Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Yigal Levin" <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>
To: "George F. Somsel" <gfsomsel AT juno.com>; <peterkirk AT qaya.org>
Cc: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Friday, September 03, 2004 8:27 PM
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Machir and the Exodus ?


> George:
>
> The question is not the identity of Ephraim, nor that of his son Bery'ah,
but how should we read the text?
>
> I understand that Chronicles was written after the Babylonian Exile,
making use of the genealogical tables that were still extant at that time
(notice their use in Ezra). As such, it is no surprise to find names out of
temporal sequence, much the same was as if I were to write about Henry
Hudson's visit to New York.
>

The Chronicler did not have "genealogical tables that were still extant at
that time". He used the genealogical information availible in the Torah and
some other biblical books, may have had some lists of the royal family and
the priesthood, but beyond that he had mostly the oral traditions of the
descendants of the tribes still living in the Land - including the remnants
of Ephraim and Asher. Please read my paper:
"Who Was the Chronicler's Audience? - A Hint from his Genealogies", Journal
of Biblical Literature 122 (2003), 229-245.

If you wish I can email you a PDF copy.


> My reading of the text indicates that the event of Ephraim losing his sons
occured in Egypt itself, not in Canaan. Further, the "men of Gath" were the
Egyptian born sons of people from Gath who had settled in Egypt.

What evidence is there that anyone from any Gath (which one, by the way)
ever settled in Egypt? Would the Egyptians have allowed the Asiatic tribes
in Egypt to fight each other?

>
> But who was this "daughter" $)RH and how does she fit in the picture? Was
she a notable descendant mentioned because she founded the towns in Canaan
after the Exodus under Moses? Or was she an immediate daughter of Ephraim,
and the towns in question were temporary towns for Israelites while still in
Egypt? Right now, I lean towards the former.
>

She was a matriarchal eponym of an Asherite clan that found itself in
Ephraimite territory. Women's names are often used in genealogies in order
to signify the transfer of sub-groups from one "tribe" to another.

Yigal