MEANING: “Good fortune (or “warrior”)

SYMBOL: Tents, like a battlefield camp

STONE/COLOR: Emerald (or diamond) /Possibly a stone with little color

FAMILY: Seventh son of Jacob born to Leah’s handmaiden Zilpah

SIZE: First Census; 45,650. Second Census: 40,500

LOCATION: Fertile land outside the Promised Land, along the Jordan River (Number 32).

JACOB’S BLESSING: “Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels” (Gen 49:19).

MOSES‘ BLESSING: Gad is commended for carrying “out the LORD’S righteous will, and his judgments concerning Israel” (Deut 33:21).

NOTABLE: Gadites who supported David in his conquest of Jerusalem were described as “brave warriors, ready for battle and able to handle the shields and spare” (1 Chron 12:8)

ASHER

MEANING: “Happy”

SYMBOL:” Tree (or food)

STONE/COLOR: Onyx/Black

FAMILY: Eighth son of Jacob, born to Leah’s handmaiden Zilpah

SIZE: First Census: 41,500. Second Census: 53,400. The tribe significantly

LOCATION: Northern coastal region along the Mediterranean Sea.

JACOB’S BLESSING: “Asher’s food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king” (Gen 49:20).

MOSES’ BLESSING: “Let [Asher] be favored by his brothers, and let him bathe his feet in oil” (Deut 33:24).

NOTABLE: Asher is not included in King David’s list of chief rulers, possibly indicating that by the time of David the tribe had lost its significance (1 Chron 27:16-22). The prophetess Anna, who recognized the infant Jesus as the Messiah, was from the tribe of Asher (Luke 2:36-38).

ISSACHAR

MEANING: “The is a reward”

SYMBOL: Donkey (or sun and moon)

STONE/COLOR: Chrysolite (or topaz)/Yellowish-green

FAMILY: Ninth son of Jacob born to Leah

SIZE: First Census: 54,400 Second Census 64,300.

LOCATION: Fertile Jezreel Valley. Included Nazareth.

JACOB’S BLESSING: “Issachar is a study donkey. . . When he sees how good the countryside is and how pleasant the land, he will bend his shoulder to the load and submit himself to hard labor” (Gen 49:14-15 NLT).

MOSES’ BLESSING: Mentioned along with Zebulun as tribes who will “feast on the abundance of the seas, and on the treasures hidden in the sand” (Deut 33:18-19).

NOTALBE: Deborah commended the tribe of Issachar for standing with the Israelites in battle (Judg 5:15). During the time of David, the tribe was known for its wisdom: “men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do” (1 Chron 12:32).