Genesis 49:14-15
From Reconciling understandings of Scripture and Science
14 Issachar is a strong ass
couching down between two burdens:
15 And he saw that rest was good,
and the land that it was pleasant;
and bowed his shoulder to bear,
and became a servant unto tribute.
The meaning of נָטָה (natah)
From the NET Bible notes to Psalm 144:5:
a tn The Hebrew verb נָטָה (natah) can carry the sense "to [cause to] bend; to [cause to] bow down." For example, Gen 49:15 pictures Issachar as a donkey that "bends" its shoulder or back under a burden. Here the Lord causes the sky, pictured as a dome or vault, to sink down as he descends in the storm. See Ps 18:9.
