Beside which was Absalom's sheep farm, where took place Amnon's murder (2 Samuel 13). Our Lord, when the chief priests plotted to kill Him, retired to "a city called Ephraim ... a country near to the wilderness" (Joh 11:54). "The wilderness" means the hill country N.E. of Jerusalem, between the central towns and the Jordan valley. Thus, Ophrah of Benjamin probably is identical with Ephraim (1Sa 13:17.) Now Et-Taiyibeh, a village on a conical hill commanding the view of the Jordan valley and the Dead Sea.

E'phra-im,

that portion of Canaan named after Joseph's second son.

Ge 41:50-52

The boundaries of the portion of Ephraim are given in

Jos 16

The south boundary was coincident for part of its length with the north boundary of Benjamin. It extended from the Jordan on the east, at the reach opposite Jericho, to the Mediterranean on the west, probably about Joppa. On the north of Ephraim and Manasseh were the tribes of Asher, Zebulun and Issachar. The territory thus allotted to the "house of Joseph" may be roughly estimated at 55 miles from east to west by 70 from north to south. It was one at once of great richness and great security. Its fertile plains and well-watered valleys could only be reached by a laborious ascent through steep and narrow ravines, all but impassable for an army. Under Joshua the tribe must have taken a high position in the nation, to judge from the tone which the Ephraimites assumed on occasions shortly subsequent to the conquest. After the revolt of Jeroboam the history of Ephraim is the history of the kingdom of Israel, since not only did the tribe become a kingdom, but the kingdom embraced little besides the tribe.