He saw that rest was good— He saw the resting-place, that it was good, as Durell renders it, after the Samaritan: and he justly observes, that the original word signifying both rest and a resting-place, the latter appears more suitable here, as it is explained by land in the next clause. The goodness of this portion may be sufficiently collected from what is said in Scripture of the vale of Jezreel, so frequently mentioned in it; from the detail we meet with of its produce; and from what Josephus says of Lower Galilee, in which this tribe was situated: for "that country," he says, (Jewish War, l. iii. c. 3.) "is fruitful to admiration, abounding in pastures, and nurseries of all kinds, so that it would make any man in love with husbandry."
And bowed his shoulder to bear— He still speaks of Issachar under the similitude of an ass; and gives us a natural image of a people patiently submitting to hardships. Le Clerc supposes, that this part of the prophecy was fulfilled in the time of the judges, when the Israelites became tributary to the neighbouring kings, and chiefly Issachar's posterity, upon account of the fertility of their soil. This tribe does not seem to have distinguished itself, like Zebulun, and many of their brethren, by military exploits; it was rather noted for having men, who had understanding of the times, 1 Chronicles 12:32 by which seems to be understood a knowledge of the weather and seasons proper for agriculture, and withal, perhaps, some idea of astronomy, which their more retired kind of life, and necessity, had taught them. This blessing may be paraphrased, "Issachar, like a strong but indolent ass, shall choose to couch in his stall, and carry burdens in the midst of his brethren, rather than be deprived of his beloved ease in the pleasant land of his inheritance, and shall prefer servitude and tribute before the fatigues of war and conquest."