People of the Bible · Tribe of Asher

Asher, son of Israel

The name Asher means “happiness.” Asher is mentioned in 43 verses of the Bible, first in Genesis 30:13. Also called Aser.

Family of Asher

Father

Mother

Siblings

Half-siblings

Children

Who was Asher?

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).

Biography adapted from Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), public domain, linked via Theographic Bible Metadata.

Key verses about Asher

  • Genesis 30:13

    And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.

  • Genesis 49:20

    Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

  • Exodus 1:4

    Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

  • Joshua 17:11

    And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Beth–shean and her towns, and Ibleam and her towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Endor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, even three countries.

  • Luke 2:36

    And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;

  • Revelation 7:6

    Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.

Timeline of Asher's life

DateEvent
1751 BCBirth of Asher
1727 BCJoseph sold to Egypt
1707 BC7 years of famine
1705 BCJoseph's brothers return to Egypt
All 43 verses mentioning Asher