All about the ancient tribes
Collectively, the descendants of the tribes of Israel are known as the house of Israel and are called Israelites. The descendants of Judah (the fourth-born son of Jacob), for example, are known as Jews, and the descendants of Ephraim (a son of Joseph) are called Ephraimites.
By The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica | View Edit History. Ephraim, one of the 12 tribes of Israel that in biblical times comprised the people of Israel who later became the Jewish people. The tribe was named after one of the younger sons of Joseph, himself a son of Jacob.
According to the Bible, the Tribe of Ephraim is descended from a man named Ephraim, who is recorded as the son of Joseph, the son of Jacob, and Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera. The descendants of Joseph formed two of the tribes of Israel, whereas the other sons of Jacob were the founders of one tribe each.
In the last days, Ephraim’s descendants have the privilege and responsibility to bear the message of the restoration of the gospel to the world and to gather scattered Israel. VII. The covenant or “chosen people” concept is a call to bear the holy priesthood and to carry the gospel of Jesus Christ into all the world.
The tribe of Ephraim is often symbolized by an ox that indicates its strength.
Ephraim was born in Egypt before the arrival of the children of Israel from Canaan. The Book of Numbers lists three sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, Beker, and Tahan. However, 1 Chronicles 7 lists eight sons, including Ezer and Elead, who were killed in an attempt to steal cattle from the locals.
Ephraim was located in the wild, uncultivated hill-country thirteen miles to the northeast of Jerusalem, “perched on a conspicuous eminence and with an extensive view” between the central towns and the Jordan valley.
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), also called Mormonism, members regard themselves as Israelites, and “Gentile” is used to denote any person who is not of the house of Israel (i.e., not a member of one of the 12 tribes of Israel) through blood descent or adoption by means of baptism into the LDS
As Professor Eisenberg wrote, the majority of the tribe of Issachar went into exile after the Assyrians conquered the Northern kingdom (by the way, the Northern Kingdom fell to the Assyrians piecemeal, with the northern and eastern portions falling before the central part of Samaria, and Issachar was in the northern
In Matthew 1:1–6 and Luke 3:31–34 of the New Testament, Jesus is described as a member of the tribe of Judah by lineage. Revelation 5:5 also mentions an apocalyptic vision of the Lion of the tribe of Judah.