one of the 12 tribes of Israel that in biblical times constituted the people of Israel who later became the Jewish people. The tribe was named after the younger of two sons born to Jacob (also called Israel) and Zilpah, the maidservant of Jacob's first wife, Leah. After the Israelites took possession of the Promised Land, Joshua assigned territory to each of the 12 tribes. The tribe of Asher apparently settled among the Phoenicians in the upper region of Palestine, beyond the tribe of Zebulun and west of the tribe of Naphtali.

Following the death of King Solomon (922 BC), the Israelites separated into the northern Kingdom of Israel (representing 10 tribes) and the southern Kingdom of Judah. When the northern kingdom was conquered by the Assyrians in 721 BC, the 10 northern tribes, including Asher, were partially dispersed. In time they were assimilated by other peoples and thus disappeared as distinctive units. Jewish legends refer to them as the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.