Ephraim: The Half African Son of Joseph
When Joseph was enslaved in Egypt, he eventually rose to power and married an Egyptian woman named Asenath. Two children resulted from this marriage and they were Ephraim and Manasseh.
"And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction." - 41:52
During the blessing ceremony, Joseph places them before Jacob, and Jacob adopts both boys as his own children, thus making them "tribes" of Israel.
"And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine." - Genesis 48:5
During the ceremony, Jacob blesses both boys, but he places Ephraim before Manasseh, even though he was the youngest ...