EPHRAIM  , a tribe of

Israel, called after the younger son of Joseph, who in his benediction exalted Ephraim over the elder brother Manasseh (Gen. xlviii.) . These two divisions were often known as the "house of Joseph" (Josh. xvii . 14 sqq.; Judg. i . 22; 2 Sam. xix . 20; I Kings xi . 28) . The relations between them are obscure; conflicts are referred to in Is. ix . 21,' and Ephraim's proud and ambitious character is indicated in its demands as narrated in Josh. xvii . 14; Judg. viii . 1-3, xii . 1-6 . Thoughout, Ephraim played a distinctive and prominent part; it probably excelled Manasseh in numerical strength, and the name became a synonym for the northern kingdom of Israel .

Originally the name may have been a

geographical term for the central portion of Palestine . Regarded asa tribe, it lay to the north of Benjamin, which traditionally belongs to it; but whether the young " brother " (see BENJAMIN) sprang from it, or grew up separately, is uncertain . Northwards, Ephraim lost itself in Manasseh, even if it did not actually include it (Judg. i . 27; r Chron. vii . 29); the boundaries between them can hardly be recovered . Ephraim's strength lay in the possession of famous sites: Shechem, with the tomb of the tribal ancestor, also one of the capitals; Shiloh, at one period the home of the ark; Timnath-Serah (or Heres), the burial-place of Joshua; and Samaria, whose name was afterwards extended to the whole district (see SAMARIA) . Shechem itself was visited by Abraham and Jacob, and the latter bought from the sons of Hamor a burial-place (Gen. xxxiii . 19) . The story of Dinah may imply some early settlement of tribes in its vicinity (but see SIMEON), and the reference in Gen. xlviii . 22 (see R . V. marg.) alludes to its having been forcibly captured . But how this part of Palestine came into the hands of the Israelites is not definitely related in the story of the invasion (see JOSHUA) .

A careful discussion of the Biblical data referring to Ephraim is given by H . W .

Hogg, Ency . Bib., s.v . On the characteristic narratives which appear to have originated in Ephraim (viz. the Ephraimite or Elohist source, E), see GENESIS and BIBLE: Old Testament Criticism . See further ABIMELECH; GIDEON; MANASSEH; and JEWS: History .