Testament of Issachar

The Mandrakes and Issachar’s Birth

1 A record of what Issachar told his sons before he died. 2 He called his sons and said to them: “Listen, my children, to Issachar your father. Pay attention to the words of the one the Lord loves.

3 “I was born as Jacob’s fifth son, as payment for the mandrakes.⁠a 4 My brother Reuben brought mandrakes in from the field, and Rachel met him and took them. 5 Reuben cried, and at the sound of his voice my mother Leah came out. 6 These mandrakes were sweet-smelling apples that grew in the land of Haran, below a ravine of water.

7 “Rachel said. ‘I will not give them to you. They will be mine instead of children. 8 For the Lord has rejected me, and I have had no children with Jacob.’

9 “There were two apples, and Leah said to Rachel: ‘Is it not enough that you have taken my husband? Will you take these too?’ “Rachel answered her: ‘Then you may have Jacob tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.’ 10 Leah said to her: ‘Jacob is mine, for I am the wife of his youth.’

11 “But Rachel said: ‘Do not boast or be proud, for he was promised to me before you, and for my sake he worked for our father fourteen years. 12 If cunning had not increased on the earth and human wickedness had not flourished, you would not be looking on Jacob’s face today.

13 “‘For you are not his wife, but you were given to him in my place through deception. 14 And my father deceived me, and took me away that night, and did not allow Jacob to see me. For’ if I had been there, this would not have happened to him.’ 15 Even so, I am letting you have Jacob for one night in exchange for the mandrakes.’

16 “And Jacob slept with Leah, and she conceived and gave birth to me, and because of that payment I was named Issachar.”

Rachel’s Children

1 “Then an angel of the Lord appeared to Jacob and said: ‘Rachel will give birth to two children, because she has refused to be with her husband and has chosen abstinence.’

2 “Had my mother Leah not paid the two apples to be with him, she would have had eight sons. Because of this she had six, and Rachel had the two, for the Lord showed favor to Rachel because of the mandrakes. 3 For he knew that she wanted to be with Jacob for the sake of children, not out of lust for pleasure. 4 The next day she again gave up Jacob.

5 “Because of the mandrakes, the Lord listened to Rachel. 6 For though she wanted them, she did not eat them, but offered them in the house of the Lord, presenting them to the priest of the Most High at that time.”

Issachar’s Life as a Farmer

1 “When I grew up, my children, I lived with an upright heart. I became a farmer for my father and my brothers, and I brought in the crops from the field in their season. 2 My father blessed me, for he saw that I lived uprightly before him. 3 I was not a meddler in my dealings, nor envious or spiteful toward my neighbor. 4 I never slandered anyone or criticized anyone’s life, because I looked on others without envy.

5 “When I was thirty-five years old I married, for my hard work wore away my strength, and I never thought about pleasure with women. Because of my labor, sleep simply overcame me.

6 “My father always rejoiced in my uprightness, because I offered all the first fruits to the Lord through the priest, and then to my father as well. 7 The Lord multiplied his blessings ten thousandfold in my hands, and my father Jacob knew that God was helping my integrity. 8 For I gave the good things of the earth to all the poor and oppressed out of the integrity of my heart.”

A Life of Integrity

1 “Now listen to me, my children, and live with integrity of heart, for in it I have seen all that pleases the Lord.

2 “The man of integrity does not crave gold, does not cheat his neighbor, does not long for many fine foods, and takes no delight in fancy clothes. 3 He does not seek a long life but only waits for the will of God.

4 “The spirits of dishonesty have no power over him, for he does not gaze at the beauty of women, so that he will not corrupt his mind. 5 There is no envy in his thoughts, no spiteful person to make his soul waste away, and no worry from insatiable desire in his mind. 6 For he lives with complete integrity and views everything with an upright heart, avoiding the gaze corrupted by the world’s deception, so that he will not look on the corruption of any of the Lord’s commandments.”

Farming and Obedience to God

1 “So keep the law of God, my children, and gain integrity. 2 Live with innocence, not meddling in your neighbor’s affairs, but love the Lord and your neighbor,⁠a and have compassion on the poor and the weak.

3 “Bend your back to farm the soil and work hard at every kind of farm work, offering gifts to the Lord with thanksgiving.

4 “For the Lord will bless you with the first fruits of the earth, just as he blessed all the holy ones from Abel until now. 5 For no portion is given to you except the richness of the earth, whose fruits are produced by labor. 6 For our father Jacob blessed me with the blessings of the earth and of its first fruits.

7 “Levi and Judah were honored by the Lord above the other sons of Jacob, for the Lord gave them an inheritance: to Levi he gave the priesthood, and to Judah the kingship. 8 So obey them, and live with the integrity of your father, for to Gad it has been given to destroy the armies that come against Israel.”

The Tribe’s Future

1 “Know this, my children: in the last times your sons will abandon integrity and cling to insatiable desire. They will leave innocence behind and turn to malice, and abandoning the commandments of the Lord, they will cling to Beliar. 2 Abandoning farming, they will follow their own wicked schemes, and they will be scattered among the Gentiles. 3 And they will serve their enemies.

4 “So give these commands to your children, that if they sin, they may return to the Lord all the sooner, for he is merciful and will rescue them, even bringing them back to their land.”

Issachar’s Final Testimony and Death

1 “As you can see, I am a hundred and twenty-six years old, and I am not aware of having committed any sin.

2 “Apart from my wife, I have never been with any woman. 3 I never committed sexual immorality by looking lustfully. 4 I did not drink wine to be led astray by it, and I never craved anything desirable that belonged to my neighbor. 5 No dishonesty arose in my heart, and no lie passed through my lips.

6 “If anyone was in distress, I grieved along with him, and I shared my bread with the poor. 7 I practiced godliness. All my days I held to the truth. I loved the Lord, and I loved everyone the same way, with all my heart.

8 “So you also do these things, my children, and every spirit of Beliar will flee from you, and no deed of wicked men will have power over you. You will overcome every wild beast, since you have with you the God of heaven and earth, and you walk among people with integrity of heart.”

9 When he had said these things, he commanded his sons to carry him up to Hebron and bury him there in the cave with his fathers. 10 Then he stretched out his feet and died at a good old age. With every limb sound and his strength undiminished, he fell into the eternal sleep.