Ephraim

Ephraim was the second son of Joseph by Asenath. His name means, "doubly fruitful." Joseph believed that God had caused him to be fruitful in the land of his affliction. Ephraim was also adopted by his grandfather Jacob and given a blessing as one of his sons. At Jacob's deathbed blessing of his sons he placed his hand on Ephraim, the second son of Joseph, first because Ephraim descendants would be more important than Manasseh's. Eventually his thousands of descendents settled in the land of Canaan as one of the most numerous of the tribes of Israel. They located in the central hill country south of Shechem and extended into the coastal plains.

See Genesis 41:52; 46:20; 48:1-20; 50:23; Numbers 26:28; Deuteronomy 33:17; 1 Chronicles 7:20-22.

REFERENCES
	Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary Ronald F. Youngblood, General Editor, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995, Nashville/Atlanta/London/Vancouver Who's Who in the Bible Joan Comay and Ronald Brownrigg, Wings Books, 1993, New York/Avenel/New Jersey Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1996, Wheaton, Illinois