BERIAH:
- 1. A son of Asher, representing, however, not an individual, but a clan (Gen. xlvi. 17; Num. xxvi. 44, 46). A member of the clan was called a Beriite (Num. xxvi. 44). The name is also found in the genealogical list, I Chron. vii. 30, 31.
- 2. A clan of Benjamin (I Chron. viii. 13).
- 3. A clan of Ephraim (I Chron. vii. 21-23). The chronicler here adds an explanation of the name, "because it went evil with his [father's] house." It has been supposed by some (Bertheau, Commentary, ad loc.) that Nos. 2 and 3 are identical, and that Beriah of Benjamin was associated with Ephraim because of its services to that tribe.
- 4. A Levite of the Gershon line (I Chron. xxiii. 10, 11).
G. G. B. L.
