And of Asher he said,.... The tribe of Asher, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem:[let] Asher [be] blessed with children; with large numbers, as it appears this tribe was, having in it 53,400 men of war, Nu 26:47.
It was esteemed a great blessing to have many children, Ps 128:3; or "above the children"; above or more than the rest of the children of Jacob; see Lu 2:36; Jarchi observes, that he had seen, in a book called Siphri, that there was none in all the tribes blessed with children as Asher, but not known how:let him be acceptable to his brethren; either for his excellent bread, and royal dainties, Ge 49:20; or for the goodness of his olives and oil, and for the brass and iron found in this tribe, as follows; or, as some say, because of his children, his daughters being very beautiful:and let him dip his foot in oil; have such plenty of it, that if he would he might dip or wash his feet in it; and it was usual not only to anoint the head, but the feet also, with oil, Lu 7:46.
"Vidimus etiam vestigia pedum tingi", Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 13. c. 3. Vid. Dalecamp. Not.