Due to this lack of identity some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an

eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to

others in the Israelite confederation.[2] The text of the Torah argues that the
name of Ephraim, which means double fruitfulness, refers to Joseph's ability to
produce children, specifically while in Egypt (termed by the Torah as the land o
f his affliction).[3] Some scholars link the name to an Egyptian meaning rather
than a Hebrew one.[4]
In the Biblical account, Joseph's other son is Manasseh, and Joseph himself is o
ne of the two children of Rachel and Jacob, the other being Benjamin. Biblical s
cholars regard it as obvious, from their geographic overlap and their treatment
in older passages, that originally Ephraim and Manasseh were considered one trib
e - that of Joseph.[5] John's Book of Revelation, however, accords only Ephraim
the tribal name of Joseph. According to several biblical scholars, Benjamin was
originally part of the suggested Ephraim-Manasseh single "Joseph" tribe, but the
biblical account of Joseph as his father became lost.[5][6] A number of biblica
l scholars suspect that the distinction of the Joseph tribes (including Benjamin
) is that they were the only Israelites which went to Egypt and returned, while
the main Israelite tribes simply emerged as a subculture from the Canaanites and
had remained in Canaan throughout.[6][7] According to this view, the story of J
acob's visit to Laban to obtain a wife originated as a metaphor for this migrati
on, with the property and family which were gained from Laban representing the g
ains of the Joseph tribes by the time they returned from Egypt;[6] according to
textual scholars, the Jahwist version of the Laban narrative only mentions the J
oseph tribes, and Rachel, and doesn't mention the other tribal matriarchs whatso
ever.[7][8]
In the Torah, the eventual precedence of the tribe of Ephraim is argued to deriv
e from Jacob, blind and on his deathbed, blessing Ephraim before Manasseh.[3][9]
The text describing this blessing features a hapax legomenon - the word ??? (sh
-k-l) - which classical rabbinical literature has interpreted in esoteric manner
s;[5] some rabbinical sources connect the term with sekel, meaning mind/wisdom,
and view it as indicating that Jacob was entirely aware of who he was actually b
lessing;[9] other rabbinical sources connect the term with shikkel, viewing it a
s signifying that Jacob was despoiling Manasseh in favour of Ephraim;[9] yet oth
er rabbinical sources argue that it refers to the power of Jacob to instruct and
guide the holy spirit.[9] In classical rabbinical sources, Ephraim is described
as being modest and not selfish.[5] These rabbinical sources allege that it was
on account of modesty and selflessness, and a prophetic vision of Joshua, that
Jacob gave Ephraim precedence over Manasseh, the elder of the two;[9] in these s
ources Jacob is regarded as being sufficiently just that God upholds the blessin
g in his honour, and makes Ephraim the leading tribe