Portuguese sketch. The English name used is either Issachar or Yissachar. The open book in the center of the image depicts the tribe's devotion to Torah study.

Issachar/Yissachar (Hebrew: יִשָּׂשכָר, Modern Yissakhar Tiberian Yiśśâḵār ; "Reward; recompense") was, according to the Book of Genesis, a son of Jacob and Leah (the fifth son of Leah, and ninth son of Jacob), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Issachar; however some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation.^[1] The text of the Torah gives two different etymologies for the name of Issachar, which some textual scholars attribute to different sources - one to the Yahwist and the other to the Elohist;^[2] the first being that it derives from ish sakar, meaning man of hire, in reference to Leah's hire of Jacob's sexual favours for the price of some mandrakes;^[3] the second being that it derives from yesh sakar, meaning there is a reward, in reference to Leah's opinion that the birth of Issachar was a divine reward for giving her handmaid Zilpah to Jacob as a concubine.^[4] Scholars suspect the former explanation to be the more likely name for a tribe, though some scholars have proposed a third etymology - that it derives from ish Sokar, meaning man of Sokar, in reference to the tribe originally worshipping Sokar, an Egyptian deity.^[5]

In the Biblical account, Leah's status as the first wife of Jacob, is regarded by biblical scholars as indicating that the authors saw the tribe of Issachar as being one of the original Israelite groups;^[5] however, this may have been the result of a typographic error, as the names of Issachar and Naphtali appear to have changed places elsewhere in the text,^[6] and the birth narrative of Issachar and Naphtali is regarded by textual scholars as having been spliced together from its sources in a manner which has highly corrupted the narrative.^[7][8] A number of scholars think that the tribe of Issachar actually originated as the Shekelesh group of Sea Peoples^[9][10] - the name Shekelesh can be decomposed as men of the Shekel in Hebrew, a meaning synonymous with man of hire (ish sakar);^[11] scholars believe that the memory of such non-Israelite origin would have led to the Torah's authors having given Issachar a handmaiden as a matriarch.^[8]

In classical rabbinical literature, it is stated that Issachar was born on the fourth of Av, and lived 122 years.^[5] According to the midrashic Book of Jasher, Issachar married Aridah, the younger daughter of Jobab, a son of Joktan; the Torah states that Issachar had four sons, who were born in Canaan and migrated with him to Egypt,^[12] with their descendants remaining there until the Exodus.^[13] The midrashic Book of Jasher portrays Issachar as somewhat pragmatic, due to his strong effort in being more learned, less involved with other matters which led him to such actions like taking a feeble part in military campaigns involving his brothers, and generally residing in strongly fortified cities and, depending on his brother Zebulun's fianancial support in return for a share in the spiritual reward he gains.^[5]

The Talmud argues that Issachar's description in the Blessing of Jacob - Issachar is a strong ass lying down between the sheepfolds: and he saw that settled life was good, and the land was pleasant; he put his shoulder to the burden, and became a slave under forced labour^[14] - is a reference to the religious scholarship of the tribe of Issachar, though scholars feel that it may more simply be a literal interpretation of Issachar's name.^[6]

In Popular Culture[link]

There's a minor Jewish character in Voltaire's Candide who goes by the name "Don Issachar".

See also[link]

• Tribe of Issachar
• Sea Peoples
• Book of Chronicles

References[link]

Constructs such as ibid., loc. cit. and idem are discouraged by Wikipedia's style guide for footnotes, as they are easily broken. Please improve this article by replacing them with named references (quick guide), or an abbreviated title. (July 2010)

1. ^ Peake's commentary on the Bible
2. ^ Richard Elliott Friedman, who wrote the bible
3. ^ Genesis 30:16
4. ^ Genesis 30:18
5. ^ ^{a b c d} Jewish Encyclopedia
6. ^ ^{a b} Jewish Encyclopedia, Tribe of Issachar
7. ^ Richard Elliott Friedman, Who wrote the bible?
8. ^ ^{a b} Peake's commentary on the Bible
9. ^ Yigael Yadin And Dan, Why Did He Remain in Ships
10. ^ SANDARS, N.K. The Sea Peoples. Warriors of the ancient Mediterranean, 1250-1150 BC. Thames & Hudson,1978
11. ^ ibid
12. ^ Genesis 46:13
13. ^ book of Exodus
14. ^ Genesis 49:14-15

External links[link]

• Judaism 101:A Glossary of Basic Jewish Terms and Concepts: Yissachar
• Issachar at Chabad.org

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2009)

DJ Zinc
Birth name	Benjamin Pettit
Origin	United Kingdom
Genres	Drum and bass, breakstep, crack house
Years active	1993–present
Associated acts	Freestyles The Ganja Kru Hoodrats Hype & Zinc Pure Swift & Zinc
Website	djzinc.com

Benjamin Pettit,^[1] better known by his stage name DJ Zinc, is a drum and bass/breakstep DJ from the United Kingdom. Zinc is well known for 1995's "Super Sharp Shooter", a hip hop/jungle fusion.^[2]

Biography[link]

Zinc's career as a DJ and producer stretches the steady evolution of hardcore from its house and rave roots through ragga and hip hop styled hardstep and beyond.^[2]

He continued to DJ on a regular basis, and was one of the first drum and bass producers to score with the R&B slanted two step market courtesy of his 1999 single, "138 Trek".^[2]

His productions have been relatively popular outside the drum and bass scene, most notably in the breaks genre under the pseudonym Jammin. He reached #27 in the UK chart with "138 Trek" in Nov 2000.

Zinc produces and DJs as part of the Ganja Kru and True Playaz collectives, often in association with friend and mentor DJ Hype. He runs the Bingo Beats record label, which releases both drum and bass and breaks records. He has been known to release many records under the alias of Dope Skillz.

In 2001, Zinc released a remix compilation album of his own productions called Beats By Design. By August 2004, he released his second album, Faster, a concept album of sorts. The album, as the name suggests, ups the tempo little-by-little for each song. The title track and album opener, epitomises this and is a grimey crawl through bass and beat that speeds up from 40bpm into the early 100's by its end.^[3]

In 2007, Zinc turned his back on drum and bass, citing "disenchantment with the scene". He started producing again in 2008 with a fusion of deep house, funky house and fidget house, which he believed did not fit into any of these sub-genres. He later named his new sound "crack house".^[4]

In October 2009, DJ Zinc released Crack House EP encompassing his new sound of the crack house genre. A follow up to this EP, Crack House Vol. 2 was released in July 2010. In November 2009, DJ Zinc created a 2-hour mix for broadcasting on BBC Radio 1's Essential Mix.

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

• "138 Trek" (2000) - UK #27
• "Casino Royale" (DJ Zinc) / "Dead A's" (DJ Hype) (2001) - UK #58 †
• "Reachout" / "Pranksters" (2002) - UK #73
• "Fair Fight" / "As We Do" (2002) - UK #72
• "Ska" / "Fruitella" (2004) - UK #54
• "Steppin' Sones" / "South Pacific" (DJ Zinc) (2004) - UK #62
• "Drive By Car" (feat. Eksman) (2004) - UK #66 ‡
• "Creeper" (feat. Dynamite MC) (2005)
• "Ghost Train" (with Dave Spoon)(2009)
• "Wile Out" (feat. Ms. Dynamite) (2010) - UK #38
• "Juicy Fruit" (2012)

DJ Zinc Ft States Of Emotion - Goin in' (2012) † - credited as 'DJ Zinc / DJ Hype'

‡ - credited as 'DJ Zinc featuring Eksman'^[1]

Albums[link]

Compilation albums[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• DJ Zinc discography at Discogs
• DJ Zinc at rolldabeats