Ephraim was the brother of Manasseh
and the son of Joseph and
Asenath, a woman whom was given to Joseph as a gift from the Pharaoh.
Jacob adopted the two sons as part of the tribe of Simeon and Reuben. Ephraim received
the blessing of the firstborn, although Manasseh was the eldest, because
Jacob foresaw that Ephraim's ancestors would be greater than his brother's
(Genesis 48:13-20).
The tribe of Ephraim settled in central Israel, stretching from just west of the Jordan River to the central coast of the Mediterranean Sea.