The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, with Serah their sister. And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel.
This verse sits inside the long register of Jacob's household on its way to Egypt. It names Asher's four sons, his daughter Serah, and two of his grandsons. That raises a plain question: why does God stop to write down names this small?
Same names, different spellings
The names in this list turn up again in Numbers and 1 Chronicles, often looking different in English. The difference is in the translation, not in the text:
Morrish Bible DictionaryThe firstborn of Asher, 1 Chronicles 7:30. He is called JIMNAH in Genesis 46:17 in the Authorised Version, and JIMNA in Numbers 26:41. Yet the Hebrew is the same in all three passages.
Asher's daughter appears here among the sons. The entry under her other spelling, Sarah, points straight back to this verse:
Morrish Bible DictionaryDaughter of Asher, Numbers 26:46. Called SERAH in Genesis 46:17 and 1 Chronicles 7:30.
How to read a list like this
Lists of names are where many readers stumble, and where critics look for errors. One writer argues that the rough edges are themselves a mark of honesty:
William KellyIf we truly want to avoid serious mistakes and understand Scripture rightly, we need to read the genealogies by their own aim, not by modern ideas. The difficulties are plain on the surface. No forger or compiler would have left them there; he would have taken care to avoid them. The writer, on the other hand, knew details that we might not. He states what he knows to be true, without stopping to clear the difficulties up.
Why Asher's family comes where it does
The list puts Asher and Gad after Leah's six sons and before Rachel's and Bilhah's. It groups the sons by their mothers. One writer sees two things at work in that order:
H. L. RossierHere we find the order of nature again, but according to the wives. God has the upper hand in all that concerns the family of promise. At the same time, Leah and Rachel each reap the fruits of their own self-will. The order is as follows: six sons of Leah, two sons of Zilpah, two sons of Rachel, two sons of Bilhah.
Asher came from Zilpah, a branch of the family that grew out of that self-will. Yet the count in this chapter gives Zilpah's sixteen the same place as Leah's thirty-two:
William KellyThis table lists thirty-two from Leah, sixteen from Zilpah, eleven from Rachel, seven from Bilhah — sixty-six. But the head also goes with his house; and so with the larger list of Leah's children we see Jacob counted.
A register kept by God
Nothing here is impressive by the world's measure. That is part of the point:
William KellyIt is God's register of Jacob and his house: "seventy" souls including Jacob, and Joseph with his two sons, or "sixty-six" without these. The time was drawing near when they would exchange the life of a family — already grown in Genesis into twelve families — for the life of a people. Their growth is one of the opening facts of Exodus. Scripture reveals the interest God took in recording things that are little in man's eyes. Nature revels in what it counts great in its own eyes and before the world.
Another writer points to the names themselves, rather than a bare total:
L. M. GrantWe are told now the names of all the household of Jacob who came with him. This shows that our great God is interested in each person, and not only in nations or great companies.
Small names, future families
This verse names Heber and Malchiel as grandsons of Asher. One of them gives his name to a family in Israel:
Morrish Bible DictionarySon of Beriah, a son of Asher, and head of the family of the HEBERITES, Genesis 46:17; Numbers 26:45; 1 Chronicles 7:31-32.
Asher's own name carries a promise that reaches far past this list:
L. M. GrantAsher was Zilpah's second son, his name meaning "happy." The prophecy about him points to the rich provision God will make for the nation Israel — even "royal delicacies" — when He restores them to their land in the millennium. What a wonderful contrast to their years of want and ruin!
Summary
- Register. The list is God's own record of Jacob's house. He takes care over what people count as small.
- Named. God lists names, not just a total. His interest reaches each person, not only nations and large companies.
- Counted. Zilpah's sixteen stand in the same register as Leah's thirty-two. A line that grew out of self-will is counted with the rest.
- Preserved. Spellings shift between Genesis, Numbers and Chronicles. The Hebrew behind them is the same: Jimnah is Imnah, Serah is Sarah.
- Fruitful. Beriah's son Heber heads a family in Israel, and Asher — whose name means "happy" — has a promise of rich provision in the land.