Genesis 49:20 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Out of Asher, &c.— The meat of Asher shall be fat, is Durell's rendering; who observes, that this patriarch (whose name implies happiness) had the satisfaction to hear his father declare, in the clearest manner, that his posterity would enjoy the greatest plenty. The paraphrase of the authors of the Universal History is, "Asher's portion shall make him happy; it shall abound with excellent corn and oil; the bread and dainty meats that shall be made of them shall be fit for a king's table." And they remark, that "the blessing spoken to Asher is capable of a double sense, and both verified by the event; namely, either that his country should be the most fertile, and produce the noblest corn in the whole land of Palestine, which it actually did; or else, that it should abound with the finest and most delicious oil, which his portion was also remarkable for; insomuch that its oil was the most famed of all Canaan's. Moses, in his blessing of that tribe, seems to intimate the latter, when he says, 'that Asher should dip his foot in oil.' See Deuteronomy 33:24." A great part of Solomon's daily provision for his table seems to have come from Asher, 1 Kings 4:22-23. Laish, the town which the Danites surprised and took from the effeminate Zidonians, was in this portion; and the report the spies made of the environs directly confirms the prophecy: We have seen the land, and behold it is very good. Ancient and modern authors agree in confirming this account.