Aner

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ā´nēr ( ענר , ‛ānēr  ; Septuagint Αὐνάν , Aunán  ; Samaritan Pentateuch, ענרם , ‛anrām , "sprout," "waterfall"): One of the three "confederates" of Abraham in his pursuit after the four kings ( Genesis 14:13 ,  Genesis 14:14 ). Judging from the meanings of the two other names, Mamre being the name of the sacred grove or tree (Jahwist) and synonymous with Hebron (Priestly Code); and Eschol - a name of a valley (lit. "grape cluster") from which the personal names are derived - it may be expected to explain the name Aner in a similar way. Dillmann suggested the name of a range of mountains in that vicinity ( Comm . at the place and Rosen in ZDMG , Xii , 479; Skinner, Genesis, 365).