The Disagreements of Ephraim and Manasseh by Rabbi Aryeh Katz as Summarized and Explained by Yair Davidiy
Rabbinical Sources on the Tribes as collated for Brit-Am by Rabbi David Feldman:
Source:
"The Disagreements of Ephraim and Manasseh" (Hebrew Language),
by Rabbi Aryeh Katz, in "Hemdat Ha-Arets," 6.
Impressions and summaries taken by Yair Daviidy.
Hebrew Original Text in .pdf form
file:///C:/Users/aa/Desktop/PDFdown/pdfTribes/EphMenCats.pdf
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Part Two.
Contents:
6. More on the Conquest
7. Jephthah ("Yiftach") of Gilead in Manasseh versus Ephraim
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The Tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin were all descendants of Jacob by his wife Rachel. Rachel gave birth to Joseph from whom came Ephraim and Manasseh, and after that she gave birth to Benjamin.
The Three Tribes travelled together as one group in the Wilderness.
The Three Tribes together are referred to as the "House of Joseph" (2-Samuel 19:21).
There were two settlements of Beth-el both adjoining each other. One was in the territory of Benjamin and one in that of Ephraim. THis may once have been one large settlement that was later divided along Tribal lines.
A group of Israelites referred to as the 'House of Joseph" are described conquering the original settlement of Beth-el from the Canaanites (Judges 1:22-26).
We may learn from the above that both during the Time of Joshua the two Tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh ( with Ephraim in charge) worked together in conquering the Land. Tghe first place of importance they conquered was oneb that was to pertain to Ephraim.
So too, in the Song of Deborah (Judges ch.5) Ephraim is recalled before Manasseh who is recaled in his two sub-groups of Machir and Gilead.
The Midrash (Breishit Rabah 98) also speaks of the precedence of Ephraim to Manasseh.
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7. Jephthah ("Yiftach") of Gilead in Manasseh versus Ephraim
In the story of Jephthah ("Yiftach") we are told that Jephthah had been disowned because of his mother by his own Tribal sub-grouping of Gilead within Manaseh apparently east of the Jordan. [Manasseh had its tribal inheritance on both the west and eastern sides of the Jordan River]. The Ammonites made war against Israel. A deputation from Gilead appealed to Jephthah to help them. He agreed on condition that they make him their leader (Judges 11:9-10).
The Commentary of Malbim (Judges 12) says:
# Ephraim was angry because Gilead had chosen a commander and governor as leader for the House of Joseph. They had won the war. They complained as to why they had not been called to arms at its beginning. ...they disagreed with his appointment of Jephthan as leader... they claimed they were greater than Manasseh in the House of Joseph... #
The Tribe of Ephraim then went went to war against Jephthah and Gideon of Manasseh. The Ephraimites had spoken disparagingly of the Gileadites.
Judges (NKJV) 12:
4 Now Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. And the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they said, 'You Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites and among the Manassites.'
Most of the Israelite Tribes had received their inheritance west of the Jordan River. The Tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half-Manasseh however rinherited territories east of the Jordan. There were therefore two halves of Manasseh, one in the west and one in the east. Gilead was a major sub-clan within Manasseh and members of Gilead were to be found on both sides. ["Gilead" is also the name of an area east of the Jordan].
What did the Ephraimites mean by the expression:
# "You Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites and among the Manassites"?#
The Malbim (Judges 12:4) explains:
The cause of the War was the complaint of the Children of Ephraim in that Gilead had chosen a Judges (i.e. leader) as if they were the main body in the House of Joseph. On the contrary, according to Ephraim, the Gileadites were
"fugitives of Ephraim" meaning that Ephraim is the main Tribe and together with Ephraim (west of the Jordan) is the half-Tribe of Manasseh who received their inheritance with us [i.e. in the jurisdiction of Ephraim on the western side of the Jordan]... whereas the Gileadites [who went east of the Jordan] are fugitives from Manasseh and from Ephraim both of whom were west of the Jordan.
According to the above, the expression:
# "You Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites and among the Manassites"#
should be read:
# "You Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim [from] among the Ephraimites and [from] among the Manassites"#
Katz explains the above as if to say that the Ephraimites considered themselves the Leaders. They were more important than the half tribe of Manasseh who were west of the Jordan but who in their turn were superior to the half-Tribe of Manasseh (Gilead) east of the Jordan.
Getting back to the incident with Gideon:
We saw ("Quarrels within Joseph -1: #2. Ephraim Takes Umbrage at Manasseh
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/tribes/rabbisjoseph/quarrels1.html#a2 ) how Gideon with his followers from Manasseh and other Tribes had first defeated the Midianites and Amalekites and then called Ephraim to assist in the mopping-up operation. The Ephraimites had done so and had also captured two of the chief enemy commanders. Ephraim then recriminated Gideon for not calling them from the beginning. Gideon appeased the men of Ephraim by replying that what Ephraim had achieved was more important than that of anybody else. This mollified them.
Katz says that Ephraim, though angry with Gideon, were still prepared to be appeased by him. Gideon belonged to that part of Manasseh west of the Jordan and this was the same side as Ephraim. Jephthah on the other had came from east of the Jordan and therefore was of even lower status and they could not abide by it.
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