Abiezer

(father of help, helpful).

1. Eldest son of Gilead, and descendant of Manasseh. (Joshua 17:2; 1 Chronicles 7:18) (B.C. 1450.) He was the ancestor of the great judge Gideon. [GIDEON]

2. One of David’s mighty men. (2 Samuel 23:27; 1 Chronicles 11:28; 27:12) (B.C. 1014.)

ab-i-e'-zer, a-bi-e'-zer ('abhi`ezer, "father of help," or "my father is help." Iezer, Iezerite (in the King James Version Jeezer, Jeezerite), is Abiezer with the letter beth omitted):

(1) A descendant of Joseph the son of Jacob, and head of one of the families of Manasseh that settled West of the Jordan (Nu 26:30; Jos 17:1-6; 1Ch 7:14-19). As he was great uncle to Zelophehad's daughters, who brought a case before Moses (Nu 36), he must have been an old man at the time of the conquest. He was the son of Gilead the son of Machir, in the sense of being a more remote descendant, for Machir had sons before the death of Joseph (Ge 50:23). The Machir that possessed Gilead and Bashan because he was "a man of war" was the Manassite family of Machir, with Jair as its great general (Jos 17:1; 13:30,31, Nu 32:39-41, De 3:12-15). To Abiezer and other sons of Gilead territory was assigned West of the Jordan.

In later generations the name survived as that of the family to which Gideon belonged, and perhaps also of the region which they occupied (Jud 6:34; 8:2). They are also called Abiezrites (Jud 6:11,24, 8:32). The region was West of Shechem, with Ophrah for its principal city.

(2) One of David's mighty men, "the Anathothite" (2Sa 23:27; 1Ch 11:28), who was also one of David s month-by-month captains, his month being the ninth (1Ch 27:12).

Willis J. Beecher