Eber
- Dates
- 2231–1767 BC
Name means "the other side." He is the son of Salah from the line of Shem and regarded as the founder of the Hebrew race. The phrase "all the children of Eber" (Gen. 10:21) probably is the meaning of the word "Hebrews." Eber is mentioned in Luke 3.
In detail
A descendant of Shem through Arpachshad and ancestor of a group of people called "all the children of Eber" (Gen 10:21, 24, 25), which phrase probably means the "Hebrews" in the broadest sense. To his descendants belonged the Joktanite Arabic tribes (vs 25—30) and the Aramaean tribes descending from Nahor and other relatives of Abraham (chs 10:26—29 11:16—27 22:20—24), besides Abraham's descendants (ch 11:16—26), who included—in addition to the Israelites—the Ishmaelite Arabs, the Edomites, and the descendants of Keturah, Abraham's later wife (chs 25:1—16 36:1, 8, 43).
In Num 24:24 the name Eber is probably used collectively for all these peoples. Eber is listed in Luke's genealogy of Jesus Christ (Lk 3:35).
Bible passages
- Genesis 10:24
And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.
Text of the King James Version.