Is the asher tribe Jews

Answer 1

[Supervisor note: Asher was a Jew. The accepted meaning of the word "Jew" is any adherent of Judaism, regardless of tribe. No reliable answer would claim that Kohanim and Levites (for example) aren't Jewish because they aren't specifically from Judah. Any answers which go technical based upon a particular Israelite tribe, would be misleading. Etymologically, "Jewish" stems from "Judah" only because the people of that tribe became the majority of the Jews; but Jewry has always contained members from every one of the Israelite tribes.]

Asher, one of Jacob's twelve sons, was not a descendant of Judah. The word Jew didn't come about until hundreds of years after Asher's time. Asher and his brothers all believed in One God.

• Answer

Asher was an Israelite. "Israelite" and "Jew" are used interchangeably since the Israelites were later called Jews. It is a matter of religion, not genealogy for a specific Israelite tribe. No one today would claim the the Levites aren't Jewish.

Dictionaries define Judaism as the religion of Moses. We call someone Jewish not just because of genealogical descent, but because of their beliefs and practices. "Anyone who opposes idolatry is called Jewish" (Talmud, Megillah 13a). It is in that sense of belonging to the Jewish religion that members of Israelite tribes other than Judah are called Jewish. Therefore, any attempt to go technical based upon Asher's tribe, is disingenuous and misleading.

Answer 2

One of Jacob's twelve sons was named Asher (Genesis ch.30), and his descendants were called the tribe of Asher, one of the Twelve Israelite Tribes. Today the location of the bulk of this tribe is lost, since they were exiled among the Ten exiled Tribes before the First Destruction some 2600 years ago.

Answer 3

No, his IMDB biography states he's a Christian.

Answer 4

Asher was an Israelite. You may call him a Jew since he (like all the Israelites) practiced the religion now called Judaism.