("man of wages", or: "there is a reward" [for all my troubles])
1. Ninth son of Jacob and fifth of Leah; the eponymous ancestor of one of the twelve tribes. Issachar is always mentioned together with Zebulun (Ex 1:3; I Chr 2:1); their territories adjoined, and they are mentioned together in the Blessings of Jacob (Gen 49:13-14) and Moses (Deut 33:18-19).
According to Joshua 19:17-23, Issachar's tribal territory lay between Mount Gilboa and the hills of Lower Galilee, at the eastern end of the Valley of Jezreel (Mount Tabor was included in this territory). Sixteen cities and their associated villages were assigned to the tribe.
Issachar is mentioned favorably in the Song of Deborah as one of the tribes taking part in the victorious campaign against the Canaanites which was conducted within its domain – Mount Tabor and the River Kishon. This victory broke the Canaanite domination of the area and Issachar gained an important position among the tribes. The tribe of Issachar produced one of the minor Judges, Tola son of Puah (Judg 10:1). According to one tradition, during the time of David the tribe gained a reputation for its wise men (I Chr 12:32).
In Solomon's arrangement of administrative districts, Issachar's territory formed an independent province (I Kgs 4:17).
Baasha, king of Israel, also came from Issachar (I Kgs 15:27), and Jezreel, an Israelite royal residence, was situated in its territory (I Kgs 18:45).
The tribe is mentioned once more, when it went to Jerusalem to take part in the Passover feast, at the time of Hezekiah (II Chr 30:18).
2. The seventh son of Obed-Edom; a Levite gatekeeper of the Temple during the time of David.
Concordance
ISSACHAR 1:
Gen 30:18; 35:23; 46:13; 49:14. Ex 1:3. Num 1:8, 28-29; 2:5; 7:18; 10:15; 13:7; 26:23, 25; 34:26. Deut 27:12; 33:18. Josh 17:10-11; 19:17, 23; 21:6, 28. Judg 5:15; 10:1. I Kgs 4:17; 15:27. I Chr 2:1; 6:62, 72; 7:1, 5; 12:32,40; 27:18. II Chr 30:18. Ezek 48:25-26,33. Rev 7:7
ISSACHAR 2:
I Chr 26:5



