Issachar in the Bible — Hidden Meaning & Symbolism

Issachar, is'-sa-chär (Heb.)-- he will bring reward; there is reward; who brings recompense; who brings hire, i. e., compensation. Son of Jacob and Leah (Gen. 30:17, 18)."And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob a fifth son. And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I gave my handmaid to my husband: and she called his name Issachar." Jacob's blessing upon Issachar was (Gen. 49:14, 15):"Issachar is a strong ass,Couching down between the sheepfolds:And he saw a resting-place that it was good,And the land that it was pleasant;And he bowed his shoulder to bear, And became a servant under taskwork." Moses' blessing upon this tribe was connected with the blessing that he gave to Zebulun; it reads (Deut. 33:18, 19):"Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; And, Issachar, in thy tents.They shall call the peoples unto the mountain;There shall they offer sacrifices of righteousness:For they shall suck the abundance of the seas,And the hidden treasures of the sand." Meta. Issachar (hire, reward, a strong ass, subject to taskwork, possess the hidden treasures of the sand, rejoice in thy tents) represents active zeal, substance of earth.