important events in the history of Israel. SEE TRIBE.
The following is a list of all the Biblical localities in the tribe, with their approved or conjectural identifications:
Abez
Town
Ukneifis?
Anaharath
do.
[Meskatah]??
Anem
do
See EN-GANNIM
Aphek
do.
[El-Fuleh]?
Beth-gan
do.
See EN-GANNIM
Beth-pazzez
do.
[Beit-Jenu]??
Beth-shemesh
do
Kaukab-el-Hawa?
Chesulloth or Chisloth Tabor
do
Iksal
Dabareh or Daberath
do
Debureh
En-gannim
do
Jenin
En-haddah
do
[Ain Mahil]?
Gur
Ascent
[Mukeibileh]?
Hapharaim
Town
[El-Afuleh]?
Ibleam
do
[Jelameh]?
Ittah-kazin
do
[Kefr Kenna]?
Jarmuth
do
See RAAMOTH
Jezreel
Town
Zerin
Plain
Merj Ibn-Amer.
Fountain
Ain Meyiteh
Jokmeam or Jokneam
Town
El-Kaimon
Kedesh
do
Kashaneh?
Kibzaim
do
See JOKNEAM
Kishion
do
See KEDESH
Maralah
do
[Mujeidil]?
Meroz
do
Kefr Musr?
Nain
do
Nein
Nazareth
do
En-Nasirah
Rabbith
do
[Sunurieh]?
Ramoth or Remeth
do
[Tell between Sundeoa and Mukeibileh]?
Shahazimah
do
[Shara]?
Shihon
do
[Esh-Shijrah]?
Shunem
do
Solam
This territory was, as it still is, among the richest land in Palestine. Westward was the famous plain which derived its name, the “seed-plot of God”-such is the signification of Jezreel-from its fertility, and the very weeds of which at this day testify to its enormous powers of production (Stanley S. and P. p. 348). SEE ESDRAELON; SEE JEZREEL.
On the north is Tabor, which, even under the burning sun of that climate, is said to retain the glades and dells of an English wood (ibid. p. 350). On the east, behind Jezreel, is the opening which conducts to the plain of the Jordan-to that Beth-Shean which was proverbially among the Rabbis the gate of Paradise for its fruitfulness. It is this aspect of the territory of Issachar which appears to be alluded to in the blessing of Jacob. The image of the “sturdy he-ass” (חֲמֹר גֶּרֶם) —-the large animal used for burdens and field- work, not the lighter and swifter she-ass for riding ” couching down between the two stalls,” chewing the fodder of stolid ease and quiet-is very applicable, not only to the tendencies and habits, but to the very size and air of a rural agrarian people, while the sequel of the verse is no less suggestive of the certain result of such tendencies when unrelieved by any higher aspirations: “He saw that rest was good and the land pleasant, and he bowed his back to bear, and became a slave to tribute” — the tribute imposed on him by the various marauding tribes who were attracted to his territory by the richness of the crops. The blessing of Moses completes the picture. He is not only “in tents”-in nomad or semi-nomad life-but “rejoicing” in them; and it is perhaps not straining a point to observe that he has by this time begun to lose his individuality. He and Zebulum are mentioned together as having part possession in the holy mountain of Tabor, which was near the frontier line of each (Deu_33:18-19). We pass from this to the time of Deborah: the chief struggle in the great, victory over Sisera took place on the territory of Issachar, “by Taanach at the waters of Megiddo” (Judges 5, 19); but the allusion to the tribe in the song of triumph is of the most cursory nature, not consistent with its having taken any prominent part in the action.
One among the judges of Israel was from Issachar Tola (Jdg_10:1) —but beyond the length of his sway we have only the fact recorded that he resided out of the limits of his own tribe — at Shamir, in Mount Ephraim. By Josephus he is omitted entirely (see Ant. 5, 7, 6). The census of the tribe taken in the reign of David has already been alluded to. It is contained in 1Ch_7:1-5, and an expression occurs in it which testifies to the nomadic tendencies above noticed. Out of the whole number of the tribe no less than 36,000 were marauding mercenary troops-” bands” (גְּדוּדַים) —-a term applied to no other tribe in this enumeration, though elsewhere to Gad, and uniformly to the irregular bodies of the Bedouin nations round Israel. This-was probably at the close of David's reign. Thirty years before, when two hundred of the head men of the tribe had gone to Hebron to assist in making David king over the entire realm, different qualifications are noted in them-they “had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do and all their brethren were at their commandment.” To what this “understanding of the times” was we have no clew (see Deyling, Observ. 1, 160 sq.). By the later Jewish interpreters it is explained as skill in ascertaining the periods of the sun and moon, the intercalation of months, and dates of solemn feasts, and the interpretation of the signs of the heavens (Targum, ad loc.; Jerome, Quaest. Heb.). Josephus (Ant. 7:2, 2) gives it as “knowing the things that were to happen;” and he adds that the armed men who came with these leaders were 20,000. One of the wise men of Issachar, according to an old Jewish tradition preserved by Jerome (Quaest. Heb. on 2Ch_17:16), was Amasiah, son of Zichri, who, with 200,000 men, offered himself to Jehovah in the service of Jehoshaphat (2Ch_17:16); but this is very questionable, as the movement appears to have been confined to Judah and Benjamin. The ruler of the tribe at this time was Omri, of the great family of Michael (1Ch_27:18; compare 7:3). May he not have been the forefather of the king of Israel of the same name the founder of the “house of Omri” and of the “house of Ahab,” the builder of Samaria, possibly on the same hill of Shamir on which the Issacharite judge, Tola, had formerly held his court? But, whether this was so or not, at any rate one dynasty of the Israelitish kings was Issacharite. Baasha, the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, a member of the army with which Nadab and all Israel were besieging Gibbethon, apparently not of any standing in the tribe (compare 1Ki_16:2), slew the king, and himself mounted the throne (1Ki_15:27, etc.). He was evidently a fierce and warlike man (16:29; 1Ch_16:1), and an idolater like Jeroboam. The Issacharite dynasty lasted during the twenty-four years of his reign and the two of his son Elah. At the end of that time it was wrested from him by the same means that his father had acquired it, and Zimri, the new king, commenced his reign by a massacre of the whole kindred and connections of Baasha-he left him “not even so much as a boy” (16:11).
Distant as Jezreel was from Jerusalem, the inhabitants took part in the Passover with which. Hezekiah sanctified the opening of his reign. On that memorable occasion a multitude of the people from the northern tribes, and among them from Issachar, although so long estranged from the worship of Jehovah as to have forgotten how to make the necessary purifications, yet by the enlightened piety of Hezekiah were allowed to keep the feast; and they did keep it seven days with great gladness-with such tumultuous joy as had not been known since the time of Solomon, when the whole land was one. Nor did they separate till the occasion had been signalized by an immense destruction of idolatrous altars and symbols, “in Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim and Manasseh,” up to the very confines of Issachar's own land — and then “all the children of Israel returned every man to his possession into their own cities” (2Ch_31:1). Within five years from this date Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, had invaded the north of Palestine, and after three years' siege had taken Samaria, and, with the rest of Israel, ‘had carried,' Issachar away to his distant dominions. The only other scriptural allusion to the tribe is that, with the rest of their brethren of all the tribes of the children of Israel (Dan only excepted), the twelve thousand of the tribe of Issachar shall be sealed in their foreheads (Rev_7:7).
2. A Korhite Levite, one of the door-keepers (A.V. “porters”) of the house of Jehovah, seventh son of Obed-Edom (1Ch_26:5). B.C. 1014.

CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.





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