Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 19:23
This [is] the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar according to their families, the cities and their villages.
23. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar ] Then, as it still is, among the richest land in Palestine. “Westward was the famous plain which derived its name from its fertility. On the north is Tabor, which even under the burning sun of the climate is said to retain the glades and dells of an English wood. On the east, behind Jezreel, is the opening which conducts to the plain of the Jordan to the Bethshean, which was proverbially among the Rabbis the Gate of Paradise for its fruitfulness.” The soil yielded corn and figs, wine and oil (1Ch 12:40); the stately palm waved over the villages; and the very weeds testify to the extraordinary fertility of the Esdraelon plain. Here Issachar rejoiced in his tents (Deu 33:18), couched down as the strong he-ass (Gen 49:14-15), used for burden and field-work, and “ seeing that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant, bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute,” which various marauders, Canaanites (Jdg 4:3; Jdg 4:7), Midianites, Amalekites (Jdg 6:3-4), Philistines (1Sa 29:1), exacted, bursting through his frontier, open both on the east and the west, and tempted by his luxuriant crops. See Porter’s Handbook, ii. 352; Stanley’s S. and P., p. 348. “Two things strike us forcibly in looking over the plain of Esdraelon, and in wandering through it:
( a) First, its wonderful richness. After the grey hills of Judah, and the rocky mountains of Ephraim, the traveller looks with admiration over this unbroken extent of verdure. The luxuriant grass, and the exuberance of the crops on the few spots where it is cultivated, amply prove the fertility of the soil. It was the frontier of Zebulun. ‘Rejoice, O Zebulun, in thy goings out ’ (Deu 33:18).
( b) Second, its desolation. If we except its eastern branches there is not a single inhabited village on its whole surface, and not more than one-sixth of its soil is cultivated. It is the home of the wandering Bedawy, who can scour its smooth turf on his fleet mare in search of plunder, and when hard pressed can speedily remove his tents and his flocks beyond the Jordan, and beyond the reach of a weak government. In its condition, thus exposed to every hasty incursion, and to every shock of war, we read the fortunes of that tribe which for the sake of its richness consented to sink into a half nomadic state. ‘Rejoice, O Issachar, in thy tents ’ (Gen 49:14-15; Deu 33:18). Their exposed position and valuable possessions made them eager for the succession of David to the throne, as one under whose sceptre they would enjoy the peace and rest they loved.” See 1Ch 12:32 ; 1Ch 12:40. Porter’s Handbook, ii. pp. 352, 353.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
This [is] the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar,…. Which fell to them by lot, as before described:
according to their families; was divided among them, according to the number of them:
the cities and their villages; the cities before enumerated, and the villages adjacent to them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
‘ This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar, according to their families the cities with their villages.’
This is the usual formula for sealing the inheritance of a tribe, a sign that this is included in an official record.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Ver. 23. This is the inheritance, &c. Issachar’s lot consisted of sixteen cities with their villages. It was a numerous tribe, bordering on the sea westward, having Jordan on the east, Manasseh on the south, and Zebulun on the north. Jezreel, Ahab’s royal city of Shunem, wherein dwelt the kind hostess of Elijah, Kishon famed for Deborah’s victory, Gilboa where Saul fell, and the valley of Megiddo where Josiah was slain, lay in this tribe.