|
|
|
Etymology •
& Meaning •
Hebrew •
Greek •
Bible •
Names •
|
|
|
Meaning and etymology of the Hebrew name Ephraim
|
|
| | |
Ephraim 
The name Ephraim is assigned a few times in the Bible, although all later occurrences obviously stem from the original.
The name Ephraim originally denotes Joseph's younger son, brother of Manasseh (Genesis 41:52). Later it became the name of the half-tribe Ephraim (Joshua 16:5), the hill country in Palestine (1 Samuel 1:1), a forest where Absalom was killed (2 Samuel 18:6), one of the gates of Jerusalem (2 Kings 14:13) and a town to where Jesus withdrew (John 11:54).
The meaning of the name Ephraim is somewhat debated:
Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names and NOBS Study Bible Name List go after Genesis 41:52, "...For [] God has made me fruitful..." and take the name from the Hebrew verb  (para), meaning to bear fruit, be fruitful, branch off. Derivative  peri (1809a) means fruit, hence the name. The im-part comes from the dual mem.
Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names reads Two-fold Increase. NOBS Study Bible Name List reads Doubly Fruitful.
Taking the aleph from the Qual imperfect first person singular would yield a meaning of I Am Twice Fruitful.
HAW Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament links the name Ephraim to the Hebrew root  (apr), which renders derivations (aper), meaning covering, bandage, and  (appiryon) denoting the material from which the throne of Solomon was made (Song 3:9). The root (apr) is identical to the root (apr) from which the word (eper), ashes, is derived.
It's true that the aleph is quite a weak letter which is applied often without essentially changing the meaning of a word. But it's perfectly conceivable, and perhaps even preferred, that father Joseph casts a wry word play in the naming of his sons. He names his first born Manasseh (Making To Forget), because, "God has made me forget all my toil and all of my father's house." When his father's house finally shows up, it becomes clear that Joseph had a hard time forgetting them and was in fact happy to see them. His second son he names Ephraim, a name with a strong connection to the word fruitfulness but equally so to the word for ashes, the symbol of worthlessness and grief (i.e. sackcloth and ashes).
Perhaps Joseph was not at all happy for having been made to forget his father's house, and deemed 'fruitfulness in the land of affliction,' the golden bars of a still dismal cage. Perhaps the duality of the name Ephraim does not denote a double portion of the same, but rather as a reminder that the coin of his wealth and status had two sides.
A related name is Ephrath.
|
|
|
•Look for baby names
•Augment your Hebrew language study
•Deepen your knowledge of the Bible
•Enrich your cruise to or travel holiday in Israel
|
|
