Is Ephraim’s Grief Proof There Was No Exodus from Egypt??
I Chronicles.7.25
Why did Ephraim mourn his fallen sons? Who was his granddaughter who built the tribal towns of the family?
Hidden among the long lists of names in this book are some surprising hints of lesser known Hebrew queens and real estate moguls. And there is even bigger news - such as supporting evidence to the theory that the Exodus from Egypt was a later story with feeble foundation in actual proof.
Some scholarship suggests that the twelve tribes of Israel were mostly native born to the region and even the two tribes named for the sons of Joseph that according to the Book of Exodus were born in Egypt - were never there at all.
Chronicles as a whole is very late -mid second temple - but it apparently preserves some ancient fascinating and controversial family secrets. This isn’t just good news for feminists with more role models to celebrate - it’s also food for thought for all the ways we can challenge our familiar stories.
Chapter 7 lists the lineage lists of the tribes of Issachar, Naphtali, Asher, Benjamin, Ephraim and Menashe - all northern tribes, with some familiar famous names from other sections of the Bible, both men and women. But some remain a mystery. This chapter names the well known heroine, Serach, Daughter of Asher, who deserves her own book. And among the sons of Menashe a sister is listed, with an intriguing name or an honorable mention:
וַאֲחֹת֖וֹ הַמֹּלֶ֑כֶת יָֽלְדָה֙ אֶת־אִ֣ישְׁה֔וֹד וְאֶת־אֲבִיעֶ֖זֶר וְאֶת־מַחְלָֽה׃
And his sister Hammolecheth bore Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah.
I Chronicles.7.18
“Hammolecheth” might be her name or indeed the indication that ‘she was the queen’.
But the real big story hiding in this chapter is whatever happened to the tribe of Ephraim, with a dramatic story inserted into the list of names that flips familiar history - and also includes the only woman in the book who built a city:
וּבְנֵ֥י אֶפְרַ֖יִם שׁוּתָ֑לַח וּבֶ֤רֶד בְּנוֹ֙ וְתַ֣חַת בְּנ֔וֹ וְאֶלְעָדָ֥ה בְנ֖וֹ וְתַ֥חַת בְּנֽוֹ׃ וְזָבָ֥ד בְּנ֛וֹ וְשׁוּתֶ֥לַח בְּנ֖וֹ וְעֵ֣זֶר וְאֶלְעָ֑ד וַהֲרָג֗וּם אַנְשֵׁי־גַת֙ הַנּוֹלָדִ֣ים בָּאָ֔רֶץ כִּ֣י יָֽרְד֔וּ לָקַ֖חַת אֶת־מִקְנֵיהֶֽם׃ וַיִּתְאַבֵּ֛ל אֶפְרַ֥יִם אֲבִיהֶ֖ם יָמִ֣ים רַבִּ֑ים וַיָּבֹ֥אוּ אֶחָ֖יו לְנַחֲמֽוֹ׃ וַיָּבֹא֙ אֶל־אִשְׁתּ֔וֹ וַתַּ֖הַר וַתֵּ֣לֶד בֵּ֑ן וַיִּקְרָ֤א אֶת־שְׁמוֹ֙ בְּרִיעָ֔ה כִּ֥י בְרָעָ֖ה הָיְתָ֥ה בְּבֵיתֽוֹ׃ וּבִתּ֣וֹ שֶֽׁאֱרָ֔ה וַתִּ֧בֶן אֶת־בֵּית־חוֹר֛וֹן הַתַּחְתּ֖וֹן וְאֶת־הָעֶלְי֑וֹן וְאֵ֖ת אֻזֵּ֥ן שֶׁאֱרָֽה׃
The sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, his son Bered, his son Tahath, his son Eleadah, his son Tahath,
his son Zabad, his son Shuthelah, also Ezer and Elead.
The men of Gath, born in the land, killed them because they had gone down to take their cattle.
And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brothers came to comfort him.
He cohabited with his wife, who conceived and bore a son; and she named him Beriah, because it occurred when there was misfortune in his house.
His daughter was Sheerah, who built both Lower and Upper Beth-horon, and Uzzen-sheerah.
I Chronicles.7.25
What’s the story here? Is there a connection between the fallen sons and the city-building daughter from the same tribe of the north?
This tiny tale of a local skirmish over cattle theft, leading to Eprhaim’s mourning for his fallen sons is huge. It may alter the familiar timeline of the Exodus from Egypt: Isn’t that where Ephraim, one of Joseph’s two sons, was born and buried? What’s the father of this tribe doing in the highlands of Canaan, as his sons fight and fall with local Philistines? Some rabbnic legends suggest that Ephraim and his sons were early pioneers and left Egypt before the Exodus - hence this story. It’s a nice attempt at reconciling narratives but most scholarship suggests more plausible possibilities.
Prof. Rabbi David Frankel explores this riddle and suggests a solution:
“The assumption of this story in Chronicles is that the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, presumably like most of the other tribes, grew and expanded from within the land. They did not come to Gath from Egypt because they were natives of the land…The story in Chronicles appears to reflect an early stage of tradition which is tribal and pre-national. In other words, in traditions of this sort, each clan or tribe by and large conquered its own territory for itself. The cohesion between the tribes was much looser than in later times. It was thus only natural to have a story of Ephraim’s independent fortunes in the land…
How then are we to explain the presence of the story about Ephraim and his sons in the book of Chronicles? This book, as mentioned above, is late. Its authors were certainly well aware of the exodus tradition, which, by then, was fully entrenched in Israelite society. They could hardly have sought to present the alternative conception of Israel’s origins implicit in the story as their own… It seems to me that the explanation for the incorporation of this story is simply oversight. The editors of Chronicles incorporated various sources into their work without always examining them too closely, and included them even if these traditions disagreed with the author’s main thrust. This may have been particularly true regarding ancient genealogical lists with their attendant anecdotes.
What was important for the editors of Chronicles was the lists in general, not the specific names and places that were of central concern for the original authors. Thus, the editors of Chronicles have inadvertently preserved some ancient materials reflecting early conceptions that they did not intend to promote.
We can only express our sense of gratitude for the preservation of these materials. Sometimes the greatest gems are buried in the most obscure and neglected places.”
Whoever were the queens and builders of cities in the early days of tribal rule, and were Eprhaim’s origins - we may never know. Chronicles continues the crumb trail of ancestry with family secrets that keep scholars busy, and the rest of guessing. Perhaps one day some authors will dig deeper and tell us the yet to be told stories of our ancient origin stories, including our unknown crones and queens?
Image: “Ephraim” by Francesco Hayez, 1843.
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