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Is the USA Ephraim or Manasseh?
Several writers on Identity subjects have proposed that the USA should be
regarded as Ephraim and Britain as Menasseh. Notable amongst these is
William F. Dankenbring though there are others whom WFD himself quotes. The
following article is based on a reply to an article by WFD whom we have
taken to be representative of the school of thought we are answering.
Yair Davidiy's response 1. WFD ponts out that 1. 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 are probably not 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 aswell as a large segment from Ephraim and portions of the other Tribes. The USA today also contains a large contingents from Ephraim that reaches to maybe 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 suggest 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. Even so, WE DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS. 2. WFD states that 2. < like an OLDER brother, though both dwelled together for many centuries. Of course, Ephraim was the younger brother. It only makes sense that the younger would rise up later than the older brother. Of course, when Ephraim was "fully grown," he excelled his older brother, even as the USA has excelled England, and has grown much greater>>. 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. [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: 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 Ephraim’s greatness in its own time was 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. WFD points out that <<3. Many nobility also came to the USA. Our presidents have virtually ALL had links with English royalty. and our leading entrepreneurs, the Abbots, Astors, Carnegies, Rockefellers, Mellons, etc., have family lies that go way back. >> The royalty of leading American families is English in origin and being English gives it meaning. In England it has meaning and real significance whereas in the USA it does not. Royalty is a sign of Ephraim.The fact that many leading families of the USA have English Royal antecedents reflects more on the English than anything else. WFD claims that <<4. 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.>> 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”. This usually means grape wine but is also applicable to light alcohol in general. Strong alcohol is “saba”. In Hebrew the word “tirosh” means grape wine. The British and Australians etc are just as alcoholic as the Americans. Australians drink more alcohol per head of population than any one erlse apart from the Russians who however consume more hard liquor such as Vodka. 5. WFD says <<5. Ephraim was to posses 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). Ephraim however is a name also applied to the Lost Tribes in general including Menasseh. Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, Britain, etc are also areas of abundance and blessing. 6. WFD opines <<6. 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.>> England is nicknamed John Bull. The word for English (Angles) on the Continent was also rendered as Aegel which in the 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. 7. WFD says that <<7. 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. DOUGLY 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. He also says: <<8. 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"]" Commentators say Ephraim merit since not only was the “little” younger brother 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 Amercan 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. WFD says that <<(Gen.48:19). In Hebrew, the word for "nations" here is goyim, and means "peoples, nations, states, a troop, a flight," a word that has the sense of "massing." Thus Jacob really said the descendants of Ephraim would become a TROOP of people, a MASS of people, MANY states, families, or groupings. Thus we have in fulfillment of this prophecy THE FIFTY STATES of the United States -- we became 50 different states, UNITED, but ONE PEOPLE. Each state has its own constitution and government. This is Not so clear as argument. We have interpreted the verse in question differently, as referring to rulership over other nations. It seems however that WFD wished to consider the verse in question as extension of the Blessing to Jacob: [GEN 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; The plain significance of the expression “A COMPANY OF NATIONS” means several nations each with its own distinctiveness such as Britain, Australia, Canada, NewZealand, 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. WFD says: <<9. Ephraim always was distrustful of royalty, particularly of the house of David. Jereboam, an Ephraimite, led the rebellion against the house of David. On the oher hand, many Manassites were among the first men to join up with David, when he was estranged from king Saul. These same characteristics are seen in the two brothers today. English royalty can be traced back to the line of David, thus David still has descendants sitting on a throne, fulfilling in part God's promise to him (Psalm 89:20, 29-37). So it is that England/Manasseh still has an affinity for David and his throne dwells among them; USA/Ephraim, however, still has a distrust of all things royal, and George Washington refused to be made a "king." Thus we have elected "presidents" as apposed to a Davidic "king" reigning over us. >> As explained in “Ephraim” and our new work “Joseph” the very name Ephraim connotes aristocracy in Hebrew whereas Menasseh connotes responsible representation. On the contrary as pointed out by Raymond Mills and seconded by Steven Collins if it was decreed that a King descended from David would sit on the Throne of Israel and this was to be fulfilled in the interim period by a Tribe other than Judah then Ephraim would appear to be the most appropriate. WFD says: <<10. 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. WFD says that <<11. Ephraim was prophesied to become "joined to idols" (Hos.4:17). Idols abound in modern USA >> 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 the most God-fearing and the closest to Israel as it was intended to be. WFD says: 12. 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). 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. WFD says: <<13. 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! 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 12) number. WFD says: <<14. The northern tribes of Israel were taken into captivity by Assyria in 718-721 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 equalled 150 days -- or 30 days per month. Obviously, Noah was not using the modern Jewish calendar! If we extrapolate, then a year of 12 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 Louicana 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 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. Gregory Richardson also made similar claims in favor of an Ephraim-USA identification: From: "Gregory Richardson" I wish to add my own comments to this discussion. If we look at national characteristics we see this: 1) Ephraim is the younger -- The United States is the younger Answer: The USA is the younger and Ephraim was the younger but destined to be the first. 2) Ephraim's blessing was to be greater -- The United States is the most blessed nation on earth Answer: In absolute terms this is true but regarding good health, longevity, quality of life etc as applied to the mass of the Population some of the other Israelite nations do better. 3) "melo goyim" could also be rendered "a union of states" Answer: not really. Not with us. 4) The birthright blessings were passed to Ephraim -- Who has received the greater blessings Britain or The U.S.? Shalom, Gregory Richardson Answer: USA is more blessed than Britain. 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”. In the 20 th Century as I see it 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?). In my opinion 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. Menasseh = Responsible Representation as also epitomized by the USA. Ephraim (Ephrathi in the singular) means aristocracy as found in Britain and almost nowhere else. John Bull = England. Angli=Aegli= Ephraim. Migrations of people from Britain to the USA as explained in The Tribes and at more length in “Joseph” show a preponderance of groups identified with Menasseh migrating to the USA. |