Issachar, with a fighting male census of 64,300, was the third most populous tribe in Israel.
When you look at the region given to Issachar (Jos 19:17-23), it isn’t hard to imagine that “Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between two burdens” (Gen 49:14). The Jezreel Valley is composed of three parts. The city of Jezreel sits in the middle of the valley on the watershed of two rivers. Running west into the Mediterranean is the Kishon River, site of the slaughter of the prophets of Baal by Elijah. Running southeast, and emptying into the Jordan, is the Harod River, at whose spring Gideon’s troops were chosen. A second arm of the eastern part of the valley, running almost straight south, is the Plain of Esdraelon. The whole valley looks roughly like a rotated Y, turned at about 150 degrees. This gives the look of the legs and back of a donkey. The two “burdens” are Mount Tabor on the north and the Hill of Moreh (also called “little Hermon”) to the south. A malarial swamp when the Jews returned at the beginning of the 20th century, it is now the breadbasket of Israel. Issachar’s territory included Beth-shan, the fortified city where the Jezreel and Jordan Valleys join. Shunem and Nain hug the side of Moreh, the places where both Elisha and Jesus raised only sons from the dead. The witch of En-dor also lived on this hill. And of course Mount Tabor was the place where Barak gathered his militia to fight Sisera. David was greatly helped in his day by “the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do” (1 Chron 12:32). The Targum suggests they studied the heavenly bodies, which were created “for signs and seasons” (Gen 1:14). How vital it is to have those among us today who may not be able to “discern the face of the sky,” but can “discern the signs of the times” (Mt 16:3).