אֲשֶׁר part. of relation (Moab. id.; origin dub.: 1. according to Tsepreghi^{Diss. Lugd. p. 171} Mühlau^{Bö Lb. ii. 79 n.} Sta^{Morg. Forsch. 1875, 188; Lb. § 167} Hom^{ZMG 1878, 708 ff.} Müll^{§ 153} Sayce^{Hbr. ii. 51} Lag^{M. i. 255} & especially Kraetzschmar^{Hbr. vi. 298 ff}, orig. a subst. ‘place’ = أَثَرٌ footstep, mark አሠr (do.), אֲתַר, ܐܰܬܰܪ place, Assyrian ašar, used (v. Kraetz.) both as a subst. ‘there, where,’ and as a relative of place ‘where’: in Heb. this development has advanced further, and it has become a relative sign generally. The chief objection to this explanation is that it would isolate Heb. from the other Semitic languages, in which pronouns are formed regularly from demonstrative roots (cf. also Nö^{ZMG 1886, 738}). 2. according to Phi^{St. C. 73} Sperling^{Nota Rel. im Hebr. 1876, 15–22} for אֲשֶׁל, developed from the relative שׁ (q.v.) by (1) the prefixing of either a merely prosthetic א, or, better, a pronominal א (giving rise to אש, the form of the relative in Ph.), and (2) the addition of the demonstr. root ל [found also in אֵל, א��לֶּה, הַלָּזֶה (q.v.). اَلَّذِى he who, እለ who (pl.)]: the main objection to this explanation is the change of ל to ר, which is hardly rendered probable by the comp. of Syriac ܗܳܪܟܳܐ by side of Targ. הָלְכָּא. 1 seems preferable, the primitive root having acquired different significations in the different Semitic languages, and having been weakened in Heb. to a mere particle of relation). A sign of relation, bringing the clause introduced by it into relation with an antecedent clause. As a rule אֲשֶׁר is a mere connecting link, and requires to be supplemented (see the grammars) by a pron. affix, or other word, such as שָׁם, defining the nature of the relation more precisely: e.g. Gn 1:11 אֲשֶׁר זַרְעוֹ־בוֹ lit. as to which, its seed is in it = in which is its seed, ψ 1:4 like the chaff אֲשֶׁר־תִּדְּפֶנּוּ רוּחַ as to which, the wind drives it = which the wind drives, etc.; & so אֲשֶׁר … שָׁם = where, אֲשֶׁר … מִשָּׁם = whence, Gn 2:11; 3:23; 20:13 etc. Sometimes also (v. infr.) the relation expressed by it is specifically temporal, local, causal, etc. More particularly
1. it includes its pronominal antecedent, whether in the nom. or obl. cases, as Nu 22:6 וַאֲשֶׁר תָּאֹר יוּאָר and he whom thou cursest is cursed, Ex 4:12 and I will teach thee אֲשֶׁר תְּדַבֵּר that which thou shalt say; and with particles or prepositions, as אֵת אֲשֶׁר (according to the context) him who …, those who …, that which …; לַאֲשֶׁר to him who … Gn 43:16, to those who … 47:24, to that which 27:8; מֵאֲשֶׁר Ju 16:30 2 S 18:8 than those whom; Lv 27:24 לַאֲשֶׁר קָנָהוּ מֵאִתּוֹ to him from whom he bought it, Nu 5:7; Is 24:2 כַּאֲשֶׁר נֹשֶׁא בוֹ like him against whom there is a creditor.
2. instances of אֲשֶׁר followed by a pron. affix, or by שָׁם, שָֽׁמָּה, מִשָּׁם, are so common that the exx. cited above will be sufficient. Very rarely there occurs the anomalous constr. עִם אֲשֶׁר Gn 31:32 for אֲשֶׁר עִמּוֹ (see Gn 44:9), בַּאֲשֶׁר Is 47:12 for אֲשֶׁר בָּהֶם, לַ��ֲשֶׁר for אֲשֶׁר … לָהֶם Ez 23:40: ψ 119:49 see under על אשׁר. It is followed by the pron. in the nomin., in the foll. cases:—(a) immediately, mostly before an adj. or ptcp., Gn 9:3 all moving things אֲשֶׁר הוּא־חַי which are living, Lv 11:26 Nu 9:13; 14:8, 27; 35:31 Dt 20:20 1 S 10:19 (v. Dr) 2 K 25:19 (‖ Je 52:25 היה) Je 27:9 Ez 43:19 Hg 1:9 Ru 4:15 Ne 2:18 Ec 7:26; before a vb. 2 K 22:13 (omitted 2 Ch 34:21). (b) in a negative sentence, at the end: Gn 7:2; 17:12 Nu 17:5 Dt 17:15 אֲשֶׁר לֹא אָחִיךָ הוּא who is not thy brother, 20:15 Ju 19:12 1 K 8:41 ‖ 9:20 ‖. N.B. ψ 16:3 אֲשֶׁר בָּאָרֶץ הֵ֑מָּה is an unparalleled expression for ‘who are in the land’; read אֲשֶׁר בָּאָ֑רֶץ הֵמָּה אַדִּירֵי וג׳ ‘the saints that are in the land, they (המה) are the nobles, in whom,’ etc.
3. sometimes (though rarely) the defining adjunct is a pron. of 1 or 2 ps. as well as of 3 ps. In such cases it is strictly to be rendered I who …, thou who, etc.; Ho 14:4 אֲשֶׁר־בְּךָ יְרֻחַם יָתוֹם thou by whom the fatherless is compassionated! Je 31:32 I, whose covenant they brake, 32:19 Is 49:23 Jb 37:17f. thou whose garments are warm …, canst thou? etc., ψ 71:19, 20; 144:12 we whose sons, etc., 139:15 my frame was not hidden from thee, אֲשֶׁר־עֻשֵּׂיתִי בַסֵּתֶר—I who was wrought in secret (= though I was wrought in secret), Ex 14:13 for ye who have seen the Egyptians to-day,—ye shall not see them again or ever! (cf. ψ 41:9).
4. the defining pron. adjunct is dispensed with— a. when אֲשֶׁר represents the simple subj. of a sentence, or the direct obj. of a vb.: so constantly, as Gn 2:2 the work אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה which he made, 3:3 the tree אֲשֶׁר בְּתוֹךְ הַגָּן which is in the midst of the garden, etc. b. after words denoting time, place, or manner, so that אֲשֶׁר then becomes equivalent to when, where, why: (α) Gn 6:4 אַחֲרֵי־כֵן אֲשֶׁר afterwards, when, etc. (cf. 2 Ch 35:20) 45:6 there are still 5 years אֲשֶׁר אֵין חָרִישׁ when there shall be no plowing, Jos 14:10 1 K 22:25; after יוֹם or הַיּוֹם Dt 4:10 Ju 4:14 1 S 24:5 (v. Dr) 2 S 19:25 Je 20:14 al.; similarly Gn 40:13. (β) Gn 35:13 בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר אִתּוֹ in the place where he spake with him, v 14; 39:20 Nu 13:27; 22:26 Dt 1:31 in the desert which thou sawest, where (accents Ke Di), 8:15 1 K 8:9 (unless לוּחוֹת הַבְּרִית has here fallen out: v. 𝔊 & Dt 9:9) Is 55:11; 64:10 ψ 84:4. So (γ) in אֶל אֲשֶׁר to (the place) which (or whither) Ex 32:34 Ru 1:16; אֶל־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר to every (place) whither Jos 1:16 Pr 17:8; בַּאֲשֶׁר in (the place) where †Ju 5:27; 17:8, 9 1 S 23:13 2 K 8:1 Ru 1:16, 17 Jb 39:30, once only with שָׁם Gn 21:17; בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר wheresoever Jos 1:7, 9 Ju 2:15 1 S 14:47; 18:5 2 S 7:7 2 K 18:7; מֵאֲשֶׁר from (the place) where = whencesoever †Ex 5:11 Ru 2:9; עַל־אֲשֶׁר to (the place) whither (or which) 2 S 15:20 1 K 18:12; עַל־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר Je 1:7. (δ) זֶה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר … this is the reason that or why … Jos 5:4 1 K 11:27. c. more extreme instances Lv 14:22, 30, 31 Nu 6:21, Dt 7:19 (wherewith), 28:20 1 S 2:32 1 K 2:26 (wherein), Ju 8:15 (about whom), Is 8:12 (where יאמר would be foll. normally by לוֹ), 31:6 turn ye to (him as to) whom they have deeply rebelled, 47:15 Zp 3:11 Ec 3:9, 1 K 14:19 (= how). d. it is dispensed with only in appearance after (אָמַרְתִּי וג׳) אֲשֶׁר אָמַר followed by the words used, its place being really taken by a pron. in the speech which follows, as Gn 3:17 the tree as to which I commanded thee saying, Thou shalt not eat from it, Ex 22:8 Dt 28:68 Ju 7:4 (זֶה) 8:15 (where the noun repeated takes the place of the pron., cf. Dt 9:2) 1 S 9:17 (זֶה)²³ 1 K 11:2 +; cf. 2 S 11:16 2 K 17:12; 21:4.
5. אֲשֶׁר sometimes in poet. = one who, a man who (men who), ὅστις, οἵτινες, ψ 24:4; 55:20; 95:4, 5 Jb 4:19; 5:5; 9:5, (Hi) 15, 17.
6. אֲשֶׁר occas. receives its closer definition by a subst. following it, in other words, its logical antecedent is inserted in the rel. clause: (a) in the phrase peculiar to Je., אֲשֶׁר הָיָה דְבַר י׳ אֶל יר׳ that which came (of) the word of י׳ to Je. †14:1; 46:1; 47:1; 49:34 (cf. Ew^{§ 334}); (b) Ex 25:9 Nu 33:4 1 S 25:30 2 K 8:12, 12:6 לְכֹל אֲשֶׁר־יִמָּצֵא שָׁם בָּֽדֶק׃, Ez 12:25; cf. the Ethiopic usage Di^{§ 201}; (c) (antec. repeated) Gn 49:30 = 50:13, 1 S 25:39 (י׳ repeated), Is 54:9 (prob.) as to which I sware that, etc., Am 5:1 which I take up over you (as) a dirge.
7. אֲשֶׁר ל׳ that (belongs, belong, belonged) to, is used a. either alone or preceded by כָּל־ to express (all) that (belongs) to, as Gn 14:23 מִכָּל־אֲשֶׁר־לָ֑ךְ of all that is thine, 31:1 מֵאֲשֶׁר לְאָבִינוּ of that which was our father’s 32:24 & sent over אֶת־אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ that which he had, + often b. as a circumlocution of the genitive, as Gn 29:9 עִם־הַצֹּאן אֲשֶׁר לְאָבִיהָ with the sheep that were her father’s, 40:5; 47:4, Lv 9:8; Ju 6:11; 1 S 25:7 הָרֹעִים אֲשֶׁר־לְךָ, 2 S 14:31 אֶת־הַחֶלְקָה אֲשֶׁר־לִי, 23:8; 1 K 1:8, 33 עַל הַפִּרְדָּה אֲשֶׁר־לִי upon mine own mule, v 49; 4:2; 2 K 11:10; 16:13 Ru 2:21; and especially in the case of a compound expression depending on a single genit., as Gn 23:9; 40:5; 41:43 מִרְכֶּבֶת הַמִּשְׁנֶה אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ the chariot of the second rank which he had, Ex 38:30; Ju 3:20; 6:25; 1 S 17:40; 21:8, אֲבִיר הָרֹעִים אֲשֶׁר לְשָׁאוּל the mightiest of Saul’s herdmen, 24:5 אֶת־כְּנַף־הַמְּעִיל אֲשֶׁר־לְשָׁאוּל, 2 S 2:8 Saul’s captain of the host, 1 K 10:28; 15:20; 22:31; Je 52:17; Ru 4:3. c. with names of places (especially such as do not readily admit the st. cstr.) Ju 18:28; 19:14 הַגִּבְעָה אֲשֶׁר לְבִנְיָמִן Gibeah (the hill) of Benjamin, 20:4; 1 S 17:1; 1 K 15:27; 16:15; 17:9; 19:3; 2 K 14:11. Comp. שֶׁל (q.v.) which in Rabb., like the Aramaic דִּיל-, ܕܺܝܠ, is in habitual use as a mark of the genitive.—N.B. In Aramaic also דּי, ܕ, without ל, expresses the gen. relation, as מִלְּתָא דִי־מַלְכָּא, lit. the word, that of the king = the word of the king. The few apparent cases of a similar use of אשׁר are, however, too foreign to the general usage of the language to be regarded otherwise than as due to textual error: 1 S 13:8 read אֲשֶׁר אָמַר (or שָׂם Ex 9:5) שְׁמוּאֵל (𝔊 εἶπε); 1 K 11:25 supply עָשָׂה (𝔊 ἣν ἐποίησεν); 2 K 25:10 supply אֵת with (as ‖ Je 52:14); 2 Ch 34:22 read וַאֲשֶׁר אָמַר הַמֶּלֶךְ (cf. 𝔊) and those whom the king appointed (abbreviated from 2 K 22:14); cf. Ew^{§ 292 a, b} with note.
8. אֲשֶׁר becomes, like Aramaic דּי, ܕ, a conj. approximating in usage to כִּי: thus a. = quod, ὅτι, that, subordinating an entire sentence to a verb of knowing, remembering, etc. (α) with אֵת Dt 9:7 forget not אֵת אֲשֶׁר הִקְצַפְתָּ the fact that (= how) thou provokedst, etc., 29:15; Jos 2:10; 1 S 24:11, 19; 2 S 11:20 know ye not אֵת אֲשֶׁר־יֹרוּ how they shoot from off the wall? 2 K 8:12 Is 38:3 + often. As subj. (rare) 1 K 14:19; 2 K 14:15; 20:20. Of time (peculiarly) †2 S 14:15 עַתָּה אֲשֶׁר now (is it) that … Zc 8:20 (prob.) yet (shall it be) that … v 23; cf. כִּמְעַט שֶׁ Ct 3:4. (β) without אֵת (not very common, כִּי being usually employed): after יָדַע Ex 11:7; Nu 32:23; Ez 20:26 (strange in Ez: v. Hi) Jb 9:5 (Ew De Di) Ec 8:12, רָאָה Dt 1:31 (RV) 1 S 18:15, הִתְוַדָּה to confess Lv 5:5; 26:40b, הִשְׁבִּיעַ 1 K 22:16 (caused to swear that …); after a noun Is 38:7 הָאוֹת אֲשֶׁר the sign that … (‖ 2 K 20:9 כִּי) with growing frequency in late Hebrew, 2 Ch 2:7, and especially Ne Est: Ne 2:5, 10; 7:65 (= Ezr 2:63) 8:14, 15; 10:31; 13:1, 19, 22; Est 1:19; 2:10; 3:4; 4:11; 6:2; 8:11; Ec 3:22 (מֵאֲשֶׁר) 5:4; 7:18 (with טוֹב: contrast Ru 2:22) v 22, 29; 8:12, 14; 9:1; Dn 1:8^(×2). (γ) prefixed to a direct citation, like כִּי q.v. (= ὅτι recitativum) (rare) 1 S 15:20; 2 S 1:4; 2:4 (v. Dr) ψ 10:6 (prob.), Ne 4:6. b. it is resolvable into so that: Gn 11:7 אֲשֶׁר לֹא יִשְׁמְעוּ so that they understand not, etc., 13:16; 22:14 אֲשֶׁר יֵאָמֵר so that it is said, Ex 20:26; Dt 4:10, 40 אֲשֶׁר יִיטַב לְךָ 6:3; 28:27, 51; 1 K 3:12, 13; 2 K 9:37; Mal 3:19. c. it has a causal force, forasmuch as, in that, since: Gn 30:18; 31:49 and Mizpah, אֲשֶׁר אָמַר for that he said. 34:13, 27; 42:21 we are guilty, אֲשֶׁר רָאִינוּ we who saw (or, in that we saw), Nu 20:13 Meribah, because they strove there, Dt 3:24; Jos 4:7, 23; 22:31; Ju 9:17; 1 S 2:23; 15:15; 20:42 go in peace, אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְנוּ forasmuch as we have sworn, 25:26 thou whom (= or, seeing that) י׳ hath withholden, 2 S 2:5 blessed are ye of י׳, אֲשֶׁר עֲשִׂיתֶם, who (οἵτινες) have done (or in that ye have done), 1 K 3:19; 15:5; 2 K 12:3; 17:4; 23:26; Je 16:13; Ec 8:11, 12 (Hi De Now). Here also belongs its use in אֲשֶׁר לָמָּה since why …? (= lest) Dn 1:10: v. sub לְמָה" dir="rtl" >לָמָּה. On אֲשֶׁר עַל כֵּן forasmuch as Jb 34:27 v. sub כִּי עַל כֵּן" dir="rtl" >כִּי עַל כֵּן. d. it expresses a condition (rare & peculiar): Lv 4:22 אֲשֶׁר נָשִׂיא יֶחֱטָא in (case) that = when (or if) a ruler sinneth (v 3, 13, 27 אִם) 25:33; Nu 5:29 (explained differently by Ew^{§ 334a}), Dt 11:27 and the blessing אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁמְעוּ if ye hearken (v 28 אִם), 18:22 Ges^{§ 159 cc} Jos 4:21 אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁאָלוּן … when they ask …, then … (v 6 כִּי), Is 31:4. In 1 K 8:33 (‖ 2 Ch 6:24 כִּי, cf. K v 35, 37) אֲשֶׁר may be rendered indifferently because or when. Once, similarly, אֵת אֲשֶׁר 1 K 8:31 v. p. 85. e. perhaps (exceptionally) = כַּאֲשֶׁר, as, Je 33:22; Is 54:9 (sq. כֵּן; but כֵּן q.v. sometimes stands without כאשׁר, & אשׁר may in these passages connect with what precedes); according to some also Je 48:8 ψ 106:34 (in a connexion where כַּאֲשֶׁר would be more usual: אֲשֶׁר may however be the obj. of אָמַר). In 1 S 16:7 אֲשֶׁר יִרְאֶה הָאָדָם read כַּאֲשֶׁר, v. Dr.In Dt 15:14 also read כַּאֲשֶׁר: note ברכך before. f. combined with preps., אֲשֶׁר converts them into conjunctions: see below, בַּאֲשֶׁר" dir="rtl" >בַּאֲשֶׁר, כַּאֲשֶׁר, מֵאֲשֶׁר. On its use similarly with (אַחֲרֵי) אַחַר, מִבְּלִי, בַּעֲבוּר, עַל דְּבַר, יַעַן, לְמַעַן, כְּפִי, עַד, עַל, עֵקֶב, מִפְּנֵי, תַּחַת, see these words.—הַאֲשֶׁר, with ה interrog., occurs once, 2 K 6:22.
Note.1 אֲשֶׁר being a connecting link, without any perfectly corresponding equivalent in Engl., its force is not unfreq. capable of being represented in more than one way. See e.g. 2 S 2:5 (above 8 c), Is 28:12 unto whom he said, or for that he said to them.
Note.2 The opinion that אֲשֶׁר has an asseverative force (like כִּי, q.v.), or introduces the apodosis, is not prob., being both alien to its general usage & not required by the passages alleged. Render Is 8:20 either ‘Surely according to this word will those speak who have no dawn,’ or ‘… will they speak when (cf. supr. 8 d Dt 11:27; Jos 4:21) they have no dawn.’