ISSACHAR

one of the 12 tribes of Israel that in biblical times constituted the people of Israel who later became the Jewish people. The tribe was named after the fifth son born to Jacob and his first wife, Leah. After the death of Moses, Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land and apportioned the territory among the 12 tribes. The tribe of Issachar settled on land lying west of the Jordan River and southeast of the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee. After the death of King Solomon (922 BC), Issachar was one of the 10 northern tribes that established the independent Kingdom of Israel that survived until the Assyrian conquest of 721 BC. These 10 tribes, partially dispersed to other regions, eventually lost their identity and became known as the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.