Machir

Machir [Heb. makir, lit. "salesman"]. A personal name.

1. Son of Manasseh (Josh 17:1; 1 Chr 7:14-15), Joseph's eldest son (Gen 41:51). Machir was born in Egypt, and his sons, including his firstborn Gilead (Num 26:29), "were placed at birth on Joseph's knees" (Gen 50:23), a custom that signified legal adoption by the patriarch (see also Gen 30:3-4). Machir's mother was an Aramean or Syrian concubine of Manasseh (1 Chr 7:14). Machir married a woman from the Huppites and Shuppites called Maachah (1 Chr 7:15). His descendants, known as Machirites or Makirites (Num 26:29; 36:1), settled in the land captured from the Amorites (Num 32:39-40; Deut 3:15; Josh 13:21).

2. Son of Ammiel from Lo-Debar who cared for Jonathan's lame son, Mephibosheth (2 Sam 9:4), and offered David food and protection (2 Sam 17:27).