Who were the wives of Manasseh and Ephraim? What were their backgrounds? Who were their parents? Did they have concubines? If so who were they?
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1I dont know why this interests you more than the wives of others mentioned in the torah and I doubt if anyone can find an answer for you @kinnard Hockenhull– newcomerCommented May 13, 2016 at 5:10
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They were only small children when the brothers came down so probably they married from among the daughters Joseph's brothers.– CashCowCommented May 13, 2016 at 8:38
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1@CashCow do you have a source?– הראלCommented May 13, 2016 at 15:01
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I don't have a source for a "probably..", just that we assume that the B'nei Yisrael married among each other, although we do know that when Yehuda "sought a wife" for Er he found Tamar, who was a daughter of Shem, so maybe similar wives were sought for other children.– CashCowCommented May 16, 2016 at 8:58
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1 Answer
According to some readings of I Chronicles 7:14, Menasheh had an Aramean concubine:
The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his wife bore--his concubine the Aramitess bore Machir the father of Gilead; (Mechon-Mamre translation)
See, however, Malbim (ad loc) who offers an alternative translation.
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1While that’s the translation most commentaries that I’ve seen use, note that Malbim learns that her name was literally Aramiah, not that it’s a description of her nationality.– DonielFCommented Feb 13, 2019 at 6:52
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Further on this, Shemida seems to be named as a son of Manasseh according to Numbers 26:32, Joshua 17:2, and 1 Chronicles 7:19. We hear that Manasseh's unnamed wife bears Asriel and that Aramiah/Amoritess concubine bears Machir and that lineage continues to Gilead, but it's then unclear who bore Shemida, Helek, Hepher etc (these all seem to be Manasseh's sons, although I've also seen them described as Gilead's sons).– ANHCommented May 5, 2023 at 11:25