ASHER (104, happiness; Sept. one of the sons of Jacob by Zilpah, the handmaid of Leah (Gen. xxx. 13; xxxv. 26), and founder of one of the twelve tribes (Num. xxvi. 44-47). Asher had four sons and one daughter (Gen. xlvi. 17). On quitting Egypt the number of adult males in the tribe of Asher was 41,50o, which made it the ninth of the tribes (excluding Levi) in numbers—Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin only being below it. But before entering Canaan an increase of 11,900 —an increase exceeded only by Manasseh—raised the number to 53,400, and made it the fifth of the tribes in population (comp. Num. i. 40, 41; xxvi. 47). The inheritance of this tribe lay in a very fruitful country, on the sea-coast, with Lebanon north, Carmel and the tribe of Issachar south, and Zebulon and Naphtali east. It is usually stated that the whole of the Phoenician territories, includ ing Sidon, were assigned to this tribe. But there are various considerations which militate against this conclusion (see the arguments on both sides in Pictorthl Bible, Num. xxvi. 44; Josh. xix. 24; Judg. i. 31), and tend to spew that the assigned frontier-line was drawn out to the sea south of Sidon. The strongest text for the inclusion of
Sidon (Tyre was not then founded) is that in which it is mentioned to the reproach of the Asherites, that they did not drive out the Sidonians (Judg. i. 31). This Michaelis is disposed to reject as an interpolation ; but Dr. Kitto (Piet. Bib. in loc.) conceives it to denote that the Asherites were unable to expel the Sidonians, who by that time had encroached southward into parts of the coast actually assigned to the Asherites; and he strength ens this by referring to the subsequent foundation of Tyre, as evincing the disposition of the Sidonians to colonize the coast south of their own proper territories. The Asherites were for a long time unable to gain possession of the territories actually assigned them, and `dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land' (Judg. i. 32); and, ' as it is not usual to say of a larger number that it dwells among the smaller, the inference is, that they expelled but comparatively few of the Canaan ites, leaving them, in fact, a majority of the popula tion' (Bush, note on Judg. i. 32).—J. K.