Machir (tribe)

Machir ( Heb. מכיר) refers to a tribe of Israel that settled in the East Bank in biblical times.

etymology

The name Machir comes from the Hebrew verb מכר (sell) and means "the sold one".

Biblical representation

The Machir tribe is named after Machir, the son of Manasseh ( Num 26.29  EU ). He does not count as an independent tribe among the Twelve Tribes of Israel , but is assigned to the tribe of Joseph , which in turn is divided into the sub-tribes Manasseh and Ephraim ( Num 36.1  EU ). Since Gilead is given as the son of Machir , the settlement area around this city ( Tell Rumeith ) is assumed ( Dtn 3.15  EU ), in the Iron Age (1200-1000 BC). The last mention of the tribe is in Ri 5.14  EU as a contingent in the battle of Debora.

literature

• Wolfgang Zwickel : Machir 1. In: Calwer Bibellexikon , Volume 2: L – Z. Calwer Verlag, Stuttgart 2003, p. 856.
• Klaus Koenen: Machir . In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (eds.): The scientific Bibellexikon im Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff., Access date: July 4, 2019.