Tribe of Ephraim

Tribe of Ephraim (אפרים "double fruitfulness", Standard Hebrew Efráyim, Tiberian Hebrew ʾEp̄ráyim / ʾEp̄rāyim) - took precedence over that of Manasseh by virtue of Jacob's\nblessing (Gen. 41:52; 48:1). The descendants of Joseph formed\ntwo of the tribes of Israel, whereas each of the other sons of\nJacob was the founder of only one tribe. Thus there were in\nreality thirteen tribes; but the number twelve was preserved by\nexcluding that of Levi when Ephraim and Manasseh are mentioned\nseparately (Num. 1:32-34; Josh. 17:14, 17; 1 Chr. 7:20). Territory of. At the time of the first census in the\nwilderness this tribe numbered 40,500 (Num. 1:32, 33); forty\nyears later, when about to take possession of the Promised Land,\nit numbered only 32,500. During the march (see Camp )\nEphraim's place was on the west side of the tabernacle (Num.\n2:18-24). When the spies were sent out to spy the land, "Oshea\nthe son of Nun" of this tribe signalized himself. The boundaries of the portion of the land assigned to Ephraim\nare given in Josh. 16:1-10. It included most of what was\nafterwards called Samaria as distinguished from Judea and\nGalilee. It thus lay in the centre of all traffic, from north to\nsouth, and from Jordan to the sea, and was about 55 miles long\nand 30 broad. The tabernacle and the ark were deposited within\nits limits at Shiloh, where it remained for four hundred years.\nDuring the time of the judges and the first stage of the\nmonarchy this tribe manifested a domineering and haughty and\ndiscontented spirit. "For more than five hundred years, a period\nequal to that which elapsed between the Norman Conquest and the\nWar of the Roses, Ephraim, with its two dependent tribes of\nManasseh and Benjamin, exercised undisputed pre-eminence. Joshua\nthe first conqueror, Gideon the greatest of the judges, and Saul\nthe first king, belonged to one or other of the three tribes. It\nwas not till the close of the first period of Jewish history\nthat God 'refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the\ntribe of Ephraim, but chose the tribe of Judah, the Mount Zion\nwhich he loved' (Ps. 78:67, 68). When the ark was removed from\nShiloh to Zion the power of Ephraim was humbled." Among the causes which operated to bring about the disruption\nof Israel was Ephraim's jealousy of the growing power of Judah.\nFrom the settlement of Canaan till the time of David and\nSolomon, Ephraim had held the place of honour among the tribes.\nIt occupied the central and fairest portions of the land, and\nhad Shiloh and Shechem within its borders. But now when\nJerusalem became the capital of the kingdom, and the centre of\npower and worship for the whole nation of Israel, Ephraim\ndeclined in influence. The discontent came to a crisis by\nRehoboam's refusal to grant certain redresses that were demanded\n(1 Kings 12). From Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) Ephraim, Tribe of