Tribe of Ephraim

According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Ephraim (Hebrew: אֶפְרַיִם / אֶפְרָיִם, Modern Efrayim, Tiberian ʾEp̄ráyim / ʾEp̄rā́yim) was one of the Tribes of Israel. The Tribe of Manasseh together with Ephraim also formed the House of Joseph. The etymology of the name is disputed.

According to the Bible, the Tribe of Ephraim is descended from a man named Ephraim. This Ephraim is recorded as the son of Joseph, the son of Jacob. The descendants of Joseph formed two of the tribes of Israel, whereas each of the other sons of Jacob was the founder of only one tribe.

The Bible records that the Tribe of Ephraim entered the land of Canaan during its conquest by Joshua, a descendant of Ephraim himself. However, "almost all" scholars have abandoned the idea that Joshua carried out a conquest of Canaan similar to that described in the Book of Joshua.

From Joshua to the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel, the Tribe of Ephraim was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes. No central government existed, and in times of crisis the people were led by ad hoc leaders known as Judges (see the Book of Judges).

With the growth of the threat from Philistine incursions, the Israelite tribes decided to form a strong centralised monarchy to meet the challenge. The Tribe of Ephraim joined the new kingdom with Saul as the first king. The widely accepted date for Saul's reign is approximately 1025-1005. Some scholars dispute this date range and place Saul later, perhaps as late as "the second half of the tenth century B.C.E."

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