אֶפְרַ֫יִם

From the study of Jeremiah 31:6

Range of meaning

The name of Joseph's younger son, of the tribe descended from him, and of that tribe's central highland territory (har ʾeprayim, roughly between Bethel and Shechem). As the leading northern tribe, it also became the prophets' name for the whole northern kingdom of Israel (Hos 4:17; 5:3; Isa 7:2–17).

Against the English

KJV's 'mount Ephraim' suggests a single mountain. BSB, NIV, NASB, WEB 'hills of Ephraim' and ESV 'hill country of Ephraim' convey the region correctly.

How it drifted

Older English used 'mount' for hill country, a usage modern readers no longer hear.

Used elsewhere in the period

Josh 17:15; Judg 17:1; 1 Sam 1:1 use the same phrase for the region. In Jer 31:9, 18 and 20, God calls Ephraim 'my firstborn' and 'my dear son'. Jer 41:5 records men from Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria, all Ephraimite towns, bringing offerings to the house of the LORD after Jerusalem's fall.

From the study of Genesis 48:5

Range of meaning

Personal names that become tribal names. Manasseh ("making forget") and Ephraim ("double fruitfulness") were named by Joseph (41:51–52).

Against the English

BSB, WEB and most modern versions keep the Hebrew order, Ephraim first. KJV moves the names up into the first clause, which hides the order.

Used elsewhere in the period

Elsewhere in Genesis the order is Manasseh, Ephraim, by birth (41:51–52; 46:20; 48:1). Ephraim later becomes the leading northern tribe, so prominent that prophets can call the whole northern kingdom "Ephraim" (Hos 5:3; Isa 7:2).

From the study of Hosea 11:3

Range of meaning

Joseph's younger son (Genesis 41:52; 48:17–20), the tribe descended from him, and, by extension, the northern kingdom of Israel, whose heartland lay in Ephraim's hill country.

Against the English

Most versions keep "Ephraim." NLT substitutes "Israel," which is clear for modern readers but loses Hosea's own name for the nation, used more than thirty times, and the shift between Israel in 11:1 and Ephraim here.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 7 uses the name for the northern kingdom during the war of about 734–732 BCE. Hosea plays on the name's sound, linked in Genesis 41:52 to being "fruitful" (Hosea 9:16). The pairing of Ephraim with healing in Hosea 7:1 may suggest a sound-play between Efrayim and rapha, though this is possible and not proven.