Asher

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Asher or Aser.

1. Eighth son of Jacob by Zilpah, Leah's handmaid ( Genesis 30:13). "In my happiness the daughters will call me happy: and she called his name Asher" (happy.) Asher had four sons and one daughter, the heads of families ( Numbers 26:44-47). At the Exodus they numbered 41,500; at the close of the forty years in the wilderness 53,400. Their allotment was the rich sea coast between Carmel and Lebanon, N. of Manasseh, N.W. of Zebulun and Issachar, and S.W. of Naphtali. The portion near Zidon, Dor, Accho, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, Rehob, they never made themselves masters of ( Judges 1:31-32;  Joshua 19:24-31;  Joshua 17:10-11.). The southern boundary was a stream S. of Dor (Tantura) flowing into the Mediterranean, Nahr el Defneh or Nahr Zurka. Their land included the maritime portion of the plain of Esdraelon.

Moses' blessing ( Deuteronomy 33:24-25) represents Asher "acceptable to his brethren"; but Keil, "favored among his brethren and dipping his feet in oil" (i.e. having a land flowing with oil:  Job 29:6), "his shoes" (but Keil translates castle, min'al; Maurer, bolt, i.e. dwelling secured by bolt) "iron and brass" (abounding in these metals, which the Phoenicians manufactured). Contented with the luxuries which nature and intercourse with the enterprising Phoenicians afforded (for already Zidon was "the great" or "the strong"), Asher shrank from jeopardizing life with Zebulun and Naphtali, against Sisera the Canaanite; Asher "abode on the sea shore in his breaches" (creeks) ( Judges 5:17-18).

"As thy days so shall thy rest (dabeaka ) be," Maurer and Keil; but Gesenius, "so shall thy death be" ( Deuteronomy 33:24-25). Jacob ( Genesis 49:20) prophesied: "out of Asher his bread shall be fat (the fat that comes from him shall be his own bread, so fruitful shall be his soil) and he shall yield royal dainties:" fulfilled when Solomon thence supplied King Hiram's household with wheat and oil ( 1 Kings 5:11). Asher's self indulging inertness acted injuriously on his own people. Selfishness and faint heartedness in the Lord's cause became their own punishment.

From being more numerous at mount Sinai than Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin, in David's time they had become so few that Asher's name is omitted from the chief rulers ( 1 Chronicles 27:16-22). Asherites were among those who came to Jerusalem to Hezekiah's Passover ( 2 Chronicles 30:11). Asher and Simeon are the only tribes W. of Jordan which produced no hero or judge. (See Anna, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, in the New Testament alone reflects honor on her tribe (Luke 2).

2. A boundary of Manasseh on the S. ( Joshua 17:7.) Eusebius places it on the road from Shechem to Bethshean or Scythepills. Porter makes it now Teyasir, three quarters of an hour from Tubas or Thebez. Tel um el Aschera (Van de Velde), Um Ajra; (Robinson and Knobel), an hour S. of Beisan.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Asher . 1 . A town on the S. border of Manasseh (  Joshua 17:7 ). Site unknown. 2 . Tob 1:2 = Hazor, No. 1 .

Asher . The eighth son of Jacob, by Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid. Leah, joyful over his birth, named him ‘Happy’ (  Genesis 30:13 ). This ‘popular etymology’ dominates J [Note: Jahwist.] ’s thought in the ‘Blessing of Jacob’ (  Genesis 49:20 ) and in the ‘Blessing of Moses’ (  Deuteronomy 33:24 ). Asher’s territory was especially fertile and fitted to promote prosperity. Whether this fact operated in its naming, or whether the name was originally that of a divinity of a militant Canaanite clan mentioned frequently in the Tell el-Amarna letters as the Mârî abd-Ashirti (‘Sons of the servant of Asherah’), or whether the Canaanite tribe ‘Asaru , known from the inscriptions of the Egyptian king Seti I. (14th cent.), gave the name to the tribe, it is impossible to say. The two last theories imply an amalgamation of original inhabitants with a Hebrew clan or tribe, which, probably prior to the entrance of the southern tribes, had found its way into the North. A predominance of the Gentile element thus introduced would account, in a measure at least, for the non-participation of the Asherites in the war against Sisera, although they are said to have sent a contingent to the support of Gideon in his war with the Midianites (  Judges 6:35;   Judges 7:23 ), and, according to the Chronicler, went 40,000 strong to Hebron to aid David in his struggle for the kingship (  1 Chronicles 12:36 ). According to the earliest writing extant in the Ot, viz., the Song of Deborah, the other northern tribes, Zebulun to the south and Naphtali to the east of it, flung themselves with fierce abandon against the army of Sisera, while ‘Asher sat still at the haven of the sea’ (  Judges 5:17 f.). According to P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] ’s census, there were 41,500 males ‘twenty years old and upward’ at Sinai, and when they arrived in the plains of Moab they had increased to 53,400 (  Numbers 1:41;   Numbers 26:47 ).

P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] gives also the territorial boundaries, including the names of 22 cities and their dependent villages, the majority of which are unidentified ( Joshua 19:24-30; cf.   Judges 1:31-32 , and   Joshua 17:11 J [Note: Jahwist.] ). Asher’s territory was gained by settlement, not by conquest (  Judges 1:31 f.). The tribe played an unimportant rôle in Israel. It is not mentioned in   1 Chronicles 27:16 ff., where the tribes are enumerated together with their respective leaders under David. For the genealogies see   Genesis 46:17 ,   Numbers 26:44 ,   1 Chronicles 7:30 ff. See also Tribes of Israel.

James A. Craig.

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

One of the sons of Jacob, by Zilpah. ( Genesis 30:12-13) His name means happy, or blessed; taken from the same word in the root which means blessed. Hence, Jacob, when adying, declared that "the bread of Asher should be fat." ( Genesis 49:20) And Moses, when blessing the children of Israel, with his last prophetical benediction, followed up the same in allusion to his name as blessed; "thy shoes (said Moses) shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be." ( Deuteronomy 33:24-25)

I cannot help remarking upon the name of Asher, that there is in it somewhat of peculiar gracefulness. The noun, which is taken from the root, is never used but in the plural number, blessedness instead of blessed, as in the first word of  Psalms 1:1-6. And the Hebrews give a very decided reason for it. They say, that blessedness doth not depend upon a single blessing, but upon all. Hence, in allusion to the Lord Jesus Christ, he is the blessedness, the Asher of his people. So that the opening of that Psalm being plural, should be read with an eye to Christ; blessedness is the man, etc. And of none but Christ could this be said; neither to any other but Him, could the things spoken of in that Psalm refer.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Genesis 30:13 Genesis 46:17 Genesis 49:20 Numbers 26:46 Numbers 1:41 Numbers 10:25-28 Joshua 19:24-31 Judges 1:31-32 Judges 5:17 Deuteronomy 33:24-25 1 Chronicles 27:16-22 Judges 6:35 Judges 7:23 1 Chronicles 12:36 2 Chronicles 30:11 Luke 2:36-38 Revelation 7:1

3. Apparently a border town in Manasseh ( Joshua 17:7 ) but possibly a reference to the border joining the tribal territories of Manasseh and Asher. See Tribes of Israel.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Ash'er.

1. Apocrypha and New Testament, A'ser (blessed) , the eighth son of Jacob, by Zilpah, Leah's handmaid.  Genesis 30:13. (B.C. 1753). The general position of his tribe was on the seashore from Carmel, northward with Manasseh on the south, Zebulun and Issachar on the southeast, and Naphtali on the northeast.  Joshua 19:24-31;  Joshua 17:10-11; and  Judges 1:31-32.

They possessed the maritime portion of the rich plain of Esdraelon; probably for a distance of 8 or 10 miles from the shore. This territory contained some of the richest soil in all Palestine.

2. A place which formed one boundary of the tribe of Manasseh on the south.  Joshua 17:7. Mr. Porter suggests that Teyasir may be the Asher of Manasseh. Handbook, p.348.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

The eighth son of Jacob and second of Zilpah,  Genesis 30:13   35:26 . On entering Canaan his tribe was the fifth in order, numbering fifty-three thousand four hundred. The portion of Asher lay along the seaboard, having Levanon and Zidon on the north, Carmel and the tribe of Issachar on the south, and Zebulun and Naphtali on the east. It was fruitful in grain, wine, oil, and minerals,  Genesis 49:20   Deuteronomy 33:24,25 . How much of the Phoenician coast was included is uncertain,  Joshua 19:25,28; but the Asherites were unable to expel the Canaanites, and dwelt in part among them,  Judges 1:31,32 . They are honorably mentioned in the history of David,  1 Chronicles 12:36 , and of Hezekiah,  2 Chronicles 30:11 .

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

The tribe of Asher was descended from Jacob through his maid Zilpah ( Genesis 30:12-13). In the division of Canaan under Joshua, this tribe received the coastal plain from Mt Carmel north to the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon ( Joshua 19:24-31;  Judges 5:17).

Like the other Israelite tribes, Asher did not drive out the local Canaanites, who still occupied a number of towns and districts. As a result Asher rarely controlled the Phoenician coast, and for most of its history had to be content with the coastal region around Mt Carmel and the neighbouring hill country ( Judges 1:31-32). This was a fertile area whose olive orchards produced the best oil in Palestine ( Genesis 49:20;  Deuteronomy 33:24).

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Asher (ăsh'er ), happy. 1. The eighth son of Jacob. 2. One of the twelve tribes (see Tribes). 3. A territory extending from Carmel to Lebanon, about 60 miles long and ten to twelve wide, having 22 cities with their villages. The Phœnicians held the plain by the sea, and Asher the mountains.  Joshua 19:24-31;  Judges 1:31-32. This territory contained some of the richest soil in all Palestine; and to this fact, as well as to its proximity to the Phœnicians, the degeneracy of the tribe may be attributed. 4. A place on the boundary between Ephraim and Manasseh.  Joshua 17:7.

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

tribe of. The province allotted to this tribe was a maritime one, stretching along the coast from Sidon on the north to Mount Carmel on the south; including the cities Abdon, Achshaph, Accho, Achzib, Sarepta, Sidon, and Tyre. But of the northern half of this territory, that is, from Tyre northward, this tribe never became possessed, not having expelled the Phoenician inhabitants, who are supposed not to have been pure Canaanites, but a mixture of this people with a Cuthite colony from Egypt. Asher was the most northerly of the tribes; and had that of Naphtali on the west, and Zebulun on the south.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Genesis 30:13 Exodus 1:4 Numbers 2:27 Joshua 19:24-31 Judges 1:31,32 Luke 2:36

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

See Tribes.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Heb. Asher', אָשֵׁר, happiness; Sept. and New Test. Ἀσήρ ), the name of a man (and the tribe descended from him), and of one or two places.

1. The eleventh of the sons of Jacob, and his third by Zilpah, the handmaid of Leah ( Genesis 35:26), and founder of one of the twelve tribes ( Numbers 26:44-47). Born B.C. 1914. The name is interpreted in a passage full of the paronomastic turns which distinguish these very ancient records: "And Leah said, 'In my happiness am I (בְּאָשְׁרִי ), for the daughters have called me happy' (אִשְּׁרוּנִי ), and she called his name Asher" (אָשֵׁר ), i.e. "happy" ( Genesis 30:13). A similar play occurs in the blessing of Moses ( Deuteronomy 33:24). Gad was Zilpah's other and elder son, but the fortunes of the brothers were not at all connected. Asher had four sons and one daughter ( Genesis 49:20;  Deuteronomy 33:24).

Tribe Of Asher. — Of the tribe descended from Asher no action is recorded during the whole course of the sacred history. Its name is found in the various lists of the tribes which occur throughout the earlier books, as Genesis 35, 46, Exodus 1, Numbers 1, 2, 13, etc., and like the rest, Asher sent his chief as one of the spies from Kadesh-barnea (Numbers 13). During the march through the desert his place was between Dan and Naphtali, on the north side of the tabernacle ( Numbers 2:27); and after the conquest he took up his allotted position without any special mention. On quitting Egypt the number of adult males in the tribe of Asher was 41,500, which made it the ninth of the tribes (excluding Levi) in numbers- Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin only being below it. But before entering Canaan an increase of 11,900-an addition exceeded only by Manasseh — raised the number to 53,400, and made it the fifth of the tribes in population (comp.  Numbers 1:40-41;  Numbers 26:47). The genealogy of the tribe appears in some instances to have been preserved till the time of Christ ( Luke 2:36, "Aser").

The limits of the territory assigned to Asher are, like those of all the tribes, and especially of the northern tribes, extremely difficult to trace. This is partly owing to our ignorance of the principle on which these ancient boundaries were drawn and recorded, and partly from the absence of identification of the majority of the places named. The general position of the tribe was on the sea-shore from Carmel northward, with Manasseh on the south, Zebulun and Issachar on the south-east, and Naphtali on the north-east (Josephus, Ant. v, 1, 22). The boundaries and towns are given in  Joshua 19:24-31;  Joshua 17:10-11; and Judges i, 31, 32. From a comparison of these passages it seems plain that Dor (Tantura) must have been just without the limits of the tribe, in which case the southern boundary was probably one of the streams which enter the Mediterranean north of that place, apparently the embouchure of Wady Milheh. Crossing the promontory of Carmel, the tribe then possessed the maritime continuation of the rich plain of Esdraelon, probably for a distance of five or six miles from the shore. The boundary then ran northward from the valley of Jiphthah-el (Jefat) to that of the Leontes, and reaching Zidon, it turned and came down by Tyre to Achzib (Ecdippa, now es-Zib). (See Tribe). It is usually stated that the whole of the Phoenician territories, including Sidon, were assigned to this tribe (comp. Josephus, Ant. v, 1, 22; see Reland, Palcest. p. 575 sq.). But there are various considerations which militate against this conclusion (see the Pictorial Bible,  Numbers 26:24;  Joshua 19:24; Judges i, 31), and tend to show that the assigned frontier-line was drawn out to the sea south of Sidon. The strongest text for the inclusion of Sidon (Tyre was not then founded) is that in which it is mentioned to the reproach of the Asherites, that they did not drive out the Sidonians (Judges i, 31). This Michaelis is disposed to reject as an interpolation; but Kitto (Pict. Bib. in loc.) conceives it to denote that the Asherites were unable to expel the Sidonians, who by that time had encroached southward into parts of the coast actually assigned to the Asherites; and he strengthens this by referring to the subsequent foundation of Tyre, as evincing the disposition of the Sidonians to colonize the coast south of their own proper territories. The Asherites were for a long time unable to gain possession of the territories actually assigned them, and "dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land" ( Judges 1:32); and, "as it is not usual to say of a larger number that it dwells among the smaller, the inference is that they expelled but comparatively few of the Canaanites, leaving them, in fact, a majority of the population" (Bush, note on  Judges 1:2). (See Sidon).

The following is a list of the places within this tribe that are mentioned in the Bible, with the modern localities to which they appear to correspond. Such of the latter as have not been identified by any traveller are enclosed in brackets:

Abdon. Town. Abdah. Accho. do. Akka Achshaph. do. Kesaf. Achzib. do. Es-Zib. Ahlab. do. [Athlil]?

Alammelech. do. [El-Habafie]? Aloth. District. (See Bealoth). Amad. Town. [Ama, ] ?

Aphek or Aphik. do. [Tell Kisol,] ? Bealoth. District. [Pl. of Akka] ? Beten. Town. El-Baneh. Beth-dagon. do. [Eajel ] ? Beth-emek. do. Amkae. Cabul. do. Kabul. Carmel. Mountain. Jebel Mar-Elias. Hali. Town. Alia. Hammon. do. Hanal Hebron. do. (See Abron). Helbah. do. [Haifo] ? Helkath. do. Ukrith ? Hosah. do. [El-Ghaziyeh]?

Jiphthah-el. Valley. Wady Abilin Kanah. Town. Kana. Kishon. Brook. Nar Mukatta. Mashal or Mishal. Town. Misalli. Neiel. do. [Eista-] ?

Ptolemais. do. (See Accho). Ramah. do. Ramah. Rehob ( Joshua 19:30). do. [Tell Kurdan ] ? Rehob ( Joshua 19:28). do. [Reziel,] ? Shihor-libnath. River. [Wady Milhel]?

Ummah. Town. Alma ?

Zebulon. do. Abilin ?

This territory contained some of the richest soil in all Palestine (Stanley, p. 265; Kenrick, Pholn. p. 35), and in its productiveness it well fulfilled the promise involved in the name "Asher," and in the blessings which had been pronounced on him by Jacob and ly Moses. Here was the oil in which he was to "dip his foot," the "bread" which was to be "fat," and the "royal dainties" in which he was to indulge (for the crops, see Robinson, new ed. of Researches, iii, 102; for the oil, Kenrick, p. 31; Reland, p. 817); and here in the metallic manufactures of the Phoenicians (Kenrick, p. 38) were the " iron and brass" for his " shoes." The Phoenician settlements were even at that early period in full vigor (Zidon was then distinguished by the name Rabbah "the Strong,"  Joshua 19:28); and it is not surprising that Asher was soon contented to partake their luxuries, and to "dwell among them" without attempting the conquest and extermination enjoined in regard to all the Canaanites ( Judges 1:31-32). Accordingly he did not drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor Dor (Sept. adds this name), nor Zidon, nor Ahlab, nor Achzib, nor Helbah, nor Aphik, nor Rehob ( Judges 1:31), all which seem to have been ii the shore-strip preoccupied by the Phoenicians, are the natural consequence of this inert acquiescence is immediately visible. While Zebulun and Naphtal "jeoparded their lives unto the death" in the struggle against Sisera, Asher was content to forget the peril of his fellows in the creeks and harbors of his new allies ( Judges 5:17-18). At the numbering of Israel at Sinai, Asher was more numerous than either Ephraim, Manasseh, or Benjamin ( Numbers 1:32-41), but in the reign of David, so insignificant had the tribe be. come, that its name is altogether omitted from the list of the chief rulers ( 1 Chronicles 27:16-22); and it is with a kind of astonishment that it is related that "divers of Asher and Manasseh and Zebulun" came to Jerusalem to the Passover of Hezekiah ( 2 Chronicles 30:11). With the exception of Simeon, Asher is the only tribe west of the Jordan which furnished no hero or judge to the nation. "One name alone shines out of the general obscurity-the aged widow, 'Anna, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Aser,' who, in the very close of the history, departed not from the Temple, but 'served God with fastings and prayers night and day' " (Stanley, Palest. p. 261). The inhabitants of the tribe were also called Asherites (Heb. Asheri', אָשֵׁרִי, Sept. ἐν Ἀσήρ,  Judges 1:32).

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Ash´er (happy), one of the sons of Jacob by Zilpah, the handmaid of Leah ( Genesis 30:13;  Genesis 35:26), and founder of one of the twelve tribes ( Numbers 26:44-47). Asher had four sons and one daughter ( Genesis 49:20;  Deuteronomy 33:24). On quitting Egypt the number of adult males in the tribe of Asher was 41,500, which made it the ninth of the tribes (excluding Levi) in numbers—Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin only being below it. But before entering Canaan an increase of 11,900—an increase exceeded only by Manasseh—raised the number to 53,400, and made it the fifth of the tribes in population (comp.  Numbers 1:40-41;  Numbers 26:47). The inheritance of this tribe lay in a very fruitful country, on the sea-coast, with Lebanon north, Carmel and the tribe of Issachar south, and Zebulon and Naphtali east. It is usually stated that the whole of the Phoenician territories, including Sidon, were assigned to this tribe. But there are various considerations which militate against this conclusion. The Asherites were unable to gain possession for a long time of the territories actually assigned them, but 'dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land' ( Judges 1:32); and, 'as it is not usual to say of a larger number that it dwells among the smaller, the inference is, that they expelled but comparatively few of the Canaanites, leaving them, in fact, a majority of the population.'