Ephrath

Biblical References

• Genesis 35:16-19: As Jacob's family travels from Bethel toward Ephrath, Rachel gives birth to a son and dies. The text states that Rachel "was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem." In Genesis 48, Jacob recalls this event to Joseph (Genesis 48:7). For the people involved, see Rachel and Leah.
• Ruth: The family of Naomi is introduced as "Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah" (Ruth 1:2). The elders at the city gate bless Boaz, saying, "do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem" (Ruth 4:11).
• 1 Samuel 17:12: David is introduced as "the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse."
• 1 Chronicles 2 and 4: In the genealogy of the descendants of Judah, Ephrath (Ephratah) appears as the name of the wife of Caleb son of Hezron. Among her descendants is one called "the father of Bethlehem" (1 Chronicles 2:19, 2:50-51, 4:4).
• Psalm 132:6: Recalling the search for the ark of the covenant, the psalmist sings, "Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah."
• Micah 5:2: "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel." In the Hebrew Bible this verse is numbered 5:1.

Background

Ephrath was used as a name for Bethlehem itself or for a region that included Bethlehem. For this reason the two names are sometimes combined, as in "Bethlehem Ephratah." According to one explanation, this combined form distinguished the town from another Bethlehem in the territory of Zebulun (Joshua 19:15). The genealogies of 1 Chronicles show that Ephrath was a personal name and was also connected with the ancestor of a clan in the Bethlehem area. The meaning of the name is commonly associated with "fruitfulness" or "abundance," though this is not certain. The Hebrew term Ephrathi in some passages refers to a member of the tribe of Ephraim; in such passages the Korean Bible renders it "Ephraimite" (1 Samuel 1:1 and elsewhere).

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

Ephrath points to the roots of the house of David, with which Israel's royal dynasty began. Micah prophesies that from this small town will come one who is to be ruler in Israel, "whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."

The name "Ephrath" does not appear in the New Testament. However, Matthew 2:5-6 quotes Micah 5:2 in modified form as "thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda," in the scene where the chief priests and scribes tell Herod where the Christ was to be born. John 7:42 also reflects the contemporary expectation that the Christ would come from Bethlehem, the town where David had lived.

Interpretation and Debated Questions

• Micah 5:2: Christian tradition, across denominational lines, generally reads this verse as a messianic prophecy concerning the birth of Jesus Christ. Interpretations differ on the phrase "from of old, from everlasting." Some take it to refer to the preexistence of Christ (his existence before the creation of the world), while others understand it as speaking of the ancient origins of the Davidic royal house. Jewish tradition reads the verse as referring to a Davidic messiah but does not connect it with Jesus.
• Rachel's burial place: A site at the northern entrance to present-day Bethlehem is traditionally identified as "Rachel's Tomb." This identification rests on later tradition; the biblical text does not specify the exact location. First Samuel 10:2 places Rachel's sepulchre "in the border of Benjamin." For this reason, some scholars locate the Ephrath of Genesis north of Bethlehem and regard "which is Bethlehem" as a later explanatory gloss.
• Ephratah in Psalm 132:6: Some hold that it refers to Bethlehem, while others take it to refer to the area of Kiriath-jearim, where the ark of the covenant had remained, or to the region of Ephraim.

In the Korean Church

Micah 5:2 is frequently quoted in sermons on the birth of Jesus during Advent and around Christmas. In this context, the description of Bethlehem as a small town ("little among the thousands of Judah") is often interpreted to mean that God chooses and uses what is small and insignificant.