References (43)
And Leah said, "I am happy (blessed – Hebr. asher) because my daughters will call me happy." And she gave (called) him the name Asher. [Asher means happy and feeling blessed, but also being honest and straightforward.]
Leah's [two] sons by the servant Zilpah:
Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-Aram. [General statement for the majority of the children. Benjamin was born in Canaan, see verses 16-17.]
Asher's sons:
Imnah, Ishva, Ishvi, and Beriah.
Their sister was Serah.
Beriah's sons: Heber and Malchiel.
From Asher [meaning "happy"] come abundant (overflowing, satisfying) dishes
and he shall provide food for royal pleasures (richly laid banquet tables).
Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher.
From Asher: Pagiel, son of Ochran.
The sons of Asher, their generations, according to their families, after the houses of their fathers, by the number of names, every male separately, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war,
this was the number of those of the tribe of Asher, they were 41,500.
And those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher.
The leader of the sons of Asher is Pagiel, son of Ochran.
On the 11th day, Pagiel, son of Ochran, leader of the sons of Asher, offered his sacrifice.
And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Asher was Pagiel, son of Ochran.
From the tribe of Asher, Setor, son of Michael.
The sons of Asher according to their families:
By Imna, the family of the Imnites;
by Ishvi, the family of the Ishvitites;
by Beriah, the family of the Beriahites.
And the name of Asher's daughter was Sarach (Serach).
[Serach's name is vocalized here with "a" (Sarach) instead of "e", see and . The vowel markings were added in 600-900 CE by the Masoretes. She is mentioned among those who came down to Egypt with Jacob () and her name is included among the families who left, see .]
These are the families of Asher's sons, those who were counted among them, 53,400.
[First count: 41,500, an increase of 11,900.]
And from the tribe of Asher, a leader,
Achihod, son of Shelomi.
And these [six tribes] shall stand on Mount Ebal [present-day Imad-el-Deen, to the north] for the curse:
Reuben (Hebr. Reoven) [the eldest; Leah's firstborn];
Gad and Asher [whose mother was Zilpah – Leah's maidservant] and
Zebulun (Hebr. Zevolun);
Dan. and Naphtali [whose mother was Bilhah – Rachel's maidservant].
And to Asher he said, "Most blessed is Asher among the sons, let him find favor (conditional favor, goodwill, pleasure) with his brothers and dip his foot in oil.
And the border of Manasseh began from Asher, Michmethath, which is before Shechem [present-day Nablus in Samaria, see ], and the border went to the right to Ein-Tappoach.
Southward is Ephraim, and northward is Manasseh, and the sea is his border, and it extends to Asher on the north and to Issachar on the east.
In the territories of Issachar and Asher, Manasseh received:
Beit-Shean with its surrounding towns (literally: her daughters),
Jivleam with its surrounding towns (literally: her daughters), the inhabitants of Dor with its surrounding towns, the inhabitants of Ein-Dor with its surrounding towns, the inhabitants of Taanach with its surrounding towns, the inhabitants of Megiddo with its surrounding towns (literally: her daughters), three (the third) Nafot (height, hill).
[The last two words in the verse are literally three nafot. The word means hill or mountainous region. It is a comment that could either refer to Dor (the third city in the list) and that it has an alternative name "Nafot Dor", as in . Or it refers to the geography of the last three cities located in the mountainous region, "the three mountain cities," and is then just a concluding comment.]
And the fifth lot fell to the tribe of the sons of Asher according to their families.
This is the inheritance of the sons of Asher according to their families, the cities with their villages.
And the border turned westward to Aznot-Tabor
and went from there to Chokoka
and reached Zebulun in the south
and reached Asher in the west
and to Judah at the Jordan toward the sunrise (eastward).
And the sons of Gershon by their families were allotted from the tribe of Issachar, and from the tribe of Asher, and from the tribe of Naphtali, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, 13 cities.
And from the tribe of Asher, Mishal with the open land around it, Avdon with the open land around it,
[Here, too, there is a list of seven cities that were not captured.] Asher did not drive out
the inhabitants of Akko,
and the inhabitants of
Sidon [descendants of Canaan from Tsidon, see ],
nor the inhabitants of Achlav,
nor the inhabitants of Achziv,
nor the inhabitants of Helbah,
nor the inhabitants of Aphek,
nor the inhabitants of Rehob,
Gilead had its home on the other side of the Jordan,
and Dan, why does he stay with the ships?
Asher lives by the sea
and has his home by its bay.
[Asher has its territory around the Gulf of Haifa and northward along the coast toward Lebanon.]
And he sent messengers throughout Manasseh, and they also gathered after him, and he sent messengers to Asher and to Zebulun and to Naphtali, and they came up and met him.
And the men of Israel gathered from Naphtali and from Asher and from Manasseh and pursued the Midianites.
Baana, son of Hoshai, in Asher and Bealoth;
Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
The descendants of Gershom received thirteen towns from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Manasseh in Bashan, by lot, family by family.
from the tribe of Asher, Mashal with pasture lands, Avdon with pasture lands,
The sons of Asher were Jimnah, Jishvah, Jishvi, and Beriah. Their sister was Serach. []
All these were the sons of Asher, heads of their families, chosen warriors, leaders among the princes. Those listed in their genealogical records as fit for military service numbered 26,000.
from Asher, men ready for battle, 40,000,
But there were some in Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun who humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.
Next to Dan's territory, Asher shall have a lot from the east side to the west.
Next to Asher's territory, Naphtali shall have a portion from the east side to the west.
The west side shall measure 4,500 [cubits; 2.3 km] and have three gates: the first is the gate of Gad, the second the gate of Asher, and the third the gate of Naphtali.
There was also a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old. She had lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage
from the tribe of Asher 12,000 [],
from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000 [],
from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000 [one son of Joseph, see ; ],
