Tola

Easton's Bible Dictionary

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.

Copyright Statement These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., DD Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain.

Bibliography Information Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Tola'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/t/tola.html. 1897.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

TOLA . The first of the five minor Judges (  Judges 10:1-2 ). In   Genesis 46:13 ,   Numbers 26:23 ,   1 Chronicles 7:1 he appears as the son of Issachar; Tola was apparently the name of the leading clan of the tribe. It means ‘a worm,’ from which came a crimson dye (  Exodus 16:20 ,   Isaiah 1:18 ); and was perhaps an animal name due to totemism. Shamir, his home and birthplace, is unidentified.

C. W. Emmet.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

To'la.

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).

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

1. Issachar's firstborn ( Genesis 46:13;  Numbers 26:23;  1 Chronicles 7:1-2). Ancestor of the Tolaites, 22,600 men of valor in David's time.

2. Next judge of Israel after Abimelech ( Judges 10:1). Son of Puah, of Issachar. Judged for 23 years at Shamir in Mount Ephraim; here he died and was buried.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

1. Son of Issachar.  Genesis 46:13;  Numbers 26:23;  1 Chronicles 7:1,2 .

2. Son of Puah, of the tribe of Issachar: he judged Israel twenty-three years at Shamir in Mount Ephraim.   Judges 10:1,2 .

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

1.The eldest son of Issachar, and head of a family,  Genesis 46:13;  Numbers 26:23 .

2. Of the tribe of Issachar, judge of Israel, at Shamir in Mount Ephraim, for twenty-three years after the death of Abimelech,  Judges 10:1,2 .

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Genesis 46:13 Numbers 26:23 1 Chronicles 7:1-2 2 Judges 10:1

King James Dictionary

TO'LA, n. In India, a weight for gold and silver, but different in different places.

Webster's Dictionary

(n.) A weight of British India. The standard tola is equal to 180 grains.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Heb. Tola', תּוֹלָע , a Worm, as in  Exodus 16:20; Sept. Θωλά v.r. Θωλέ , etc.; Vulg. Thola ) , the name of two Hebrews.

1. The first-born of Issachar ( Genesis 46:13;  1 Chronicles 6:1). B.C. 1856. He had six sons ( 1 Chronicles 7:2), who became progenitors of families known collectively as the Tolaites ( Numbers 26:23), and these in David's time mustered 22,600 valiant soldiers ( 1 Chronicles 7:2).

2. Judge of Israel after Abimelech ( Judges 10:1-2). He is described in that passage as "the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar." In the Sept. and Vulg. he is made the son of Abimelech's uncle, Dodo ( דּוֹדוֹ ) being considered an appellative. But Gideon, Abimelech's father, was a Manassite. Tola judged Israel for twenty-three years (B.C. 1319-1296) at Shamir in Mount Ephraim, where he died and was buried. Josephus does not mention him ( Ant. 5, 7,.6); but (as Whiston remarks) inasmuch as the total of the years there agree, his name seems to have fallen out of our copies. (See Judge).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

tō´la ( תּולע , tōlā‛ , "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 f), 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 ,  Judges 10:2 ). 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.

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

A weight in India for gold and silver, equal to 180 grains troy.