The Tribe of Ephraim

From the Valley of Dry Bones to the Gathering of Israel

Most people know the story of Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones. They picture the prophet standing in a field of death, bones scattered and bleached white by the sun, and they hear God’s question: “Son of man, can these bones live?” What few realize is that those bones have a name, and a history that stretches all the way back to Egypt, before the Exodus even began. They are the bones of the tribe of Ephraim.

The story of Ephraim is one of betrayal, scattering, and breathtaking restoration. It is the story of a family fractured so deeply that the wound still ached centuries later when Ezekiel stood in that valley. Yet it is also the story of God’s relentless love for broken families, broken covenants, and spiritually dry people. As the pages of history and prophecy unfold, we see Ephraim’s place in the camp of Israel, the symbols that still speak today from the baptismal fonts of temples, and the vital role this tribe plays in the gathering of Israel in the latter days.

Ephraim the Individual: The Man and the Birthright Blessing

Ephraim was the second son born to Joseph and his Egyptian wife Asenath, daughter of Potipherah, priest of On (Genesis 41:45, 50-52). Joseph, who had risen from slavery to become ruler of Egypt, named the boy Ephraim, meaning “doubly fruitful” or “fruitful.” He declared, “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction” (Genesis 41:52). The name itself was prophetic, pointing to the extraordinary growth, fruitfulness, and global influence that would one day belong to his descendants.

Decades later, when the aged patriarch Jacob (Israel) lay dying in Egypt, he called for Joseph and his two sons. In a pivotal covenant act, Jacob formally adopted Ephraim and Manasseh as his own, giving them equal standing with the twelve tribal heads (Genesis 48:5). Then, in a deliberate reversal of birth order, Jacob crossed his hands and laid his right hand, the hand of the greater blessing, upon the head of the younger Ephraim. Overriding Joseph’s protest, Jacob declared that Ephraim would become “a multitude of nations” while Manasseh would become “a great people” (Genesis 48:19).

This transfer of the birthright, from Reuben (the original firstborn, who lost it through sin) through Joseph to Ephraim, carried immense weight. It included leadership, the double portion of inheritance, and the sacred responsibility to gather scattered Israel in the latter days. The blessing echoed and expanded the Abrahamic covenant promises of fruitfulness, land, seed as numerous as the stars and sand, and influence among the nations. What began as a personal family moment in a tent in Egypt would shape the destiny of millions across millennia. Moses later reinforced this in Deuteronomy 33:17, blessing Joseph’s line with the strength of a firstborn bull and the horns of a wild ox, symbols of power and leadership that would define Ephraim’s banner.

The prophets would later affirm this special status, declaring through Jeremiah that “I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn” (Jeremiah 31:9). In this dispensation, the Lord has confirmed that Ephraim was given the birthright in Israel (1 Chronicles 5:1–2; Jeremiah 31:9). It is Ephraim’s privilege and responsibility in the last days to bear the priesthood, take the message of the restored gospel to the world, and raise an ensign to gather scattered Israel (Isaiah 11:12–13; 2 Nephi 21:12–13). The children of Ephraim will crown with glory those from the north countries who return in the last days (Doctrine and Covenants 133:26–34). President Russell M. Nelson has taught that the tribe of Joseph, through Ephraim and Manasseh, was given the responsibility to lead in the gathering of Israel to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord.

The Rebellion in Egypt and the Premature Exodus

Long before Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, the tribe of Ephraim made a fateful decision in the land of Goshen. The 400-year prophecy given to Abraham (Genesis 15) was drawing to a close. Ephraim, restless and armed with perhaps as many as 350,000 fighting men according to some traditions, believed the time of deliverance had come. Instead of waiting for God’s appointed leader and covenant timing, they took matters into their own hands. They left their brothers behind and marched toward the land of the Philistines.

The result was catastrophic. The men of Gath killed Ephraim’s sons Ezer and Elead, and likely thousands more. First Chronicles 7:20-22 records the grief: “Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him.” The fighting men of Ephraim were gone. When a new Pharaoh arose who “knew not Joseph,” the remaining tribes had no warriors to resist enslavement. Exodus 1 shows no record of Israel fighting back, because the tribe that would have led the resistance lay dead on the road to Philistia.

Psalm 78 later indicts them sharply: “The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law, and forgot his works and his wonders that he had showed them.” Their premature departure became a symbol of covenant-breaking and forgetting God’s miracles.

Ancient Jewish scribes and documents confirm the tragedy in rich detail. The Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael and Exodus Rabbah explain that God redirected the Exodus route in Exodus 13:17, “Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt,” precisely to spare Israel the sight of their brothers’ bones strewn along the coastal road. Targum Yonatan on Exodus 13:17 echoes this, noting the divine mercy that turned the people away from the path of their fallen kinsmen. The Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 92b) goes even further. Rav declares that the dry bones Ezekiel saw were none other than the bones of those Ephraimites who “calculated the time of the end of the enslavement and the redemption from Egypt and erred in their calculation. They left before the appointed time and were killed,” citing 1 Chronicles 7:20-22. Midrashic accounts describe heaps of bleached bones left unburied, a haunting image of rebellion’s cost preserved by Jewish tradition across the generations.

The Split After Solomon: Jeroboam’s Rebellion and the Fracture of Israel

The fracture did not heal. After King Solomon’s death around 930 BC, an Ephraimite named Jeroboam son of Nebat, a former overseer of forced labor for the house of Joseph, led the northern ten tribes in rebellion against Rehoboam. The prophet Ahijah had foretold this division, tearing his garment into twelve pieces and giving ten to Jeroboam as a sign (1 Kings 11:29-31). The kingdom split in two. The northern kingdom, often called “Israel” or simply “Ephraim” in the prophets, fell into idolatry, erecting golden calves at Bethel and Dan to prevent pilgrimages to Jerusalem. The southern kingdom of Judah remained in Jerusalem. The family of Israel was now openly divided, and the wound ran deep.

In 722 BC the Assyrians swept in, conquered the northern kingdom, and scattered the ten tribes across the empire, the first great diaspora. Ephraim, the leading and most populous tribe of the north, was carried away and sown like seed among the nations. The prophets would later speak of Ephraim as representative of all scattered Israel. The prophet Hosea repeatedly addressed the northern kingdom as Ephraim, warning of the consequences of unfaithfulness while revealing the depth of God’s compassion: “How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? … Mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together” (Hosea 11:8). Yet even in judgment, God’s heart remained tender: “Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still” (Jeremiah 31:20).

The Camp of Israel and Ephraim’s Sacred Position

Even in the wilderness of the Exodus, God gave Israel a living picture of order and divine purpose. The tribes camped around the tabernacle in four groups of three (Numbers 2). On the west side, directly opposite the entrance of the tabernacle, stood the camp of Ephraim, along with Manasseh and Benjamin. The banner of Ephraim flew there, bearing the symbol of an ox (or bull), drawn from Deuteronomy 33:17: “His firstling bullock… his horns are like the horns of unicorns.” This ox symbolized strength, leadership, and the birthright blessings of Joseph’s line. In the arrangement of the camps, Judah’s camp, with its lion standard, stood at the front entrance on the east. Ephraim’s position behind the sanctuary, symbolically at the “back” or “feet” of the house of the Lord, was no accident. It carried a quiet but powerful foreshadowing.

In the latter days, this symbolism finds beautiful fulfillment. The original Nauvoo Temple faced west, with its main entrance on that side. When the tribes are mentally arranged around it in the ancient pattern, Ephraim’s camp now stands ready at the entrance, positioned to lead souls into the house of the Lord. The tribe once placed behind the tabernacle now stands at the door of gathering. The very oxen supporting the baptismal font echo this restored role: twelve oxen in groups of three, bearing the weight of temple work for all Israel, with Ephraim’s ox emblem reminding us who carries the birthright responsibility in these last days.

(Note: The tribe’s central inheritance in Canaan, which included the city of Shiloh, where Joshua, an Ephraimite, established the tabernacle as Israel’s religious center for roughly 369 years, further underscores Ephraim’s sacred connection to the house of the Lord. Shiloh remained the focal point of worship until the days of Samuel.)

The Flag of Ephraim, the Breastplate of Aaron, and the Symbols on the Baptismal Font

That same ox symbol appears again in modern temples as a powerful testament. The baptismal fonts rest upon the backs of twelve oxen, often arranged three by three by three by three, exactly mirroring the four camps of Israel around the tabernacle. These oxen represent the twelve tribes carrying the burden of gathering and temple work. Ephraim’s ox emblem ties directly to this sacred symbol: the tribe that once fled in the day of battle is now called to lead in the day of gathering.

Ephraim’s place among the tribes was also visibly honored in the breastplate of Aaron, the sacred garment worn by the High Priest when ministering before the Lord (Exodus 28:15-21). This breastplate of judgment featured twelve precious stones, each engraved with the name of one of the tribes of Israel and set in gold. Worn over the heart, it served as a continual memorial so that Aaron would “bear the names of the children of Israel” whenever he entered the holy place.

The stone known as shoham, placed in the fourth row and traditionally associated with the house of Joseph (of which Ephraim was the leading tribe), is best understood as a green variety of onyx. These stones, shimmering with divine light and bearing the tribal names, symbolized unity, remembrance, and the High Priest’s intercessory role for all Israel, including the birthright holder Ephraim. Just as the breastplate held Ephraim before God’s presence in the tabernacle, modern temple fonts and symbols continue to call Ephraim to lead in gathering and covenant work.

Ephraim Among the Tribes: Bonds, Rivalry, and Future Unity

Ephraim’s relationships with the other tribes of Israel were marked by both deep familial bonds and painful fractures that echoed through centuries of history. As the birthright holder of the house of Joseph, Ephraim shared an especially close and harmonious tie with his brother tribe Manasseh. Together they formed the powerful “house of Joseph,” inheriting the double portion that had once belonged to Reuben. In the wilderness encampment they stood side by side on the west, joined by Benjamin, another son of Rachel, creating a natural cluster of Rachel’s descendants united under the same banner of strength and fruitfulness.

During the conquest of Canaan, Ephraim rose to prominence among all the tribes. Joshua, a descendant of Ephraim, was chosen by God to succeed Moses and lead every tribe into the Promised Land. Under Joshua’s direction, the tabernacle found its first permanent home in Shiloh, deep in the heart of Ephraim’s central territory. For more than three centuries, Shiloh served as the spiritual center for the entire nation, drawing pilgrims from every tribe to the house of the Lord. This honored role gave Ephraim a place of quiet leadership and unity among the tribes even before the monarchy.

Yet not all relationships were without tension. In the period of the judges, Ephraim occasionally displayed a spirit of jealousy and pride. When Gideon (of Manasseh) and later Jephthah (of Gilead) delivered Israel from enemies, the Ephraimites complained that they had not been called to lead the victory, revealing an undercurrent of rivalry even among close kin (Judges 8:1; 12:1-6). These episodes foreshadowed deeper divisions to come.

The greatest fracture occurred with the tribe of Judah. Judah held the scepter, the royal and messianic lineage through David, while Ephraim carried the birthright of gathering and leadership. This divine division of roles created an underlying tension that finally erupted after Solomon’s death. Led by the Ephraimite Jeroboam, the ten northern tribes broke away, forming the kingdom of Israel with Ephraim at its head. For the next two centuries the two kingdoms often viewed each other with suspicion, sometimes engaging in open warfare. The prophets frequently referred to the entire northern kingdom simply as “Ephraim,” underscoring its dominant influence while highlighting the painful separation from Judah.

Despite these rifts, the Lord never abandoned the hope of full restoration. The breastplate of Aaron, with its twelve stones bearing the names of every tribe, served as a constant reminder that all Israel was held together before God’s presence. And the prophets pointed forward to a glorious day of healing. Ezekiel’s vision of the two sticks, along with many other latter-day prophecies, declares that Ephraim and Judah, along with every scattered tribe, will be gathered, reconciled, and made one in the Lord’s hand. In the restored gospel, patriarchal blessings declare lineage to Ephraim for the great majority of Church members, awakening them to their covenant identity and responsibility to gather Israel. As President Russell M. Nelson has emphasized, this gathering on both sides of the veil, through missionary, temple, and family history work, unites all of God’s children in the covenant.

Ephraim’s Place in the End Times: The Two Sticks and the Gathering

Ezekiel 37 does not end with dry bones. Immediately after the resurrection vision, God commands Ezekiel to take two sticks. On one write “For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions.” On the other write “For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions.” Then join them into one stick in your hand. The Lord declares He will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, make them one nation in the land, and give them one king. No more will they be two nations or divided kingdoms.

On one level, these two sticks represent the Bible (the stick of Judah) and the Book of Mormon (the stick or record of Ephraim or Joseph), which together bear unified testimony of Jesus Christ and His work among the house of Israel. The Book of Mormon, brought forth through the Prophet Joseph Smith of the tribe of Ephraim, fulfills this prophecy as another testament that joins with the Bible to gather scattered Israel.

On another level, the prophet Isaiah painted this latter-day harmony in vivid colors. In chapter 11 he describes a rod coming out of the stem of Jesse and a Branch growing out of his roots, upon whom the Spirit of the Lord rests in wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. This righteous ruler becomes an ensign for the nations. He will “set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim” (Isaiah 11:12-13; see also 2 Nephi 21:12–13). In the latter days this prophecy is being fulfilled as Ephraim leads the gathering under the restored gospel, the ensign raised in these last days. The ancient rivalry gives way to perfect unity as the tribes work side by side to prepare the world for the Savior’s return. Zechariah likewise foretold this strength and harmony: “I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph… Ephraim shall be like a mighty man” (Zechariah 10:6-7).

In the latter days, Ephraim has been given the birthright blessing of gathering. Scattered Ephraimites, mixed among the nations, are being awakened to their covenant identity. They lead the charge to bring the gospel to the world, to build temples, and to perform the work that binds families and tribes together. Doctrine and Covenants 133:26–34 promises that those from the north countries will come to the children of Ephraim, who will crown them with glory in Zion. The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh are gathered in the Americas while the tribe of Judah returns to Jerusalem and the area surrounding it. The Nauvoo Temple dedication itself fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy that days of mourning would become days of joy and gladness as people from many cities come to seek the Lord (Zechariah 8:22). Over 331,000 visitors came from everywhere during its open house, gentiles and Israelites alike, fulfilling the very pattern of gathering. President Russell M. Nelson has taught that whenever we help anyone, on either side of the veil, to make and keep covenants with God, we are helping to gather Israel.

The valley that once held Ephraim’s bones now echoes with the promise of resurrection, for individuals, for families, and for the whole house of Israel. God is raising up an army from those who once turned back in the day of battle. He is making the sticks one. He is turning dry bones into a mighty host that will stand in the latter days and declare, “The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”

Ephraim’s story is not one of permanent failure. It is the ultimate testimony that no rebellion is too deep, no scattering too wide, and no bones too dry for the God who redeems. In the camp, on the breastplate, at the font, and in the gathering, Ephraim stands ready, ox-strong and covenant-bound, to help bring all of Israel home.