Tola

A scarlet worm. (1.) Eldest son of Issachar (Gen. 46:13).

(2.) A judge of the tribe of Issachar who “judged” Israel twenty-three years (Judg. 10:1, 2), when he died, and was buried in Shamir. He was succeeded by Jair.

1. The first-born of Issachar and ancestor of the Tolaiters. (Genesis 46:13; Numbers 26:23; 1 Chronicles 7:1,2) (B.C. about 1700.)

2. Judge of Israel after Abimelech. (Judges 10:1,2) He is described as "the son of Puah the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar." Tola judged Israel for twenty-three years at Shamir in Mount Ephraim, where he died and was buried. (B.C. 1206-1183.)

to'-la (tola`, "worm" or "scarlet stuff"):

(1) One of the four sons of Issachar (Ge 46:13; 1Ch 7:1), mentioned among those who journeyed to Egypt with Jacob (Ge 46:8 f), and in the census taken by Moses and Eleazar, as father of the Tolaites (Nu 26:23) whose descendants in the reign of David included 22,600 "mighty men of valor" (1Ch 7:2).

(2) One of the Judges, the son of Puah, a man of Isaachar. He dwelt in the hill country of Ephraim in the village of Shamir, where after judging Israel 23 years he was buried (Jud 10:1,2). In the order of succession he is placed between Abimelech and Jair. It is interesting to note that both Tola and Puah are names of colors, and that they occur together both in the case of the judge and in that of the sons of Isaachar. They may therefore be looked upon as popular typical or ancestral names of the Issachar tribe, although current critical theories seek an explanation in a confusion of texts.

Ella Davis Isaacs