(double fruitfulness), the second son of Joseph by his wife Asenath. (B.C. 1715-1708.) The
first indication we have of that ascendancy over his elder brother Manasseh which at a later period
the tribe of Ephraim so unmistakably possessed is in the blessing of the children by Jacob. (Genesis
48:1) ...
Ephraim, Gate Of
one of the gates of the city of Jerusalem, (2 Kings 14:13; 2 Chronicles 25:23; Nehemiah 8:16;
12:39) probably at or near the position of the present “Damascus gate.”
Ephraim, Mount
is a district which seems to extend as far south as Ramah and Bethel, (1 Samuel 1:1; 7:17; 2
Chronicles 13:4,19) compared with 2Chr 15:8 Places but a few miles north of Jerusalem, and within
the limits of Benjamin.
Ephraim, The Wood Of
a wood, or rather a forest, on the east of Jordan, in which the fatal battle was fought between
the armies of David and of Absalom. (2 Samuel 18:6)
Ephraimite
Of the tribe of Ephraim; elsewhere called “Ephrathite.” (Judges 12:5)
Ephrain
(hamlet), a city of Israel which Judah captured from Jeroboam. (2 Chronicles 13:19) It has been
conjectured that this Ephrain or Ephron is identical with the Ephraim by which Absalom’s sheep-farm
of Baal-hazor was situated; with the city called Ephraim near the wilderness in which our Lord
lived for some time; and with Ophrah, a city of Benjamin, apparently not far from Bethel. But
nothing more than conjecture can be arrived at on these points.
Ephratah, Or Ephrath
(fruitful).
•Second wife of Caleb the son of Hezron, mother of Hur and grandmother of Caleb the spy,
according to (1 Chronicles 2:19,50) and probably 1Chr 2:24 and 1Chr 4:4 (B.C. 1695.)
•The ancient name of Bethlehem-judah. (Genesis 35:16,19; 48:7)
Ephrathite
- An inhabitant of Bethlehem. (Ruth 1:2)
•An Ephraimite. (1 Samuel 1:1; 1 Kings 11:26)
Ephron
(fawn-like), the son of Zochar, a Hittite, from whom Abraham bought the field and cave of
Machpelah. (Genesis 23:8-17; 25:9; 49:29,30; 50:13) (B.C. 1860.)
Ephron, Mount
The “cities of Mount Ephron” formed one of the landmarks on the northern boundary of the
tribe of Judah. (Joshua 15:9)
Epicureans, The
derived their name from Epicurus (342-271 B.C.), a philosopher of Attic descent, whose
“Garden” at Athens rivalled in popularity the “Porch” and the “Academy.” The doctrines of Epicurus
found wide acceptance in Asia Minor and Alexandria. (95-50 B.C.) The object of Epicurus was to
find in philosophy a practical guide to happiness. True pleasure and not absolute truth was the end
at which he aimed; experience and not reason the test on which he relied. It is obvious that a system
thus formed would degenerate by a natural descent into mere materialism; and in this form Epicurism
was the popular philosophy at the beginning of the Christian era. When St. Paul addressed