Issachar (sources)
Survey of ancient sources on Issachar.
< Twelve Patriarchs -- Issachar -- Tribe of Issachar >
Mosaic Torah (Masoretic Text / Septuagint / Targums)
יששכר = "There is my wage"
Genesis 30:14-18
MT (NRSV) -- 14 In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes." 15 But she said to her, "Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?" Rachel said, "Then he may lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes." 16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him, and said, "You must come in to me; for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." So he lay with her that night. 17 And God heeded Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, "God has given me my hire because I gave my maid to my husband"; so she named him Issachar.
LXX -- 14 And Ruben went in the day of barley-harvest, and found apples of mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Lea; and Rachel said to Lea her sister, Give me of thy son’s mandrakes. 15 And Lea said, Is it not enough for thee that thou hast taken my husband, wilt thou also take my son’s mandrakes? And Rachel said, Not so: let him lie with thee to-night for thy son’s mandrakes. 16 And Jacob came in out of the field at even; and Lea went forth to meet him, and said, Thou shalt come in to me this day, for I have hired thee for my son’s mandrakes; and he lay with her that night. 17 And God hearkened to Lea, and she conceived, and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 And Lea said, God has given me my reward, because I gave my maid to my husband; and she called his name Issachar, which is, Reward.
Tg Pseudo-Jonathan -- And Reuben went in the days of Sivan, in the time of wheat harvest, and found (Yaveruchin) mandrakes in the field; and he brought them to Leah his mother. And Rahel said to Leah, Give me now of thy son's mandrakes. And she said to her, Is it a little thing that thou hast taken my husband, and thou seekest to take also my son's mandrakes ? And Rahel said, Therefore shall he lie with thee this night for thy son's mandrakes. [JERUSALEM. For a week he shall consort with thee.] And Jakob came from the field at evening. And Leah heard the voice of the braying of the ass, and knew that Jakob had come, and Leah went forth to meet him, and said, Thou wilt enter with me, because hiring I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes from Rahel my sister. And he lay with her that night. And the Lord heard the prayer of Leah, and she conceived, and bare to Jakob a fifth son. And Leah said, The Lord hath given me my reward, for that I gave my handmaid to my husband; even so shall his children receive a good reward, because they will occupy themselves with the law. And she called his name Issakar.
Tg Onkelos -- And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and he brought them to Leah his mother. And Rahel said to Leah, Give me now of thy son's mandrakes. And she said to her, Is it a little that thou hast taken my husband, and thou wilt take also my son's mandrakes? And Rahel said, Therefore shall he lie with thee at night for thy son's mandrakes. And Jakob came in from the field at evening, and Leah went out to anticipate him, and said, With me thou wilt go in, because with hire have I hired thee, with the mandrakes of my son; and he lay with her that night. And the Lord received the prayer of Leah, and she conceived, and bare to Jakob a fifth son. And Leah said, The Lord hath given me my reward, because I gave my handmaid to my husband. And she called his name Issakar.
Genesis 35:23
MT (NRSV) -- [23] The sons of Leah [were] Reuben (Jacob's firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
LXX (NETS) -- [23] The sons of Leia [were] Rouben (Iakob’s firstborn), Symeon, Leui, Ioudas, Issachar, Zaboulon.
DSS, 1QGen -- [T]he sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun
Tg Pseudo-Jonathan -- The sons of Leah, the firstborn of Jakob, Reuben, and Shimeon, and Levi, and Jehudah, and Issakar, and Zabulon.
Tg Onkelos -- The sons of Leah, the firstborn of Jakob, Reuben, and Shemeon, and Levi, and Jehudah, and Issakar, and Zebulon.
Genesis 46:13
MT (NRSV) -- 13 The children of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Jashub, and Shimron.
LXX -- 13 And the sons of Issachar; Thola, and Phua, and Asum, and Sambran.
Tg Pseudo-Jonathan -- The sons of Issakar, sages, and masters of reasoning, their names were Tola, Phua, Job, and Shimron The sons of Zebulon, merchants, masters of commerce nourishing their brethren, the sons of Issakar, and receiving a reward like theirs; and their names were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
Tg Onkelos -- And the sons of Issakar, Tola, and Pheua, and Job, and Semeron.
Genesis 49:14-15
MT (NRSV) -- 14 Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds; 15 he saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant; so he bowed his shoulder to the burden, and became a slave at forced labor.
LXX -- 14 Issachar has desired that which is good; resting between the inheritances. 15 And having seen the resting place that it was good, and the land that it was fertile, he subjected his shoulder to labor, and became a husbandman.
Tg Pseudo-Jonathan -- Issakar is an ass in the law; a strong tribe, knowing the order, of the times; and he lieth down between the, limits of his brethren. And he saw the rest of the world to come that it is good, and the portion of the land of Israel that it is pleasant; therefore bowed he his shoulders to labour in the law, and unto him shall come his brethren bearing presents.
Tg Onkelos -- Issakar, rich in substance, will have his heritage between the boundaries; and he, seeing his portion that it is good, and the land that it is fruitbearings, will subdue the provinces of the people, and disperse their inhabitants, and they who remain of them will become servants to him and bringers of tribute.
Exodus 1:1-4
MT (NRSV) -- These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
LXX -- These are the names of the sons of Israel that came into Egypt together with Jacob their father; they came in each with their whole family. 2 Ruben, Simeon, Levi, Judas, 3 Issachar, Zabulon, Benjamin, 4 Dan and Nephthalim, Gad and Aser. 5 But Joseph was in Egypt. And all the souls born of Jacob were seventy-five.
DSS, 1QGen -- These are the names of the sons of Israel, who came to Egypt with Jacob their father; they came each one with his household. 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 and Issachar, and Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
Tg Pseudo-Jonathan -- AND these are the names of the sons of Israel who went into Mizraim with Jakob, each with the men of his house entered in: 2 Reuben, Shimeon, Levi, and Jehudah; 3 Issakar, Zebulon, and Benjamin; 4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher.
Tg Onkelos -- AND these are the names of the sons of Israel who went into Mizraim with Jakob, each with the men of his house entered in: 2 Reuben, Shimeon, Levi, and Jehudah; 3 Issakar, Zebulon, and Benjamin; 4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher.
1 Chronicles 2:1
RSV -- These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Is'sachar, Zeb'ulun,
LXX -- These are the names of the sons of Israel; 2 Ruben, Symeon, Levi, Juda, Issachar, Zabulon, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Nephthali, Gad, Aser.
Second Temple Literature
Demetrius the Chronographer
Fragment 2 -- 4 And in return for the mandrake apples which Reubel brought to Rachel, Leah again conceived, as did her handmaid Zilpah at the same time, in the 3rd month of the 12th year, and bore a son in the 12th month of the same year, and gave him the name Issachar.
Joseph and Aseneth
XXVII. 5. And Benjamin hurled the stones and killed the fifty men that were with Pharaoh's son; and the stones sank into the temples of each one of them. 6. Then the sons of Leah, Reuben and Simeon, Levi and Judah, Issachar and Zebulon, went after the men who had lain in ambush; and they fell upon them suddenly, and cut down the two thousand men, and the six of them killed them.
Jubilees
Chapter 28 -- 22. And Jacob went in unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Issachar, on the fourth of the fifth month, in the fourth year of the fourth week, and she gave him 23 to a nurse.
Chapter 33 -- 22. And these were the names of the sons of Jacob: the first-born Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulon, the sons of Leah
Chapter 34 -- 20. ...and the name of Issachar's wife, Hezaqa...
Chapter 38 -- 1 And after that Judah spake to Jacob, his father, and said unto him: 'Bend thy bow, father, and send forth thy arrows and cast down the adversary and slay the enemy; and mayst thou have the power, for we shall not slay thy brother, for he is such as thou, and he is like thee let us give him 2 (this) honour.' Then Jacob bent his bow and sent forth the arrow and struck Esau, his brother (on 3 his right breast) and slew him. And again he sent forth an arrow and struck 'Adoran the Aramaean... 7 ...And Reuben and Issachar and Zebulon went forth on the north side of the tower, and fifty men with them, and they slew the fighting men of the 8 Philistines. 9 ...And Jacob buried his brother on the hill which is in 'Aduram, and 10 he returned to his house. And the sons of Jacob pressed hard upon the sons of Esau in the moun- 11 tains of Seir, and bowed their necks so that they became servants of the sons of Jacob.
Chapter 44 -- 11. ... And these are the names of the sons of Jacob who went into 12 Egypt with Jacob their father Reuben, the First-born of Israel; and these are the names of his 13 sons Enoch, and Pallu, and Hezron and Carmi-five. Simeon and his sons; and these are the names of his sons: Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul, the son 14 of the Zephathite woman-seven. Levi and his sons; and these are the names of his sons: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari-four. Judah and his sons; and these are the names of his sons: 15 Shela, and Perez, and Zerah-four. 16. Issachar and his sons; and these are the names of his sons: 17 Tola, and Phua, and Jasub, and Shimron-five.
Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs
Testament of Judah
26 1 And after these things shall Abraham and Isaac and Jacob arise unto life, and I and my brethren shall be chiefs of the tribes of Israel: Levi first, I the second, Joseph third, Benjamin fourth, 2 Simeon fifth; Issachar sixth, and so all in order. And the Lord blessed Levi, and the Angel of the Presence, me; the powers of glory, Simeon; the heaven, Reuben; the earth, Issachar;
Testament of Issachar
1 1 The copy of the words of Issachar. For he called his sons and said to them: Hearken, my children, to Issachar your father; Give ear to the words of him who is beloved of the Lord. 2, 3 I was born the fifth son to Jacob, by way of hire for the mandrakes. For Reuben my brother 4 brought in mandrakes from the field, and Rachel met him and took them. And Reuben wept, and 5 at his voice Leah my mother came forth. Now these (mandrakes) were sweet-smelling apples 6 which were produced in the land of Haran below a ravine of water. And Rachel said: I will not give them to thee, but they shall be to me instead of children. For the Lord hath despised me, 7 and I have not borne children to Jacob. Now there were two apples; and Leah said to Rachel: 8 Let it suffice thee that thou hast taken my husband: wilt thou take these also? And Rachel said 9 to her: Thou shalt have Jacob this night for the mandrakes of thy son. And Leah said to her: 10 Jacob is mine, for I am the wife of his youth. But Rachel said: Boast not, and vaunt not thyself; for he espoused me before thee, and for my sake he served our father fourteen years. 11 And had not craft increased on the earth and the wickedness of men prospered, thou wouldst not now see the face of Jacob.
2 1 Then appeared to Jacob an angel of the Lord, saying: Two children shall Rachel bear, inasmuch 2 as she hath refused company with her husband, and hath chosen continency. And had not Leah my mother paid the two apples for the sake of his company, she would have borne eight sons; for this reason she bare six, and Rachel bare the two: for on account of the mandrakes the Lord 3 visited her. For He knew that for the sake of children she wished to company with Jacob, and not for lust of pleasure. For on the morrow also she again gave up Jacob. Because of the mandrakes; 5 therefore, the Lord hearkened to Rachel. For though she desired them, she eat them not, but offered them in the house of the Lord, presenting them to the priest of the Most High who was at that time.
3 1 When, therefore, I grew up, my children, I walked in uprightness of heart, and I became a husbandman for my father and my brethren, and I brought in fruits from the field according to 2, 3 their season. And my father blessed me, for he saw that I walked in rectitude before him. And 4 I was not a busybody in my doings, nor envious and malicious against my neighbour. I never slandered any one, nor did I censure the life of any man, walking as I did in singleness of eye. 5 Therefore, when I was thirty-five years old, I took to myself a wife, for my labour wore away my strength, and I never thought upon pleasure with women; but owing to my toil, sleep overcame me. 6 And my father always rejoiced in my rectitude, because I offered through the priest to the Lord 7 all first-fruits; then to my father also. And the Lord increased ten thousandfold His benefits in my 8 hands; and also Jacob, my father, knew that God aided my singleness. For on all the poor and oppressed I bestowed the good things of the earth in the singleness of my heart.
4 1 And now, hearken to me, my children, And walk in singleness of your heart, For I have seen in it all that is well-pleasing to the Lord. 2 The single-(minded) man coveteth not gold, He overreacheth not his neighbour, He longeth not after manifold dainties, He delighteth not in varied apparel. 3 He doth not desire to live a long life, But only waiteth for the will of God. 4 And the spirits of deceit have no power against him, For he looketh not on the beauty of women, Lest he should pollute his mind with corruption. 5 There is no envy in his thoughts, [No malicious person maketh his soul to pine away,] Nor worry with insatiable desire in his mind. 6 For he walketh in singleness of soul, And beholdeth all things in uprightness of heart, Shunning eyes (made) evil through the error of the world, Lest he should see the perversion of any of the commandments of the Lord.
5 1 Keep, therefore, my children, the law of God, And get singleness. And walk in guilelessness, Not playing the busybody with the business of your neighbour, 2 But love the Lord and your neighbour, Have compassion on the poor and weak. 3 Bow down your back unto husbandry, And toil in labours in all manner of husbandry, Offering gifts to the Lord with thanksgiving. 4 For with the first-fruits of the earth will the Lord bless you, even as He blessed all the saints 5 from Abel even until now. For no other portion is given to you than of the fatness of the earth, 6 whose fruits are raised by toil. For our father Jacob blessed me with blessings of the earth and of 7 first-fruits. And Levi and Judah were glorified by the Lord even among the sons of Jacob; for the Lord gave them an inheritance, and to Levi He gave the priesthood, and to Judah the kingdom. 8 And do ye therefore obey them, and walk in the singleness of your father; [for unto Gad hath it been given to destroy the troops that are coming upon Israel].
6 1 Know ye therefore, my children, that in the last times Your sons will forsake singleness, And will cleave unto insatiable desire; And leaving guilelessness will draw near to malice; And forsaking the commandments of the Lord, They will cleave unto Beliar. 2 And leaving husbandry, They will follow after their own wicked devices, And they shall be dispersed among the Gentiles. And shall serve their enemies. 3 And do you therefore give these commands to your children, that, if they sin, they may the more 4 quickly return to the Lord; For He is merciful, and will deliver them, even to bring them back into their land.
7 1 Behold, therefore, as ye see, I am a hundred and twenty-six years old and am not conscious of committing any sin. 2 Except my wife I have not known any woman. I never committed fornication by the uplifting of my eyes. 3 I drank not wine, to be led astray thereby; I coveted not any desirable thing that was my neighbour's. 4 Guile arose not in my heart; A lie passed not through my lips. 5 If any man were in distress I joined my sighs with his, And I shared my bread with the poor. I wrought godliness, all my days I kept truth 6 I loved the Lord; Likewise also every man with all my heart. 7 So do you also these things, my children, And every spirit of Beliar shall flee from you, And no deed of wicked men shall rule over you; And every wild beast shall ye subdue, Since you have with you the God of heaven and earth (And) walk with men in singleness of heart. 8 And having said these things, he commanded his sons that they should carry him up to Hebron, and bury him there in the cave with his fathers. And he stretched out his feet and died, at a good old age; with every limb sound, and with strength unabated, he slept the eternal sleep.
Rabbinic Literature
Genesis Rabbah
Gen. Rab. 95:4 -- And from among (Mikzeh) his bretheren he took five men, etc. (Gen 47:2). Why does Scripture say Mikzeh? Scripture comes to teach that they were not the strongest of the tribal ancestors. And who were these five? Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Benjamin, and Issachar. And why did the righteous Joseph take these five of his brethren? Because he knew who were the strong men among his bretheren, and he reasoned wisely: If I present the strongest to Pharaoh, he will on seeing them make them his warriors. Therefore he presented these five, who were not mighty men.
Gen Rab 97:14
Philo of Alexandria
Plant. 134-136
...and the fifth she called Issachar, and the name being interpreted, means "reward;" and after she had brought forth in this manner, the soul immediately spoke and related what it had suffered; for says Moses, "She called his name Issachar, which means reward." [Genesis 30:18.] ... and the fifth son is in no respect different from the enjoyment of the trees planted in the fifth year; for the tiller of the earth after a fashion takes his reward from the trees in the fifth year, and he takes the offspring of the soul, Issachar, who was called the "reward," and very naturally, being brought forth after the grateful Judah; for to a grateful person gratitude is a most sufficient reward.
Ebr. 94
...others, who have been thought worthy of rewards and presents, on account of their voluntary acquisition of virtue through labor, like Issachar...
Somn. 2.34
...Issachar [is the symbol] of wages which are given for good works; but perhaps the works themselves are their own perfect reward.
Leg. 1.79-84
79 XXVI. "There also is the carbuncle and the emerald." The two beings endowed with distinctive qualities, the prudent man and the man who acts prudently, differ from one another; one of them existing according to prudence, and the other acting wisely according to the rules of wisdom. For it is on account of these two beings thus endowed with distinctive qualities God implanted prudence and virtue in the earth-born man. For what would have been the use of it, if there had been no reasoning powers in existence to receive it, and to give impressions of its form? So that virtue is very properly conjoined with prudence, and the prudent man is rightly joined with him who displays prudence in his actions; the two being like two precious stones. 80 And may not they be Judah and Issachar? For the man who puts in practice the prudence of God confesses himself to be bound to feel gratitude, and to feel it towards him who has given him what is good without grudging; and he also does honorable and virtuous actions. Accordingly Judah is the symbol of a man who makes this confession "in respect of whom Leah ceased from child-bearing." [Genesis 29:35.] But Issachar is the symbol of the man who does good actions, "For he put forth [Genesis 49:15] his shoulder to labor and became a man tilling the earth." With respect to whom Moses says, hire is in his soul after he has been sown and planted, so that his labor is not imperfect, but is rather crowned and honored with a reward by God. 81 And that he is making mention of these things, he shows when speaking on other subjects; when describing the garment, which reached to the feet he says, "And thou shalt weave in it sets of stones in four rows. The row of stones shall be the sardine stone, the topaz, and the emerald are the first row." Reuben, Simeon, and Levi are here meant. "And the second row," he says, "are the carbuncle and the sapphire." [Exodus 28:17.] And the sapphire is the same as the green stone. And in the carbuncle was inscribed the name of Judah, for he was the fourth son: and in the sapphire the name of Issachar. 82 Why then as he had called the sapphire the green stone, did he not also speak of the red stone? Because Judah, as the type of a disposition inclined to confession, is a being immaterial and incorporeal. For the very name of confession (exomologeseos) shows that it is a thing external to (ektos) himself. For when the mind is beside itself, and bears itself upwards to God, as the laughter of Isaac did, then it makes a confession to him who alone has a real being. But as long as it considers itself as the cause of something, it is a long way from yielding to God, and confessing to him. For this very act of confessing ought to be considered as being the work not of the soul, but of God who teaches it this feeling of gratitude. Accordingly Judah, who practices confession, is an immaterial being. 83 But Issachar who came forth out of labor is in need of corporeal matter; since if it were otherwise how could a studious man read without his eyes? And how could any one hear words exhorting him to any cause, if he were not endowed with hearing? And how could he obtain meat and drink without a belly, and without a wonder working art exercised towards it? And it is on this account that he was likened to a precious stone. 84 Moreover the colors of the two are different. For the color of a coal when on fire is akin to that of the man who is inclined to confession: for he is inflamed by gratitude to God, and he is intoxicated with a certain sober intoxication: but the color of the green stone is more appropriate to the man who is still laboring: for those who are devoted to constant labor are pale on account of the wearing nature of toil, and also by reason of their fear that perhaps they may not attain to such an end of their wish as is desired in their prayers.
Flavius Josephus
Ant. 1.308
...Issachar, denoting one born by hire...