אֶפְרַ֫יִם
eph.ra.yim
(Mount) Ephraim
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Ephraim in Hebrew Scripture The Hebrew term *Ephrayim* (אֶפְרַ֫יִם) designates a geographical location known as Mount Ephraim. According to the lexical data provided, this place name appears five times throughout the biblical text, indicating it held sufficient importance to warrant multiple textual references. The designation as a "mount" suggests an elevated terrain feature rather than a small or insignificant location. While the lexicon entry itself provides only the basic identification—a geographical place name—the limited frequency of occurrence (five instances) and its designation as a named mountain indicate this was a recognized landmark in the biblical world. The term functions as a proper noun, serving to identify a specific physical location rather than to describe abstract concepts or general categories. This straightforward geographical function is typical of place names in biblical Hebrew, which served to orient readers within the spatial world of biblical narratives and history. Without additional contextual data beyond the lexicon entry, we can conclude that Mount Ephraim was a named geographical feature significant enough to appear multiple times in biblical texts, though its precise role and significance in those narratives cannot be determined from the lexical information alone.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
5 total occurrences across the text
It shall happen, when Yahweh your God brings you into the land that you go to possess, that you shall set the blessing on Mount Gerizim, and the curse on Mount Ebal.
Deuteronomy 27:4It shall be, when you have crossed over the Jordan, that you shall set up these stones, which I command you today, on Mount Ebal, and you shall coat them with plaster.
Deuteronomy 27:13These shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.
Joshua 8:30Then Joshua built an altar to Yahweh, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal,
Joshua 8:33All Israel, with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on both sides of the ark before the Levitical priests, who carried the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, the foreigner as well as the native; half of them in front of Mount Gerizim, and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of Yahweh had commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel.