Ephraim's Birthright

Ephraim’s birthright (Gen 48:19) וזרעו יהיה מלא־הגוים “and his seed shall become a multitude of nations” interpreted literally is “and his seed shall become the fullness of the nations/Gentiles”, and ...
Ephraim’s birthright (Gen 48:19) וזרעו יהיה מלא־הגוים “and his seed shall become a multitude of nations” interpreted literally is “and his seed shall become the fullness of the nations/Gentiles”, and the only other passage in all of Scripture where Ephraim's birthright is repeated verbatim is Rom 11:25 — “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”

The New Testament recognizes Abraham’s blessing (“and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed”) as pertaining to salvation. Peter says so in Acts 3:25 and Paul in Gal 3:8. This blessing passed to Isaac (Gen 26:4), “and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed”, and it passed to Jacob (Gen 28:14), “and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”

To whom did it go next?

There is the Birthright and there is the Scepter. I always assumed that the gift of salvation passed through the Scepter. But then why doesn’t it say that?

Observe the similarity between “in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” and “his seed shall become the fulness of the nations”. Paul makes an issue (Gal 3:16) of the singularity of seed in the former. The same singular seed also occurs in Gen 48:19.

The Jewish sages perceived two primary messianic types — Messiah ben David and Messiah ben Joseph. The New Testament opens with a genealogy showing Christ to be the former, but then in Joseph’s dream [was not his namesake also a dreamer?] the angel says (Mt 1:20-21), “Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy [Spirit]. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

Thus at least in name our Savior was Joshua ben Joseph.

There is so much more on this subject, but this is not the real heresy that provokes me now. There comes to mind another. If Ephraim’s birthright is not specifically “a commonwealth of nations” but rather involves the salvation of the Gentiles — then where is Ephraim today?

Here rabbi Daniel Lapin’s “America’s Real War” is interesting. This orthodox rabbi talks about the providential founding of this nation — absolutely unique in world history in its spiritual roots and in its fascination with Israel. One interesting little tidbit (pg. 126):

“That moment [when Jacob crossed his hands over the heads of Joseph’s sons] was when the family of Jacob became the children of Israel. Somehow, it was necessary for a great nation to be founded on thirteen elements rather than upon twelve. Once again, America’s founding fathers, subconsciously or not, imitated the founding of ancient Israel when they waited for Rhode Island to join in before launching their great enterprise. The number of elements required for the founding of a holy nation had to be increased from twelve to thirteen.”

Rabbi Lapin says that the secular left has utterly conquered every other nation in this post-Christian world. In not one of them (except of course for the state of Israel) do the secularists sense an iota of threat from those who still fear the patriarchal God of Abraham. It is only in America that the last battle is being waged, and should it finally be lost there, God help us all! Including the state of Israel!

There was an interesting article by David Brooks in the Aug 9 Weekly Standard — A Land Without Conservatives. The author had just been to Australia and was amazed how parochial public discourse was. People had no idea of anything other than secular-leftism, never heard let alone met a social conservative. Says Brooks: “When I returned, I mentioned this phenomenon to a friend who has migrated to Washington from another country. His response was simply: ‘That’s what it means to be a superpower.’ The future happens here first.”

And so “his seed shall become the fullness of the nations” — how accurate a prophecy for this nation! What other nation in history has incorporated more nations into its fold than this one? Rabbi Lapin again (pg. 124):

“Anyone could, and indeed still can, become a Jew. In the same way, anyone can become an American. If one becomes either an American or a convert to Judaism, one becomes a full American or a full Jew with all rights, save one. As a convert to Judaism, one cannot become king, and as a naturalized American, one cannot attain the presidency. The founding fathers incorporated this principle from the Torah right into our American Constitution.

“Contrast this with England, France, Switzerland or Japan. I lived in England for more than five years, but I was always a foreigner. If I was still there, I’d still be a foreigner. Others have lived in London for a lifetime, but to their English neighbors they will always be foreigners. ... In America, our national homogeneity springs from us agreeing on certain fundamental spiritual principles while celebrating the diversity we enjoy in the more superficial things. In the history of the world, only two nations have been founded on an idea rather than a land: ancient Israel and modern America.”

The Targum (Onqelos) paraphrases מלא־הגוים “fullness of the nations” with שליטין בעממיא “rulers of the nations”. And what other nation has extended its power and influence further than this one?

Has some force in American history laid the foundation for for the fulfillment of Ephraim’s birthright? “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”

1 Elul 1999

PS: Just for fun, let’s savor this poetry from the Apocrypha, and try to grasp some of the universal scope the Jews of old saw in the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob:

Abraham was the great father of a multitude of nations,
and no one has been found like him in glory;
he kept the law of the Most High,
and was taken into covenant with him;
he established the covenant in his flesh,
and when he was tested he was found faithful.
Therefore the Lord assured him by an oath
that the nations would be blessed through his posterity;
that he would multiply him like the dust of the earth,
and exalt his posterity like the stars,
and cause them to inherit from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
To Isaac also he gave the same assurance
for the sake of Abraham his father.

The blessing of all men and the covenant
he made to rest upon the head of Jacob;
he acknowledged him with his blessings,
and gave him his inheritance;
he determined his portions,
and distributed them among the twelve tribes.
(Sirach 44:19-23, RSV)
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