EPHRAIM. - 1. Second-born son of Joseph and Aseneth (v.). Born in Egypt "before the year of famine came" (Gen. 41:50), he was given the name E. (a dual Hebrew form meaning "double fruitfulness"), an allusion to Joseph's words: "God has given me fruit in the land of my affliction." Jacob adopted Manasseh and E. and blessed them as his true sons, so that they might become heads of two distinct tribes, assigning, despite Joseph's protests, the first place to E.: "his younger brother shall become greater than Manasseh, and his posterity shall be a multitude of peoples" (Gen. 48:17-22). Joseph saw the third generation of E. (Gen. 50:22 [23]).
Of E.'s life we know that two of his sons (Ezer and Elad) were killed by the men of Gath (I Chron. 7:20 ff.). E. mourned the death of his own for a long time, and then fathered another son whom he named Beriah, because he was born amid the misfortunes of his house (I Chron. 7:23). Among the descendants of this one, the most famous is Joshua, son of Nun (I Chron. 7:27).
2. Tribe, of which the patriarch E. was the head. This tribe occupied an extensive territory between Dan and Benjamin to the south, western Manasseh to the north, the Mediterranean to the west and the Jordan to the east.
Its boundaries are indicated in Jos. 16:1-8; 17:7-10, but with no little obscurity.
Undoubtedly characteristic is the restriction of E. on the eastern side up to the mountainous region bordering the Jordan valley, so as to exclude Jericho, the Gōr and the river bank (cf. Judg. 3:27 ff.; 7:24). The principal cities of this tribe are: Shechem, Bethel, Shiloh, Thamnath Sare, the place of Joshua's burial
(Int. Attent.) EPHRAIM - Birth of E. son of Joseph (13th cent.). Detail of the mosaic of a vault of the atrium of St. Mark's - Venice.
(= Hirbet Tibneh), Lebonah, Baal-hazor (Tell 'Asār), Baal-shalishah, Aphek, Beth-horon, Ophrah, Pharathon, Tappuah.
The tribe of E. occupied the central part of Palestine. Studded with olive groves, the hills of E. were covered with numerous villages, separated by fertile valleys. The beauty of this country was sung by Jacob (Gen. 49:22) and by Moses (Deut. 33:12-16). To the fertility of the place is added security from enemy incursions.
Historically, the situation in the center of Palestine, the lines of communication with the north and the south, with the Jordan and with the sea, and the political and religious importance of Shechem and Shiloh contributed to the importance of this tribe.
The tribe of E., in the history of Israel, held one of the first places, and was surpassed in power and authority only by Judah. The tribe, in the second year of the exodus, had as its head Elishama, son of Ammihud (Num. 1:10), and counted 40,500 warriors, around Sinai, and 32,500 in the plains of Moab. Among the 12 spies of Palestine stands out Hoshea, son of Nun, called Joshua by Moses (v.). When the Hebrews arrived in Palestine, Joseph (= E. and Manasseh) together with other tribes pronounced the blessing on Mount Gerizim. To the Levites of Kohath were granted in E.: Shechem, a city of refuge, Gezer, Jazmaan, Beth-horon.
From the very beginning, the Ephraimites had bloody struggles with the Canaanites (Jos. 17:14-18), relegated to Gezer as tributaries. Proofs of strength were given by their judges Ehud (v.), Deborah (Judg. 4:5; 5:14), Gideon (7:24), Tola (10:1). They had the audacity to resist Gideon (8:1-3; 9:1-5) and Jephthah (ibid., 12:1-6), when they saw themselves neglected. With Samuel they held the command of Israel. After the death of Saul, E., like the other tribes, first recognized his son Ish-bosheth; then submitted to David, to whom it furnished officials. When at the death of Solomon a revolt broke out, the Ephraimites, desirous of command, knew how to profit from it: Jeroboam (v.) was one of their leaders. Shechem was chosen as the national center. The new kingdom of Israel came into being with the related schism: from this moment the history of E. is merged with that of the northern kingdom. But if the tribe fell into idolatry, many of its members remained faithful to Yahweh (cf. II Chron. 13:8-11; 30:1, 10, 18). In the time of Hezekiah the multitudes of the faithful, after having fulfilled their religious duties in the temple of Jerusalem, invaded the two southern provinces (Benjamin and E.) of the kingdom to destroy the idolatrous objects (II Chron. 31:1; cf. II Chron. 34:6, 9).