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Bible Dictionaries
Ephraim
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
or EPHRAIM . A grandson of Jacob, and the brother of Manasseh, the first-born of Joseph by Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On ( Genesis 41:50 f. [E [Note: Elohist.] ], cf. Genesis 41:45 [J [Note: Jahwist.] ]). The ‘popular etymology’ of E [Note: Elohist.] connects the name with the verb pârâh , ‘to be fruitful,’ and makes it refer to Joseph’s sons. In the Blessing of Jacob ( Genesis 49:22 ) there may be a play upon the name when Joseph, who there represents both Ephraim and Manasseh, is called ‘a fruitful bough.’ The word is probably descriptive, meaning ‘fertile region’ whether its root be pârâh , or ’çpher , ‘earth’(?).
Genesis 48:14 ff. (J [Note: Jahwist.] ) tells an interesting story of how Jacob adopted his Egyptian grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh, into his own family, and at the same time, against the remonstrances of Joseph, conferred the blessing of the firstborn upon Ephraim hence Ephraim’s predestined superiority in later history.
P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] ’s Sinai census gives 40,500 men of war (Numbers 1:33 ), but this is reduced at the Plains of Moab to 32,500 (26:37), which is less than any of the tribes except Simeon, which ‘hardly existed except in name’ (Sayce, Hist. of Heb . p. 77). Contrary to what we should have expected from the Blessing of Jacob, Ephraim, according to P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] , lost in the meantime 20 per cent. while Manasseh gained 40 per cent.
The appearance of Joseph in the Blessing of Jacob, with no mention of his sons, who according to J [Note: Jahwist.] had been adopted as Jacob’s own, and were therefore entitled on this important occasion to like consideration with the others, points to a traditional echo of the early days in the land when Ephraim and Manasseh were still united. In the Song of Deborah (Judges 5:1-31 ) it is the ‘family’ Machir, the firstborn ( Joshua 17:1 ), the only ( Genesis 50:23 ) son of Manasseh, that is mentioned, not a Manasseh tribe. From 2 Samuel 19:20 (cf. art. Benjamin) it is plain that Shimei still regarded himself as of the house of Joseph; and, despite the traditional indications of a late formation of Benjamin (wh. see), the complete political separation of Manasseh from Ephraim appears to have been still later. At all events, Jeroboam the Ephraimite, who afterwards became the first king of Israel ( c [Note: circa, about.] . b.c. 930), was appointed by Solomon superintendent of the forced labour of the ‘house of Joseph,’ not of Ephraim alone. Ephraim, Machir, and Benjamin were apparently closely related, and in early times formed a group of clans known as ‘Joseph.’ There are no decisive details determining the time when they became definitely separated. Nor are there any reliable memories of the way in which Ephraim came into possession of the best and central portion of the land.
The traditions in the Book of Joshua are notably uninforming. Canaanites remained in the territory until a late date, as is seen from Judges 1:29 and the history of Shechem (ch. 8 f.). Ephraim was the strongest of the tribes and foremost in leadership, but was compelled to yield the hegemony to David. From that time onwards the history is no longer tribal but national history. Eli, priest of Shiloh and judge of Israel, Samuel, and Jeroboam I. were among its great men. Shechem, Tirzah, and Samaria, the capitals of the North, were within its boundaries; and it was at Shiloh that Joshua is said to have divided the land by lot. See also Tribes of Israel.
James A. Craio.
EPHRAIM . 1 . A place near Baal-hazor ( 2 Samuel 13:23 ) It may be identical with the Ephraim which the Onomasticon places 20 Roman miles N. of Jerusalem, somewhere in the neighbourhood of Sinjil and el-Lubbân . If Baal-hazor be represented, as seems probable, by Tell ‘Asûr , the city by relation to which such a prominent feature of the landscape was indicated must have been of some importance. It probably gave its name in later times to the district of Samaria called Aphærema ( 1Ma 11:34 , Jos. [Note: Josephus.] Ant . XIII. iv. 9). The site is at present unknown. 2 . A city ‘near the wilderness,’ to which Jesus retired after the raising of Lazarus ( John 11:54 ). ‘The wilderness’ is in Arab. [Note: Arabic.] el-barrîyeh, i.e ., the uncultivated land, much of it affording excellent pasture, on the uplands to the N. W. of Jerusalem. The Onomasticon mentions an ‘Efralm’ 5 Roman miles E. of Bethel. This may be the modern et-Taiyibeh , about 4 miles N.E. of Beitîn , with ancient cisterns and rockhewn tombs which betoken a place of importance in old times. See also Ephron, 4.
The Forest of Ephraim (Heb. ya’ar Ephraîm .) was probably not a forest in our sense of the term, but a stretch of rough country such as the Arabs still call wa‘r , abounding in rocks and thickets of brushwood. The district is not identified, but it must have been E. of the Jordan, in the neighbourhood of Mahanaim. It was the scene of Absalom’s defeat and death ( 2 Samuel 18:6 ff). The origin of the name cannot now be discovered. Mount Ephraim , Heb, har Ephraîm , is the name given to that part of the central range of Western Palestine occupied by Ephraim, corresponding in part to the modern Jebel Nâblus the district under the governor of Nâblus . Having regard to Oriental usage, it seems a mistake to tr. [Note: translate or translation.] with RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘the hill country of Ephraim.’ Jebel el-Quds does not mean ‘the hill country of Jerusalem,’ but that part of ‘the mountain’ which is subject to the city. We prefer to retain, with AV [Note: Authorized Version.] , ‘Mount Ephraim.’
W. Ewing.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Ephraim'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdb/e/ephraim.html. 1909.
