EPHRAIM, the younger son of Joseph, who received the precedence over the elder by the blessing of Jacob. At the exodus from Egypt, the tribe of Ephraim, of which he was the founder, numbered 40,500, but in their wanderings the number was diminished by 8000. Their possessions in the very centre of Palestine included most of what was afterwards called Samaria. They were long jealous of the regal honours of Judah; but after the dismemberment of the tribes, their rivalry was merged in that subsisting between the two kingdoms.