Tola
Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897) · International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)
THE DICTIONARY — Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)
a scarlet worm. (1.) Eldest son of Issachar (Genesis 46:13). (2.) A judge of the tribe of Issachar who “judged” Israel twenty-three years (Judges 10:1, 2), when he died, and was buried in Shamir. He was succeeded by Jair.
THE FULL ARTICLE — from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), general editor James Orr — public domain, printed whole.
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