EPHRAIM

EPHRAIM (Heb. אֶפְרָיִם), younger son of joseph , born to him in Egypt by his wife asenath daughter of Poti-Phera (Gen. 41:50–52); the eponymous ancestor of one of the two tribes descended from Joseph. Before his death, Jacob adopted both Ephraim and his older brother manasseh as his sons on a par with Reuben and Simeon, thereby ensuring that each would become the ancestor of an entire Israelite tribe, rather than of half a tribe (48:5, 16). He made Ephraim the recipient of a greater blessing than his older brother (48:13–20), thus giving greater prominence and importance to the tribe of Ephraim. The story is an etiological explanation of the prominence of the Ephraimites in historical times. In contrast to the pentateuchal tradition, I Chr. 7:20–29 maintains that Ephraim and his family remained in Canaan and says nothing about Ephraim's birth in Egypt. -The Name From about 745 B.C.E. onward, the name Ephraim also served as a popular alternative to Israel to designate the people of territory of the tribe of ephraim. Territory of the tribe of Ephraim.   the shrunken northern kingdom or their descendants (Isa. 7:5, 8; Jer. 31:17, 20; Hos. 5:3, 5, et al.). The origin of the name Ephraim is not clear. According to Genesis 41:52, Joseph, in so naming his son, made a wordplay based on the root פרי ("to be fruitful"). Most scholars consider this to be the correct derivation, and hold that the name means "fertile land," with the addition of an old locative suffix – aim (-ayim). However, some view the name as a derivative of the post-biblical אֲפָר ("a place of pasture"). In both theories the name is geographical, the tribe having been called after the region it occupied, "the land of Ephraim," "the country of Ephraim" (Obad. 19), or "the hill country (Heb. har) of Ephraim." Least likely is the suggested connection with Akkadian eperu, "dust," "region," cognate with Heb. ʿapar, that would have resulted in spelling Ephraim with initial ayin. -The Land of Ephraim This area comprises the hill country of central Palestine. In this region there is no watershed plateau as in Judah, but a complex of ridges, spurs, and valleys surrounding the central valley, el-Makhnah, which is apparently to be identified with Michmethath (Josh. 16:6; 17:7). Shechem stands at the northwest extremity of this valley. On the east, two long spurs descend to the Jordan plain: Qarn as-Sarṭabah (RH 2:4) and Rās al-Kharrubueh. Wādi esh-shaʿīr, which falls into the Alexander River, continues northwest from the central plain of Shechem. To the northeast is the plain of Sychar (al-ʿAskar), which is formed by Wādi Beidān falling into Wādi Fāri, which in turn flows into the Jordan. The Shalem Plain, linked to the Jordan Valley by Wādi Ifjīm, extends to the east. The plain of Michmethath stretches southward until it reaches the Lebonah Ridge (Khān Lubbān), which hems it in on the south. The hill country of Ephraim is one of the most fertile areas in Palestine and at present is planted with such fruit trees as vine, olive, pomegranate, carob, etc. Prior to Israelite settlement, it was wooded (Josh. 17:18), and during the monarchy, beasts of prey still roamed there (II Kings 2:24). The coastal strip parallel to the hill country of Ephraim is extremely narrow; it is unsuitable for anchorage and ships found shelter in the river estuaries (Alexander, Ḥaderah; see Sharon in Israel, Land   of: Geographical Survey). It is widely accepted that the lists of tribal territories in Joshua 13–19 reflect the situation before the period of the monarchy. It is difficult, however, to determine the exact limits of the territory of Ephraim, since it is only indicated as part of the wider unit, the house of Joseph (which included Manasseh), and the biblical data are variously interpreted by scholars (see Yeivin, bibliography). -The Tribe From the genealogical lists of the tribe of Ephraim (Num. 26:35ff.; I Chron. 7:20ff.), it is known that its families intermingled with other tribes, especially asher , benjamin , and judah . The central position of the Ephraimites' area of settlement and their militant spirit led them to encroach upon Manasseh, whose power declined with the passage of time. After the migration of the Danites (Judg. 18. to the north, and the defeat of the benjaminites (Judg. 19), the Ephraimites spread both south and southwest, coming into conflict and mingling with Judah in areas severed from the Jebusites of jerusalem (see jebus ) during the period of the Judges. This explains why, in various biblical lists, certain families, places, and areas are sometimes attributed to Judah, Benjamin, or Dan, and sometimes to Ephraim. According to the Bible, the conquest of Canaan was led by joshua of the tribe of Ephraim. In the ensuing period of the Judges, the accounts of the disputes with gideon (Judg. 8) and jephthah (Judg. 12) illustrate the pride of the Ephraimites, who claimed seniority among the tribes and precedence over the fraternal tribe of Manasseh (cf. Gen. 48:13–20). This was doubtless due not only to the political independence that they achieved in the period of the Judges, but also to the location of the religious center of shiloh in their territory. The military and political importance of the Ephraimites is reflected in some ancient biblical poems, such as the Song of Deborah (Judg. 5:14). Jacob's blessing (Gen. 49) praises Joseph for his prowess and his hegemony over the other tribes, but contains no reference to Joseph's sons Ephraim and Manasseh, perhaps because it dates from a time when Joseph still counted as only one tribe in the league of Israelite tribes. In the blessing of Moses, however, the sons of Joseph are referred to as "the myriads of Ephraim," and "the thousands of Manasseh" (Deut. 33:17), which probably reflects the later date, on the whole, of the pronouncements on the tribes in Deuteronomy 33, as compared with those in Genesis 49. The self-aggrandizement of the Ephraimites over the other tribes and their tendency to isolation, inherent in such self-aggrandizement, ultimately proved fatal to themselves and to the entire nation, since it brought about the end of the united kingdom of David and Solomon and the diminution of the state's prestige. The man held responsible in the Bible for the breakup was an Ephraimite – jeroboam son of Nebat, from Zeredah in the land of Ephraim (I Kings 11:26). (Encyclopaedia Hebraica) -In the Aggadah The preference shown by Jacob toward Ephraim, in placing his right hand on his head instead of on Manasseh's and in twice mentioning Ephraim before Manasseh (Gen. 48:14–20), was interpreted by the rabbis as an all-inclusive nullification of Manasseh's prerogatives as the firstborn. Thus Ephraim was granted precedence to Manasseh in the distribution of the Holy Land (Josh. 16:5); in the order of the banners during the wandering and camping in the desert (Num. 2:18, 20); and in the consecration of the Tabernacle (Num. 7:48, 54). Likewise, the descendants of Ephraim ruled before those of Manasseh, i.e., Joshua before Gideon, Jeroboam before Jehu (Gen. R. 97:5; Num. R. 14:4). Jacob instructed Ephraim for 17 years, yet when he came with Joseph, together with his brother Manasseh, to receive Jacob's blessings, Jacob did not recognize him, for upon seeing Jeroboam and Ahab as issuing from Ephraim, the prophetic spirit left him. Only after Joseph's prayer did it return, whereupon seeing that Joshua too would descend from Ephraim, he blessed him, giving him precedence over Manasseh (Tanḥ., Va-Yeḥi 6). R. Aḥa in the name of R. Levi explains Jeremiah 31:19 to mean that Jacob blessed Ephraim thus: "You shall be the head of the tribes and the head of the academies; and the best and most prominent of my children shall be called after thy name" (Lev. R. 2:3). Moreover, one of the two future Messiahs will originate from Ephraim; he will prepare the way for the Messiah, son of David, and defeat Gog and Magog and the kingdom of Edom; according to some sources he will be killed in battle (Targ. Yer. Ex. 40:11; Suk. 52a). Ephraim's standard was black and bore the emblem of a bullock in accordance with Deuteronomy 33:17 (Num. R. 2:7). The tribe of Ephraim camped to the west, whence came snow, hail, cold, and heat, since Ephraim had the strength to withstand them, as stated in Psalms 80:3 (Num. R. 2:10). The archangel Raphael was appointed to assist at God's throne to heal the breach wrought by Ephraim's descendant, Jeroboam the idol worshiper (ibid.). According to the Midrash, the tribe of Ephraim erred in their calculation of the termination of the Egyptian bondage and left the country 30 years before the date ordained for redemption. On their way to Canaan the Philistines waged war against them, killing 300,000 of their number. Their bones were heaped up along the road. In order that the children of Israel would not see these bleached bones and consequently take fright and return to Egypt, God did not lead them on the straight road from Egypt to the Land of Israel, but led them by a circuitous route. According to the Palestinian Targum (Ezek. 37) and the Talmud (Sanh. 92b) it was these bones which were resuscitated by Ezekiel (in the "Vision of the Dry Bones," cf. Ezek.). -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Abel, Geog, 1 (1933), 359; 2 (1938), 56, 81; S. Yeivin, in: EM, 1 (1950), 505–12 (incl. bibl.); Aharoni, Land, 236–37; Ginzberg, Legends, index. ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: S. Japhet, I & II Chronicles (1993), 178–87; S. Ahituv, Joshua (1995), 275–80.