Several writers on Identity subjects have proposed that the USA should be regarded as Ephraim and Britain as Menasseh. The following essay is based on a reply to an article that we have taken to be representative of the school of thought we are answering.

1. NUMBERS: It is claimed that:  Ephraim was to vastly out-number Manasseh (Deut.33:17), ten to one. The population of the USA is 280 million, compared to England's 60 million and Canada's 28 million.

Answer: Britain has about 60 million people, Australia and New Zealand around 20 million, there are several million descendants of the British and related people in South Africa and others scattered around. Allowing for the presence of aliens, etc we still reach a total of more than 100 million who can be ascribed to Britain. This is assuming that most of those of British descent pertain to Menasseh and are therefore different from the other British whom we believe to be dominated by Ephraim. The USA has 280 million people BUT almost half or more of these may not be of Israelite origin. Even in Biblical times the Tribe of Menasseh was in effect the most important Tribe and almost the most populous. It contained a very large proportion of non-Israelite elements as well as a large segment from Ephraim and portions of the other Tribes. The USA today also contains large contingents from Ephraim that reaches to perhaps ca 30% or more plus another 30% or more of other tribes amongst the Israelite population. NEVERTHELESS Joseph on the whole and especially Menasseh dominates in the USA. In Britain there does remain a good portion of the Tribe of Menasseh as well as other tribes but Ephraim is dominant. In our work "The Tribes" we did not always explain everything systematically but if you look at it carefully you will see references to segments of both Ephraim and Menasseh in places like Holland and other European nations who however are dominated by other Tribes. Most of the Tribes tend to gravitate to one place or other and congregate together but the opposite tendency also exists to a degree. According to the above, peoples we identify with Ephraim approximately number the same as those we associate with Menasseh.
Deut.33:17 does indicate that Ephraim will outnumber Menasseh ten to one .
Steven Collins suggests that the numbers refer to those ruled over or directly influenced rather than Ephraim and Menasseh themselves. This however is not what the simple meaning of the verse (in our opinion) intended. In the Biblical Census the Tribe of Menasseh was the more numerous. A famous Commentator (“HaNatziv”) believed that the relative predominance promised to Ephraim was meant to be more spiritual and cultural rather than material. Even so this explanation does not accord nicely with the simple meaning of the text. It should be emphasized that in every case,
WE DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS.
See answer no.14 below.
 

2. YOUNGEST IN AGE: It was claimed that: Ephraim was the younger brother. It only makes sense that the younger would rise up later than the older brother. The USA is younger than Britain and in a sense even emerged from Britain. When Ephraim was "fully grown," he excelled his older brother, even as the USA has excelled England, and has grown much greater.

Answer: In the blessing of Jacob it says concerning Menasseh he too will be great But his brother will be greater than him . [Genesis 48:19] AND HIS FATHER REFUSED, AND SAID, I KNOW IT, MY SON, I KNOW IT: HE ALSO SHALL BECOME A PEOPLE, AND HE ALSO SHALL BE GREAT: BUT TRULY HIS YOUNGER BROTHER SHALL BE GREATER THAN HE, AND HIS SEED SHALL BECOME A MULTITUDE OF NATIONS.
“A MULTITUDE OF NATIONS” in Hebrew is Maloa ha-Goyim, literally fullness of the peoples meaning rule over nations or determine the very existence of other nations.  The Translation of Onkelos says it means “rule over nations” and in a direct physical sense it was Britain rather than the USA that ruled over other peoples. A quarter of the surface of the globe at one stage were ruled over by Britain.
As far as the blessing translated as a  “A MULTITUDE OF NATIONS” is concerned then the blessing may apply to both Britain and the USA but  it fits Britain better.
 [GENESIS 48:20] AND HE BLESSED THEM THAT DAY, SAYING, IN THEE SHALL ISRAEL BLESS, SAYING, GOD MAKE THEE AS EPHRAIM AND AS MANASSEH: AND HE SET EPHRAIM BEFORE MANASSEH.
Concerning Menasseh Jacob had said (Genesis 48:9 in the verse above) HE ALSO SHALL BECOME A PEOPLE, AND HE ALSO SHALL BE GREAT: BUT TRULY HIS YOUNGER
BROTHER SHALL BE  GREATER THAN HE, This is ambiguous but it could be understood to imply that Menasseh would ALSO become great after Ephraim and that the greatness of Ephraim in its own time was to be the greater of the two. The verse can be seen as indicating that despite the fact that Ephraim was the younger son Ephraim would be great FIRST OF ALL then Menasseh ALSO would be great but not as great Ephraim had been.

3. WINE-DRINKING: It was claimed that Ephraim was to become a people who drank too much WINE (Isa.28:1). "Wine is produced in abundance in the US, California, Oregon, etc. The British are not known as wine-bibbers, but their drink of choice is BEER -- a completely different beverage. This again points to the US being Ephraim, in the majority".

Answer: The verse in Isaiah says, [Isaiah 28:1] WOE TO THE PROUD CROWN OF THE DRUNKARDS OF EPHRAIM, AND TO THE FADING FLOWER OF ITS GLORIOUS BEAUTY, WHICH IS ON THE HEAD OF THE RICH VALLEY OF THOSE OVERCOME WITH WINE!
Isaiah here by "Ephraim" is referring to all those of the Northern Kingdom, i.e. to all the Lost Ten Tribes. The Hebrew word translated here as wine is “Yayin”. In Hebrew  the word “tirosh” means grape wine.  “Yayin” in Hebrew  may usually mean grape wine but it is also applicable to light alcohol in general. Strong alcohol in Hebrew is “saba”.  The British and Australians etc are just as alcoholic as the Americans. In fact the British and Australian drink more light alcohol (“yayin”) such as beer than the Americans do. Australians drink more alcohol per head of population than any one else apart from the Russians who however consume more hard liquor such as Vodka.

4. MOST BLESSED: It was claimed that: Ephraim was to possess the greatest natural resources and beauty -- including "verdant valleys" (Isa.28:1). "The US is the most fertile nation in the world, called he "breadbasket" of the world. Our valleys like the Shenandoah, the Piedmont, the Central Valley of California, the Willamette Vallley of Oregon, are world famous -- we are a nation of awesome valleys, agricultural fruitfulness, and abundance"
(Deut.33:13-16).

Answer: Ephraim is a name applied both to the particular tribe of that name and also applied to the Lost Tribes in general including Menasseh. Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, Britain, Ireland, etc are also areas of abundance, beauty, and blessing.

5. WILD BULL QUALITY: It was claimed: "Ephraim and Manasseh together have "pushed the peoples to the ends of the earth" (Deut.33:17). "Manasseh is like a firstborn (which he was literally) bull, and the bull is a symbol of England. Ephraim is more like the 'wild ox' of this verse-- younger, wilder, less settled -- you've heard of the 'Wild West,' and the 'wild American,' like many younger brothers, we tend to be a little on the 'wild side,' and therefore many Europeans look on us with a little distrust, consternation, and even bewilderment.>>

Answer: England  is nicknamed John Bull. The word for English (Angles) on the Continent was also rendered as "Aegel" which in the Hebrew Bible is a nickname for Ephraim and means "young bull" (cf. John Bull). The Europeans also consider the British to be not really European but a foreign alien element. In a sense they are right in this.

6. DOUBLY FRUITFUL AND MUCH GREATER: It was claimed that:  <<Ephraim's very name literally means "doubly fruitful." Well, look at the evidence! The US has been VERY fruitful during the 20th century -- abundantly so. DOUBLY so. Joseph is a fruitful bough (Gen.49:22), so Manasseh is also fruitful -- but Ephraim (USA) doubly so! So it should be: &It is said that if America catches cold, the whole world sneezes. <<Jacob said Manasseh also would be great -- England and Canada, etc. But he said "truly his YOUNGER brother shall be GREATER than he, and his descendants shall become a MULTITUDE OF NATIONS [i.e. "STATES"]"

Answer: Biblical Commentators say that Ephraim merited since not only was he the little younger brother of Menasseh but he was prepared to belittle himself. England agreed to allow the USA to direct the world and to take a backseat in exchange for American economic support in prosecuting the War. Churchill remarked that Britain gave away her Empire to save the world. With hindsight we may say that such a process was inevitable anyway but it was not so obvious at the time.

7. A COMPANY OF NATIONS: It was claimed that in the Blessing to Jacob: [Genesis 35:11] AND GOD SAID UNTO HIM, I AM GOD ALMIGHTY: BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY;
A NATION AND A COMPANY OF NATIONS SHALL BE OF THEE”
a company of nations refers to the USA which is a Federation of nations or “States” united in one Union.

Answer: This blessing was given to Jacob (Israel) and is applicable to all Israel as a whole. If one wishes to apply the blessing specifically to Joseph then: The plain significance of the expression A COMPANY OF NATIONS means several nations each with its own distinctiveness such as Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, etc. I would say that even Ulster, England, Scotland, Wales, and Cornwall are more different nations from each other than separate American States are. Most countries of the world consist of Federated States similar to the USA.  The verse in full says [Genesis 35:11] AND GOD SAID UNTO HIM, I AM GOD ALMIGHTY: BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY; A NATION AND A COMPANY OF NATIONS SHALL BE OF THEE, AND KINGS SHALL COME OUT OF THY LOINS; It mentions “kings” that in Biblical parlance (as understood traditionally) means hereditary monarchs such as those of Britain and not of the USA!

8. THE NAMES: As explained in our book “Ephraim” and our new work “Joseph”  the very name "Ephraim" connotes aristocracy in Hebrew. "Ephrathi" in Hebrew means someone from the Tribe of Ephraim and it also means an "aristocrat". Britain is the only country in the world where the aristocracy still means something. The House of Lords is one of the main governing bodies of Britain.
Also the name “Angle” gave its name to “England” (“Land of the Angles”) and an alternative form of this name was “Aegel”. The Angles were also known as “Aegels” and Aegel in Hebrew means “young bull” which was a symbol of Ephraim. The Prophet Jeremiah 31;18 says that Ephraim is an Aegel:
[Jeremiah 31:18] I HAVE SURELY HEARD EPHRAIM BEMOANING HIMSELF THUS; THOU HAST CHASTISED ME, AND I WAS CHASTISED, AS A BULLOCK [Hebrew: “Aegel”]
UNACCUSTOMED TO THE YOKE: TURN THOU ME, AND I SHALL BE TURNED; FOR THOU ART THE LORD MY GOD.
The great commentator Rashi (1040-1105 CE) said that ‘Aegel’ was a nickname for Ephraim.
The name “Menasseh” as we explained in our work (quoting from the Biblical Commentary of Rabbi Shishom Raphael Hirsch) connotes responsible representation such as that prevailing in the USA and to which citizens of the USA attach more importance than any other nation!
For an American to say that something is not constitutional means that whatever is spoken of is quite seriously wrong whereas  other peoples would not necessarily agree.  The name “America”  derives from that of an Italian sailor Americo Vespucci who proved conclusively that the Americas werre a separate Continent. Americo Vespucci received his name in honor of a legendary hero.
ARTHUR J. ZUCKERMAN ( "A Jewish Princedom in Feudal France, 768-900", New York, U.S.A., 1972) proved that the legendary hero known in Southern France as “Americo” (and several other names including “America”) was actually a Jew descended from the House of David. This Jew was a friend of the French King Charlemagne and intermarried with his family. He is recalled in Hebrew manuscripts under the name “Machir” or “HaMachir” (i.e. the man from Machir) whereas in Early Latin Manuscripts and popular ballads he is known as “Americo” or “America” (and other similar names. Zuckerman proved that the names given to Machir in Latin Documents are in effect merely dialectical variations of the Hebrew name “Machir”. The name “America” is a variation of the Hebrew “Machir” or “HaMachir”.  Machir in the Bible was the firstborn son of Menasseh (Genesis 50;23). Machir received his territory east of the Jordan River (Numbers 32;39 Joshua13;31). Americo Vespucci received his name in honor of the Jewish noble named in Hebrew “Machir” and Vespucci gave his name to America. Since we believe in Divine providence we may therefore say that America is named after Machir the firstborn son of Menasseh! One of the meanings of the word “Machir” in Biblical Hebrew is the Principle of Selling or Capitalism and the USA is the foremost Capitalist country: - This was pointed out to us by our friend Benjamin Turkia now living in Jerusalem  but originally from Finland.  Benjamin says that when he first came to the USA from quiet little Finland the first thing that struck him was the fury to sell: People selling things at the airport, in the streets, and when he “escaped” to the safety of the place where he was staying he had barely shut the door when there was a knock on it. A door-to-door salesman had already arrived!

9. GEOGRAPHIC PARALELS: It was claimed: <<Geographically, in ancient Israel, the house of Manasseh was divided, separated into East Manasseh and West Manasseh, with the Jordan River the dividing line. West Manasseh stretched to the Mediterranean Sea. Ephraim was south of Manasseh, stretching from the Jordan to the Mediterranean. Today, we have the same juxtaposition of the two tribes. Manasseh is once again in the north -- West Manasseh is Canada, north of the US, with both of them stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans; and East Manasseh is England, lying EAST of the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic, like the ancient Jordan River, divides East and West Manasseh.>>

Answer:  This is a good point. In our new book “Joseph” we adduce a similar analogy. Menasseh was originally both in Germany, France, Holland, and across the water in Britain.
Then most of Menasseh with other Israelites moved to Britain with the remnants from Germany later moving to the USA. Meanwhile Menasseh in Britain came to dominate the North and West and settled very heavily in Ulster (i.e. North Ireland) across the water. Later most of Menasseh from Ulster etc moved to America with a remnant remaining in Britain. We thus had once again two major divisions of Menasseh separated by an expanse of water symbolized by the Jordan River. Within the USA the Mississipi River is not unlike the River Jordan when compared to Ancient Israel.

10. IDOL WORSHIP:  It was claimed that: <<Ephraim was prophesied to become "joined to idols" (Hos.4:17). Idols abound in modern USA>>

Answer: Ephraim as a term applies to all the Lost Ten Tribes. Out of all the people we have pointed to as containing significant elements from the Lost Tribes of Israel the USA in many respects is still comparatively-speaking the most God-fearing and the closest to Israel as it was intended to be.

11. A MIXED PEOPLE: it was claimed that: <<Ephraim was to be a "mixed" people. God said "Ephraim has MIXED himself among the peoples; Ephraim is a cake unturned [burnt on one side, white on the other]. Aliens have devoured his strength, but he does not know it" (Hos.7:8-9).>>

Answer:  Hosea here was referring to all the Lost Ten Tribes under the heading Ephraim. We understand the verse to say that Ephraim as a national entity will consider and conduct himself as the same as the others, as non-Israelites. The expression translated as “mix himself” in Hebrew is “Yitbolel” meaning "mix in, assimilate". Ephraim will become the same as the Gentiles in the sense that he will not be aware of his Israelite Identity and no longer maintain his Hebrew traditions. He will be assimilated.

12. THE 13TH TRIBE: It was claimed that: << Ephraim was the 13th tribe. He was born last, of the tribe heads, born to Joseph in Egypt, after Manasseh, the 12th tribe. The US flag has 13 stripes, the US originally had 13 colonies, in the US seal we find 13 stars above an eagle [symbol of the "king of the air," or airpower], also 13 arrows clutched in his left claw, and an olive branch with 13 leaves in its right claw, with a shield of 13 red and white stripes. The number 13 is associated with Ephraim AND with America!>>

Answer: Partly True but then again if you consider the blessing of Jacob (above) he said that Ephraim would be considered the greatest but that his brother Menasseh would also be great though Ephraim would be greater than he. [GENESIS 48:19] HE ALSO SHALL BECOME A PEOPLE, AND HE ALSO SHALL BE GREAT: BUT TRULY HIS YOUNGER BROTHER SHALL BE GREATER THAN HE
It follows that Menasseh could be considered the additional factor, i.e. as the one who is added on making the thirteenth (instead of 12th) number.

13. CHRONOLOGICAL FULFILLMENT: It was claimed that: <<The northern tribes of Israel were taken into captivity by Assyria in 721-718-B.C. God foretold Israel would be punished for "seven times" (Lev.26:18, etc.; see also Dan.4:23). Prophetically, a "time" can equal a "year" in fulfillment (Num.14:34; Ezek.6:4-5). A perfect "prophetic year" is 360 days; each day is a year in fulfillment. This apparently is based on the original year, as it was in the days of Noah. Noah was in the ark from the 17th day of the second month till the 17th day of the seventh month -- a total of 150 days (see Gen.7:11-13; 7:24l 8:3-4). Thus five months equaled 150 days -- or 30 days per month. Obviously, Noah was not using the modern Jewish calendar! If
we extrapolate, then a year of 12 by 30 day months would equal 360 days. Therefore, Israel's punishment was 360 X 7 = 2520 years in fulfillment. If we count 2520 years from 718-721, we come to A.D. 1800-1803. At that time the punishment would be terminated, and God would begin to BLESS the tribes with their intended blessings -- the blessings He gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel -- and the tribal fathers, including Joseph. What happened in 1803 in the world that was of any prophetic significance? What great blessing occurred in that year? Who received it?   In 1803 Thomas Jefferson, the third US president, purchased the Louisiana Purchase from Napoleon of France -- all the land stretching from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. This vast tract was bought for pennies to the acre. The Lewis and Clark Expedition traversed this huge tract, finally arriving on the Pacific Coast, at the mouth of the Columbia River. Never in history has a nation expanded so quickly, so vastly, and for so little.
The birthright promises were to accrue to Ephraim -- and this was a mighty geographical extension of the United States of Ephraim!>>

Answer: We are not sure about the Chronology. There are claims that the present system is a few hundred years in excess of what it should be. We incline to sympathize with such revisionary concepts but have not yet decided definitely on the subject. At all events if the Revisionary Chronology is ultimately proven then calculations such as the above are unfounded. If the present Chronology remains in force then even so in the early 1800 s Britain also exploded in terms of population increase, industrial and scientific expansion, overseas possessions, international influence, etc. In fact at that time the expansion of Britain was probably very much greater than that of the USA in absolute terms.

14. WHO IS THE GREATER? It was claimed that the USA is the greater nation and it was prophesied that Ephraim would be the greatest. We have seen that some commentators understood Menasseh to be the more blessed of the two in the material sense. Which is greater?
Steven Collins (as usual) made a good point:
The USA is now greater but Britain had a longer innings.

Also in our opinion: In the 20th Century three great confrontations took place. The results of these encounters in the future will be judged by historians as means to judge the century as a whole. In this century occurred:
1. The First World War (1914-1918).
2. The Second World War (1939-1945) 
3. The Struggle against Soviet Communism (1917-1981?).

The first and second World Wars were won by Britain and her daughters with the USA assisting and assuring victory AFTER the trend of the struggle had been decided in both cases. The USA was responsible for the outcome of the third struggle. It did this despite numerous defeats and setbacks on the periphery. The USA used its economic and psychological know how to achieve a brilliant victory and pressure the adversary into demobilization. The USA turned its very weaknesses into strong points. God was with the USA. Even so for sheer heroism and exertion of raw strength the achievements of Britain and her daughters in the first two encounters were the greater. These points can be debated. All the points identifying the USA with Ephraim are highly debatable and problematic. The case however that equates Britain with Ephraim and the USA with Menasseh still stands:
1.Names: America = Machir first born son of Menasseh.
2.Machir can also mean Capitalism epitomized by the USA.

15. NAMES OF TRIBAL CLANS: In our books we trace different clans of Israel to the British Isles and elsewhere. Often the names of these clans in History are similar to those of Israelite Tribes and Tribal clans. For instance, the group known as “Galadon” that settled in the west of Britain has a name similar to “Gilead” an important clan in Menasseh.  Britain can be divided up into different areas in which clans belonging to either Ephraim or Menasseh were predominant. The overwhelming majority of the early settlers to the USA section of North America came from areas in Britain (the west and north) in which Menasseh had been dominant!