Issachar

Biblical Record

Issachar was the ninth son of Jacob and the fifth son of Leah. His birth is recorded in Genesis 30:14–18. Leah gave Rachel the mandrakes that her son Reuben had found in the field, and in exchange she spent the night with Jacob. Leah said to Jacob, "Surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes" (Genesis 30:16). The mandrake was a plant believed to promote conception. When Issachar was born, Leah named him, saying, "God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband" (Genesis 30:18). The name echoes a Hebrew word meaning "wages" or "hire." His younger brother was Zebulun.

Genesis 46:13 records that Issachar went down to Egypt with his sons Tola, Phuvah, Job, and Shimron. In 1 Chronicles 7:1, Job appears as Jashub. Beyond this, Scripture records nothing further about Issachar as an individual.

Significance in the Bible

The name Issachar most often refers to his descendants, the tribe of Issachar.

• Jacob's blessing (Genesis 49:14–15): Jacob likened Issachar to a strong donkey couching down between the sheepfolds. He went on to say that Issachar, seeing that rest was good and the land pleasant, would bow his shoulder to bear burdens and become a servant.
• Wilderness period: In the census of Numbers 1, the men able to go to war numbered 54,400; in the second census, in chapter 26, they numbered 64,300. The tribe's leader was Nethaneel the son of Zuar, and when the camp was arranged, the tribe encamped beside the tribe of Judah (Numbers 2:5).
• Moses' blessing (Deuteronomy 33:18–19): Moses blessed Zebulun and Issachar together. In this blessing, Issachar is portrayed as a tribe that rejoices in its tents.
• After the settlement in Canaan: According to Joshua 19:17–23, the tribe of Issachar received an allotment in the region of the Jezreel Valley. The princes of Issachar appear in the Song of Deborah (Judges 5:15). The judge Tola (Judges 10:1) and Baasha, king of the northern kingdom of Israel (1 Kings 15:27), also came from this tribe. First Chronicles 12:32 describes the children of Issachar who came to David as "men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do."
• New Testament: Issachar as an individual does not appear in the New Testament. The tribe is mentioned only in the numbering of the sealed in Revelation 7:7: "Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand."

Interpretation and Debate

Interpretations of the blessing in Genesis 49 differ. One view reads it as a portrait of diligence, depicting a people who labor industriously on fertile land. Another reads it as a criticism of a people who accept the rule of others and forced labor in order to secure comfort.

Jewish tradition also preserves an interpretation based on Deuteronomy 33 and 1 Chronicles 12:32, holding that Issachar devoted himself to the study of the Law while Zebulun supported him through trade. This, however, is a later interpretation and not something the biblical text states directly.

The Issachar of 1 Chronicles 26:5, a son of Obed-edom, is a different person from the subject of this article.

In the Korean Church

In Korean church preaching, Issachar is cited mainly through the phrase in 1 Chronicles 12:32 describing the children of Issachar as men "that had understanding of the times." The verse is frequently used to exhort believers to discern the course of the times and to know what they ought to do. In Sunday school, his name is typically introduced only in lessons on the twelve sons of Jacob and the twelve tribes.