Eber

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

EBER . 1. The eponymous ancestor of the Hebrews (the first letter in both words being the same in the Heb.), the great-grandson of Shem, and ‘father’ of Peleg and Joktan ( Genesis 10:21; Genesis 10:25; Genesis 11:14 ff.). The word ‘çber signifies ‘the other side,’ ‘across’; and ‘ibri . ‘ Hebrew ,’ which is in form a gentile name denoting the inhabitant of a country or member of a tribe. is usually explained as denoting those who have come from ‘çber han-nâhâr (see Joshua 24:2-3 ), or ‘ the other side of the River’ (the Euphrates), i.e. from Haran ( Genesis 11:31 ), in Aram-naharaim the home of Abraham and Nahor ( Genesis 24:4; Genesis 24:7; Genesis 24:10 ). According to Sayce, however ( Exp. T . xviii. [1907] p. 233). the word is of Bab. [Note: Babylonian.] origin, and denoted originally the ‘traders’ who went to and fro across the Euphrates. In the genealogies in Genesis 10:1-32; Genesis 11:1-32 the district from which the ‘Hebrews’ came is transformed into an imaginary eponymous ancestor. Why Eber is not the immediate, but the sixth ancestor of Abraham, and why many other tribes besides the Hebrews are reckoned as his descendants, is perhaps to be explained (König) by the fact that, though the Israelites were in a special sense ‘Hebrews,’ it was remembered that their ancestors had long made the region ‘across’ the Euphrates their resting-place, and many other tribes (Peleg, Joktan, etc.) had migrated from it. What Eber means in Numbers 24:24 is uncertain: most probably perhaps, the country across the Euphrates (|| with Asshur, i.e. Assyria).

2 A Gadite ( 1 Chronicles 5:12 ). 3. 4 . Two Benjamites ( 1 Chronicles 8:12; 1 Chronicles 8:22 ) 5 Head of a priestly family ( Nehemiah 12:20 ).

S. R. Driver.

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

Eber was an early Semite (i.e. a descendant of Shem) whose two sons, Joktan and Peleg, began two notable lines of family descent (Genesis 10:21; Genesis 10:25). The line of descent through Joktan produced many of the Arab tribes (Genesis 10:26-30), and the line through Peleg produced those tribes of Mesopotamia to which Abraham belonged (Genesis 11:16-26). The name ‘Hebrew’, by which Abraham and his descendants were known, was taken from the name ‘Eber’ (Genesis 10:21; Genesis 14:13; Genesis 39:17; Exodus 1:22; see HEBREW). So too, it seems, was the name ‘Habiru’, by which semi-nomadic peoples in general were known. The word eber meant ‘to pass over or through’.

Holman Bible Dictionary

Genesis 10:21-25Genesis 11:14-17Numbers 24:24

2. A member of the tribe of Gad, called Heber by KJV (1 Chronicles 5:13 ). The name entered Israel's record about 750 B.C. (1 Chronicles 5:17 ). 3 . Clan leader in tribe of Benjamin (1 Chronicles 8:12 ). 4 . Another clan leader of Benjamin (1 Chronicles 8:22 ). 5 . Head of priestly family of Amok (Nehemiah 12:20 ) in days of Jehoiakim (609-597 B.C.).

Smith's Bible Dictionary

E'ber. (the region beyond).

1. Son of Salah, and great-grandson of Shem. Genesis 10:24; 1 Chronicles 1:19. (B.C. 2277-1813). [For confusion between Eber and Heber, see Heber.]

2. Son of Elpaal, and descendant of Sharahaim, of the tribe of Benjamin. 1 Chronicles 8:12. (B.C. 1400).

3. A priest, in the days of Joiakim, the son of Jeshua. Nehemiah 12:20. (B.C. 445).

Morrish Bible Dictionary

1. Son of Salah and great-grandson of Shem. Genesis 10:21,24,25; Genesis 11:14-17; Numbers 24:24; 1 Chronicles 1:18,19,25 . Called HEBER in Luke 3:35 .

2. Son of Elpaal, a Benjamite. 1 Chronicles 8:12 .

3. Priest of the family of Amok. Nehemiah 12:20 . The same Hebrew word is sometimes translated HEBER in the A.V.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

The head of the priestly family of Amok in the time of Zerubbabel (Nehemiah 12:20 ).

Copyright StatementThese dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain.

Bibliography InformationEaston, Matthew George. Entry for 'Eber'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/e/eber.html. 1897.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Son of Salah, great grandson of Shem (Genesis 10:21-24; 1 Chronicles 1:19; Numbers 24:24, where the "Eber" whom "ships from Chittim shall afflict" represents not the Hebrew, but in general the western descendants of Shem, sprung from Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram; the posterity of Abraham who descended from Eber through Peleg, and also the descendants of Eber through Joktan. As "Asshur" represented the Shemites who dwelt in the far East, including Elam, so Eber represents the western Shemites.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Eber (ç'ber), beyond. 1. The great-grandson of Shem, Genesis 10:21; Genesis 10:24; Genesis 11:14-17; 1 Chronicles 1:19, and the ancestor of Abraham in the seventh generation. See Hebrews, Heber.

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

EBER ( Authorized Version Heber).—The eponymous ancestor of the Hebrews; named in our Lord’s genealogy as given in Lk. (Luke 3:35).

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

See Heber .

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ē´bẽr ( עבר , ‛ebher  ; Ἔβερ , Éber , in Gen; Ωβήδ , Ōbḗd , in Ch):

(1) Occurs in the genealogies (Genesis 10:21 , Genesis 10:25; Genesis 11:14 ) as the great-grandson of Shem and father of Peleg and Joktan. The word means "the other side," "across," and the form "Hebrew," which is derived from it, is intended to denote the people or tribe who came "from the other, side of the river" (i.e. the Euphrates), from Haran (Genesis 11:31 ), whence Abraham and his dependents migrated to Canaan.

(2) A G adite (1 Chronicles 5:13 ).

(3) (4) Two Benjamites (1 Chronicles 8:12 , 1 Chronicles 8:22 ).

(5) The head of a priestly family (Nehemiah 12:20 ).

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

E´ber [HEBER]