Asher

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Asher (Hebrew: אָשֵׁר, Standard Ašer Tiberian ʾĀšēr), in the Book of Genesis, is the second son of Jacob and Zilpah, and the founder of the Tribe of Asher. Ashar is also a place in Israel.

1 Asher the son of Jacob
2 Etymology
3 People named Asher
4 Notes
5 See also

[edit] Asher the son of Jacob

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. ^[1] On his deathbed, Jacob blesses Asher by saying that "his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties"(Genesis 49:20 [Authorized (King James)Version].

Asher's daughter, Serah (also transliterated as Serach), is the only granddaughter of Jacob mentioned in the Torah, and has several legends associated with her. {Gen. 46:17)

[edit] Etymology

Asher is generally understood to come from the Hebrew word Osher meaning "happy" or "blessing" (See Gen. 30:13). ^[1] In the past critical scholars conjectured that the name referred to a male counterpart of the goddess Asherah with a name cognate to the Assyrian god Ashur although no evidence of such a deity has been found and the latter name is derived from a different root.

[edit] People named Asher

See People named Asher.

[edit] Notes

^ ^a ^b Metzeger, Bruce M. (ed); , Michael D. Coogan (ed) (1993). The Oxford Companion to the Bible. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-504645-5.