Ishvi

Biblical Record

Ishvi appears in the Bible only in genealogies and lists. None of his deeds or words are recorded.

• Genesis 46:17: He appears in the list of Jacob's family when they went down into Egypt. Here the four sons of Asher are named as Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, and their sister Serah is also listed.
• Numbers 26:44: This is the record of the second census, taken on the plains of Moab. In listing the clans of the descendants of Asher, it records "of Jesui, the family of the Jesuites" (KJV spelling). In this census the descendants of Asher totaled 53,400 (Numbers 26:47).
• 1 Chronicles 7:30: He appears in a genealogy that again lists the sons of Asher.

Significance in the Bible

Ishvi is recorded as the founder of one of the clans that made up the tribe of Asher. This record forms part of the genealogies showing that Jacob's family, which went down into Egypt, grew into the many clans of the twelve tribes of Israel. The New Testament does not mention him.

Interpretation and Issues

Genesis 46 and 1 Chronicles 7 list four sons of Asher. Numbers 26, however, lists only the clans of Imnah, Ishvi, and Beriah, omitting the clan of Ishvah. This difference has been explained in several ways.

• Some hold that Ishvah's line died out or was absorbed into another clan.
• Some scholars suggest that, because the Hebrew spellings of the two names are very similar, the names may have been conflated in the course of scribal copying.

The text does not indicate which explanation is correct. The same Hebrew name also appears in the list of Saul's sons in 1 Samuel 14:49, but that is a different person. The Bible contains no account of Ishvi's character or life, and the meaning of his name is uncertain.

In the Korean Church

Sermons or Sunday school lessons devoted specifically to Ishvi are rare. Church members typically encounter the name when reading the genealogies of Genesis and Numbers in the course of reading through the Bible.