Asher' (Hebrew: אָשֵׁר, Standard Ašer Tiberian ʾĀšēr), was, according to the Book of Genesis, the second son of Jacob and Zilpah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Asher; however Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation^[1]. 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^[2]. Scholars suspect that the name of Asher may have more to do with a deity originally worshipped by the tribe, either Asherah^[3], or Asshur, the chief Assyrian deity^[4]; the latter possibility is cognate with Asher^[5]. “Hebrew” redirects here. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... Tiberian Hebrew is an oral tradition of pronunciation for ancient forms of Hebrew, especially the Hebrew of the Tanakh, that was given written form by masoretic scholars in the Jewish community at Tiberias in the early Middle Ages, beginning in the 8th century. ... Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin) is the first book of the Torah (five books of Moses) and hence the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of the Christian Old Testament. ... Jacob Wrestling with the Angel – Gustave Doré, 1855 Jacob or Yaakov, (Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Standard  Tiberian ; Arabic: يعقوب, ; holds the heel), also known as Israel (Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל, Standard  Tiberian ; Arabic: اسرائيل, ; Struggled with God), is the third Biblical patriarch. ... In the Book of Genesis, Zilpah (זִלְפָּה Drooping, Standard Hebrew Zilpa, Tiberian Hebrew Zilpāh) is a concubine of Jacob and the mother of Gad and Asher. ... An Israelite is a member of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, descended from the twelve sons of the Biblical patriarch Jacob who was renamed Israel by God in the book of Genesis, 32:28 The Israelites were a group of Hebrews, as described in the Bible. ... The Tribe of Asher (אָשֵׁר happy, Standard Hebrew AÅ¡er, Tiberian Hebrew ʼĀšēr) is one of the Hebrew tribes, founded by Asher the eighth son of Jacob. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... An eponym is the name of a person, whether real or fictitious, who has (or is thought to have) given rise to the name of a particular place, tribe, discovery, or other item. ... Look up metaphor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Etiology (alternately aetiology, aitiology) is the study of Greek words aitia = cause and logos = word/speech) is used in philosophy, physics and biology in reference to the causes of various phenomena. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... Carmina Cantabrigiensia, Manuscript C, folio 436v, 11th century Textual criticism or lower criticism is a branch of philology or bibliography that is concerned with the identification and removal of errors from texts and manuscripts. ... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... The Elohist (E) is one of the sources of the Torah postulated by the documentary hypothesis. ... It has been suggested that Asherah pole be merged into this article or section. ... Assur was the head of the Assyrian pantheon and the rival of the Babylonian Marduk. ... An Assyrian winged bull, or lemmasu. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

In the Biblical account, Asher's mother is only a handmaid, rather than a wife of Jacob, which scholars see as indicating that the authors saw the tribe of Asher as being not of entirely Israelite origin^[6]; 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^[7]. 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]. Body politic or body corporate and politic means a state or one of its subordinate civil authorities, such as a: province prefecture county municipality city district etc. ... ... The Sea Peoples is the term used for a mysterious confederacy of seafaring raiders who around 1200 BC sailed into the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, caused political unrest, and attempted to enter Egyptian territory during the late 19th dynasty, and especially during Year 8 of Ramesses III of the... The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ...

The Torah states that Asher had four sons and one daughter, who were born in Canaan and migrated with him to Egypt^[11], with their descendants remaining there until the Exodus^[12]; this seems to be partly contradicted by Egyptian records, according to which a group named Aseru, a name from which Asher is probably derived^[13], were, in the 14th century BC, living in a similar region to Asher's traditional territory, in Canaan^[14]. Asher's daughter is name by the Torah as Serach^[15](the only granddaughter of Jacob named by the Torah^{[citation needed]}), but 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^[16]. 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^[17]; the Book of Jubilees contradicts this, arguing instead that Asher's wife was named Lyon (which probably means dove)^[18]. ḍ:The article Exodus discusses the events related in the book of the Bible and Torah by the same name. ... There are three mentions of Serach in the Torah. ... Rabbinic literature, in the broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of Judaisms rabbinic writing/s throughout history. ... Eber (עֵבֶר, Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew , Arabic: هود) is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. ... Rabbinic literature, in the broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of Judaisms rabbinic writing/s throughout history. ... Expulsion of Ishmael and His Mother. ... The Book of Jubilees expands and reworks material found in Genesis to Exodus 15. ...

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^[19]; 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^[20]. Reuben may refer to: People Ruben Zambrano,Basketball player for Houston Rockets]] Reuben, the first-born son of Jacob and the founder of the Tribe of Reuben mentioned in the Book of Genesis tried to save his brother. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... In the Book of Genesis, Bilhah (בִּלְהָה Faltering; bashful, Standard Hebrew Bilha, Tiberian Hebrew Bilhāh) is a concubine of Jacob, and bears him two sons, Dan and Naphtali. ...

Citations

1. ^ Peake's commentary on the Bible
2. ^ Richard Elliott Friedman, Who wrote the Bible?
3. ^ Metzger & Coogan (1993) Oxford Companion to the Bible, p62
4. ^ Jewish Encyclopedia
5. ^ ibid
6. ^ Jewish Encyclopedia
7. ^ ibid
8. ^ Yigael Yadin And Dan, Why Did He Remain in Ships
9. ^ SANDARS, N.K. The Sea Peoples. Warriors of the ancient Mediterranean, 1250-1150 BC. Thames & Hudson,1978
10. ^ ibid
11. ^ Genesis 46:17
12. ^ book of Exodus
13. ^ Jewish Encyclopedia
14. ^ Jewish Encyclopedia
15. ^ Genesis 46:17
16. ^ Sefer ha Yashar
17. ^ Jewish Encyclopedia
18. ^ ibid
19. ^ Jewish Encyclopedia
20. ^ ibid

Richard Elliot Friedman is a writer and Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at UCSD. He is also Katzin Professor of Jewish Civilization: Hebrew Bible; Near Eastern Languages and Literatures. ... Yigael Yadin (March 20, 1917 - June 28, 1984) was an Israeli archeologist, politician, and the second Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). ... Sefer haYashar (midrash), a Hebrew midrash known in English translation mostly as The Book of Jasher. ...

References

• 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. 

Oxford University Press (OUP) is a highly-respected publishing house and a department of the University of Oxford in England. ...

See also

• Asher (onomastics).
• Tribe of Asher
• Sea Peoples