Abiezer
“Father of help or my father is help”
Summary
The name of a clan of Manasseh from which Gideon descended, and also one of David's mighty warriors.
☩Ancestor of Gideon
Abiezer was a descendant of Manasseh through Gilead, and became the founder of a prominent family that settled west of the Jordan in the hill country of Ephraim. The clan was also called Jeezer, a contracted form of the name. Gideon, the famous judge, belonged to this family, and when he blew the trumpet to summon Israel against the Midianites, 'Abiezer was gathered after him.' After Gideon's victory, when the jealous Ephraimites complained about not being called earlier, Gideon diplomatically replied: 'Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?'—acknowledging Ephraim's greater importance while deflecting their anger.
Related Verses5 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Abiezer," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. I (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Abiezer," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. I (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.George Morrish, "Abiezer," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).