Jether

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Je'ther. (His Excellence).

1. Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses.  Exodus 4:18. (B.C. 1530).

2. The first-born of Gideon's seventy sons.  Judges 8:20. (B.C. 1256).

3. The father of Amasa, captain-general of Absalom's army. (B.C. 1023). Jether is another form of Ithra .  2 Samuel 17:25. He is described in  1 Chronicles 2:17, as an Ishmaelite, which again is more likely to be correct than the "Israelite," of the Hebrew in  2 Samuel 17:1.

4. The son of Jada, a descendant of Hezron, of the tribe of Judah.  1 Chronicles 2:32.

5. The son of Ezra.  1 Chronicles 2:32.

6. The chief of a family of warriors, of the line of Asher, and father of Jephunneh.  1 Chronicles 7:38. He is probably the same as Ithran in the preceding verse.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

JETHER. 1. Father-in-law of Moses (RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] of   Exodus 4:18 E [Note: Elohist.] ), prob. a mistake for Jethro . 2. Eldest son of Gideon (  Judges 8:20 ). 3. An Ishmaelite, father of Amasa (  1 Kings 2:5; 1Ki 2:32 ,   1 Chronicles 2:17 . See Ithra). 4. 5. Two men of Judah (  1 Chronicles 2:32;   1 Chronicles 4:17 ). 6. A man of Asher (  1 Chronicles 7:38 ); called in   1 Chronicles 7:37 Ithran , the name of an Edomite clan (  Genesis 36:26 ).

Morrish Bible Dictionary

1. Gideon's firstborn son.  Judges 8:20 .

2. An Ishmeelite, father of Amasa.  1 Kings 2:5,32;  1 Chronicles 2:17 . He is called ITHRA,an Israelite, in  2 Samuel 17:25 . He may have been an Ishmeelite by birth, and have become a proselyte.

3. Son of Jada, of the tribe of Judah.  1 Chronicles 2:32 .

4. Son of Ezra, of the tribe of Judah.  1 Chronicles 4:17 .

5. Descendant of Asher.  1 Chronicles 7:38 .

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

1. Gideon's oldest son. Afraid as a youth to slay Zebah and Zalmunna at his father's bidding. Slain by Abimelech ( Judges 8:20;  Judges 9:5).

2. Same as Ithra and Abigail. (See Ithra ; Abigail

3.  1 Chronicles 2:32.

4.  1 Chronicles 4:17. Quaest. Hebrew in Paralipomena makes Ezra Amram, J. Aaron.

5. Ithran ( 1 Chronicles 7:38).

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Judges 8:20 2 1 Kings 4:32 1 Chronicles 2:17 2 Samuel 17:25 1 Chronicles 2:32 4 1 Chronicles 4:17 5 1 Chronicles 8:38 1 Chronicles 7:37Ithran

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 1 Chronicles 4:17 .

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

Bibliography Information Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Jether'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/j/jether.html. 1897.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Heb. Ye'ther, יֶתֶר , Surplus ) , the name of six men, and perhaps also of a place.

1. (Sept. Ι᾿Εθέρ ) A son of Jada and great-grandson of Jerahmeel, of the family of Judah; he had a brother Jonathan, but no children ( 1 Chronicles 2:32). B.C. considerably post 1856.

2. (Sept. Ι᾿Οθόρ , Vulg. Jethro, Auth. Vers. "Jethro.") The father-in-law of Moses ( Exodus 4:18, first clause), elsewhere (last clause of the same verse) called JETHRO (See Jethro) (q.v.).

3. (Sept. Ι᾿Εθέρ ) The first named of the sons of Ezra (? Ezer), of the tribe of Judah (his brothers being Mered [q.v.], Epher, and Jalon), but whose connections are not otherwise denied ( 1 Chronicles 4:17). B.C. prob. cir. 1618. In the Sept. the name is repeated: "and Jether begat Miriam," etc. By the author of the Quoest. Hebr. in Par. he is said to have been Aaron, Ezra being another name for Amram (q.v.). Miriam (q.v.) in the second part of the verse-explained by the Targum to be identical with Efrath is taken by many to be a male name.

4. (Sept. Ι᾿Εθερ ) The oldest son of Gideon, who, when called upon by his father to execute the captured Midianitc kings, Zebal and Zalmunna, timidly declined on account of his youth ( Judges 8:20). B.C. 1362. According to  Judges 9:8, he was slain, together with 69 of his brothers — Jonathan alone escaping — "upon one stone" at Ophrah, by the hands of Abimelech, the son of Gideon's concubine, of Shechem. (See Gideon).

5. (Sept. Ι᾿Έθερ , Ι᾿Εθέρ ) The father of Amasa, David's general ( 1 Kings 2:5;  1 Kings 2:32;  1 Chronicles 2:17); elsewhere ( 2 Samuel 17:6) called ITHRA (See Ithra) (q.v.). He is described in  1 Chronicles 2:17 as an Ishmaelite, which, again, is more likely to be correct than the "Israelite" of the Hebrew in 2 Samuel 17, or the "Jezreelite" of the Sept. and Vulg. in the same passage. "Ishmaelite" is said by the author of the Quoest. Hebr. In lib. Reg. to have been the reading of the Hebrew, but there is no trace of it in the MSS. The Talmud records two divergent opinions on the subject (Jeremiah Jebam. 9, c; comp. Babli, Jeb. 77, a). According to R. Samuel bar-Nachmani, Jether was an Ishmaelite by birth, but became a proselyte: hence the two appellations. Another opinion is that, a staunch upholder of David's reign, he, when the king's descent through Ruth, a Moabitish woman, was made a pretext by some of his antagonists to deprive him of his crown, "girded his loins like an Israelite," and threatened to uphold by the sword, if need be, the authority of the Halacha, which had decided that "a Moabitish man, but not a Moabitish woman, an Ammonitish man, but not an Ammonitish woman, should be prohibited from entering into the congregation."

Similarly we find in the Targ. to  1 Chronicles 2:17 (Wilkins's edition — this verse belongs to those wanting in Beck) that the father of Amasa was Jether The Israelite, but that he was called Jether The Ishmaelite because he aided David, בערכאה (= בית דין ) before the tribunal [Wilkins, " Cum Arabibus! "] . Later commentators (Rashi, Abrabanel, David Kimchi) assume that he was an Israelite by birth, but dwelt in the land of Ishmael. and was for this reason also called the Ishmaelite, as Obed Edom is also called the Gittite (2 Samuel 6), or Hiram's father the Zuri or Tyrian (1 Kings 6). David Kimchi also adduces a suggestion of his father, to the effect. "that in the land of Ishmael Jether was called the Israelite from his nationality, and in that of Israel they called him the Ishmaelite on account of his living in the land of Ishmael." Josephus calls him Ι᾿Εθάρσης ( Ant. 7:10, 1). He married Abigail, David's sister, probably during the sojourn of the family of Jesse in the land of Moab, under the protection of its king. (See Amasa).

6. (Sept. Ι᾿Εθέρ v.r. Ι᾿Εθήρ ) An Asherite (head of a warrior family numbering 26,000) whose three sons are named in  1 Chronicles 7:38; possibly the same with ITHRAN of the preceding verse.

7. Whether the Ithrites ( יתרי , Sept. Ε᾿Θιραῖος , Ι᾿Εθρί , Ι᾿Εθερί , Τεθρίτης ,Vulg. Jethrites, Jethroeus, etc.) Ira and Gareb, mentioned in  2 Samuel 23:38, etc., were natives of an otherwise unknown place called Jether, or of Jathir, יתיר , one of David's places of refuge ( 1 Samuel 30:27), or descendants of one Jether — the least probable suggestion — cannot now be determined. (See Ithrite).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

jḗ´thẽr ( יתר , yether , "abundance"):

(1)  Exodus 4:18 the Revised Version margin, King James Version, margin. See Jethro .

(2) Gideon's eldest son ( Judges 8:20 ), who was called upon by his father to slay Zebah and Zalmunnah, but "feared, because he was yet a youth." The narrative there ( Judges 8:4 ff) should be connected with that of   Judges 6:34 , where Gideon is followed by his clan, and not with that of Jdg 7, where he has 300 picked men. The captives would be taken to Orpah, Gideon's home, and slain there.

(3) Father of Amasa ( 1 Kings 2:5 ,  1 Kings 2:32 ); he was an Ishmaelite according to  1 Chronicles 2:17 = "Ithra, the Israelite" of   2 Samuel 17:25 , where "the Ishmaelite" should be read for "the Israelite."

(4) A J erahmeelite ( 1 Chronicles 2:32 twice).

(5) A J udahite ( 1 Chronicles 4:17 ).

(6) A man of Asher ( 1 Chronicles 7:38 ) = "Ithran" of  1 Chronicles 7:37 .