Genesis 41:52

41:52 He named the second child Ephraim, ¹  saying, ²  “Certainly ³  God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”

Genesis 48:17

48:17 When Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him. ⁴  So he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.

Genesis 46:20

46:20 Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt. Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, ⁵  bore them to him.

Genesis 48:1

Manasseh and Ephraim

48:1 After these things Joseph was told, ⁶  “Your father is weakening.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him.

Genesis 48:13

48:13 Joseph positioned them; ⁷  he put Ephraim on his right hand across from Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh on his left hand across from Israel’s right hand. Then Joseph brought them closer to his father. ⁸ 

Genesis 48:20

48:20 So he blessed them that day, saying,

“By you ⁹  will Israel bless, ¹⁰  saying,

‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”

So he put Ephraim before Manasseh. ¹¹ 

Genesis 48:5

48:5 “Now, as for your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, they will be mine. ¹²  Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine just as Reuben and Simeon are.

Genesis 48:14

48:14 Israel stretched out his right hand and placed it on Ephraim’s head, although he was the younger. ¹³  Crossing his hands, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, for Manasseh was the firstborn.

[41:52]  ¹ sn The name Ephraim (אֶפְרַיִם, ’efrayim), a form of the Hebrew verb פָּרָה (parah), means “to bear fruit.” The theme of fruitfulness is connected with this line of the family from Rachel (30:2) on down (see Gen 49:22, Deut 33:13-17, and Hos 13:15). But there is some difficulty with the name “Ephraim” itself. It appears to be a dual, for which F. Delitzsch simply said it meant “double fruitfulness” (New Commentary on Genesis, 2:305). G. J. Spurrell suggested it was a diphthongal pronunciation of a name ending in -an or -am, often thought to be dual suffixes (Notes on the text of the book of Genesis, 334). Many, however, simply connect the name to the territory of Ephraim and interpret it to be “fertile land” (C. Fontinoy, “Les noms de lieux en -ayim dans la Bible,” UF 3 [1971]: 33-40). The dual would then be an old locative ending. There is no doubt that the name became attached to the land in which the tribe settled, and it is possible that is where the dual ending came from, but in this story it refers to Joseph’s God-given fruitfulness.

[41:52]  ² tn The word “saying” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:52]  ³ tn Or “for.”

[48:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “it was bad in his eyes.”

[46:20]  ⁷ sn On is another name for the city of Heliopolis.

[48:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and one said.” With no expressed subject in the Hebrew text, the verb can be translated with the passive voice.

[48:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “and Joseph took the two of them.”

[48:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and he brought near to him.” The referents of the pronouns “he” and “him” (Joseph and his father respectively) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[48:20]  ¹⁶ tn The pronoun is singular in the Hebrew text, apparently elevating Ephraim as the more prominent of the two. Note, however, that both are named in the blessing formula that follows.

[48:20]  ¹⁷ tn Or “pronounce a blessing.”

[48:20]  ¹⁸ sn On the elevation of Ephraim over Manasseh see E. C. Kingsbury, “He Set Ephraim Before Manasseh,” HUCA 38 (1967): 129-36; H. Mowvley, “The Concept and Content of ‘Blessing’ in the Old Testament,” BT 16 (1965): 74-80; and I. Mendelsohn, “On the Preferential Status of the Eldest Son,” BASOR 156 (1959): 38-40.

[48:5]  ¹⁹ sn They will be mine. Jacob is here adopting his two grandsons Manasseh and Ephraim as his sons, and so they will have equal share with the other brothers. They will be in the place of Joseph and Levi (who will become a priestly tribe) in the settlement of the land. See I. Mendelsohn, “A Ugaritic Parallel to the Adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh,” IEJ (1959): 180-83.

[48:14]  ²² tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial-concessive here.