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 - Yes, date unknown
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| Name |
Ephraim |
| Gender |
Male |
| Died |
Yes, date unknown |
| Notes |
- «b»http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephraim
Ephraim«/b» («u»Hebrew «/u»: / , «u»Standard «/u» «i»Efráyim«/i» «u»Tiberian «/u» ) was, according to the «u»Book of Genesis «/u», the second son of «u»Joseph «/u» and «u»Asenath «/u», the founder of the «u»Israelite Tribe «/u» of «u»Ephraim «/u» and heir of the Abrahamic Covenant «u»1Chronicles 5:1-2 <http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=1Chronicles%205:1-2;&version=ESV;>«/u». The Covenant of Abraham was that his descendents would become many nations «u»Genesis 17:1-6 <http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Genesis%2017:1-6;&version=ESV;>«/u» between the Nile and Euphrates (General Middle East Area currently populated by the Arab people and nations) «u»Genesis 15:8 <http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Genesis%2015:8;&version=ESV;>«/u» and this his descendents would be like the stars of the sky «u»Genesis 15:5 <http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Genesis%2015:5;&version=ESV;>«/u», yet each time the birthright passed from one generation to the next it always passed through the barren woman starting with Abraham's wife Sarah «u»Genesis 11:30 <http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Genesis%2011:30;&version=ESV;>«/u» to Isaac's wife Rebecca «u»Genesis 25:21 <http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Genesis%2025:21;&version=ESV;>«/u». Jacob had two wives, Leah (the mother of the Jewish people) and Rachel (the mother of the house of Joseph), however only Rachel was barren «u»Genesis 29:31 <http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Genesis%2029:31;&version=ESV;>«/u». Joseph had only two children «u»Genesis 48:5 <http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Genesis%2048:5;&version=ESV;>«/u», which Ephraim was the heir of the birthright and the youngest «u»Genesis 48:20 <http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Genesis%2048:20;&version=ESV;>«/u». Ephraim's story of his children quite sad as several of his children died so that Abraham's blessing passed through Ephraim's few remaining sons «u»1Chronicles 7:20-23 <http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=1Chronicles%207:20-23;&version=ESV;>«/u». Biblically several leaders of ancient Israel came from the Tribe of Ephraim, including Joshua «u»1Chronicles 7:20-27 <http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=1Chronicles%207:20-27;&version=ESV;>«/u» and Jeroboam «u»1Kings 11:26 <http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=1Kings%2011:26;&version=ESV;>«/u». Due to this lack of identity some «u»Biblical scholars «/u» view this as postdiction, an «u»eponymous «/u» «u»metaphor «/u» providing an «u»aetiology «/u» of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation. The text of the «u»Torah «/u» argues that the name of «i»Ephraim«/i», which means «i»double fruitfulness«/i», refers to Joseph's ability to produce children, specifically while in «u»Egypt «/u» (termed by the Torah as «i»the land of his affliction«/i»).. Some scholars link the name to an Egyptian meaning rather than a Hebrew one.
In the Biblical account, Joseph's other son is «u»Manasseh «/u», and Joseph himself is one of the two children of «u»Rachel «/u» and «u»Jacob «/u», the other being «u»Benjamin «/u». Biblical scholars regard it as obvious, from their geographic overlap and their treatment in older passages, that originally Ephraim and Manasseh were considered one tribe - that of «i»Joseph«/i».«u»]«/u» John's Book of Revelation, however, accords only Ephraim the tribal name of Joseph. According to several biblical scholars, Benjamin was originally part of the suggested Ephraim-Manasseh single "Joseph" tribe, but the biblical account of Joseph as his father became lost. A number of biblical scholars suspect that the distinction of the «i»Joseph tribes«/i» (including Benjamin) is that they were the only Israelites which went to «u»Egypt «/u» «u»and returned «/u», while the main Israelite tribes simply emerged as a subculture from the «u»Canaanites «/u» and had remained in «u»Canaan «/u» throughout. According to this view, the story of Jacob's visit to «u»Laban «/u» to obtain a wife originated as a «u»metaphor «/u» for this migration, with the property and family which were gained from Laban representing the gains of the Joseph tribes by the time they returned from Egypt; according to textual scholars, the «u»Jahwist «/u» version of the Laban narrative only mentions the Joseph tribes, and Rachel, and doesn't mention the other tribal «u»matriarchs «/u» whatsoever.
In the Torah, the eventual precedence of the tribe of Ephraim is argued to derive from Jacob, blind and on his deathbed, blessing Ephraim before Manasseh.«u»[2][9]«/u» The text describing this blessing features a «u»hapax legomenon «/u» - the word («i»sh-k-l«/i») - which «u»classical rabbinical literature «/u» has interpreted in esoteric manners; some rabbinical sources connect the term with «i»sekel«/i», meaning «i»mind«/i»/«i»wisdom«/i», and view it as indicating that Jacob was entirely aware of who he was actually blessing; other rabbinical sources connect the term with «i»shikkel«/i», viewing it as signifying that Jacob was «i»despoiling«/i» Manasseh in favour of Ephraim; yet other rabbinical sources argue that it refers to the power of Jacob to «i»instruct«/i» and guide the «u»holy spirit «/u». In classical rabbinical sources, Ephraim is described as being modest and not selfish. These rabbinical sources allege that it was on account of modesty and selflessness, and a «u»prophetic «/u» vision of «u»Joshua «/u», that Jacob gave Ephraim precedence over Manasseh, the elder of the two; in these sources Jacob is regarded as being sufficiently just that God upholds the blessing in his honour, and makes Ephraim the leading tribe.
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| Person ID |
I61479 |
Glenn Cook Family |
| Last Modified |
3 Dec 2009 |
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| Photos |
 | Ephraim
Ephraim, by Francesco Hayez |
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