I would fully agree with Dr. Rendsburg on this. The etymology
of Ephraim is spelled out - a form of PRH, meaning "to be
friutful".
In any case, it is often assumed that Ephraim was originally a
geographic term, referring to the northern part of the central hill
country of Israel (later called "Samaria"). There is a question as
to whether there may have even been a town by the same name.
In time, the Iron Age settlers in the region began calling
themselves "sons of Ephraim" - and to develop the etiological
traditions about Ephraim son of Joseph. You can see a similar
process with the term "Gilead" - originally a geographic term,
eventually identified with a phratry within the tribe of Manasseh,
and then a "Son" of the tribal patriarch.
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