I checked up the BDB lexicon and some softwares to study the usage of the word אֲשֶׁר in Bible. However in my level its seem so complex and I am unable to understand properly. Can anyone please tell me in simple words how and when this word "אֲשֶׁר" is used in Biblical Hebrew?
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This word simply is the equivalent of the relative pronoun in English—it means "which" if referring to an object, place, or thing, and "who" if referring to a person. It simply serves to identify or describe the person by something which characterizes them.
So, for example, Genesis 3:17:
And He said to Adam: Because you have harkened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree about which [אשר] I gave you instruction, saying that you shall not eat of it, the ground shall be cursed for your sake: you shall eat of it in grief all the days of your life.
Here it serves to specify the tree: this is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, about which God gave instruction ("You shall not eat of it").
Again, Genesis 1:7:
And God made the expanse, and separated the waters that were [אשר] under the expanse, from those [אשר] above the expanse: and it was so.
Even though the letters א, ש, and ר are used in other words and names, it should not be confused for this word.
Sola Gratia
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Good. Feel free to incorporate my second comment under Lowther's answer -- it's almost but not quite equivalent to the English relative pronoun. – Luke Sawczak Jun 01 '19 at 02:21
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Hmm, probably yes. At a minimum, they stood out to me as odd on reading! – Luke Sawczak Jun 02 '19 at 00:56
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1I think he meant relative to its normative usage, not another language or culture (namely his own). – Sola Gratia Jun 03 '19 at 13:01
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Indeed, I meant compared to most times I read this word in the Bible. By the way, my reading this morning reminded me of another use: Ex. 29:38: וְזֶה אֲשֶׁר תַּעֲשֶׂה עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ "This is what you will do [=offer] on the altar." Here אֲשֶׁר is not just "which" but "that which". – Luke Sawczak Jun 08 '19 at 12:26
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That use reminds me of Ex. 3:14: אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה "I am what/who I am" — incidentally a clue as to why the OP might be interested in the word. (For more on how to place the copula in that line, see this answer.) – Luke Sawczak Jun 08 '19 at 12:29
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Unless I'm missing something, this is in the BDB and should answer your Question?
H834 אשׁר 'ăsher BDB Definition: 1) (relative participle) 1a) which, who 1b) that which 2) (conjunction) 2a) that (in object clause) 2b) when 2c) since 2d) as 2e) conditional if Part of Speech: relative particle conjunction A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: a primitive relative pronoun (of every gender and number)
Furthermore, you can see the first citation of אשׁר in:
Gen 1:7 ויעשׂ אלהים את־הרקיע ויבדל בין המים אשׁר מתחת לרקיע ובין המים אשׁר מעל לרקיע ויהי־כן׃
KJV Gen 1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
אשׁר is a general part of Hebrew speech, nothing to in-depth.
Lowther
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One linguistically interesting note on asher is that in some sentences, especially in the books of 1 & 2 Kings, its syntax is a little different: even though it appears to be a relative pronoun, sometimes it's followed by a second pronoun for the same antecedent! A word-by-word gloss of 1 Kings 13:17 reads: "Return by going on the road which (asher) you came by it." This last word would be omitted in English, and interestingly, Elijah himself omits it a few verses earlier in 13:9. – Luke Sawczak May 31 '19 at 13:33
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I did redact my statement above concerning "particular grammatical form " as the question did have vowel pointing which I did not notice, so I had removed the portion which stared the misunderstanding of @Luke Sawczak . Thanks – Lowther Jun 02 '19 at 00:49
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