Tola

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

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

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Bibliography Information

Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. "Entry for 'TOLA'".  "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia".  1915.