Wales and the Tribe of Asher
Wales is part of Great Britain. It is to the west of England and just across the water from Ireland.
Our studies show the presence of several of the different Israelite Tribes in Wales.
e.g.
Dan in Ireland and Wales
http://www.britam.org/DanWales.html
In the past we also suggested that the very name Wales" was derived from a dialectical pronunciation of the name "Baal". Baal was a Canaanite god also worshipped by the Israelites. The Ten Tribes were exiled for worshipping baal and other pagan deities (2-Kings 17:16) . The Prophet Hosea indicated that even in their places of Exile the Ten Tribes would continue to worship baal (Hosea 2:8, 13. The so-called Celtic peoples of the west indeed referred to their main god as Bel which is a form of the name baal.
Apparently they also gave the name of their idol to Wales.
See:
Origin of the Name "Wales." A New Appreciation
http://www.britam.org/WalesName.html
In the past we identified Wales with the Israelite Tribes of Simeon and Dan.
Gilead of Manasseh was also once important in Wales.
Another possibility involves the Tribe of Asher.
In a previous article we suggested that Ireland had received a contingent from the Israelite Tribe of Asher.
See:
The Tribe of ASHER in IRELAND
http://www.britam.org/AsherIre.html
We had identified the Tribe of Asher with the Vandals and their Lugii forebears of Celtic culture. This group from the present area of Poland had come to join themselves with the Angles and settled in the region of Northern England and southern Scotland.
Another group possibly also descended from Asher were the Veneti and Venelli etc who from western Gaul (Brittany in France) had evidently moved to Scotland (Votadinni) and also to Ireland (Venicnii) where they had become known as Hiberi and as Feni.
In our work "The Tribes" we said:
The Tribe of Asher
"And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister" and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel" Genesis 46:17....
The name Heber is also ponounceable as "Cheber" and means friend or companion. Heber of Asher gave rise to the Lygae and nearby Lugi which peoples formed the basis in Europe upon which the Vandal Federation built itself. The names Lygae and Lugi are derived from a root implying "Union" or "Alliance" e.g. Middle English "Ligg", modern "League". "HEBER" in Hebrew has the same meaning of "union" and "joining." Heber (of Asher) may also be recalled in the people named after "Caber". The appellation "CABER" occurs in an account of early British history, which states that Britain was first populated by the sons of Bruttus who, from Troy in Anatolia, reached Britain via Italy. Bruttus had three sons, Albion who received Scotland, Locris who took what later became known as England, and CABER who was given Wales.
The name Heber is also ponounceable as "Cheber" and means friend or companion.
In 17th century English and later in Australian slang the word "Cobber" was used as synonymous with "mate" or friend and this word is believed to somehow been derived from the Hebrew "Chaber". One explanation regarding the origins of the word "Cobber" in English was that Jewish prospectors introduced it during the gold rushes in Australia but that does not explain how it came to be used in apparently the same sense in England somewhat earlier.
We find Asher primarily in Ireland and in part of Scotland but Wales and Scotland had much in common. The Lowland Scots and the Northern Welsh to some degree overlap ethnically. The Northern Welsh are fair whereas those of the south are darker.
Concerning the possible presence of Asher in Wales new insights seem to have arisen.
We see above that we had mentioned a source that attributed Wales to Caber and we had linked Caber with Heber (or Chaber) of Asher.
Steven Phillips of the UK sent us a query on this source.
It was from LE PETIT, JEAN FRANCOISE. "Le Grande Chronicle. Ancienne et Moderne de Holland, Zeelande, Utrecht, Frise, Oversyseel, et de Groenungham", Dordrecht, 1601.
Vol. 1, p.8.
Stephen Phillips of the UK had first not been sure as to whether or not Caber was not a misreading for Camber.
Camber would linguistically have been more consistent with Cimbri, Humber, Cimri, and other forms associated with Wales and the Welsh.
Steven Phillips checked the source for himself and then sent us a following note [see below].
Steven referred us to a Wikipedia article [quoted below]
We looked the source in question up:
In short the different names for Wales (Cymry, Cymru, Cymry, etc) or Welshmen (combrogi) may all derive from a root meaning fellow countrymen or some such connotation.
This is consistent with the name Heber (from the Tribe of Asher) whose name means something similar.
This was especially pertinent to the people of northern Wales who considered themselves one body with the original (Brythonic-speaking) inhabitants of Celtic Culture who had once dwelt in northern England and southern Scotland.
These latter areas were those that we had identified with the Tribe of Asher from the beginning.
The characteristics of Asher were being happy, economically prosperous, successful, very formidable warriors (at least according to Brit-Am), known for beautiful daughters, and so on. We would not say that the Welsh lack these characteristics but some of the Scottish and a portion of the Irish might fit them better.
It should be remembered,
Most areas in which we find settlers of Israelites had been traversed at different times by several of the various tribes.
Eventually one or other of the tribes settled permanently in the said place and imparted to it aspects of its tribal imprint.
This justifies us in identifying the place with that particular Tribe.
It does not mean that descendants of other Tribes were not also present.
Even in Biblical Times while still in the Land of Israel the Tribes intermixed to some degree.
Steven Philips:
# I see that Le Petit uses the name Caber instead of Camber. Interesting. In the Welsh, Irish and Bretonic languages, the letter 'm' can be pronounced as a 'b'. The big question is whether this is a corruption of the name Caber or of Omri [A King of Israel whose name in Assyrian, KHumri, was applied to all of the Ten Tribes.] The fact that the Welsh regard the name Cymry as meaning "fellow country-men" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymru#Etymology_of_Cymru) suggests that you might be right. Your comments in The Tribes about the use of the word cobber is also pertinent. Regrettably, this sort of ambiguity is inherent in the ancient records. Of course, the whole story of Brutus and his "sons" is allegorical. The north of England was not specifically known as Albion until the Scots arrived. Previous to that, the whole island was known as Albion (Pliny, Natural History iv.16 (102) [iv.30 in John Bostock's translation]) and predates the arrival of "Brutus" who (I have discovered) arrived at the beginning of the second century BCE. Note also that those arriving with "Brutus" did not settle either in Wales or northern England until a much later date. One therefore has to treat these stories with caution.
As to how this fulfills the prophecy that Asher shall dip his toes in oil escapes me, unless the word shemen can be interpreted to mean "fat", or (as in Isa. 5:1) "fruitful". The fact that he shall "yield royal dainties" and "be favoured of his brethren" suggests that the tribe shall be associated with the royal households of the other tribes. Who knows.
Keep up the good work.
Regards,
Steve========From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Etymology of Cymru
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymru#Etymology_of_Cymru
Moliant Cadwallon
The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales. These words (both of which are pronounced [ k m.r ]) are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning "fellow-countrymen".[8] The use of the word Cymry as a self-designation derives from the post-Roman Era relationship of the Welsh with the Brythonic-speaking peoples of northern England and southern Scotland, the peoples of "Yr Hen Ogledd" (English: The Old North). It emphasised a perception that the Welsh and the "Men of the North" were one people, exclusive of other peoples.[9] In particular, the term was not applied to the Cornish or the Breton peoples, who are of similar heritage, culture, and language to both the Welsh and the Men of the North. The word came into use as a self-description probably before the 7th century.[10] It is attested in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan ("Moliant Cadwallon", by Afan Ferddig) c. 633.[11] In Welsh literature, the word Cymry was used throughout the Middle Ages to describe the Welsh, though the older, more generic term Brythoniaid continued to be used to describe any of the Britonnic peoples (including the Welsh) and was the more common literary term until c. 1100. Thereafter Cymry prevailed as a reference to the Welsh. Until c. 1560 the word was spelt Cymry, regardless of whether it referred to the people or their homeland.[8]
The Latinised forms of these names, Cambrian, Cambric and Cambria, survive as lesser-used alternative names for Wales, Welsh and the Welsh people. Examples include the Cambrian Mountains (which cover most of Wales and gave name to the Cambrian geological period), the newspaper "Cambrian News", as well as the organisations Cambrian Airways, Cambrian Railways, Cambrian Archaeological Association and the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art. Outside Wales, a related form survives as the name Cumbria in North West England, which was once a part of "Yr Hen Ogledd". This form also appears at times in literary references, perhaps most notably in the pseudohistorical "Historia Regum Britanniae" of Geoffrey of Monmouth, where the character of Camber is described as the eponymous King of Cymru.