Issachar
A testament of virtue and vice from the dying commands of Jacob's sons.
The Testament of Issachar is one of the twelve books of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, a pseudepigraphical work of the dying commands of the twelve sons of Jacob. It is part of the apocryphal scriptures and is generally considered apocalyptic literature.
Quick Facts
- Meaning of name
- God hath given me my hire (Genesis 30:18)
- Sons
- Tola
- Phuvah
- Job
- Shimron (Genesis 46:13)
- Captain in wilderness
- Nethaneel son of Zuar (Numbers 2:5; Numbers 10:15)
- Prince for land division
- Paltiel son of Azzan (Numbers 34:26)
Lore & Background
It states that each testament discusses a certain vice or virtue, and that each patriarch narrates his own life, focusing on his strengths, virtues, or sins, using biographical material from both the Hebrew Bible and Jewish tradition.
Reader's Guide
It notes that the Testaments are exhortatory writings with ethics fundamental to the text, and that Joseph is often the example of an ethical man, but no details about Issachar's specific vice or virtue are mentioned.
Did You Know?
- The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs reached their final form in the 2nd century CE.
- The oldest preserved complete Greek manuscript of the Testaments dates from the tenth century.
- An Armenian version of the Testaments contains fewer Christian interpolations than the Greek version.
- Fragments of similar writings were found at Qumran, but opinions are divided as to whether these are the same texts.
Elsewhere in Figures of Scripture
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