Rewarded for the most exalted virtues, and possessing the privileges of the birthright which had been transferred from Reuben, the powerful house of Joseph, represented by the tribe of Ephraim and the half tribe of Manasseh, received the heart of Palestine――the garden of the Holy Land. Stretching its verdant lines from the waters of the Jordan along the northern boundary of Benjamin to the Mediterranean, and with the river on the east and the sea on the west, it extended northward to the Plain of Esdraelon, including the Hills of Samaria. Eminently deserving the benedictions of two worlds, Joseph was blessed with unbounded goodness by his dying father and by the Prophet of Abarim. Promised a numerous posterity, in two and a half centuries from the time Jacob placed his hands upon the heads of Ephraim and Manasseh, his descendants had increased to nearly half a million of souls.[50] “Joseph is a fruitful bough――even a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall;”[51] and in anticipation of the fact, Moses breaks forth in that sublime strain, “They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.”[52] Occupying a section of land on both sides of the Jordan, the present richness of which is beyond dispute, Joseph had “the precious things of heaven from above”――gentle showers, a serene sky, a sublime atmosphere; “the blessings of the deep that lieth under”――the springs and wells,[53] “the precious fruits brought forth by the sun,” which come to perfection once a year; “the precious things put forth by the moon,” such as mature in a month; “the chief things of the ancient mountains”――the forests that cover their summits; “the precious things of the lasting hills”――the metals and minerals which abound within them; “and his glory is like the firstling of his bullocks, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns”――the inspired symbols of his strength, sovereignty, and renown.[54] Agricultural in his taste and habits, to Issachar fell the immense and rich Plain of Esdraelon, including the mountains of Carmel, Gilboa, and Tabor. Patient in labor and invincible in war, but weary in bearing such burdens, like the overloaded ass lying down with the two panniers on his back, “Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens.” Charmed with his possession, and unable to expel the powerful Canaanites from all his plains and mountains, but convinced that peace with taxation was better than war, “He saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant, and he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.”[55] Valiant in arms when the tyranny of Sisera became intolerable, “The princes of Issachar were with Deborah;”[56] and having broken the power of a flaunting foe, “Issachar shall rejoice in his tents.”[57]