Introduction
Ephraim is the younger son of Joseph and Asenath, formally adopted by Jacob as his own son alongside his elder brother Manasseh, and, unusually, given the greater of the two blessings despite being the younger, a reversal of expected birth order that echoes similar reversals throughout Genesis's patriarchal narratives.
This article follows the biblical account in Genesis. Where later Jewish, Christian or Islamic tradition adds detail not found in the text itself, the article identifies it as such.
Family
Birth and naming
Joseph named his second son Ephraim, explaining, according to Genesis 41:52, that "God has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortune", again reflecting on his earlier hardship now transformed into prosperity.
The greater blessing
When the aging, nearly blind Jacob blessed Joseph's two sons, he deliberately crossed his arms to place his right hand, the hand of the greater blessing, on Ephraim's head rather than Manasseh's, despite Ephraim being the younger son. When Joseph tried to correct what he took to be his father's mistake, Jacob insisted the placement was intentional, saying that though Manasseh too would become a people, "his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations".
Later significance
In the later books of the Hebrew Bible, the tribe of Ephraim became one of the most prominent and powerful of the northern tribes of Israel, to the point that the prophetic books frequently use the name "Ephraim" as a poetic synonym for the entire northern kingdom of Israel, a usage that reflects the fulfilment, in the wider biblical narrative, of Jacob's blessing favouring Ephraim over his elder brother.