Issachar redirects here.
This article is about the tribe. You may be looking for the patriarch.
The Tribe of Issachar was one of the twelve tribes of Israel and one of the ten lost tribes.
Origin[]
The tribe was named after Issachar, the fifth son born to Jacob and his first wife, Leah. The sons of Issachar, ancestors of the tribe, were Tola, Phuvah, Job, and Shimron.
Territory[]
In the biblical narrative of the Book of Joshua, following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes, Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes. The territory allocated to Issachar stretched from the Jordan River in the east to Mount Carmel on the west, near to the Mediterranean coast, including the fertile Esdraelon plain between present-day Lower Galilee and Samaria.
Role and Characteristics[]
In Jewish tradition, the descendants of Issachar were seen as being dominated by religious scholars and influential in proselytism. The tribe of Issachar is particularly represented as one which consisted mostly of scholars. 1 Chronicles 12:32 describes the tribe as men who "had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do".