Bible Dictionary
Asher
Asher was Jacob’s eighth son, born to Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid. His descendants formed the tribe of Asher, which received fertile territory along the northern Mediterranean coast; Anna the prophetess was also from this tribe.
Definition
Asher was Jacob’s eighth son, born to Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid, and the ancestor of the tribe of Asher. His tribe received rich territory along the northern Mediterranean coast. The name also designates a place forming a boundary of Manasseh.
Biblical Usage
Asher appears in the tribal genealogies, wilderness arrangements, territorial lists, and the account of Anna the prophetess, who belonged to this tribe. The Asherites did not provide a recorded hero or judge for Israel.
Historical Background
The tribe’s territory extended from Carmel northward along the coast, with Manasseh to the south and Zebulun, Issachar, and Naphtali nearby. It included some of the richest soil in Palestine.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
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).
Smith's Bible Dictionary
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.