Tribes of Israel
The Tribes Reuben Simeon Levi Judah Dan Naphtali Gad Asher Issachar Zebulun Joseph Manasseh Ephraim Benjamin
Related topics Israelites Tribal allotments Ten Lost Tribes
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According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Asher (Hebrew: אָשֵׁר, Modern Asher Tiberian ʼĀšēr ; "happy") was one of the Tribes of Israel.

Following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes after about 1200 BCE,^[1] Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes. To Asher he assigned western Galilee, (Joshua 19:24-31) a region with comparatively low temperature, and much rainfall, making it some of the most fertile land in Canaan, with rich pasture, wooded hills, and orchards; as such Asher was particularly prosperous, and known for its olive oil.^[2]

The Blessing of Moses appears to prophesy this, though textual scholars view this as a postdiction.^[3][4]

From after the conquest of the land by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel in c. 1050 BC, the Tribe of Asher was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes. No central government existed, and in times of crisis the people were led by ad hoc leaders known as Judges. (see the Book of Judges) With the growth of the threat from Philistine incursions, the Israelite tribes decided to form a strong centralized monarchy to meet the challenge, and the Tribe of Asher joined the new kingdom with Saul as the first king. After the death of Saul, all the tribes other than Judah remained loyal to the House of Saul, and followed his son Ish-bosheth, ^[5] but after Ish-bosheth's death, the Tribe of Asher joined the other northern Israelite tribes in making David, who was then the king of Judah, king of a re-united Kingdom of Israel.

On the accession of Rehoboam, David's grandson, in c. 930 BC the northern tribes split from the House of David to reform a Kingdom of Israel as the Northern Kingdom. Asher was a member of the kingdom until the kingdom was conquered by Assyria in c. 723 BC and the population deported. From that time, the Tribe of Asher has been counted as one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.

Territory[link]

Map of the twelve tribes of Israel

Despite the connection to this general geographic region, it is difficult to determine from the Torah the exact boundaries of the tribe, to the extent that it is even uncertain whether Asher even had continuous territory.^[6] Sites which according to the bible were allocated to Asher, and whose locations have since been identified, appear to be a scattered distribution of settlements rather than a compact and well-defined tribal region.^[6] Despite appearing to have had good contact with the markets of Phoenicia, Asher appears, throughout its history, to have been fairly disconnected from the other tribes of Israel; additionally it seems to have taken little part in the antagonism portrayed in the Bible between the Canaanites and the other tribes, for example in the war involving Barak and Sisera.^[6] Critical scholars generally conclude that Asher consisted of certain clans that were affiliated with portions of the Israelite tribal confederation, but were never incorporated into the body politic.^[6]

Origin[link]

According to the Torah, the tribe consisted of descendants of Asher the eighth son of Jacob, from whom it took its name.

Critical scholars view this as an eponymous metaphor.^[4] Asher is one of the two descendants of Zilpah, originally a handmaid of Leah, the other being Gad; critical scholars claim that the authors intended this to mean Asher and Gad were not of entirely of Israelite origin.^[6]

Archaeological evidence[link]

A group named Aseru, living in a similar region to Asher in the 14th century BC, are mentioned in Egyptian monuments of the period. Identification with the tribe of Asher is plausible according to views that place the Exodus at the end of the Hyksos period but conflicts with views that date it to the 13th century.

This article incorporates text from Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), a publication now in the public domain.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jewish Virtual Library

Asher (Hebrew: אָשֵׁר, Modern Asher Tiberian ʼĀšēr), in the Book of Genesis, is the second son of Jacob and Zilpah, and the founder of the Tribe of Asher.

Name[link]

The text of the Torah argues that the name of Asher means happy/blessing, implying a derivation from the Hebrew term osher (with the same meaning); the Torah actually presents this in two variations—beoshri (meaning in my good fortune), and ishsheruni, which textual scholars attribute to different sources—one to the Yahwist and the other to the Elohist.^[1] Many scholars suspect that the name of Asher may have more to do with a deity originally worshipped by the tribe, either Asherah,^[2] or Ashur, the chief Assyrian deity;^[3] the latter possibility is cognate with Asher.^[3]

Biblical narrative[link]

Asher played a role in the plot to sell his brother Joseph into slavery.(Gen. 37:23-36) Asher and his four sons and daughter settled in Canaan.^[2] On his deathbed, Jacob blesses Asher by saying that "his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties"(Genesis 49:20).

The eighth son of the patriarch Jacob, and the traditional progenitor of the tribe Asher. However, some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation.^[4]

Asher is represented as the younger brother of Gad; these two being the sons of Zilpah, the handmaid of Leah (Gen. xxx. 10 et seq., xxxv. 26). The Biblical account shows Zilpah's status as a handmaid change to an actual wife of Jacob Genesis 30:9,13. Her handmaid status is regarded by some biblical scholars as indicating that the authors saw the tribe of Asher as being not of entirely Israelite origin;^[3] scholars believe that Asher consisted of certain clans affiliated with portions of the Israelite tribal confederation, but which were never incorporated into the body politic.^[3]

The Torah states that Asher had four sons and one daughter, who were born in Canaan and migrated with him to Egypt,^[5] with their descendants remaining there until the Exodus;^[6] this seems to be partly contradicted by Egyptian records (assuming a late Exodus date), according to which a group named Aseru, a name from which Asher is probably derived,^[3] were, in the 14th century BC, living in a similar region to Asher's traditional territory, in Canaan.^[3] Asher's daughter, Serah (also transliterated as Serach), is the only granddaughter of Jacob mentioned in the Torah (Gen. 46:17). Her mother is not named; according to classical rabbinical literature, Serach's mother was named Hadurah, and was a descendant of Eber, but although Hadurah was a wife of Asher, it was her second marriage, and Serach's father was actually Hadurah's first husband, who had died.^[7] In classical rabbinical literature, Hadurah's marriage to Asher was his second marriage as well, his first having been to Adon, who was a descendant of Ishmael;^[3] the Book of Jubilees contradicts this, arguing instead that Asher's wife was named Lyon (which probably means dove).^[3]

Asher's sons were: Jimnah, Ishuah, Isui, and Beriah.

In rabbinical literature[link]

According to classical rabbinical literature, Asher had informed his brothers about Reuben's incest with Bilhah, and as a result Asher came to be on bad terms with his brothers, though once Reuben confessed, the brothers realised they had been unjust towards Asher;^[3] Asher's motivation is described, by classical rabbinical sources, as being entirely innocent of evil intent, and always in search of harmony between his brothers.^[3] He was the very one whose endeavor it had always been to reconcile the brothers, especially when they disputed as to who among them was destined to be the ancestor of the priests (Sifre, Deut. 355). In the Test. Patr., Asher, 5, Asher is regarded as the example of a virtuous man who with singlemindedness strives only for the general good.

Asher was born on the 20th of Shevat 2199 (1562 BCE). According to some accounts 20th of Shevat is also the date of his passing.

Asher married twice. His first wife was 'Adon, a great-granddaughter of Ishmael; his second, Hadurah, a granddaughter of Eber and a widow. By her first marriage Hadurah had a daughter Serah, whom Asher treated as affectionately as if she had been of his own flesh and blood, so that the Bible itself speaks of Serah as Asher's daughter ("Sefer ha-Yashar, Wayesheb"). According to the Book of Jubilees (xxxiv. 20), Asher's wife was named "Iyon" (probably, "dove").

Asher's descendants in more than one regard deserved their name ("Asher" meaning "happiness"). The tribe of Asher was the one most blessed with male children (Sifre, l.c.); and its women were so beautiful that priests and princes sought them in marriage (Gen. R. lxxi., end). The abundance of oil in the land possessed by Asher so enriched the tribe that none of them needed to hire a habitation (Gen. R. l.c.); and the soil was so fertile that in times of scarcity, and especially in the Sabbatical year, Asher provided all Israel with olive-oil (Sifre, l.c.; Men. 85b; Targ. Yer. on Deut. xxxiii. 24). The Asherites were also renowned for wisdom (Men. l.c.).J. Sr. L. G.

Scholarly interpretations[link]

A number of scholars have proposed that the tribe of Asher actually originated as the Weshesh group of Sea Peoples^[8][9] - the name Weshesh (or rather Uashesh/Ueshesh - for easy pronunciation, this is usually transcribed into English as Weshesh) can be decomposed as men of Uash in Hebrew, and hence possibly a corruption of Asher.^[10]

Notes[link]

1. ^ Richard Elliott Friedman, Who wrote the Bible?
2. ^ ^{a b} Metzeger, Bruce M. (ed); , Michael D. Coogan (ed) (1993). The Oxford Companion to the Bible. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp. 62. ISBN 0-19-504645-5. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Jewish Encyclopedia
4. ^ Peake's commentary on the Bible
5. ^ Genesis 46:17
6. ^ Book of Exodus
7. ^ Sefer ha Yashar
8. ^ Yigael Yadin And Dan, Why Did He Remain in Ships
9. ^ N. K. Sandars, The Sea Peoples. Warriors of the ancient Mediterranean, 1250-1150 BC. Thames & Hudson,1978
10. ^ Sandars, The Sea Peoples.