The interpretation timeline

Gen 49:15

How this passage has been read — the sources, oldest to newest.

From the early Church Fathers to now.

2 Patristic · 1 Jewish

Gen 49:15 · Douay-Rheims
“He saw rest that it was good: and the land that it was excellent: and he bowed his shoulder to carry, and became a servant under tribute.”
Patristic before A.D. 750
235
A.D.
Hippolytus of Rome Patristic
c. A.D. 170–235
“The text metaphorically and allegorically signifies the Savior through Issachar. Only this one, in fact, wished for the good since his childhood, as Isaiah confirms: "Before the child learned how to call mother and father, he said no to evil and chose the good." He has found his rest in the inheritance of the prophets, in order to accomplish what they had foretold. On the mountain Moses and Elijah were seen while they talked to him by standing one at his right and the other at his left, in order to demonstrate that the Savior rested between them.”
Source
162 years pass — nothing from this stretch is hosted yet
397
A.D.
Ambrose of Milan Patristic
A.D. 339–397
“"Issachar desired the good and rested in the midst of lots. And seeing the place of rest that it is good, and the land that it is rich, he bowed his shoulder to labor and became a husbandman." Issachar is called "reward," and therefore he represents Christ, who is our reward, because we buy him for ourselves for the hope of everlasting salvation, not with gold and silver but with faith and devotion.… He is the one who desired the good from the beginning and did not know how to desire what is evil. Of him also Isaiah says, "Before the child knows how to call his father or mother, he does not trust evil, choosing what is good." He rested among the lots of the Old Testament and the New and in the midst of the prophets. And therefore he appeared in the middle between Moses and Elijah, to show us that he had rest through discourse with them, through whom many renounce their sins and believe in the living God, and that they themselves are witnesses of his resurrection and blessed repose. Accordingly, to call the nations to the grace of his resurrection—which is the rich and fertile land that bears everlasting fruits, fruits a hundredfold and sixtyfold13—he bowed his shoulder to labor, bowed himself to the cross, to carry our sins. For that reason the prophet says, "whose government is on his shoulder." This means, above the passion of his body is the power of his divinity, or it refers to the cross that towers above his body. Therefore he bowed his shoulder, applying himself to the plow, patient in the endurance of all insults, and so subject to affliction that he was wounded on account of our iniquities and weakened on account of our sins. "And he became a gardener," for he knew how to sow his own land with good grain and to plant fruitful trees with deep roots.”
Source
708 years pass — nothing from this stretch is hosted yet
Scholastic c. 1100 – 1500
1105
A.D.
Rashi Jewish
1040–1105
“וירא מנחה כי טוב AND HE SAW THAT REPOSE WAS GOOD — He chose (ראה) as his portion a land that was blessed and well-fitted to produce fruits (cf. Onkelos; so that he need not engage overmuch in business. ויט שכמו לסבול AND HE INCLINED THE SHOULDER TO RECEIVE THE BURDEN namely the burden of tracking the Torah. ויהי AND BECAME unto all Israel his brethren. למס עובד A SERVANT UNTO TRIBUTE — deciding for them points of Law and the rules with regard to the fixing of leap-years, as it is said (1 Chronicles 12:32) “And of the children of Issachar, men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred” — two hundred heads of the Sanhedrin he provided — “and all their brethren were at their commandment” (Genesis Rabbah 99:10). ויט שכמו AND HE INCLINED HIS SHOULDER — he lowered his shoulder; similar are, (2 Samuel 22:10) “He bowed (ויט) the heavens” and (Psalms 78:1) “Incline (הטו) your ear”. Onkelos, however, explains it differently: HE BOWED HIS SHOULDER to wage wars and to conquer new districts — for he (Issachar) dwelt on the marches — AND the enemy BECAME subject to him AS A SERVANT TO PAY TRIBUTE.”
Source
Modern · 1953 →

The in-app commentary runs from the Fathers to the early-modern record, then stops — that's where the public-domain sources end, not where the reading does. For the modern reading, follow the sources directly.