Shabbat Shalom, beloved.
Today we start a new book. Bamidbar — In the Wilderness. Shemot is the book of identity. Vayikra is the calling. Bamidbar is where the relationship happens. It is the place of action, where identity and calling are put into practice.
In Jeremiah 2:2 G-d says: "I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed Me in the Bamidbar, in a land not sown." Like young love. Like a newly married couple. The wilderness is where a new identity begins to form.
And Bamidbar starts with an ordered camp. G-d takes the formation of identity very seriously. He has a place for everyone. Everyone matters to Him.
Take a census of the entire congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their father's houses, by the number of their names, a head count of every male.
Numbers 1:2
The Hebrew says more than "take a census." It says Se'u et rosh — lift the head. Every man is lifted as head of his family.
The rest of chapter 1 counts the tribes. Chapter 2 sets the camp in order:
The Israelites shall camp each man by his banner, by the insignia of their father's house. They shall camp around the Tent of Meeting at a distance.
Numbers 2:2
Each tribe is placed where it belongs, in relation to the Tabernacle and the other tribes. Each has a banner, a position, and a function. They are distinct, but they are one camp.
Identity Comes from G-d
From the beginning, identity comes from G-d. When He placed man in the garden, He named him Adam. This pattern continues throughout Torah and Tanakh. G-d gives names, and He changes names. Abram becomes Abraham. Jacob becomes Israel.
True identity comes from G-d. When G-d gives identity, He gives calling, place, responsibility, and future.
That is why we have to handle identity with wisdom. It is a sensitive thing. The way a person sees himself is often different from the way others see him. Even within marriage, the way my wife understands who I am is not exactly the same as the way I understand myself.
And when a person hates someone else, often what he hates is not the actual person — but the identity he has created for that person. This is how partisanship takes root.
When someone fails to understand the identity they receive from G-d, what often happens is they invent one based on what or who they are not — a reactive identity, already othering itself, already vulnerable to division. When your identity comes from G-d, it is much easier to be different without being in opposition. We see this in the Torah portion: each distinct tribe has its place and function. They were distinct and they were one camp.
Bamidbar begins with an ordered camp.
But today, the camp is broken. Ten tribes are scattered with their identity lost.
Because of the sensitivity of this topic, I want to start with the question, then the thesis, then the text.
The Question and the Thesis
Who is Ephraim?
Ephraim is a prophetic title that covers everyone lost in exile, scattered among the nations, cut off from covenant, and who is now being called back to Torah and G-d.
This includes the descendants of those from all twelve tribes who have lost their identity, as well as those who understand themselves as grafted into the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Ephraim carries a promise: it does not matter how many generations ago they were scattered, or what path they took through the nations.
What matters is the destination. Return.
There are four points to this thesis. I am going to take them out of order — starting with Point 3, because it is the most complicated:
Point 1 — Ephraim is a prophetic title, not just tribal or national identity
Point 2 — It covers scattered descendants who lost their identity
Point 3 — It covers Gentiles grafted into covenant — we begin here
Point 4 — Return is the defining characteristic
Point Three Grafted In
Grafting in is a very common theological belief, but depending on who you talk to it has vastly different meanings. Throughout Christianity there are at least seven variations. Instead of focusing on the olive tree analogy, which has historically generated those variations, let us go to Torah, the source.
This matters because grafting in is not only a doctrine about salvation or status. It is a question of identity: who belongs, where they belong, and under what banner they stand.
The first example of people joining themselves to Israel is Exodus 12:
And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, beside children. And also a mixed multitude went up with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.
Exodus 12:37–38
The erev rav — the mixed multitude. That is all Torah tells us explicitly about this group that attached itself to Israel. A few verses later comes the mitzvah of Pesach, and with it Torah gives four identity terms that describe who can and cannot eat at the table:
And Adonai said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the Passover: There shall no Foreigner (nekar) eat of it. But every man's servant (aved) that is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat of it. Sojourner (toshav) and a hired worker shall not eat of it. In one house shall it be eaten; you shall not carry the flesh outside of the house; neither shall you break a bone of it. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. And when a Stranger (ger) shall dwell with you, and will keep the Passover to Adonai, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is native-born: for no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. One Torah shall there be for him that is native-born, and for the stranger (ger) that dwells among you.
Exodus 12:43–49
That passage gives us the categories:
| Hebrew | Translation | Pesach | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nekar | Foreigner | No | Foreign, alien, belonging to another. No covenant connection and no intention of one. Other by identity and by choice. |
| Aved | Servant | Yes | Status changes through purchase and circumcision. Once circumcised, he eats the Pesach. |
| Toshav | Sojourner | No | Temporary resident. Lives among Israel but has not committed. Proximity to Israel is not the same as belonging to Israel. |
| Ger | Stranger | Yes | Chooses to dwell permanently among Israel and submit to Torah. Circumcised. Becomes as native-born. |
Proximity to Israel is not the same as belonging to Israel.
There is no stranger banner. There is no separate allotment.
Torah does not assign the mixed multitude a single category or give them a banner. They were a mixed crowd, likely represented by all four. Sinai gave them the same choice it gave everyone: join fully or remain on the edges. Some joined fully and became as native-born. Others remained on the edges. Likely some left, others died alongside those in Israel who fell into idolatry. The category they fell into depended on the choice they made.
In Bamidbar the camp is set in order — each man counted and placed under his banner. But there is no banner for the mixed multitude. Joshua confirms this when Israel enters the land: when lots are drawn for inheritance, there are no separate allotments for the stranger. The place made for the Ger is within the gates, under the tribal banner of one of the twelve tribes. Deuteronomy 31:12 gathers them with Israel to hear and learn Torah. Ezekiel 47:22–23 shows the restoration: the stranger inherits within a tribe. No separate category in the end.
There has always been a place for the Gentile who turns toward the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and takes hold of covenant. Some Gentiles join Israel through formal conversion. Others join themselves with Ephraim in the nations and return as part of a great mixed multitude.
Also the sons of the foreigner, that join themselves to Adonai, to serve Him, and to love the name of Adonai… every one that keeps the Sabbath from polluting it, and takes hold of My covenant — even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer… for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people. The Lord G-d which gathers the outcasts of Israel says: yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.
Isaiah 56:6–8
The wild branches, the Gentiles, get grafted in with the natural branches that were cut off, scattered Israel. They’re part of the same return. That's Ephraim.
Point Two Descendants Without Identity
Telling the difference between a Gentile and someone scattered from the Northern Kingdom is very difficult today. There is no DNA test. No tradition passed from father to son. No physical characteristics we can examine. The only way we know the scattered descendants exist is because of the Tanakh — because G-d promises He will remember them and return them.
So how did this happen? It begins with the united kingdom of Israel — all Israel under the house of David. Solomon's heart turns from G-d, and the kingdom is torn.
Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and tore it in twelve pieces. And he said to Jeroboam, Take ten pieces: for thus says Adonai, the G-d of Israel, Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to you.
1 Kings 11:30–31
G-d gives Jeroboam ten tribes and a promise like He gave David: walk in My ways, and I will be with you. I will build a sure house as I built for David. Jeroboam is given a real opportunity. And almost immediately things go wrong.
Jeroboam said in his heart: Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David. If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of Adonai at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord… Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them: It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Behold your elohim, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar.
1 Kings 12:26–32
He replaced the worship. He replaced the priesthood. He replaced the calendar.
Jeroboam built a system to keep Israel from returning.
His sin was not only personal idolatry. It became national infrastructure.
For roughly 200 years, the prophets went to the Northern Kingdom calling them to return: Elijah, Elisha, Amos, and Hosea. They would not hear. 2 Kings 17 records the charges: high places in every city, idols on every hill, hardened necks, rejected statutes, broken covenant. G-d testified against them through every prophet. They followed vanity and became vain.
Verse 23: Until Adonai removed Israel out of His sight, as He had said by all His servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.
Before Hosea is ever called to speak a word of prophecy, he is called to live it. G-d tells him to marry a woman of harlotry. His marriage becomes a living parable of Israel's relationship with G-d. He has three children. Each name is more devastating than the last:
For yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.
For I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.
For you are not My people, and I will not be your G-d.
Physically cut off from the land.
Spiritually cut off from HaShem.
This is the warning of Deuteronomy 28:64 fulfilled: scattered among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other.
But immediately after this devastating prophecy — comfort:
Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, You are not My people, there it shall be said unto them, You are the sons of the living G-d. Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.
Hosea 1:10–11
This is the promise for the descendants from all twelve tribes who lost their identity. And it is the prophecy Ezekiel 37 expounds upon: Judah and Ephraim joined together as one stick in His hand.
Point One Ephraim as a Prophetic Title
To understand who Ephraim is, we need to see how the name travels through Scripture.
Joseph's son, named in exile: "G-d has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction." The name holds exile and harvest together from birth. (Genesis 41:52)
One of the twelve. Jacob lays his right hand on Ephraim over the firstborn Manasseh: "his descendants shall become the fullness of the nations" — Melo HaGoyim. (Genesis 48:19)
The hill country of Ephraim in the land of Israel, named for the tribe that settled there.
After the split, Israel becomes ambiguous — it can mean the whole nation or the Northern Kingdom specifically. Ephraim becomes the precise name for the north.
The scattered northern tribes, those cut off from covenant, and all who return with them. The name from exile, carrying the promise of harvest.
The shift from kingdom to prophetic title happens in Hosea 4:17: "Ephraim is joined to idols: leave him alone." Prior to this, Ephraim referred to the tribe or territory. From here, Hosea uses Ephraim as his primary name for the Northern Kingdom in rebellion. Isaiah, prophesying at the same time, uses it the same way:
Thus saith the Lord G-d: it shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass… and within sixty-five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people.
Isaiah 7:7–8
This is not limited to Hosea and Isaiah. The major restoration passages use Ephraim the same way:
G-d gathers both houses from the four corners of the earth. The envy between Ephraim and Judah ends. They fly together against their enemies as one.
G-d heals their backsliding. Ephraim shall say: what have I to do anymore with idols? I have heard Him. I have observed Him.
G-d fills His bow with Ephraim. Judah and Ephraim are joined as His weapon together.
G-d strengthens Judah and saves the house of Joseph. He will gather them. As though He had not cast them off.
The fruitfulness in exile, the scattering among the nations, the ultimate harvest — it was all in the name from the beginning. Jacob knew what he was doing when he laid his right hand on Ephraim.
Point Four Return Is the Defining Characteristic
Return was written into the covenant before the exile. Before the kingdom split. Before Ephraim was cut off. Deuteronomy 30 already promised that after blessing and curse, after scattering among the nations, return would still be possible.
When all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you shall call them to mind among all the nations where Adonai your G-d has driven you, and shall return unto Adonai your G-d, and shall obey His voice… then Adonai your G-d will turn your captivity, and have compassion upon you, and will return and gather you from all the nations whither Adonai your G-d has scattered you… And Adonai your G-d will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love Adonai your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
Deuteronomy 30:1–6
The prophets give us Ephraim's character: pride, stubbornness, jealousy. But those are not the defining characteristic. Return is. And no prophet expresses this better than Jeremiah in chapter 31.
At the same time, says Adonai, will I be the G-d of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people… Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the ends of the earth… a great company shall return. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them… for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn. He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd does his flock.
Jeremiah 31:1–10
We stopped calling, but G-d still calls for Ephraim to return. He is waiting for us to say: O Adonai, save Your people. He is waiting for us to come with weeping. And Ephraim does:
I have surely heard Ephraim grieving: "You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined like an untrained calf. Bring me back and I will return, for You are Adonai my G-d. For after I turned away I repented, and after I was made to know I slapped my thigh. I was ashamed and also confounded, because I bore the disgrace of my youth."
Jeremiah 31:18–19
And G-d's reply to Ephraim's teshuvah:
Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a delightful child? For whenever I speak of him, I earnestly remember him still. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I will surely have compassion on him, declares Adonai.
Jeremiah 31:20
"My heart yearns for him; I will surely have compassion on him."
Jeremiah 31:20 — G-d speaking of EphraimThat is G-d speaking about Ephraim. The one who was cut off. The one who sinned. The one who bore the disgrace of his youth. My heart yearns for him.
Return, O virgin Israel. The one who was disgraced is made new. Israel is restored like in the days of her youth.
Therefore, behold, I will allure her and lead her to the wilderness, and speak to her tenderly… She will respond as she did in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. In that day, declares Adonai, you will call Me ishi — My Husband — and no longer call Me baali — My lord.
Hosea 2:14–16
These bones are all the house of Israel. They say: our hope is lost, we are cut off. Therefore prophesy… O My people, I will open your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel… Moreover, take the stick of Joseph — the stick of Ephraim — and join it with the stick of Judah, and they shall be one in My hand… My tabernacle also shall be with them. So shall they be My people, and I will be their G-d.
Ezekiel 37:11–27
The bones live. They are brought back to the land. But G-d is not finished. The resurrection of Israel leads to the reunification of Israel.
The wilderness is not only the place of exile.
It is the place of return.
The question is not: Am I Ephraim?
The question is not: Who am I?
The question is: What am I doing?
Am I returning?
One house. One stick. One people.
Shabbat Shalom. Kol Tuv — Matti Kahana