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Ephraim

Biblical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A tribe of Israel descended from Joseph’s son; also a mountainous region and symbolic name for the northern kingdom.

Detailed Definition
Ephraim often represents the rebellious northern kingdom in prophetic literature. In poetry, it symbolizes waywardness, divine longing for return, and the tension between chosenness and apostasy, frequently used in laments and calls to repentance.
Example
Example in poetry:
Ephraim—Joseph’s son and tribe—appears in prophetic poetry: “Ephraim is a cake unturned, half-baked in idolatry”; A poem on waywardness: “O Ephraim, how often I longed to gather you!”; In a lament: “The glory departed from Ephraim when they chose calves over covenant”; Modern parallel: “Our Ephraim is the part of us that knows truth but lives lies.”
Additional Notes
Ephraim refers both to Joseph’s son and to the dominant northern tribe, often used metonymically for the entire northern kingdom (e.g., Hosea). Its mountainous territory was central to Israel’s early history. In prophetic poetry, “Ephraim” connotes waywardness, divine longing, and the pain of fractured unity—ideal for laments over national division or spiritual infidelity.
Also Known As
Ephraim (tribe) Mount Ephraim
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