Ephraim Facts for 9-13 Year Olds

Categories: Joseph

• Ephraim is the second son of Joseph and Asenath.
• Joseph named him Ephraim, saying: “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”
• The name, Ephraim, means “fruitfulness.”
• He and his older brother, Manasseh, are born before the famine.
• Sometime later, Joseph’s family migrates to Egypt because of the famine.
• When Joseph hears that Jacob is ill, he goes to see him with his two sons.
• Joseph’s sons are in their late teens or early twenties.
• Jacob makes it plain that he wants to formally adopt Joseph’s two children.
• Jacob asks to bless them also.
• Jacob says, “I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too.” This suggests there may not have been much interaction between Joseph and his family, even though they are in Egypt.
• Joseph takes his sons from his father’s lap.
• Ephraim is on his right toward Jacob’s left hand and Manasseh is on his left toward Jacob’s right hand; he brings them close to him.
• But Jacob reaches out his right hand and puts it on Ephraim’s head, though he is the younger son, and crossing his arms, he puts his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh is the firstborn.
• Joseph tries to correct him, exclaiming that “Manasseh is on your right.”
• Jacob says he knows that. He says that Manasseh will become a leader of a great people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.”
• Jacob intends to give the blessing to the younger son.
• Joseph finally accepts his father’s wishes and puts Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.
• Ancient rabbinical sources describe Ephraim as being “modest and not selfish.”
• Ephraim has at least 3 sons. I Chronicles 7 claims additional sons; one is the ancestor of Joshua.
• Ephraim is the ancestor of the Tribe of Ephraim.
• The tribe is described as dominant, arrogant, envious, and filled with discontent.
• When the territory is allocated, the Tribe of Ephraim is at the center of Canaan. It encompasses much of Samaria.
• The fertile mountainous area provides protection and prosperity.
• Its regions of Shechem and Shiloh are the center of Israelite religious activity for the better part of 400 years.
• In the time of David, when the Ark is officially established at Mount Zion (in Judah’s territory), Ephraim’s authority is diminished.
• This causes major discontent within the Tribe of Ephraim.
• When the tribes divide following the death of Solomon, Jeroboam, from the Tribe of Ephraim, is made king.
• “Ephraim” oftentimes stands for the Northern Kingdom, much like “Judah” stands for the Southern Kingdom.
• After the division, “Ephraim” is accused of forsaking God, and its attempts to establish another altar are considered an act of apostasy.
• The Tribe of Ephraim is conquered by the Assyrians in 723 BCE.
• Its population is deported.
• It is one of the ten lost tribes of Israel.