Ephrath or Ephrathah or Ephratah ( he, אֶפְרָת \ אֶפְרָתָה) is a biblically-referenced former name of

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

, meaning "fruitful". It is also a personal name.

Biblical place

A very old tradition is that Ephrath refers to

, as the first mention of Ephrath occurs in

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

, in reference to the place where

Rachel Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...

died giving birth to Benjamin and where she was buried on the road from Bethel. Evidence that she died on the way there is reflected by the ancient Tomb of Rachel at the city's entrance. Throughout much of the Bible, Ephrath is a description for members of the Israelite

tribe of Judah According to the Hebrew Bible, the tribe of Judah (, ''Shevet Yehudah'') was one of the twelve Tribes of Israel, named after Judah, the son of Jacob. Judah was the first tribe to take its place in the Land of Israel, occupying the southern ...

, as well as for possible founders of Bethlehem. Ephrath/Bethlehem are also connected to Messianic prophecy, as found in the book of the minor prophet

Micah Micah (; ) is a given name. Micah is the name of several people in the Hebrew Bible ( Old Testament), and means "Who is like God?" The name is sometimes found with theophoric extensions. Suffix theophory in '' Yah'' and in ''Yahweh'' results in ...

"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."

Personal name

Caleb's second wife was called Ephrath (or Ephrathah).

Locations named after Ephrath

Some modern places named after Ephrath include: *The Israeli settlement of

Efrat Efrat ( he, אֶפְרָת), or previously officially Efrata ( he, אֶפְרָתָה), is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, established in 1983 in the Judean Mountains. Efrat is located south of Jerusalem, between Bethlehem and Hebron, ...

, near Bethlehem *The town of

Ephrata, Pennsylvania Ephrata ( ; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Effridaa'') is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located east of Harrisburg and about west-northwest of Philadelphia and is named after Ephrath, an ancient Israelite town, Bethl ...

**The

Ephrata Cloister The Ephrata Cloister or Ephrata Community was a religious community, established in 1732 by Johann Conrad Beissel at Ephrata, in what is now Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The grounds of the community are now owned by the Commonwealth of Pe ...

, Pennsylvania, United States. *The town of

Ephratah, New York Ephratah is a town in Fulton County, New York, United States. The population was 1,682 at the 2010 census. It is named after Ephrath, a biblical town in what is now Israel. The town of Ephratah is in the southwestern part of the county and is west ...

*The town of

Ephrata, Washington Ephrata ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Grant County, Washington, United States. Its population was 8,477 at the 2020 census. History Ephrata was officially incorporated on June 21, 1909 and was given the county seat for the newly creat ...

, United States. *The locality and creek of

Eprapah Eprapah, the Charles S. Snow Scout Environment Training Centre, at Victoria Point, near Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, is a noted ecological area within Redland City. Owned and managed by the Scout Association of Australia, Queensland Branc ...

, Victoria Point, near

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia ** Nearby

Coochiemudlo Island Coochiemudlo Island is a small island in the southern part of Moreton Bay, near Brisbane, in South East Queensland, Australia. It is also the name of the locality upon the island, which is within the local government area of Redland City. In ...

also has an Eprapah Street. *

, the Scout environmental education training centre, located at Victoria Point, near

, Australia

References

{{reflist, 30em Torah places Bethlehem Former populated places in Southwest Asia Women in the Hebrew Bible he:אפרת