The Greek form Aser (Ἀσήρ) represents the Hebrew name Asher (אָשֵׁר), meaning "happy, blessed, fortunate" — from the Hebrew esher (happiness) or the root ashar (to be straight, blessed). Asher was the eighth son of Jacob and the ancestor of the tribe of Asher. He appears in both Luke's Gospel and in Revelation's vision of the sealed tribes.
Asher's name comes from Leah's exclamation at his birth: "How happy I am! The women will call me happy (be-oshri)" (Genesis 30:13). The tribe of Asher settled in the beautiful coastal territory of northern Canaan. In Luke 2:36, the prophetess Anna is identified as a daughter of the tribe of Asher — a woman of extraordinary devotion who prayed and fasted at the Temple and recognized the infant Jesus as the Messiah. God chose a woman from one of the most neglected northern tribes to be among the first witnesses to Christ. Asher also appears in the 144,000 of Revelation 7:6, confirming the complete inclusion of all Israel's tribes in God's redemptive plan.