A clan of Manasseh; also one of David's mighty men; name means 'My father is help'
ʾĂḇîʿezer (ab + ʿezer, 'help') is the name of two men: (1) A descendant of Manasseh and ancestor of Gideon (Joshua 17:2; Judges 6:34) — Gideon was an Abiezrite. (2) One of David's thirty mighty men, from Anathoth of Benjamin (2 Samuel 23:27). The clan name Abiezer ('my father is help') proved prophetically fitting for Gideon's family, as God used this clan as the instrument of miraculous deliverance.
Gideon's identity as an Abiezrite — 'my father is help' — is a quiet theological declaration. When Gideon threshed wheat in a winepress, hiding from the Midianites, the angel addressed him as 'mighty warrior' (Judges 6:12). The help (ʿezer) that Gideon needed came not from his own strength but from the LORD himself. With 300 men and clay jars, God routed an army of 135,000 (Judges 8:10). The name points to the theology of Psalm 121: 'My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.' Human weakness is not an obstacle to divine help — it is often its prerequisite.