Leah and Jacob's 5th Son, Issachar: One of those Lost

 Nadene Goldfoot                                       

Issachar (pronounced as Yisaskhar) was the 5th son of Leah by Jacob.  His descendants numbered 64,309 at the end of the desert wanderings, the 3rd largest tribe to arrive in Canaan.  Issachar had started in the 1st census with 54,400.  They had a gain of 9,900.   Here, Issachar is the little boy in yellow.                         

Map of the Twelve Tribes of Israel per the Book of Joshua; Issachar's supposed territory is shaded red. Scholars generally agree that Joshua is not a reliable source for reconstructing the history of the period it describes.

Issachar inherited land between Mt. Tabor and the Jordan River including much of the fertile valley of Jezreel.  apparently some of the tribe was saved from the Assyrian exile, and men of Issachar answered Hezekiah's summons to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem.  For being the 3rd largest in population, they were given such a small piece of land.  It is deceiving, so we'll look at a very ancient map.

Here, Issachar is in white, below Zebulon's land.  

 In Jewish tradition, the descendants of Issachar were seen as being dominated by religious scholars and influential in proselytism.  In other words, he was easily swayed.  

                                                  

Painting by Francisco de Zurbaran (from Jacob and his 12 sons-1640-45)
 

Chronicles 7:1–5 lists the generations of the tribe of Issachar, totaling 87,000 "mighty men of valour". 1 Chronicles 12:32 describes the tribe as men who "had understanding of the times, to know what Israel should do".  200 chiefs, with all of their kinsmen following their counsel. Chronicles was describing each of the 12 tribes' ability to help David at Hebron to transfer Saul's kingship over to David,  for they were all mighty warriors, and they became officers in the army.  

W. E. Barnes, writing in the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges argues that “times” are “opportunities, and the phrase means, therefore, “men of experience, having knowledge of the world”.

In classical rabbinical literature, it is stated that Issachar was born on the fourth of Av, and lived 122 years. According to the midrashic Book of Jasher, Issachar married Aridah, the younger daughter of Jobab, a son of Joktan; the Torah states that Issachar had four sons, who were born in Canaan and migrated with him to Egypt, with their descendants remaining there until the Exodus. The midrashic Book of Jasher portrays Issachar as somewhat pragmatic, due to his strong effort in being more learned, less involved with other matters which led him to such actions like taking a feeble part in military campaigns involving his brothers, and generally residing in strongly fortified cities and, depending on his brother Zebulun's financial support in return for a share in the spiritual reward he gains.                       

Jacob's blessing for Issachar was that Issachar is a strong-boned donkey;  he rests between the boundaries.  He saw tranquility that it was good, and the land that it was pleasant, yet he bent his shoulder to bear and he became an indentured laborer.  Rashi said that  the simile of a strong-boned donkey refers to Issachar's spiritual role as bearer of the yoke of Torah and cultivator of the spiritual treasures of the people.  

The Talmud argues that Issachar's description in the Blessing of Jacob - Issachar is a strong ass lying down between two burdens: and he saw that settled life was good, and the land was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute. - is a reference to the religious scholarship of the tribe of Issachar, though scholars feel that it may more simply be a literal interpretation of Issachar's name.

The Assyrian captivity is the period in the history of Ancient Israel and Judah during which several thousand Israelites of ancient Samaria were resettled as captives by Assyria in 721 BCE.  Israel, the northern part of the land of the 12 tribes, had This is one of the many instances of forcible relocations implemented by the Neo-Assyrian Empire.                                         

A rebellion had taken place led by Jeroboam when King Solomon had died in 920 BCE when the king's son, Rehoboam inherited the kingship. Israel was then called the kingdom of Samaria after the city that had been Israel's capital since about 890 BCE.  The seceding 10 tribes were led by the tribe of Ephraim, which remained predominant and to which most of the king belonged.  The other tribes following Jeroboam the Ephraimite who had been the superintendent of forced labor on the Temple,  were Manasseh, Issachar, Zebulun, Naphtali, Asher, Dan, and on the other side of the Jordan River were Reuben, Gad, and part of Manasseh.  This made the kingdom of Israel much larger than the kingdom of Judah, and its wealth and political importance was also greater.  

Issachar and Zebulun were the youngest 2 sons out of the 6 sons of Leah who followed an Ephraimite.

Jeroboam I ruled Israel from 930 to 910 BCE, an Ephraimite

Rehoboam ruled Judah from 933 to 917 BCE, son of Solomon and his Ammonite wife, Naamah.  He was a Judean.  

Resource:

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia 

Tanakh, The Stone Edition

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribe_of_Issachar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Issachar