Question Concerning the Military Prowess of the Tribe of Asher
Duration 14 minutes.
The Tribe of Asher through its fighting qualities was to become the cause of glory for all Israel. When the Hebrew original is correctly understood it says: Deuteronomy 33: 29 [The Tribe of] Asher is yours, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the ALMIGHTY, The shield of your help And as for Asher, [his] sword [is the source of]Â your pride [uplifting]! Â
Sir Davidy: Where do you get Asher from Deut 33:29? Your comment is fascinating but I would like to read the name Asher in the promise to be recognized as great warriors.
Deuteronomy 33: 24 And of Asher he said: Asher is most blessed of sons; Let him be favored by his brothers, And let him dip his foot in oil.
After that according to the Commentators the blessing continues and refers to all the Peoples of Israel in general.
Deuteronomy 33: 25 Your sandals shall be iron and bronze; As your days, so shall your strength be. 26 There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to help you, And in His excellency on the clouds. 27 The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, And will say, Destroy! 28 Then Israel shall dwell in safety, The fountain of Jacob alone, In a land of grain and new wine; His heavens shall also drop dew. 29 Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, The shield of your help And [for whom] the sword of[is] your majesty! Your enemies shall submit to you, And you shall tread down their high places.
We gave our opinion that obtained support from sources quoted by Fishel Mael ("Shivtei Yisroel"). A special link was noted between the Tribe of Asher and the name of Yeshuron [Jeshurun] which applied to all Israel but especially to Asher. This also connected with Joseph since the name Yeshuron was split into two on the Breastplate of the High Priest: The first and primary half "Yasher" (meaning "upright") was written on the Tarshish stone of Asher. The second half of the name Yashur-on with two letters "ON" (probably connoting "strength") was written on the neighboring Shoham (onyx?) stone of Joseph.
 We even found archaeological evidence in the form of an inscription that mentioned Yeshurun and Tyre, the Phoenician city, in the territory of Asher. We opined that even though the continuing verses (Deuteronomy 33:26-29) do apply to all Israel they have an especial applicability to the Tribe of Asher. This is supported by the Hebrew text which in Hebrew uses words that spell the name Asher. In English WORDS THAT BOTH SOUND THE SAME AND ARE SPELLED THE SAME are both homonyms (same sound) and homographs (same spelling).  In Hebrew Exegesis when such words occur it often means that an additional message is intended. We shall see below how  words that spell the name ASHER  in Deuteronomy 33:29 do have significance concerning the Tribe of Israel.
The  words in Deuteronomy 33:29 we shall examine are emphasized below:  Â
Happy are you [Ashreca], O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, The shield of your help And [for whom] [Asher] the sword of[is] your majesty!Â
We will discuss these words a little more below but beforehand remember that:
The preceding verse in Deuteronomy 33: 25 Your sandals shall be iron and bronze; was seen in the Hebrew to indicate locking and closing and was understood by the Commentators to refer to warriors guarding the border regions.
We also took the words translated (33:29) as "And the sword of your majesty" (ve-asher cheverev Gavateca) as applying to Israel with an emphasis on the Tribe of Asher rather than describing the Almighty. We re-translated these words as saying, "And for whom the sword is [the source of] your pride". An ancient Midrash (Sifrei) also seems to support this understanding by taking the expression "sword of your majesty" to refer to Israel. There are many facets to the Torah and sometimes multiple interpretations may be acceptable when applied in different contexts.
Let us look at the words in question a little closer: Deuteronomy 33: 29 Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, The shield of your help And the sword of your majesty! Your enemies shall submit to you, And you shall tread down their high places.
Re The words, 29 Happy are you, Israel in Hebrew "Ashreca [Happy are you], Yisrael": Here we have the name ASHER indicated, in Hebrew the letters are the same. Asher literally means happy. Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, The shield of your help And for whom [Ve-Asher] the sword is your pride [uplifting]. Here again in the expression "And for whom" in Hebrew "ve-asher" once again we have the name ASHER indicated. In Hebrew the word "Asher" may mean "whom, which, that". It is also the name of the Tribe of Asher.
Let us present an alternative translation based on the above implications:
Deuteronomy 33: 29 [The Tribe of] Asher is yours, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the ALMIGHTY, The shield of your help And as for Asher, [his] sword [is the source of]  your pride [uplifting]! Your enemies shall submit to you, And you shall tread down their high places.
This alternate translation is not intended to replace the regular one but rather after the manner of Biblical Learning comes to addd another facet to it. It fits the simple literal meaning of the Hebrew words!
We thus have strong indications that the blessings of military prowess were to be especially applicable to the Tribe of Asher.
