Thematic Bible: Ephraim


Thematic Bible



The sons of Ephraim were archers well equipped with bows. Yet they turned and ran in the day of battle.


Then Joshua built an altar to Jehovah the God of Israel on mount Ebal,


Then Asa gathered all the people from Judah and Benjamin and the foreigners who had come from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon. Many of them had come to him from Israel when they saw that Asa's God, Jehovah, was with him.

Then the people of Ephraim said to Gideon: Why did you not call us when you went to fight the Midianites? Why did you treat us like this? They complained bitterly about it.

As the firstborn of his bulls, majesty is his. His horns are the horns of the wild bull. With them he will push the peoples, all at once, to the ends of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh.

Abner made him king of Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin, that is, all Israel.

The border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was thus: even the border of their inheritance on the east side was Ataroth-addar, to Beth-horon the upper;

Zichri, a fighting man from Ephraim, killed Maaseiah, who was the king's son, Azrikam, who was in charge of the palace, and Elkanah, who was the king's second-in-command.

The total for the tribe of Ephraim was forty thousand five hundred.

The house of Joseph also attacked Bethel: and Jehovah was with them.

The men of Ephraim were ready for battle. They crossed the Jordan River to Zaphon and said to Jephthah: Why did you cross the border to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We are going to burn the house down over your head!

Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart. Those who harass Judah will be destroyed. Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, and Judah will not harass Ephraim.


Ephraim, O Ephraim my dear delightful son! Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him, I certainly still remember him. My heart yearns for him. I will surely have mercy on him, declares Jehovah.

I hear the people of Israel say in grief, 'Jehovah, we were like an untamed animal, but you taught us to obey. Bring us back for we are ready to return to you, Jehovah our God.


The more altars that the people of Ephraim build to make offerings to pay for their sins, the more places they have for sinning.

What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.

He stationed troops in the fortified cities of Judah. He also put troops in the Judean countryside, and in the cities that Asa had captured in the territory of Ephraim.

He also hired one hundred thousand soldiers from Israel for seven thousand and five hundred pounds of silver. A man of God approached him and said: Your Majesty, Israel's army must not go with you. This is because Jehovah is not with Israel. He is not with these men from Ephraim.

Because the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is only Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people. The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah's son. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.'

He will lift up a standard for the nations and assemble the outcast ones of Israel. He will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart. Those who harass Judah will be destroyed. Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, and Judah will not harass Ephraim.

The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the kingdom (sovereignty) from Damascus. The remnant of Aram will be like the glory of the children of Israel, proclaims Jehovah of Hosts.

I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me. O Ephraim, you have played the harlot and Israel is defiled.

The pride of Israel testifies about them. Therefore Israel and Ephraim will stumble in their iniquity. Judah will also stumble with them.

I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel. There Ephraim is given to prostitution and Israel is defiled.

The people of Ephraim made Jehovah bitter. He will hold them guilty of murder. Jehovah will pay them back for their insults.


Woe to the proud drunks who wear the crown of Ephraim for it is doomed! Its glory is fading like the crowns of flowers on their heads. They are at the entrance of a fertile valley. They are drunk from wine.

I will destroy the war chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem. The battle bow will be dismantled. He will speak peace to the nations! His dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart. Those who harass Judah will be destroyed. Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, and Judah will not harass Ephraim.

because of the God of your father who helps you, because of the Almighty who blesses you from the heavens above, blessings from the deep springs below the ground, blessings from breasts and womb. The blessings of your father are greater than the blessings of the oldest mountains and the riches of the ancient hills. May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the prince among his brothers.

This wickedness is like a brushfire. It burns not only briers and thorns but the forests, too. It sends up vast clouds of smoke. The land is blackened by the fury of Jehovah of Hosts. The people are fuel for the fire, and no one spares anyone else. They slice off what is on the right hand, but they will still be hungry. In the end they will even eat the flesh of their own arms (offspring) (turn upon themselves). read more.
Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, Ephraim will feed on Manasseh, and both will devour Judah. But even then Jehovah's anger will not be satisfied. His hand is still poised to unleash his power.

For I will be to Ephraim as a lion. And I will be like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away. I will carry off and there will be none to deliver.

They of Ephraim will be like a mighty man! Their heart will rejoice as if from wine. Their children will see it, and rejoice! Their heart will be glad in Jehovah.


Jacob went on to say: Joseph, your two sons Ephraim and Manasseh were born in Egypt. But I accept them as my own, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.

But Israel crossed his hands and reached out. He put his right hand on Ephraim's head, although Ephraim was the younger son. He put his left hand on Manasseh's head, although Manasseh was older.

The descendants of Ephraim: Shuthelah, Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son,

He named the second son Ephraim, because God made him fruitful in the land where he had suffered.


Two years later Absalom had sheep sheared at Baal Hazor, near the town of Ephraim. He invited all the king's sons to be there.

Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured some of his cities: Bethel and its villages, Jeshanah and its villages, and Ephron and its villages.

Jesus did not walk openly among the Jews anymore. He departed into the wilderness of the nearby country. He and his disciples stayed at a city called Ephraim.


Jehoash king of Israel made Amaziah king of Judah son of Jehoash, son of Ahaziah, prisoner at Bethshemesh. He went to Jerusalem and had the wall of Jerusalem pulled down from the Gate of Ephraim to the gate in the angle, six hundred feet.

The people went out and got them and made themselves tents. Every one on the roof of his house, and in the open spaces and in the open squares of the House of God, and in the wide place of the Water Gate, and the wide place of the Gate of Ephraim.

Over the Gate of Ephraim and by the old door and the fish door and the tower of Hananel and the tower of Hammeah, as far as the Sheep Gate: and at the doorway of the watchmen they came to a stop.


When the tribe of Ephraim spoke, people trembled. The people of Ephraim were important in Israel. Then they became guilty of worshiping Baal, so they must die.

Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart. Those who harass Judah will be destroyed. Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, and Judah will not harass Ephraim.

I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brothers, all the offspring of Ephraim.

Son of man, take a stick and write on it: For Judah and for the Israelites who are associated with it.' Then take another stick and write on it: 'The stick of Ephraim, for Joseph and for all the people of Israel associated with it.'

Then say to them: 'This is what the Lord Jehovah says: I will take Joseph's stick, which is in Ephraim's hand, and the tribes of Israel associated with it, and I will put them with Judah's stick. I will make them into one stick. They will be one in my hand.'


The border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was thus: even the border of their inheritance on the east side was Ataroth-addar, to Beth-horon the upper; The border went toward the sea to Michmethah on the north side; and the border went about eastward to Taanath-shiloh, and passed by it on the east to Janohah; It went down from Janohah to Ataroth, and to Naarath, and came to Jericho, and went out at Jordan. read more.
The border went out from Tappuah westward to the river Kanah; and from there to the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families. The separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.

The coast descended to the river Kanah, southward of the river: these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh: the coast of Manasseh also was on the north side of the river, and it ended at the sea. Southward it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's, and the sea is his border; and they met together in Asher on the north, and in Issachar on the east.

Joshua answered: If you are a great people, then get to the wood country, and cut down for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim is too narrow for you. The children of Joseph said: The hill is not enough for us. All the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Beth-shean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel. Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying: You are a great people. You have great power. You will not have only one lot. read more.
The mountain will be yours. For it is a wood, and you will cut it down. The farthest limits will be yours. You will drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they are strong.

Their lands and settlements included Bethel and its surrounding villages, Naaran to the east, Gezer and its villages to the west, and Shechem and its villages all the way to Ayyah and its villages. Along the borders of Manasseh were Beth Shan, Taanach, Megiddo and Dor, together with their villages. The descendants of Joseph son of Israel lived in these towns.


King Jehoash of Israel captured King Amaziah, son of Joash and grandson of Ahaziah of Judah, at Beth Shemesh and brought him to Jerusalem. He tore down a six hundred foot section of the wall around Jerusalem from Ephraim Gate to Corner Gate.

Jehoash king of Israel made Amaziah king of Judah son of Jehoash, son of Ahaziah, prisoner at Bethshemesh. He went to Jerusalem and had the wall of Jerusalem pulled down from the Gate of Ephraim to the gate in the angle, six hundred feet.

The people went out and got them and made themselves tents. Every one on the roof of his house, and in the open spaces and in the open squares of the House of God, and in the wide place of the Water Gate, and the wide place of the Gate of Ephraim.

Over the Gate of Ephraim and by the old door and the fish door and the tower of Hananel and the tower of Hammeah, as far as the Sheep Gate: and at the doorway of the watchmen they came to a stop.


The families descended from Ephraim were the family of Shuthelah, the family of Beker, and the family of Tahan. The descendants of Shuthelah were the family of Eran. These were the families of Ephraim's descendants. The total number of men was thirty-two thousand five hundred. These were the families descended from Joseph.

The descendants of Ephraim: Shuthelah, Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son, Zabad his son and Shuthelah his son. The native-born men of Gath killed Ezer and Elead, when they went down to seize their livestock. Their father Ephraim mourned for them many days, and his relatives came to comfort him. read more.
Then he lay with his wife again, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. He named him Beriah, because there had been misfortune in his family. His daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth Horon as well as Uzzen Sheerah. Rephah was his son, Resheph his son, Telah his son, Tahan his son, Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, Nun his son and Joshua his son.


King Jeroboam of Israel fortified the town of Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there for a while. Then he left and fortified the town of Penuel.

When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, the people answered the king: What share do we have in David's kingdom? We will not receive an inheritance from Jesse's son. Everyone to his own tent, Israel! Now look after your own house, David! So all Israel went home to their tents.


On the west side the armies led by Ephraim will camp under their flag. Elishama, son of Ammihud is the leader for the people of Ephraim.

Next, the banner of the division led by the tribe of Ephraim would start out, company by company, with Elishama son of Ammihud in command.

The grand total of all the troops in Ephraim's camp is one hundred and eight thousand one hundred. They will be the third group to move out.


The total for the tribe of Ephraim was forty thousand five hundred.

These were the families of Ephraim's descendants. The total number of men was thirty-two thousand five hundred. These were the families descended from Joseph.


Joshua answered: If you are a great people, then get to the wood country, and cut down for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim is too narrow for you. The children of Joseph said: The hill is not enough for us. All the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Beth-shean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel. Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying: You are a great people. You have great power. You will not have only one lot. read more.
The mountain will be yours. For it is a wood, and you will cut it down. The farthest limits will be yours. You will drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they are strong.


But Israel crossed his hands and reached out. He put his right hand on Ephraim's head, although Ephraim was the younger son. He put his left hand on Manasseh's head, although Manasseh was older. Jacob blessed Joseph. He said: May God, in whose presence my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac walked, may this God who has been my shepherd all my life to this very day, May the being who rescued me from all evil bless these boys! May they be called by my name and by the names of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac. May they have many children on the earth. read more.
Joseph saw that his father had put his right hand on Ephraim's head. Joseph did not like it. So he took his father's hand in order to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's. He said to his father: That is not right, Father! This is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head. His father refused and said: I know, Son, I know! Manasseh, too, will become a nation. He, too, will be important. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be more important than he. His descendants will become many nations. That day he blessed them. He said: Because of you, Israel will speak this blessing: 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!' In this way Israel put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.


Zabad his son and Shuthelah his son. The native-born men of Gath killed Ezer and Elead, when they went down to seize their livestock. Their father Ephraim mourned for them many days, and his relatives came to comfort him.


Blessed of Jehovah is his land. Bless it with the dew from heaven above and with the deep waters lying below. Bless with the choice yield of the sun, and with the bounty produced each month. Bless with the best things of the ancient mountains, and with the choice things of the everlasting hills. read more.
Bless with the choice things of the earth and its fullness. Let the favor of him who dwelt in the bush come to the head of Joseph and to the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers. As the firstborn of his bulls, majesty is his. His horns are the horns of the wild bull. With them he will push the peoples, all at once, to the ends of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh.


So the troops went to the country to fight Israel in the forest of Ephraim. Battles were fought all over the forest. David's soldiers were winning. Twenty thousand soldiers were killed that day. More soldiers died from the dangers of the forest than from the fighting. read more.
Absalom happened to come face to face with some of David's men. He was riding on a mule. The mule went under the tangled branches of a large tree. Absalom's head became caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair when the mule under him ran away. A man who saw this told Joab: I saw Absalom hanging in a tree. What! You saw what? Joab said. Why did you not strike him to the ground? Then I would have felt obligated to give you four ounces of silver and a belt. The man told Joab: Even if I felt the weight of twenty pounds of silver in my hand, I would not raise my hand against the king's son. We heard the order the king gave you, Abishai, and Ittai. Protect the young man Absalom for my sake. Would you have stood by me if I did something treacherous to him? There is nothing hidden from the king. You would turn against me. I will not waste any more time with you, Joab said. He took three spears and plunged them into Absalom's chest while he was still alive and hanging in the oak tree. Ten of Joab's soldiers closed in on Absalom and finished killing him. Joab ordered the trumpet blown to stop the fighting. His troops came back from pursuing the Israelites. They took Absalom's body and threw it into a deep pit in the forest. Then they covered it with a huge pile of stones. All the Israelites fled to their own hometowns.


Gideon sent messengers through all the hill country of Ephraim to say: Come down and fight the Midianites! Hold the Jordan River and the streams as far as Bethbarah, to keep the Midianites from crossing them. The men of Ephraim were called together, and they held the Jordan River and the streams as far as Bethbarah. They captured the two Midianite chiefs, Oreb and Zeeb; they killed Oreb at Oreb Rock, and Zeeb at the Winepress of Zeeb. They continued to pursue the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was now east of the Jordan.


Josiah was eight years old when he became king. He was king for thirty-one years in Jerusalem. He did what Jehovah considered right. He lived in the ways of his ancestor David and never stopped living this way. It was the eighth year of his reign. He was still a boy when he dedicated his life to service of the God of his ancestor David. In his twelfth year as king he purged Judah and Jerusalem by destroying the illegal places of worship, poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah, carved idols, and metal idols. read more.
He tore down the altars of the Baal gods. He cut down the incense altars that were above them. He destroyed the Asherah poles, carved idols, and metal idols. He ground them into powder and scattered the powder over the tombs of those who had sacrificed to them. He burned the bones of the priests on their altars. Thus he made Judah and Jerusalem clean. In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, he removed all their temples.


The house of Joseph also attacked Bethel: and Jehovah was with them. The house of Joseph sent men to spy out Bethel. The spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said to him: Show us the entrance into the city, and we will show you mercy. read more.
When he showed them the entrance into the city, they struck the city with the edge of the sword. But spared the man and all his family.


Many people from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not made themselves clean. So they ate the Passover, but not in the way the written instructions said they should. Hezekiah prayed for them: May Jehovah forgive everyone


He placed one in Bethel and the other in Dan.


They did not drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day, and have become forced laborers.


Jephthah brought all the men of Gilead together and fought the men of Ephraim and defeated them. To keep the Ephraimites from escaping, the Gileadites captured the places where the Jordan could be crossed. When any Ephraimite who was trying to escape would ask permission to cross, the men of Gilead would ask: Are you an Ephraimite? If he said: No, they would tell him to say Shibboleth. But he would say Sibboleth, because he could not pronounce it correctly. Then they would kill him at the Jordan River crossing. Forty-two thousand of the Ephraimites were killed.


All the men of Israel who had taken cover in the mountains of Ephraim, hearing that the Philistines had been put to flight chased them and attacked them.


I will bring the people of Israel back to their pastures. They will eat on Mount Carmel and Mount Bashan. They will eat until they are full on the mountains of Ephraim and Gilead.


That is not so. A man from the mountains of Ephraim by the name of Sheba son of Bichri has rebelled against King David. Give him to me and I will withdraw from the city. The woman told Joab: Watch, for his head will be thrown to you from the wall.


Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured some of his cities: Bethel and its villages, Jeshanah and its villages, and Ephron and its villages.

Jesus did not walk openly among the Jews anymore. He departed into the wilderness of the nearby country. He and his disciples stayed at a city called Ephraim.


When this ended, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, broke the pillars in pieces, cut down the Asherim and pulled down the high places and the altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh. They destroyed them all. Then all the sons of Israel returned to their cities, each to his possession.


Ephraim will have one part of the land and border Manasseh on the south. It will extend from the eastern border to the western border.


Then Asa gathered all the people from Judah and Benjamin and the foreigners who had come from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon. Many of them had come to him from Israel when they saw that Asa's God, Jehovah, was with him.


Ephraim's wickedness is on record. The record of the people's sins is safely stored away.


Zichri, a fighting man from Ephraim, killed Maaseiah, who was the king's son, Azrikam, who was in charge of the palace, and Elkanah, who was the king's second-in-command.


There will be a day when watchmen on the hills of Ephraim call out: 'Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to Jehovah our God.'


He named the second son Ephraim, because God made him fruitful in the land where he had suffered.


Jacob went on to say: Joseph, your two sons Ephraim and Manasseh were born in Egypt. But I accept them as my own, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.


Abner made him king of Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin, that is, all Israel.


The men of Ephraim were ready for battle. They crossed the Jordan River to Zaphon and said to Jephthah: Why did you cross the border to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We are going to burn the house down over your head!


When the tribe of Ephraim spoke, people trembled. The people of Ephraim were important in Israel. Then they became guilty of worshiping Baal, so they must die.


The man left Bethlehem to find another place to live. While he was traveling, he came to Micah's house in the mountains of Ephraim.


Then the people of Ephraim said to Gideon: Why did you not call us when you went to fight the Midianites? Why did you treat us like this? They complained bitterly about it.


Of the tribe of Zebulun were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.


They buried him on the border of his inheritance in Timnath-Serah, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of Gaash hill.


The descendants of Shuthelah were the family of Eran.


So the troops went to the country to fight Israel in the forest of Ephraim.

More soldiers died from the dangers of the forest than from the fighting.


Jesus did not walk openly among the Jews anymore. He departed into the wilderness of the nearby country. He and his disciples stayed at a city called Ephraim.


The border went out from Tappuah westward to the river Kanah; and from there to the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families.

The coast descended to the river Kanah, southward of the river: these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh: the coast of Manasseh also was on the north side of the river, and it ended at the sea.


They buried him on the border of his inheritance in Timnath-Serah, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of Gaash hill.

Joshua answered: If you are a great people, then get to the wood country, and cut down for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim is too narrow for you.


Their lands and settlements included Bethel and its surrounding villages, Naaran to the east, Gezer and its villages to the west, and Shechem and its villages all the way to Ayyah and its villages.


Rephah was his son, Resheph his son, Telah his son, Tahan his son,