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אֶפְרַיִם

𐤀𐤐𐤓𐤉𐤌

Eferayim

H669 noun

SILEX Entry

Root פרה to be fruitful, to bear fruit, to produce offspring

Definition

Ephrayim: a personal, tribal, and geographic name in the Hebrew Bible. Primarily, it designates (1) the younger son of Joseph and Asenath born in Egypt, (2) the people descending from him (the tribe of Ephraim), and (3) their assigned territory in the central hill country of Canaan. The term also comes to be used more broadly: in prophetic and later historical books, "Ephraim" at times serves as a synecdoche for the northern kingdom of Israel as a whole, due to the tribe's geographic dominance and political prominence within that polity. The semantic range therefore includes individual (personal), tribal, territorial, and at times national/division identifiers.

Semantic Range

the personal name of a son of Joseph, name of an Israelite tribe, name of tribal territory in central Canaan, designation for members of that tribe, figurative expression for the northern kingdom of Israel

Root / Etymology

From the Hebrew root פרה (p-r-h), meaning 'to be fruitful, bear fruit.' The formation אֶפְרַיִם (Ephrayim) is a dual form, likely originally suggesting 'double fruitfulness' or 'fruitfulness twice over,' perhaps alluding to Joseph's statement upon naming his son in Genesis 41:52. The name is structurally a dual of the masculine form אֶפְרָת (Ephrath/Ephratah), but the precise relationship is debated; the most direct derivation is from the root meaning 'to bear fruit.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

The personal name Ephrayim is introduced in the Joseph narrative (Gen 41–50) as the second son of Joseph, who rises to prominence over his elder brother Manasseh through Jacob's blessing (Gen 48). The Ephraimite tribe subsequently becomes a leading tribe among the Israelites, central in the settlement, period of the Judges, and the division of the monarchy. During the divided monarchy (Iron Age), 'Ephraim' is frequently used by prophetic books (especially Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah) as a designation for the entire northern kingdom (Israel/Samaria), reflecting the political significance and central location of the tribe and its ancestral territory. In later texts, the term 'Ephraimite(s)' can refer specifically to members of the tribe or its territory, but may also appear in broader polemical or metaphorical senses, especially in exilic and post-exilic literature reflecting on the fate and identity of the northern tribes. English translations usually render the term directly as 'Ephraim,' sometimes as 'Ephraimite(s),' and rarely attempt to convey the figurative/national usage with terms like 'Israel' unless unambiguous in context. The later English term 'Jew' (Judean) does not historically correspond to Ephraimites, and the populations referred to by the designation 'Ephraim' in the biblical period should not be confused with later Judean/Jewish populations.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

dual of masculine form of אֶפְרָת; double fruit; Ephrajim, a son of Joseph; also the tribe descended from him, and its territory; Ephraim, Ephraimites.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

פרה (p-r-h) — to be fruitful, to bear fruit, to produce offspring

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H6509 פָּרָה he made me fruitful
H6510 פָּרָה cow
H6511 פָּרָה and the Parah
H6529 פְּרִי in his fruit
H672 אֶפְרָת in Fruitful-Place

Word Forms

6 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H669-01 אֶפְרָ֑יִם eferayim HNp Ephraim Double Fruitfulness 149
H669-06 וְ/אֶפְרָֽיִם veeferayim HC/Np and Ephraim and Double-Fruitfulness 13
H669-03 לְ/אֶפְרַ֔יִם leeferayim HR/Np to Ephraim to Double-Fruitfulness 10
H669-04 מֵֽ/אֶפְרַ֔יִם meeferayim HR/Np from Ephraim from Double-Fruitfulness 6
H669-05 וּ/בְ/אֶפְרַ֥יִם uveeferayim HC/R/Np and-in-Ephraim and in Double-Fruitfulness 1
H669-02 כְּ/אֶפְרַ֖יִם keeferayim HR/Np like Ephraim like Double-Fruitfulness 1

Occurrences in Scripture

180 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H669-01 Genesis 41:52 אֶפְרָ֑יִם eferayim HNp Ephraim Double Fruitfulness
H669-01 Genesis 46:20 אֶפְרָֽיִם eferayim HNp Ephraim Double Fruitfulness
H669-01 Genesis 48:1 אֶפְרָֽיִם eferayim HNp Ephraim Double Fruitfulness
H669-01 Genesis 48:5 אֶפְרַ֨יִם֙ eferayim HNp Ephraim Double Fruitfulness
H669-01 Genesis 48:13 אֶפְרַ֤יִם eferayim HNp Ephraim Double Fruitfulness
H669-01 Genesis 48:14 אֶפְרַ֨יִם֙ eferayim HNp Ephraim's Double Fruitfulness
H669-01 Genesis 48:17 אֶפְרַ֖יִם eferayim HNp of Ephraim Double Fruitfulness
H669-01 Genesis 48:17 אֶפְרַ֖יִם eferayim-2 HNp of Ephraim Double Fruitfulness
H669-02 Genesis 48:20 כְּ/אֶפְרַ֖יִם keeferayim HR/Np like Ephraim like Double-Fruitfulness
H669-01 Genesis 48:20 אֶפְרַ֖יִם eferayim HNp Ephraim Double Fruitfulness
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