Genesis 49:20
in Genesis 49Asher’s food will be rich; he shall provide royal delicacies.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, And he shall yield royal dainties.
KJV
Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
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This verse in Genesis 49
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Gad will be attacked by raiders
on Genesis 49:19-21
Gad is raided and comes back at the raiders' heels, the picture of a border tribe. Asher's ground yields food rich enough for a king's table. Naphtali is a doe set free, and the closing words are read either as beautiful fawns or as fine speech.
This site's exposition
Asher’s food will be rich
Asher means happy, the name Leah gave at 30:13. Moses' blessing at Deuteronomy 33:24 has him dip his foot in oil, and the tribe's land in western Galilee was olive country. His name and his lot agree.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Here the prophet speaks obscurely either about the apostles, who had the duty to provide and distribute the bread of life, or about the Savior himself, since he foretells and let us know the bread descending from heaven, which is food and drink for the saints. In fact, Asher is interpreted as "richness," as he alone was so rich that he might satiate all those who came to him. And Christ also testified about himself by saying, "I am the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died; but whoever eats of my bread will never see eternal death."
Since Asher means "blessed," the bread of that one whom, after being recalled from error to penitence, we lead step by step to the present state of blessedness, after his conversion, after the spiritual knowledge, after the victory over temptations, is, to be sure, called "fat." He eats that bread "which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world," and that bread is fat for him.
His bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties. The Latin interpretation of Aser signifies riches. Who then is rich, unless where the height of riches is wisdom and knowledge of God? Who is rich but the Lord Jesus, who always abounds, and never fails? The poor came into this world, and has abounded to all, and has filled all. How great is he in riches, who by his poverty has made all rich! But he became poor for our sake, being rich with the Father.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Out of Asher his bread shall be fat,....
Note, The God of nature has provided for us not only necessaries but dainties, that we might call him a bountiful benefactor; yet, whereas all places are competently furnished with necessaries, only some places afford dainties. Corn is more common than spices.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מֵאָשֵׁ֖ר | measher | from Asher | H836 → | 43 times |
| שְׁמֵנָ֣ה | shemenah | [will be] rich | H8082 → | |
| לַחְמ֑וֹ | lachmo | food his | H3899 → | 298 times |
| וְה֥וּא | vehu' | and he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יִתֵּ֖ן | yiten | he will provide | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| מַֽעֲדַנֵּי־ | maadanei- | delicacies of | H4574 → | |
| מֶֽלֶךְ׃ ס | melekh | a king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
מֵאָשֵׁ֖רfrom Asher
measherH836 →43 times
שְׁמֵנָ֣ה[will be] rich
shemenahH8082 →
לַחְמ֑וֹfood his
lachmoH3899 →298 times
וְה֥וּאand he
vehu'H1931 →1879 times
יִתֵּ֖ןhe will provide
yitenH5414 →2011 times
מַֽעֲדַנֵּי־delicacies of
maadanei-H4574 →
מֶֽלֶךְ׃ סa king
melekhH4428 →2525 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 30:13Leah said, “How happy I am! For the women call me happy.” So she named him Asher.
it leads to
- Genesis 35:26
And the sons of Leah’s maidservant Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 1:48
For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed.
- Proverbs 31:28
Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband praises her as well:
- Song of Solomon 6:9
but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the favorite of the mother who bore her. The maidens see her and call her blessed; the queens and concubines sing her praises.
- Genesis 46:17
The children of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel.
- Genesis 35:26
Through
Genesis 46:17The children of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel.
it leads to
- Genesis 30:13
Leah said, “How happy I am! For the women call me happy.” So she named him Asher.
- 1 Chronicles 2:2
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
- Numbers 1:13
from Asher, Pagiel son of Ocran;
- Genesis 30:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies28
- Afterlife Vocabulary
- Dan
- Dinah at Shechem
- Ephraim and Manasseh, the two tribes of Joseph
- Jacob
- Judah, the Brother Who Stood Surety
Show the next 6 titles
- The Words Agape, Philia, Chesed and Ahavah
- Micah's idol and the migration of Dan
- Rachel and Leah
- Rachel's Tomb on the Bethlehem Road
- Rebekah
- The Seed Promise
Show the next 6 titles
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On the Blessings of the Patriarchs; Hippolytus of Rome, ON THE BLESSINGS OF ISAAC AND JACOB 24; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Tyrannius Rufinus, THE BLESSINGS OF THE PATRIARCHS 2.21.