Heber

views updated

HEBER

HEBER (Heb. חֶבֶר and חֵבֶר; "community").

(1) Heber son of Beriah son of *Asher son of Jacob (Num. 26:45) was among those who accompanied Jacob to Egypt (Gen. 46:17). He is the eponymous ancestor of the Asherite clan Heber (Num. 26:45). The importance of the clan is evident from the centrality of the genealogical listing of the sons of Heber among the Asherites (i Chron. 7:32–39).

(2) Heber the *Kenite, a descendant of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses (Judg. 4:11), and the husband of *Jael (Judg. 4:17, 21; 5:24), who slew *Sisera. Heber had previously separated himself from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab who dwelt in the Negev among the *Amalekites, and pitched his tents near Elon-Bezaanannim (Judg. 4:11; cf. i Sam. 15:6).

bibliography:

W.F. Albright, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan (1968), 36.

More From encyclopedia.com