Jether
“Abundance or surplus”
Summary
A Hebrew name meaning 'abundance' or 'surplus,' borne by six different men in the Old Testament including Gideon's eldest son and the father of Amasa.
☩Gideon's Son
Jether was the firstborn son of Gideon, the judge of Israel. After Gideon's victory over the Midianites and the capture of their kings Zebah and Zalmunna, Gideon commanded his young son Jether to execute the captives. However, Jether 'feared, because he was yet a youth,' and declined to draw his sword, prompting Gideon to perform the execution himself. According to Judges 9:5, Jether was later slain along with 68 of his brothers by Abimelech, Gideon's son by a concubine, who murdered them upon a single stone at Ophrah to seize power.
☩Father of Amasa
Another Jether was the father of Amasa, David's nephew who served as Absalom's general during the rebellion. He is described in 1 Chronicles 2:17 as an Ishmaelite who married Abigail, David's sister. In 2 Samuel 17:25 the same person is called Ithra the Israelite, though scholars generally accept 'Ishmaelite' as the correct reading. Various rabbinic traditions attempted to explain the dual designation: one suggestion holds that he was an Ishmaelite by birth who became a proselyte; another maintains that he was called 'Ishmaelite' because he dwelt in that territory.
☩Other Individuals
Several other men bore this name: a son of Jada and great-grandson of Jerahmeel in the tribe of Judah who died childless; one of the sons of Ezra in the tribe of Judah; and an Asherite chief whose warrior family numbered 26,000 men, possibly identical with Ithran mentioned in the preceding verse. Additionally, the Ithrites mentioned among David's mighty men may have been natives of a place called Jether or descendants of someone by that name.
Related Verses7 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Jether," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IV (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Jether," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. III (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Jether," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).