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ASHER’S TRIBE. These particular sons
of Jacob didn’t get much land. But what they got was primo. A
beachfront view to the west, and mountains to the northeast. That land
was some of Israel’s best farmland – it was great for growing grapes.
Today, the biggest city in the area is Haifa, perched on the coast in
what used to be the tribe’s southern tip. Map relief by Rani Calvo, rendered by Stephen M.
Miller.
YOU DON’T WANT TO DISAPPOINT A KID.
But
I did.
I
gave a book to a boy who had a name from the Bible. I should have known
better.
It’s
the Bible question of the week. It comes from Asher Kenney.
Why
isn’t my name in the book you gave me?
I
knew Asher’s mom and dad before he had a name. I remember seeing his
mom in church one day when she was pregnant with what she knew was a
little boy. I asked her what she was going to name him.
“Asher,”
she said.
“Oh,
one of the 12 tribes of Israel,” I said.
She
smiled at me and said, “You’re the only person so far who has made that
connection.”
I
wasn’t sure if that should make me feel good or odd.
I
chose good.
Asher,
the reason your name did not make the list for Who’s Who
& Where’s Where in the Bible for Kids is because his
story in the Bible is so short. And there are lots of people whose
stories are long. So I had to pick those people we knew most about
because they had a lot of fun and interesting things going on in their
lives.
Not
that Asher didn’t. But nobody wrote it down. Perhaps they were too busy
having a good time.
Asher
1800s BC
The
sons of Zilpah, Lean’s servant, were Gad and Asher. Genesis
35:26
- One of Jacob’s 12 sons
- Father of the Jewish
tribes of Asher
SON
OF A SURROGATE mother, Asher
was the product of what sounds like a baby-making contest in Jacob’s
family.
Jacob’s
two wives were sisters Leah and Rachel, each competing for his
affection by giving him sons. Each offered him not only their bodies,
but the bodies of their personal servants as well. Asher’s birth mother
was Leah’s servant, Zilpah. But according to the custom of the day,
Asher belonged to Jacob and Leah.
When
Jacob led the Jews back home from slavery in Egypt, Asher’s descendants
got a small but fertile swath of land along what is now Israel’s
northern coast. The land is perfect for growing olives and grapes, two
of Israel’s most important crops.
God’s top angel Gabriel shows up by name four times in
the Bible, spanning almost 600 years. First he helps the prophet Daniel
understand some visions, including one about “the Anointed One,”
(Daniel 9:25). Later, he tells a young Mary that she will give birth to
the Anointed One, “the Son of the Most High,” (Luke 1:32
NLT). Who’s Who
and Where’s Where in the Bible 2.0, p. 146.
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