Eber


Eber is an ancestor of the Israelites and the Ishmaelites according to the "Table of Nations" in the Book of Genesis and the Books of Chronicles.

Lineage

Eber was a great-grandson of Noah's son Shem and the father of Peleg, born when Eber was 34 years old, and of Joktan. He was the son of Shelah, a distant ancestor of Abraham. According to the Hebrew Bible, Eber died at the age of 464, when Jacob was 79.

In the Septuagint, Eber's father is called Sala. His son is called Phaleg, born when Heber was 134 years old, and he had other sons and daughters. Heber lived to an age of 464 years.

Name

The Aramaic/Hebrew root is connected with crossing over and the beyond. Considering that other names for descendants of Shem also stand for places, Eber can also be considered the name of an area, perhaps near Assyria. A number of mediaeval scholars such as Michael the Syrian, Bar Hebraeus, and Agapius the Historian mentioned the prevailing view, that the Hebrews had received their name from Eber, while also pointing out that according to others, the name "Hebrew" meant "those who cross", in reference to those who crossed the Euphrates river with Abram from Ur to Harran, and then to the land of Canaan.
In some translations of the New Testament, he is referred to once as Heber ;
however, he should not be confused with the Heber of the Old Testament, grandson of Asher.

Hebrew language

According to Abu Isa, Eber, the great-grandson of Shem, refused to help with the building of the Tower of Babel, so his language was not confused when it was abandoned. He and his family alone retained the original human language, Hebrew, a language named after Eber.

In Islam

Eber is sometimes referred to in classical Islamic writings as the "father" of the "prehistoric, original Arabs", who lived in the Arabian Peninsula after the Deluge. Eber was also identified with the Quranic prophet Hud by some of the early Muslim authorities. Other sources identify the prophet Hud as Eber's son.