Genesis 49:20

Happy is Asher whose fruitage is plenteous, and whose land aboundeth in balsams and costly perfumes.

מאשר שמנה לחמו, a reference to the olive oil pressed from olives grown on his territory, oil used to fry, bake, etc., and generally to improve the taste of the food consumed by the nation. Moses paraphrases Yaakov’s blessing when he says in Deuteronomy 33,24 טובל בשמן רגלו, “that he will dip his foot in oil.”

והוא יתן מעדני מלך, the kings of Israel were in the habit of taxing this tribe by requiring them to hand over part of their oil harvest. Instead of using this oil in preparing food, they used it to anoint their bodies, as a skin lotion. The purpose of this was depilatory, to remove hair from the skin where it was not wanted. This function of oil is described in Menachot 86 as effective when the olives had not yet ripened beyond a third of their eventual size. Not only would this preparation remove hair at the root, but it would also improve the texture of the skin surrounding such hair. When Sarah, in Genesis 18,12 refers to her experiencing once again עדנה, this is the same word, and she referred to a youthful appearance of her skin.

מאשר שמנה לחמו, the introductory letter מ appears to indicate that the bounty described in the verse following applied to only part of the territory in which Asher dwelled. The word לחמו is a euphemism for the whole ancestral land of the tribe of Asher, as it is what produces the bread of this tribe. The word לחם here as well as in many other examples, is a collective term including all the food these people grew and consumed. There were many olive trees on the territory of Asher, something confirmed by Moses in Deut. 33,24 where the tribe is described as immersing its feet in that oil. Also all the other fruit grown on its soil was especially good in quality. This is why the verse concludes with the words: והוא יתן מעדני מלך, that the dignitaries of that tribe would send gifts of these fruit to be served at the king’s table.