[1] It is true that in the _Confession_ attributed to him and printed
among his Greek works in the first volume of the Roman edition he
speaks (p. 129) of his parents as having become martyrs for the
Christian faith. But this document is of very doubtful authenticity.
[2] _Fragments of the Commentary of Ephrem Syrus upon the
Diatessaron_ (London, 1895).
[3] "Ephraim's Quotations from the Gospel," in _Texts and Studies_,
vol. vii. (Cambridge, 1901).
[4] There were originally 77, but 5 have perished.
EPHRAIM, a tribe of Israel, called after the younger son of Joseph, who
in his benediction exalted Ephraim over the elder brother Manasseh (Gen.
xlviii.). These two divisions were often known as the "house of Joseph"
(Josh. xvii. 14 sqq.; Judg. i. 22; 2 Sam. xix. 20; 1 Kings xi. 28). The
relations between them are obscure; conflicts are referred to in Is. ix.
21,[1] and Ephraim's proud and ambitious character is indicated in its
demands as narrated in Josh. xvii. 14; Judg. viii. 1-3, xii. 1-6.
throughout, Ephraim played a distinctive and prominent part; it probably
excelled Manasseh in numerical strength, and the name became a synonym
for the northern kingdom of Israel. Originally the name may have been a
geographical term for the central portion of Palestine. Regarded as a
tribe, it lay to the north of Benjamin, which traditionally belongs to
it; but whether the young "brother" (see BENJAMIN) sprang from it, or
grew up separately, is uncertain. Northwards, Ephraim lost itself in
Manasseh, even if it did not actually include it (Judg. i. 27; 1 Chron.
vii. 29); the boundaries between them can hardly be recovered. Ephraim's
strength lay in the possession of famous sites: Shechem, with the tomb
of the tribal ancestor, also one of the capitals; Shiloh, at one period
the home of the ark; Timnath-Serah (or Heres), the burial-place of
Joshua; and Samaria, whose name was afterwards extended to the whole
district (see SAMARIA).
Shechem itself was visited by Abraham and Jacob, and the latter bought
from the sons of Hamor a burial-place (Gen. xxxiii. 19). The story of
Dinah may imply some early settlement of tribes in its vicinity (but see
SIMEON), and the reference in Gen. xlviii. 22 (see R.V. marg.) alludes
to its having been forcibly captured. But how this part of Palestine
came into the hands of the Israelites is not definitely related in the
story of the invasion (see JOSHUA).
A careful discussion of the Biblical data referring to Ephraim is given
by H.W. Hogg, _Ency. Bib._, s.v. On the characteristic narratives which
appear to have originated in Ephraim (viz. the Ephraimite or Elohist
source, E), see GENESIS and BIBLE: _Old Testament Criticism._ See
further ABIMELECH; GIDEON; MANASSEH; and JEWS: _History_.