Issachar

Is´uh-kahr´; Heb., “hire”

1 The ninth son of Jacob, his fifth by Leah (Gen 30:14-18), and the eponymous ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Issachar and his four sons immigrated to Egypt with Jacob’s family (Gen 46:13; Exod 1:3; Num 26:23-24; 1Chr 7:1). Jacob’s blessing of Issachar seems to imply that the tribe would hire itself out to bear the burdens of others (Gen 49:14-15). The tribe of Issachar was allotted the fertile territory between the eastern Jezreel Valley and the Jordan Valley (Josh 19:17-23). 2 The son of Obed-edom, a Korahite gatekeeper during the reign of David (1Chr 26:5).