Bible Question:
What do we know about the tribe of Ephraim?
Bible Answer:
Valley with plowed and planted fields in Ephraim.
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The Hebrew word for Ephraim means “double fruit.”1 However, Ephraim is used in a number of ways in the Bible. All of them will be explained in order to provide a complete understanding of Ephraim.
The Man Ephraim
The first time Ephraim appears in the Bible, it is used for a man’s name (Genesis 41:50-52). In that passage, we are told that Joseph had two sons (see also Joshua 14:4). The first son was Manasseh, and the second was Ephraim. Since Manasseh was the first born, he deserved the birthright. However, Genesis 48:12-14 informs us that when their grandfather Jacob (also known as Israel) was about to die, he gave the birthright blessing to Ephraim and not to Manasseh. Consequently, Ephraim was placed before Manasseh. This means the name Ephraim was first used as a name for a man.
Allotment of the Tribes of isrea in Canaan.
Used by permission of BibleMapper.com.
The Nation Ephraim
Exodus 1:1-4 lists all of the sons of Jacob who came into Egypt from Canaan. The list does not contain Joseph because he was already in Egypt. So, we must remember Joseph in order to account for all twelve sons of Jacob.
Now these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; they came each one with his household: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. Exodus 1:1-4 (NASB)
Then after the twelve sons and their descendants lived about four hundred and thirty years in the land of Egypt, the nation of Israel exited Egypt and entered Canaan or the Promised Land. They divided Canaan among the twelve sons of Jacob (Joshua 1-12). One of the territories was known as Ephraim (Judges 3:27; 7:24; 2 Samuel 18:6; 1 Kings 4:8; 12:25). Joshua 16:4-10 describes the boundaries of the territory given to the tribe or the descendants of Ephraim. The territory that was given to the descendants of Ephraim was located immediately north of the territories assigned to the tribes of Benjamin and Judah. In the distant future, Ephraim will still be located north of the territory assigned to Judah (Ezekiel 48). Therefore, the second usage of Ephraim was for the territory occupied by the tribe of Ephraim or the descendants of Ephraim.
The City of Ephraim
Ephraim was also the name of a city. This is the third way Ephraim is used. It was the capital city of the territory known as Ephraim.
Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples. John 11:54 (NASB)
While the location of this city is unknown today, it is believed by some that the city was probably the old city called Ephron (2 Chronicles 13:19). Another view is that Ephraim was the modern city of et-Taiyibeh.
The Gate of Ephraim
One of the gates of ancient Jerusalem was called the Gate of Ephraim.
Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits. 2 Kings 14:13 (NASB)
There are three other references to the Gate of Ephraim (2 Chronicles 25:23; Nehemiah 8:16; 12:39). That is the fourth usage of the word Ephraim.
The Symbolism
But the most important usage of the word Ephraim in the Bible is its frequent usage as a symbol for the northern kingdom of Israel.We are told in 1 Kings 11-12 that after King Solomon died, the entire nation of Israel was split into two kingdoms. The northern portion was called the kingdom of Israel and the southern one was called the kingdom of Judah. After the division occurred, Jacob’s blessing upon Ephraim was fulfilled when Ephraim began to be used as an alternate name or a symbolic term for the northern kingdom of Israel (Hosea 4:15-17; 5:13-14; Isaiah 7:1-2; 11:3; 28:13).
Since Israel is stubborn
Like a stubborn heifer,
Can the LORD now pasture them
Like a lamb in a large field?
Ephraim is joined to idols;
Let him alone. Hosea 4:16-17 (NASB)
That is, Ephraim was used symbolically for Israel, especially in the book of Hosea. This is the fifth way Ephraim was used. It is the most significant usage.
Reference:
1. Charles L. Feinberg, “151 אפר,” in Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 66.