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.