ISSACHAR
Recompense, so named by Leah his mother, Gen 30:18, the ninth son of Jacob, born B. C. 1749. The character of his posterity was foretold by Jacob and by Moses, Gen 49:14,15 Deu 33:18,19 .The TRIBE OF ISSACHAR numbered fifty-four thousand men in the desert, and on entering Canaan was the third in population, Num 1:28 26:25. Their portion, having the Jordan on the east, Manasseh on the west, Zebulun north, and Ephraim south, included a considerable part of the fine plain Esdraelon, the most fertile in the country. They were industrious agriculturists, and are mentioned with honor for their brave and wise patriotism, Jdg 5:15 1Ch 7:15 12:32.
Fuente: American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
Issachar
See Tribes.
Fuente: Dictionary of the Apostolic Church
Issachar
(Hebrew: reward)
Ninth son of Jacob, fifth son of Lia. He was given the name Issachar, by his mother at his birth (Genesis 30). Isaachar had four sons: Thola, Phua, Jasub, and Semron, whose descendants formed the tribe of Issachar (Numbers 26). In the time of Moses the tribe counted 54,400 men capable of going forth to battle (Numbers 2). The character of the tribe is told in the words of Jacob (Genesis 49), satisfied with the richness of its territory, through which passed numerous caravans, the tribe of Issachar thought only of its own well-being; and so, rendering itself subordinate to strangers, found slavery (rest) preferable to liberty.
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Issachar
The exact derivation and the precise meaning of the name are unknown. It designates, first, the ninth son of Jacob and the fifth son of Lia (Genesis 30:16-18; 35:23; 1 Chronicles 2:1), on whom it was bestowed on account of some particular circumstance connected with his birth (cf. Genesis 30:14-18), and of whom nothing is told in Holy Writ besides the fact that, at the descent into Egypt, he had four sons (Genesis 46:13; Numbers 26:23, 24; 1 Chronicles 7:1).
It designates, in the second place, one of the tribes of Israel, which had the ninth son of Jacob for its ancestor. Our knowledge of the tribe of Issachar is rather meagre. During the journey through the wilderness, that tribe, along with those of Juda and Zabulon, marched on the east of the tabernacle (Numbers 2:5). It contained 54,400 warriors when the first census was taken at Mount Sinai (Numbers 1:28 sq.), and 64,300 at the time of the second census (Numbers 26:25). After the entrance into Western Palestine, this tribe was one of the six which stood on Mount Garizim during the ceremony of the cursing and the blessing (Deuteronomy 27:12). The precise limits of its territory are not, given in Holy Writ. Its general boundaries were Zabulon and Nephtali to the north, Manasses to the south and to the west, the Jordan to the east. Its lot, according to Jos., xix, 17-23, comprised sixteen cities and their villages, prominent among which were the cities of Jezrael, Sunem, Engannim, and Anaharath. Within its territory was the great plain of Esdraelon, the general form of which enabled the Hebrew poet (Genesis 49:14) to describe Issachar as “a large-limbed ass stretching himself between the sheepfolds”, and the fertility of which is praised by travellers down to the present day. The tribe played an important part during the period of the Judges (Judges 5:15; 10:1, 2); and in the time of David it counted 145,600 warriors (1 Chronicles 7:1-5). Its history during the royal period was likewise important, and the third king of Northern Israel belonged to that tribe (1 Kings 15:27). The Prophet Ezechiel places Issachar among the Southern tribes between Simeon and Zabulon (Ezekiel 18:25, 26), and St. John names it between Levi and Zabulon (Revelation 7:7).
See Comm. on Genesis and Biblical Histories in bibliography to ISAAC, to which may be added: ROBINSON, Biblical Researches in Palestine, III (Boston, 1841); STANLEY, Sinai and Palestine (New York, 1859); SMITH, Historical Geography of the Holy Land (New York, 1897).
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FRANCIS E. GIGOT Transcribed by Bob Mathewson
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIIICopyright © 1910 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
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 [i.e. Yissaskar’; if pointed as would be regular, : 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, , Yissa[s]kar’; Sept. , N.T. , Josephus (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 (, 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 : = 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:
AbezTownUkneifis?
Anaharathdo.[Meskatah]??
AnemdoSee EN-GANNIM
Aphekdo.[El-Fuleh]?
Beth-gando.See EN-GANNIM
Beth-pazzezdo.[Beit-Jenu]??
Beth-shemeshdoKaukab-el-Hawa?
Chesulloth or Chisloth TabordoIksal
Dabareh or DaberathdoDebureh
En-gannimdoJenin
En-haddahdo[Ain Mahil]?
GurAscent[Mukeibileh]?
HapharaimTown[El-Afuleh]?
Ibleamdo[Jelameh]?
Ittah-kazindo[Kefr Kenna]?
JarmuthdoSee RAAMOTH
JezreelTownZerin
PlainMerj Ibn-Amer.
FountainAin Meyiteh
Jokmeam or JokneamTownEl-Kaimon
KedeshdoKashaneh?
KibzaimdoSee JOKNEAM
KishiondoSee KEDESH
Maralahdo[Mujeidil]?
MerozdoKefr Musr?
NaindoNein
NazarethdoEn-Nasirah
Rabbithdo[Sunurieh]?
Ramoth or Remethdo[Tell between Sundeoa and Mukeibileh]?
Shahazimahdo[Shara]?
Shihondo[Esh-Shijrah]?
ShunemdoSolam
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 ( ) -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 () -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.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Issachar
hired (Gen. 30:18). “God hath given me,” said Leah, “my hire (Heb. sekhari)…and she called his name Issachar.” He was Jacob’s ninth son, and was born in Padan-aram (comp. 28:2). He had four sons at the going down into Egypt (46:13; Num. 26:23, 25).
Issachar, Tribe of, during the journey through the wilderness, along with Judah and Zebulun (Num. 2:5), marched on the east of the tabernacle. This tribe contained 54,400 fighting men when the census was taken at Sinai. After the entrance into the Promised Land, this tribe was one of the six which stood on Gerizim during the ceremony of the blessing and cursing (Deut. 27:12). The allotment of Issachar is described in Josh. 19:17-23. It included the plain of Esdraelon (=Jezreel), which was and still is the richest portion of Palestine (Deut. 33:18, 19; 1 Chr. 12:40).
The prophetic blessing pronounced by Jacob on Issachar corresponds with that of Moses (Gen. 49:14, 15; comp. Deut. 33:18, 19).
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Issachar
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.”
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
ISSACHAR
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 Issachars 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).
Fuente: Bridgeway Bible Dictionary
Issachar
ISSACHAR.The fifth son of Leah, born after Gad and Asher, the sons of Zilpah, and the ninth of Jacobs 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 skhar, to hire: J [Note: Jahwist.] , because Leah hired Jacob from Rachel with Reubens 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 skhar 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.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Issachar
The son of Jacob, by Leah. (Gen 30:14-18) His name signifies a price of hire; and so it is rendered in the margin of our Bibles, derived from Shachar, a price. The most remarkable circumstance in the history of Issachar, is his father’s prophetical blessing of him. (Gen 49:14-15) “Issachar (said the dying patriarch) is a strong ass, couching down between two burthens; and he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and become a servant into tribute.” If the sense of this passage (as most of the other blessings Jacob when a-dying bequeathed to his children are) be spiritual, there is much of Jesus, and his person and salvation in it. Issachar, like all true Israelites, bends between the two burthens of sin and sorrow, for they are inseparable; and no rest but Jesus can be found, to deliver from the dreadful pressure. He is, indeed, “the rest wherewith he causeth the weary to rest” from the burden. Easy will be the tribe of a redeemed heart to the Lord, to bless him for his mercy. We find similar beauties in the blessing of Moses, the man of God, over Issachar, if explained in the same gospel-sense. (See Deu 33:18-19)
Fuente: The Poor Mans Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures
Issachar
isa-kar (, yissase’khar; Septuagint, Swete , Issachar; Tischendorf, Issachar, 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 ‘sh sakhar, 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 Bch. 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, pseudo 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).
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Issachar
1. Issachar (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 districtsthe 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.
Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Issachar
[Issa’char]
1. The ninth son of Jacob, and the fifth of Leah. Of his personal history there is no record except that he had four sons, who became heads in the tribe. When Jacob blessed his sons he said, “Issachar is a strong ass, couching down between two burdens, and he . . . . bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.” Gen 49:14-15. This seems to imply that this tribe, with Zebulun, would mix with the world and become slaves to it for profit. When Moses blessed the tribes, Issachar and Zebulun are also placed together. He said, “They shall call the people unto the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness: for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand.” Deu 33:19. This seems to point also to commercial enterprise. Some of Issachar resorted to David at Ziklag, of whom it is said they “had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.” 1Ch 12:32. At the first numbering there were of Issachar 54,400 fit for war, and at the second 64,300. They are described as ‘valiant men of might,’ and they furnished 36,000 men of war. 1Ch 7:4-5. The tribe possessed some of the most productive portions of the land, including the extensive plain of Jezreel, with the Jordan on its border for about 50 miles.
2. Son of Obed-Edom, a Korhite Levite. 1Ch 26:5.
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Issachar
H3485
1. Son of Jacob:
– General references
Gen 30:18; Exo 1:3; 1Ch 2:1
– Jacob’s prophetic benedictions upon
Gen 49:14-15
– In the time of David
1Ch 7:2; 1Ch 7:5
2. Tribe of:
– Military forces of:
b Taken at Sinai
Num 1:28-29; Num 2:6
b Taken on the plains of Moab
Num 26:25
– Moses’ blessing upon
Deu 33:18-19
– Place in march and camp
Num 2:3; Num 2:5; Num 10:14-15
– Parts of Canaan allotted to
Jos 19:17-23; Jos 17:10-11
– Join Deborah and Barak in war against Sisera
Jdg 5:15
– Insurgents from, joined David
1Ch 12:32; 1Ch 12:40
– Join with the kingdom of Judah after the conquest of the land by
2Ch 30:18
– Things common to all the tribes
Israel, 3, Tribes of
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Issachar
Issachar (s’sa-kar), God hath given me my hire. The fifth son of Jacob and Leah. Gen 30:18. The prophetical description of him uttered by his father, Gen 49:14-15, was fulfilled in the fact that the posterity of Issachar were a laborious people and followed rural employments, and were subject to the tributes of marauding tribes.
Issachar (s’sa-kar), The Territory of, included the great plain of Esdraelon, or Jezreel, and lay above that of Manasseh; its boundaries are given in Jos 19:17-23. It extended from Mt. Carmel to the Jordan, and from Mt Tabor to En-gannim. Zebulun was on the north, Manasseh on the south, and Gilead on the east, across the Jordan. It contained sixteen noted cities and their villages. Among them were Megiddo, Jezreel, Shunem, Bethshan, Endor, Aphek, Taanach; and Jezreel stood almost exactly in the centre of the territory. This region was one of the richest and most fertile in Palestine. Many historical events of great interest took place within the territory. It furnished two kings to IsraelBaasha and Elan. 1Ki 15:27; 1Ki 16:6. Their portion of Palestine is still among the most fertile of the whole land. See Jezreel, Plain of, and Palestine.
Fuente: People’s Dictionary of the Bible
Issachar
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.
Fuente: Smith’s Bible Dictionary
ISSACHAR
son of Jacob and Leah
Gen 30:18; Gen 35:23; Gen 49:14; Jos 19:17
Fuente: Thompson Chain-Reference Bible
Issachar
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.
Fuente: Biblical and Theological Dictionary
Issachar
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.