Asher dips his foot in oil
Asher is one of the children of Israel (Jacob) and one of the 12 tribes of Israel. His name means “blessed/happy“.
BIBLICAL
Asher played a role in selling his brother Joseph into slavery. (Genesis 37:23-36) Asher and his four sons and daughter settled in Canaan. On his deathbed, Jacob blesses Asher by saying that “his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties”(Genesis 49:20).
Moses blessed the tribe of Asher: “And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.” (Deuteronomy 33:24)
JEWISH TRADITION
The tribe of Asher was the one most blessed with male children (Sifre, l.c.); and its women were so beautiful that priests and princes sought them in marriage (Gen. R. lxxi., end). The abundance of oil in the land possessed by Asher so enriched the tribe that none of them needed to hire a habitation (Gen. R. l.c.); and the soil was so fertile that in times of scarcity, and especially in the Sabbatical year, Asher provided all Israel with olive-oil (Sifre, l.c.; Men. 85b; Targ. Yer. on Deut. xxxiii. 24). The Asherites were also renowned for wisdom.
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