When Jacob was on his deathbed, Issachar was the 6th of the 12 sons to receive his father’s blessing: “Issachar is a strong-boned ass, lying down between the two saddlebags. And he will see that the resting-place is good and that the land is pleasant; and he will bend down his shoulder to bear burdens and he will become subject to slavish forced labor.” (Ge 49:14, 15) In pronouncing this blessing, not only was Jacob pointing out certain individual characteristics and events in the personal life of Issachar but, as with the blessings bestowed on his brothers, Jacob was also foretelling tribal traits and conduct that would be displayed in the future by Issachar’s descendants “in the final part of the days.”​—Ge 49:1.

The likening of Jacob’s son Issachar to “a strong-boned ass” evidently pointed to a quality reflected as well in the tribe descended from him. (Ge 49:14, 15) The land assigned them was indeed “pleasant,” a fertile part of Palestine, good for agriculture. Issachar seems to have accepted well the hard labor involved in such work. Willingness is indicated by his ‘bending down his shoulder to bear burdens.’ So, while the tribe was not particularly outstanding, it apparently could be commended for taking on the load of responsibility that was its share.