Ephraim
One of the key
figures in scriptures, but of whom we know so little, is Ephraim. He was the second son of Joseph and Asenath:
“And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of
Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto him…. And the name of the second called he
Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction”
(Genesis 41:50-52). He was thus born
during the seven years of plenty in Egypt, and would not meet his grandfather
Jacob and his family until he was older.
Jacob blessed Ephraim and his older brother Manasseh, but he Ephraim the
younger the birthright blessing, to which Joseph objected: “Not so, my father:
for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. And his father
refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people,
and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than
he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations” (Genesis 48:18-19). Jacob also declared that the two sons would be
his instead of Joseph’s, and thus Ephraim and Manasseh become two of the tribes
of Israel: “And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto
thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as
Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine” (Genesis 48:5). So even today when Patriarch’s give blessings
and declare which tribe of Israel a person is, Ephraim and Manasseh are
possible choices along with the other eleven sons of Jacob.
I wish we knew more about Ephraim’s life, but the scriptures tell us very little. We do have a little information about his family and one story about them. In 1 Chronicles 7:20-27 the sons of Ephraim are listed, though from the text alone I’m not sure exactly how many there were (some names are repeated and it is not clear who are sons of his sons and who are his direct sons). But two of his sons were named Ezer and Elead, “whom the men of Gath that were born in that land slew, because they came down to take away their cattle.” So apparently some men came to steal his cattle, and in the process killed two of his sons, Ezer and Elead. We read, “And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him.” That is the deepest insight into his life that we get in the scriptures. He clearly loved his children and faced the difficulties of family life common to man. After the death of these two sons his wife bore another son whom he named Beriah—which means “calamity” or “misfortunate”—because “it went evil with his house.” So the main thing we know about Ephraim’s life is that he had a focus on his family; his heart was set upon them and he suffered anguish because of the loss of his children. Now thousands of years later many--the foretold "multitude of nations--look to Ephraim as their forefather and head of their tribe in the House of Israel. So it is fitting that his focus was on his family and that he felt deeply about his direct posterity.
I wish we knew more about Ephraim’s life, but the scriptures tell us very little. We do have a little information about his family and one story about them. In 1 Chronicles 7:20-27 the sons of Ephraim are listed, though from the text alone I’m not sure exactly how many there were (some names are repeated and it is not clear who are sons of his sons and who are his direct sons). But two of his sons were named Ezer and Elead, “whom the men of Gath that were born in that land slew, because they came down to take away their cattle.” So apparently some men came to steal his cattle, and in the process killed two of his sons, Ezer and Elead. We read, “And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him.” That is the deepest insight into his life that we get in the scriptures. He clearly loved his children and faced the difficulties of family life common to man. After the death of these two sons his wife bore another son whom he named Beriah—which means “calamity” or “misfortunate”—because “it went evil with his house.” So the main thing we know about Ephraim’s life is that he had a focus on his family; his heart was set upon them and he suffered anguish because of the loss of his children. Now thousands of years later many--the foretold "multitude of nations--look to Ephraim as their forefather and head of their tribe in the House of Israel. So it is fitting that his focus was on his family and that he felt deeply about his direct posterity.
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