Editing Tribe of Ephraim

{{Short description|One of the two Half-Tribes of Joseph}}
{{Tribes of Israel}}
[[File:Ephraim. Willem Janszoon Blaeu and Joan Blaeu. Terra Sancta quae in Sacris Terra Promissionis olim Palestina. 1648-1664.jpg|thumb|Map of Ephraim, 17th century Dutch map]]
According to the  [[Hebrew Bible]], the '''Tribe of Ephraim''' ({{langx|he|אֶפְרַיִם}}, ''ʾEp̄rayim,'' in [[Pausa|pausa:]] {{lang|he|אֶפְרָיִם}}, ''ʾEp̄rāyim'') was one of the [[Twelve Tribes of Israel]]. The [[Tribe of Manasseh]], together with Ephraim, formed the [[Tribe of Joseph]]. It is one of the [[Ten Lost Tribes]]. The etymology of the name is disputed.<ref name="FreedmanMyers2000">For the etymology, see {{cite book|author=Robert D. Miller|editor1=David Noel Freedman|editor2=Allen C. Myers|editor3=Allen C. Beck|title="''Ephraim,''" Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P9sYIRXZZ2MC&pg=PA416|year=2000|publisher=W.B. Eerdmans|isbn=978-0-8028-2400-4|page=416}}</ref>

==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).

==Tribal territory==
In the biblical account, following the completion of the conquest of [[Canaan]] by the [[Israelite]] [[Joshua]] allocated the land among the twelve tribes. Kenneth Kitchen, a well-known conservative biblical scholar, dates this event to slightly after 1200 BC.<ref name = "pnxthp">Kitchen, Kenneth A. (2003), "On the Reliability of the Old Testament" (Grand Rapids, Michigan. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company)({{ISBN|0-8028-4960-1}})</ref> However, the consensus of modern scholars is that the conquest of Joshua as described in the Book of Joshua never occurred.<ref name="BakerArnold2004">"Besides the rejection of the Albrightian ‘conquest' model, the general consensus among OT scholars is that the Book of Joshua has no value in the historical reconstruction. They see the book as an ideological retrojection from a later period — either as early as the reign of Josiah or as late as the Hasmonean period." {{cite book|editor1=David W. Baker|editor2=Bill T. Arnold|author=K. Lawson Younger Jr. |chapter=Early Israel in Recent Biblical Scholarship|title=The Face of Old Testament Studies: A Survey of Contemporary Approaches|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vO8XRZyhvpMC&pg=PA200|date=1 October 2004|publisher=Baker Academic|isbn=978-0-8010-2871-7|page=200}}</ref><ref name="Congress1999">"It behooves us to ask, in spite of the fact that the overwhelming consensus of modern scholarship is that Joshua is a pious fiction composed by the deuteronomistic school, how does and how has the Jewish community dealt with these foundational narratives, saturated as they are with acts of violence against others?" {{cite book|author=Carl S. Ehrlich|title=Jewish Studies at the Turn of the Twentieth Century, Volume 1: Biblical, Rabbinical, and Medieval Studies|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ZlRPQJ8Qd4C&pg=PA117|year=1999|chapter=Joshua, Judaism and Genocide|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-11554-5|page=117}}</ref><ref name="BerlinBrettler2014">"Recent decades, for example, have seen a remarkable reevaluation of evidence concerning the conquest of the land of Canaan by Joshua. As more sites have been excavated, there has been a growing consensus that the main story of Joshua, that of a speedy and complete conquest (e.g. Josh. 11.23: 'Thus Joshua conquered the whole country, just as the {{Lord}} had promised Moses') is contradicted by the archaeological record, though there are indications of ''some'' destruction and conquest at the appropriate time.{{cite book|author1=Adele Berlin|author2=Marc Zvi Brettler|title=The Jewish Study Bible: Second Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yErYBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT951|date=17 October 2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-939387-9|page=951}}</ref>

As recorded in the [[Book of Joshua]], the territory allocated to the Tribe of Ephraim was at the center of Canaan, west of the [[Jordan]], south of the territory of Manasseh, and north of the [[Tribe of Benjamin]]. The region later named [[Samaria]] (as distinguished from [[Judea]] or [[Galilee]]) consisted mostly of Ephraim's territory. The area was mountainous, giving it protection, and also highly fertile, giving prosperity,<ref>[[Hosea]] 9:13</ref><ref>Genesis 49:22</ref><ref>Deuteronomy 33:13-16</ref><ref>Isaiah 28:1</ref>

[[File:12 Tribes of Israel Map.svg|thumb|400px| Map of the twelve tribes of Israel; Ephraim in the west is shaded a pale yellow]]
The territory of Ephraim contained the early centers of Israelite religion - [[Shechem]] and [[Shiloh (Biblical city)|Shiloh]].<ref name=JE>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref> These factors contributed to making Ephraim the most dominant of the tribes in the [[Kingdom of Israel (United Monarchy)|Kingdom of Israel]], and led to ''Ephraim'' becoming a synonym for the entire kingdom.<ref name=JE />

Joshua 16:1-4<ref>{{Bibleverse|Joshua|16:1-4|NKJV}}</ref> outlines the borders of the lands allocated to the "children of Joseph", i.e. Ephraim and Manasseh combined, and Joshua 16:5-8<ref>{{Bibleverse|Joshua|16:5-8|NKJV}}</ref> defines the borders of the land allocated to the tribe of Ephraim in more detail.

[[Bethel]] was allocated by Joshua to the Tribe of Benjamin.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Joshua|18:11-28|NKJV}}</ref> However, even by the time of the prophetess [[Deborah]], Bethel is described as being in the land of the Tribe of Ephraim.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Judges|4:5|KJV}}</ref> Some twenty years after the breakup of the [[United Monarchy]], [[Abijah]], the second king of [[Kingdom of Judah]], defeated [[Jeroboam]] of [[Northern Kingdom of Israel|Israel]] and took back the towns of [[Bethel]], [[Jeshanah]] and [[Ephraim in the wilderness|Ephron]], with their surrounding villages.<ref>{{Bibleverse|2 Chronicles|13:17-19|NKJV}}</ref> Ephron is believed to be the [[Ophrah]] that was also allocated to the Tribe of Benjamin by Joshua.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Joshua|18:20-28|NKJV}}</ref>

The [[wadi]] Qānā ({{langx|he|נַ֨חַל קָנָ֜ה|naḥal Qānā|links=no}}) of [[Joshua 17]]:9 divided Ephraim's territory to the south and Manasseh's territory to the north. The [[legality of Israeli settlements|illegal Israeli settlement]] of [[Karnei Shomron]] is built near this gulch, which runs in an easterly-westerly direction.<ref>''Carta's Official Guide to Israel and Complete Gazetteer to all Sites in the Holy Land'' (3rd edition 1993), Jerusalem</ref>

The border of Ephraim extended from the Jordan River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. It incorporated within it the cities of Bethel (now [[Beitin]]<ref>''Carta's Official Guide to Israel'', Jerusalem 1983, p. 99. Beitin, identified as Bethel, is now an Arab village 4 km. NE of Ramallah. ''Burj Beitin'', the ruins of its ancient settlement, lay within the boundaries of [[Beitin]] village.</ref>), ʻAtarot, [[Bethoron|Lower Beth-Ḥoron]] (now [[Beit Ur al-Tahta|Lower Bayt ʻUr]]), extending as far as [[Gezer]] (now [[Abu Shusha]], formerly known as "Tell el Jezer") and the [[Mediterranean Sea]].<ref>Joshua 16:1 ''et seq''.</ref> Gezer was said to have been inhabited by Canaanites long after Joshua had either killed or expelled the other Canaanites.<ref>Joshua 16:10</ref> According to French archaeologist, [[Charles Clermont-Ganneau]], who identified the site in 1871 and later carried out excavations there, Gezer marked the extreme western point of the territory of Ephraim, and was "situated at the actual intersection of the boundaries of Ephraim, Dan and Judah."<ref>Charles Clermont-Ganneau, ''Archaeological Researches in Palestine during the Years 1873-1874'', vol. II, London 1896, p. 275 (Translated from the original French by John MacFarlane)</ref> This view, however, does not seem to be supported by the Scriptures themselves which place the extent of Ephraim's border at the sea.

<blockquote>The tribe of Ephraim had by lot the land that extended in length from the river Jordan to Gezer; but in breadth as far as from Bethel, till it ended at the Great Plain.<ref>{{cite book |last=Josephus |author-link=Josephus |title=Josephus Complete Works |publisher=Kregel Publications |translator=[[William Whiston]] |date=1981|location=Grand Rapids, Michigan |page=108 (''Antiquities'' 5.1.22.) |language=en |isbn=0-8254-2951-X }}</ref></blockquote>

Spanish-Jewish traveller [[Benjamin of Tudela]] wrote that the southernmost bounds of the territory of Ephraim extended in a south-westerly direction as far as the town of Ibelin (now [[Yibna]]).<ref>''The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela'', (ed. Marcus Nathan Adler), Oxford University Press, London 1907, p. 27</ref>

== Origin ==
According to the [[Torah]], the tribe consisted of descendants of [[Ephraim]] a son of [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph]], from whom it took its name;<ref>Genesis 30</ref> however some [[Biblical criticism|critical scholars]] view this also as postdiction, an [[eponym]]ous [[metaphor]] providing an [[aetiology]] of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation.<ref name=Peake>''[[Peake's commentary on the Bible]]''</ref> In the Biblical account, Joseph is one of the two children of [[Rachel]] and [[Jacob]], a brother to [[Benjamin]], and father to both Ephraim, and his first son, [[Manasseh (tribal patriarch)|Manasseh]]; although Manasseh was the eldest, Jacob foresaw that Ephraim's descendants would be greater than his brother's.<ref>Genesis 48:13-20</ref>

Though the biblical descriptions of the geographic boundary of the House of Joseph are fairly consistent, the descriptions of the boundaries between Manasseh and Ephraim are not, and each is portrayed as having [[exclave]]s within the territory of the other.<ref name=JE /> Furthermore, in the [[Blessing of Jacob]], and elsewhere ascribed by [[textual criticism|textual scholars]] to a similar or earlier time period,<ref>e.g. Joshua 17:14-18</ref> Ephraim and Manasseh are treated as a single tribe, with ''Joseph'' appearing in their place. From this it is regarded as probable that originally Ephraim and Manasseh were considered one tribe&nbsp;— that of Joseph.<ref name=JE /> According to several [[Biblical criticism|biblical scholars]], Benjamin was also originally part of the ''House of Joseph'', but the biblical account of this became lost;<ref name=JE /><ref name=Peake /> Benjamin being differentiated by being that part of Ephraim (House of Joseph) which joined the [[Kingdom of Judah]] rather than [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|that of Israel]].

A number of biblical scholars suspect that the ''Joseph tribes'' (including Benjamin) represent a second migration of Israelites to Israel, later than the main tribes,<ref name=Peake /> specifically that it was only the ''Joseph tribes'' which went to Egypt [[the Exodus|and returned]], while the main Israelite tribes simply emerged as a subculture from the Canaanites and had remained in Canaan throughout;<ref name=Peake /> in the narrative in the [[Book of Joshua]], which concerns the arrival in (and conquest of) Canaan by the Israelites from Egypt, the leader is [[Joshua]], who was a member of the Ephraim tribe.  According to this view, the story of Jacob's visit to [[Laban (Bible)|Laban]] to obtain a wife began as a metaphor for the second migration, with Jacob's new family, possessions, and livestock, obtained from Laban, being representations of the new wave of migrants;<ref name=Peake />

Professor David Frankel believes that ancient traditions regarding pre-conquest Ephraimite settlement in Canaan were unintentionally preserved in biblical passages such as 1 Chronicles 7:20-24.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Frankel |first=David |date=April 8, 2015 |title=The Book of Chronicles and the Ephraimites that Never Went to Egypt |url=https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-book-of-chronicles-and-the-ephraimites-that-never-went-to-egypt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240207090032/https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-book-of-chronicles-and-the-ephraimites-that-never-went-to-egypt |archive-date=February 7, 2024 |website=TheTorah.com}}</ref> In 1 Chronicles 7:20-24, Ephraim's descendants, Ezer and Elead, were Canaanite residents who were killed by the Philistines, which was mourned by Ephraim and his brethren. This Ephraim was believed to be different from the more famous Ephraim <ref>{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=1 Chronicles 7 Keil and Delitzsch OT Commentary |url=https://biblehub.com/commentaries/kad/1_chronicles/7.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208045548/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/kad/1_chronicles/7.htm |archive-date=February 8, 2024 |website=Biblehub.com}}</ref> and his brethren were believed to be the heads of other Israelite tribes.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=1 Chronicles 7 Gill's Exposition |url=https://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/1_chronicles/7.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208045721/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/1_chronicles/7.htm |archive-date=February 8, 2024 |website=Biblehub.com}}</ref> Professor Nili Wazana connects this with Prime Minister [[David Ben-Gurion]]'s argument for why the Jews were indigenous to Canaan, which was affirmed in the [[Israeli Declaration of Independence]]. Ben-Gurion argued that Abraham's migration to Canaan was a "renuion with indigenous Hebrews who shared his theological belief" and that not all Hebrews joined Jacob's family when they migrated to Egypt.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wazana |first=Nili |date=April 15, 2018 |title=Israel's Declaration of Independence and the Biblical Right to the Land |url=https://www.thetorah.com/article/israels-declaration-of-independence-and-the-biblical-right-to-the-land |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240207091222/https://www.thetorah.com/article/israels-declaration-of-independence-and-the-biblical-right-to-the-land |archive-date=February 7, 2024 |website=TheTorah.com}}</ref>

== Character ==

In the account of the [[deuteronomic history]], Ephraim is portrayed as domineering, haughty, discontented, and jealous, but in [[classical rabbinical literature]], the biblical founder of the tribe is described as being modest and not selfish.<ref name=JE />  These rabbinical sources allege that it was on account of modesty and selflessness, and a [[prophecy|prophetic]] vision of Joshua, that Jacob gave Ephraim precedence over Manasseh, the elder of the two;<ref name=JE /> in these sources, Jacob is regarded as sufficiently just that God upholds the blessing in his honour, and makes Ephraim the leading tribe.<ref name=JE />  Nevertheless, other classical rabbinical texts mock the tribe for the character it has in the deuteronomic history, claiming that Ephraim, being headstrong, left Egypt 30 years prior to [[the Exodus]], and on arrival in Canaan was subjected to a disastrous battle with the [[Philistines]];<ref name=JE /> in the [[Sefer haYashar (midrash)|Midrashic Jasher]] this is portrayed as a rebellion of Ephraim against God, resulting in the slaying of all but 10, and the bleached bones of the slaughtered being strewn across the roads, so much so that the circuitous route of the Exodus was simply an attempt by God to prevent the Israelites from having to suffer the sight of the remains.<ref name=JE />

Though from the point of view of an increasing majority of archaeologists, there were always two distinct cultures in Canaan, a strong and prosperous northern kingdom and a weaker and poorer southern one,<ref>[[Israel Finkelstein]], ''The Bible Unearthed''</ref> in the Biblical account the Israelite tribes were initially united in a single kingdom, and only later fractured into the northern and southern kingdoms; this fracture is blamed by the Bible on the jealousy of Ephraim over the growing power of Judah.  In the [[Book of Chronicles]], Ephraim's act of splintering from Judah is denounced as forsaking God,<ref>2 Chronicles 15:8-11</ref> and Ephraim is portrayed as becoming highly irreligious, particularly in their resistance to the reforms enacted by [[Hezekiah]] and [[Josiah]].<ref>2 Chronicles 30:1, 30:10, 30:18, 34:6, 34:9</ref>

It was not until the close of the first period of Jewish history that God 'refused the tabernacle of Joseph (Hebrew Bible), and chose not the tribe of Ephraim, but chose the tribe of Judah, the Mount Zion which he loved'.<ref>{{bibleverse||Ps|78:67,68|HE}}</ref> When the Ark was removed from Shiloh to Zion the power of Ephraim was sequestered.{{citation needed|date=November 2010}}

== Destiny ==

As part of the [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]], the territory of Ephraim was conquered by the [[ancient Assyrians|Assyrians]], and the tribe was mostly exiled; some in the tribe managed to flee to the [[Kingdom of Judah]], which lay just south of the territory of Ephraim. In any case, the manner of their exile and/or dispersal led to [[Lost Ten Tribes|their further history being lost]].  However, several modern day groups claim descent, with varying levels of academic and rabbinical support.  The [[Samaritan]]s claim that some of their adherents are descended from this tribe, and many [[Persian Jews]] claim to be descendants of Ephraim.  Further afield, in India the [[Telugu Jews]] claim descent from Ephraim, and call themselves ''Bene Ephraim'', relating similar traditions to those of the [[Mizo Jews]], whom the modern state of Israel regards as descendants of Manasseh.<ref>[http://www.cjnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20003&Itemid=86 ‘Lost tribe of Israel’ found in southern India], ''Canadian Jewish News'', 7 October 2010</ref>

[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] teaches that a significant portion of its members are descended from or adopted into the tribe of Ephraim, believing that they are charged with restoring the lost tribes in the [[Eschatology|latter days]], as prophesied by [[Isaiah]]. Along with members of the tribe of [[Tribe of Judah|Judah]], members of the tribe of Ephraim are believed to be playing important leadership roles for [[Covenant (biblical)|covenant]] Israel in the last days. They also believe that the main groups of the [[Book of Mormon]] ([[Nephites]] and [[Lamanites]]) were parts of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, as part fulfilment of the [[blessing of Jacob]]: "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall",<ref>{{bibleverse||Genesis|49:22|KJV}}</ref> interpreting the "wall" as the ocean).<ref>[[Bruce R. McConkie|McConkie, Bruce R.]], ''The Millennial Messiah'', 1982, Chapter 16.</ref>

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==

* McConkie, Bruce R, The Millennial Messiah, 1982, Chapter 16.
* {{EBD|wstitle=Ephraim, The tribe of}}

== External links ==

* [http://primo.nli.org.il/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?vid=NLI&docId=NNL_MAPS_JER002368562 Map of the Tribal Territory of the Tribe of Ephraim], Fuller, 1650. Eran Laor Cartographic Collection, The National Library of Israel.

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[[Category:Twelve Tribes of Israel]]
[[Category:Samaritan culture and history]]
[[Category:Land of Israel]]
[[Category:Gilead]]
[[Category:Tribe of Ephraim| ]]