Editing Tribe of Ephraim (section)

==Ephraim as portrayed in biblical narrative==

According to the Bible, the Tribe of Ephraim is descended from a man named Ephraim, who is recorded as the son of Joseph, the son of Jacob, and [[Asenath]], the daughter of [[Potiphera]].<ref name="CrownPummer1993">{{cite book|editor1=Alan David Crown|editor2= Reinhard Plummer|editor3= Abraham Tal|title=A Companion to Samaritan Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_iMnzhSSbowC&pg=PA85|year=1993|publisher=Mohr Siebeck|isbn=978-3-16-145666-4|page=85}}</ref><ref>Genesis 41:50-52, Genesis 30.</ref> The descendants of [[Joseph (son of Jacob)|Joseph]] formed two of the tribes of Israel, whereas the other sons of Jacob were the founders of one tribe each.

The Bible records that the Tribe of Ephraim entered the land of [[Canaan]] during its conquest by [[Joshua]], a descendant of Ephraim himself.<ref>{{bibleverse||Numbers|13:8|NIV}} and {{bibleverse|1|Chronicles|7:20-27|NIV}}</ref> However, many archeologists have abandoned the idea that Joshua carried out a conquest of Canaan similar to that described in the Book of Joshua, seeing Jews instead as indigenous Canaanites who developed a monotheistic religion over time.<ref name= McConville2010>{{Cite book |last1= McConville|first1=Gordon|last2= Williams|first2=Stephen|title= Joshua |publisher= Eerdmans |year= 2010|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=U_8LhXUU6NQC |isbn= 978-0-8028-2702-9}}</ref>{{rp |4}} <ref name="Congress2000">{{cite book|author=Lester L. Grabbe|title=International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament: Congress Volume Oslo 1998|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mFL0__dIdlcC&pg=PA210|access-date=15 January 2017|series=Supplements to Vetus testamentum|date=1 January 2000|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-11598-9|page=210|chapter=Writing Israel's History at the End of the Twentieth Century}}</ref>

From Joshua to the formation of the first [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|Kingdom of Israel]], the Tribe of Ephraim was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes. No central government existed, and in times of crisis the people were led by ad hoc leaders known as [[Biblical judges|Judges]] (see the [[Book of Judges]]).

With the growth of the threat from Philistine incursions, the Israelite tribes decided to form a strong centralised monarchy to meet the challenge. The Tribe of Ephraim joined the new kingdom with [[Saul]] as the first king. The widely accepted date for Saul's reign is approximately 1025–1005&nbsp;BCE. Some scholars dispute this date range and place Saul later, perhaps as late as "the second half of the tenth century B.C.E."<ref>On both datings, see {{cite book |last=Finkelstein |first=Israel |date=2013 |title=The Forgotten Kingdom: the archaeology and history of Northern Israel |url=https://www.sbl-site.org/assets/pdfs/pubs/9781589839106_OA.pdf |location=Atlanta |publisher=Society of Biblical Literature |page=51 |isbn=978-1-58983-911-3 |author-link= Israel Finkelstein}}</ref>

After the death of Saul, the Bible records all the tribes other than Judah remained loyal to the House of Saul. After the death of [[Ish-bosheth|Ishbosheth]], Saul's son and successor to the throne of Israel, the Tribe of Ephraim joined the other northern Israelite tribes in making [[David]], who was then the king of Judah, the king of a reunited [[United Kingdom of Israel|Kingdom of Israel]]. According to archaeologist [[Israel Finkelstein]], there is doubt about whether the biblical ordering for the reigns of the early monarchs is reliable, and that the sequence preserved in the Bible, in which David follows Saul as king of Israel, may not be historically accurate.<ref>{{cite book |last=Finkelstein |first=Israel |date=2013 |title=The Forgotten Kingdom: the archaeology and history of Northern Israel |url=https://www.sbl-site.org/assets/pdfs/pubs/9781589839106_OA.pdf |location=Atlanta |publisher=Society of Biblical Literature |page=51 |isbn=978-1-58983-911-3 |author-link= Israel Finkelstein}}</ref>

However, on the accession of [[Rehoboam]], David's grandson, in c. 930&nbsp;BCE the northern tribes split from the [[Davidic line|House of David]] to form the [[northern Kingdom of Israel]]. The first king of the northern kingdom was an Ephraimite, [[Jeroboam]], who likely ruled in 931–909 BCE.<ref>For the biblical account, see {{bibleverse|1|Kings|11:26|KJV}}</ref><ref>On the date of Jeroboam I, see{{cite book |last=Finkelstein |first=Israel |date=2013 |title=The Forgotten Kingdom: the archaeology and history of Northern Israel |url=https://www.sbl-site.org/assets/pdfs/pubs/9781589839106_OA.pdf |location=Atlanta |publisher=Society of Biblical Literature |page=64 |isbn=978-1-58983-911-3 |author-link= Israel Finkelstein}}</ref>

The accents of the tribes were distinctive enough even at the time of the confederacy so that when the Israelites of [[Gilead]], under the leadership of [[Jephthah]], fought the Tribe of Ephraim, their pronunciation of ''[[shibboleth]]'' as ''sibboleth'' was considered sufficient evidence to single out individuals from Ephraim, so that they could be subjected to immediate death by the Israelites of Gilead.

Ephraim was a member of the Northern Kingdom until the kingdom was conquered by [[Assyria]] in c. 723&nbsp;BCE  and the population deported. From that time, the Tribe of Ephraim has been counted as one of the [[Ten Lost Tribes]] of Israel.

Ephraim is often seen as [[Ephraim and Judah|the tribe that embodies]] the entire [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Northern Kingdom]] and [[Omrides|the royal house]] resided in the tribe's territory (just as [[Tribe of Judah|Judah]] is the tribe that embodies the [[Kingdom of Judah]] and provided its royal family).