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Person · Tribe of Asher

Asher

Jacob's son living at the time of the Patriarchs

Asher was the eighth son of Jacob, born to Zilpah, Leah's maidservant, and became the founder of the tribe of Asher (Gen.30.13; 46:17; Deu.33:24; Jos.19:24-34; Luke 2.36).

🗺 Places mentioned alongside Asher on the map →

Also known as Asherite · pine · Ashurites · cypress wood · Ashurite · Aser

Asher was the eighth son of Israel (or 'Jacob') and the second son of Zilpah, Leah's maidservant. He was born in Paddan-aram and was one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Asher's descendants formed the tribe of Asher, which was allocated territory in the northern part of Canaan, along the Mediterranean coast. The tribe of Asher was known for its fertile land and abundance of olive oil. In the blessings of Jacob and Moses, Asher was described as being blessed with rich food and providing royal delicacies. During the period of the judges, Asher was criticized for not joining the fight against Sisera. The tribe of Asher was among those taken into Assyrian captivity. In the New Testament, Anna, a prophetess, is mentioned as being from the tribe of Asher. In the book of Revelation, 12,000 from the tribe of Asher are sealed as servants of God.

Family

Father
Israel
Mother
Zilpah
Siblings
ReubenSimeonLeviJudahDanNaphtaliGadIssacharZebulunDinahJosephBenjamin
Children
ImnahIshvahIshviBeriahSerah

Connections

Part of: The patriarchal families

Zilpah's sons: Gad and Asher

FamilyStated in the text

Leah gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob; Zilpah bore Gad and Asher. Together with Bilhah's sons they make up the four "servant-wife" tribes among the twelve.

ZilpahLeah's maidservant; mother of Gad and AsherLeahSister of RachelGadSon of IsraelAsherSon of Israel
Where the text shows it: Gen 30:9-13 — Gad and Asher bornGen 35:26 — Sons of Zilpah listedGen 37:2 — Joseph is with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah

Sources: Gen 30:9-13 · Gen 35:26 · Gen 37:2

More background: search Wikipedia ↗

Bible dictionary

Asher Easton Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)

Happy, Jacob’s eigth son; his mother was Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid (Gen. 30:13). Of the tribe founded by him nothing is recorded beyond its holding a place in the list of the tribes (35:26; 46:17; Ex. 1:4, etc.) It increased in numbers twenty-nine percent, during the thirty-eight years’ wanderings. The place of this tribe during the march through the desert was between Dan and Naphtali (Num. 2:27). The boundaries of the inheritance given to it, which contained some of the richest soil in Palestine, and the names of its towns, are recorded in Josh. 19:24-31; Judg. 1:31, 32. Asher and Simeon were the only tribes west of the Jordan which furnished no hero or judge for the nation. Anna the prophetess was of this tribe (Luke 2:36).

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Asher Smith Smith’s Bible Dictionary (1863)

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. 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 north-east. (Joshua 19:24-31; 17:10,11) and Judg 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.

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Asher Hitchcock Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary (1869)

happiness

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Asher Hastings Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible (1898)

ASH'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 10 to 12 wide, having 22 cities with their villages. The Phoenicians held the plain by the sea, and Asher the mountains. Josh 19:24-31; Jud 1:31, Jud 1:32. 4. A place on the boundary between Ephraim and Manasseh. Josh 17:7. Some locate it at Yasir, 12 miles northeast of Shechem. Drake suggests Asireh as the more probable location.

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Asher Schaff Schaff’s Dictionary of the Bible

ASH'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 10 to 12 wide, having 22 cities with their villages. The Phoenicians held the plain by the sea, and Asher the mountains. Josh 19:24-31; Jud 1:31, Jud 1:32. 4. A place on the boundary between Ephraim and Manasseh. Josh 17:7. Some locate it at Yasir, 12 miles northeast of Shechem. Drake suggests Asireh as the more probable location.

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Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.

Where Asher appears

46 verses in 13 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H0836

Genesis4
Exodus1
Numbers11
Deuteronomy2
Joshua8
Judges5
2 Samuel1
1 Kings1
1 Chronicles6
2 Chronicles1
Ezekiel4
Luke1
Revelation1

Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.