Hebrew word · H673

אֶפְרָתִי

'efrati

Ephraimite

A word naming where someone belongs. It covers two different groups: (1) Ephraimite, a member of the tribe of Ephraim (Judg 12:5; 1 Kgs 11:26, where Jeroboam is 'an Ephrathite of Zeredah'); (2) Ephrathite, a member of the Ephrathah clan of Judah around Bethlehem (Ruth 1:2; 1 Sam 17:12, of Jesse).

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

Someone descended from Ephraim, a man living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.41.52;

son of: Joseph (H3130) and Asenath (H0621);

brother of: Manasseh (H4519);

father of: Shuthelah (H7803), Becher (H1071H), Tahan (H8465), Ezer (H5827), Elead (H0496) and Beriah (H1283H); also called Ephrathite (NIV: Ephraimite) at 1Sa.1.1; Ephron (Qere, KJV: Ephrain) at 2Ch.13.19;

Group of eph.ra.yim (אֶפְרַ֫יִם "Ephraim" H0669)

§ Ephrathite = "ashiness: fruitfulness"

1) an inhabitant or descendant of Ephraim (in in Jdg.12.5; 1Ki.11.26)

2) an inhabitant of Bethlehem (in Rut.1.1; 1Sa.1.1; 1Sa.17.12)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 1 Samuel 1:1

Range of meaning

A word naming where someone belongs. It covers two different groups: (1) Ephraimite, a member of the tribe of Ephraim (Judg 12:5; 1 Kgs 11:26, where Jeroboam is 'an Ephrathite of Zeredah'); (2) Ephrathite, a member of the Ephrathah clan of Judah around Bethlehem (Ruth 1:2; 1 Sam 17:12, of Jesse).

Against the English

KJV and ESV 'Ephrathite' keep the Hebrew form but can make readers think of Bethlehem. BSB, WEB and NASB 'Ephraimite' give the sense the context suggests.

How it drifted

Readers who know 'Ephrathah' from Micah 5:2 and the Christmas story can wrongly connect Elkanah to Bethlehem.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Judges and Kings passages above show the word used for Ephraimites. Ruth and 1 Samuel 17 show it used for Bethlehemites.

From the study of 1 Samuel 17:12

Range of meaning

A gentilic (a word for a member of a group or place) from Ephrath/Ephrathah. It is used in two ways: (1) a member of the Ephrathah clan or district around Bethlehem in Judah (Ruth 1:2; here); (2) an Ephraimite, a member of the northern tribe of Ephraim (Judg 12:5; 1 Sam 1:1 of Elkanah; 1 Kgs 11:26 of Jeroboam).

Against the English

English versions transliterate it as 'Ephrathite'. That is accurate, but readers are not told that the identical Hebrew word means 'Ephraimite' in 1 Samuel 1:1, so the link or contrast with Samuel's father goes unnoticed.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ephrath is linked with Bethlehem at Rachel's burial (Gen 35:19; 48:7). Ruth 1:2 calls Elimelech's family 'Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah', almost the same wording as this verse. Ruth 4:11 pairs 'Ephrathah' and 'Bethlehem'. Micah 5:2 says 'Bethlehem Ephrathah, small among the clans of Judah'. 1 Chronicles 2:19, 50–51 and 4:4 treat Ephrathah as a clan ancestress whose descendants include the 'father' (founder) of Bethlehem.

Where it appears

Judges · 1

  1. Judges 12:5 הַֽאֶפְרָתִ֥י ¿ an Ephrathite

    The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a fugitive from Ephraim would say, “Let me cross over,” the Gileadites would ask him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he answered, “No,”

Ruth · 1

  1. Ruth 1:2 אֶפְרָתִ֔ים Ephrathites

    The man’s name was Elimelech, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah, and they entered the land of Moab and settled there.

1 Samuel · 2

  1. 1 Samuel 1:1 אֶפְרָתִֽי׃ an Ephrathite

    Now there was a man named Elkanah who was from Ramathaim-zophim in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.

    Here: A word for where someone belongs. It can mean 'Ephraimite' (Judg 12:5) or 'Ephrathite', someone from Ephrathah, the Bethlehem area (Ruth 1:2). Here, after 'hill country of Ephraim', it most naturally means Ephraimite, describing Elkanah, or perhaps Zuph.

  2. 1 Samuel 17:12 אֶפְרָתִ֜י an Ephrathite

    Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem of Judah who had eight sons. And in the days of Saul, Jesse was old and well along in years.

    Here: A member of the Ephrath/Ephrathah clan connected with Bethlehem (Ruth 1:2; Mic 5:2). The same word can mean 'Ephraimite' elsewhere (Judg 12:5; 1 Sam 1:1), but 'from Bethlehem of Judah' settles which is meant here.

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 11:26 אֶפְרָתִ֜י an Ephrathite

    Now Jeroboam son of Nebat was an Ephraimite from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. Jeroboam was a servant of Solomon, but he rebelled against the king,

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.