Ephraim and Manasseh
Excerpts from Yair Davidy
and Steven Collins.
Editor’s Note: We have some disagreement with some of the statements below, but do not feel that we could refute all of it. These authors make some valuable points that we have not seen elsewhere. —NSE
Excerpt from pages 369 to 370 of "The Tribes" by Yair Davidy.
The Ameyrgio Scythae and the Mercians derived their names from permutations of MACHIR [son of Manasseh, son of Joseph]. An interesting possibility is that the name MACHIRis also recalled in that of America!
The Phoenecians are believed to have visited AMERICA and named it "The Great North Country" and the Hebrew prophets predicted that in the end time the Lost Ten Tribes would return from the "North Country" (e.g. Isa 31:8) and they certainly were well acquainted with the Phoenecians. The Vikings attempted to settle in North America and named it "MARKLAND" which is believed to mean "Land of Darkness". Even so, Maruk (=Machir) and Mark ("in Markland") are not dissimilar. After the Vikings, the existence of America was realised by people in Britain including fishermen from the port of Bristol. Richard Ameryk, a Bristol merchant of the 1470’s is now claimed to have given America its name. Ameryk was of Welsh ancestry and his family name originally was "Ap Meryk," possibly denoting "Son of Machir". The more commonly accepted explanation is that the name "America" comes from that of the Explorer, Amerigo Vespucci (1451-1512) also called "Americas" and (after 1507) "America" is said to have been named in his honour. All the events, the name Amerigo or "Americas" is similar to Medieval appellations (Aimerico, etc.) for a Jewish Prince of southern France whose proper Hebrew name (from which the appellations were derived) was MACHIR. It follows that the name AMERICA may well be understood to mean "Land of Machir", son of Manasseh.
Excerpt from pages 385 to 389 of The "Lost" Ten Tribes of Israel...Found by Steven M. Collins.
In an earlier chapter we saw evidence that Ephraim’s clans formed the backbone of the tribes which united to form the Parthian Empire, while one of the dominant tribes of the Sacae Scythians was the Massagetae (Manasseh). Even as the term "House of Israel" included the rest of the tribes of Israel who remained associated with Ephraim and Manasseh, the term "Sacae" was also applied to the tribes of Israel which were led by Ephraim and Manasseh (Parthia and Scythia) while in Asia.
When the Scythians and Parthians migrated to Europe, the names "SAChse," or "Saxons," ("Saac’s sons") remained upon them as they settled in the British Isles, but this name also remained on some related tribes who stayed on the mainland (i.e. "Saxony" in Germany and "Alsace" in France).
In Genesis 48:19, Jacob prophesied that Manasseh "shall become a people, and he also shall be great," but added that Ephraim’s descendants "shall be greater than [Manasseh], and his seed shall become a multitude of nations." With these words Jacob prophesied that Manasseh and Ephraim would receive the blessing of Genesis 35:11 that the "birthright" promises would eventually include "a nation and a company of nations." Genesis 48:19 specifically foretold the descendants of Ephraim (the younger brother) would become the "multitude of nations" while Manasseh’s descendants would become the single great nation.
The modern nations which descended from an Anglo-Saxon heritage are England, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. These nations have perfectly fulfilled all prophecies about the birthright tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.
They easily fulfill the prophecy about large population. When you combine the populations of the above modern nations, they are, by far, the most numerous nations of the modern tribes of Israel. They have uniquely fulfilled the prophecy about becoming "a great nation" and a "company of nations." The single great nation is the United States of America and the Caucasian nations of the British Commonwealth (Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) are the prophesied company of nations. Therefore, the "birthright" prophecies identify the United States as Manasseh, and the Caucasian nations of the British Commonwealth are identified as Ephraim.
Since Ephraim was to be the "greater" of the two, and received its birthright blessing first, we should expect that Ephraim would receive its inheritance before Manasseh. History fulfilled that expectation. Great Britain rose to international prominence before the United States, and was a major international power for centuries before being replaced by the United States in the post-World War II period. At its zenith, the British Empire also ruled over many more nations and a far greater geographic area than the United States ever has. For a time, it was true that "the sun never set on the British Empire"because the British Empire ruled much of the world! At its zenith, it ruled over Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, many Black African nations, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Burma, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, eastern New Guinea, and any islands in Oceania. It was without question, the most expansive empire in the history of our planet. According to the 1943 Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, the British Empire once ruled 13 million square miles of the earth’s land surface. (And that was before British rule was temporarily extended over Palestine, Jordan and Iraq after World War II!) Britain’s navies also controlled much of the world’s sea surface as well. "Britannia rules the waves" was a common axiom in Britain’s glory days. The British Empire inherited the "birthright" promises of controlling the "gate of its enemies" (strategic "chokepoints" such as the Suez Canal, Gibraltar, and the Cape of Good Hope). British ownership of the Falkland Islands controlled access around Cape Horn between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and its colony in Singapore controlled the strategic Strait of Malacca between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.
The United States of America (Manasseh) inherited its "birthright" portion after Ephraim had inherited its dominant portion of the "birthright." At its height, Manasseh ruled the United States, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Alaska and Hawaii (which later became states), Cuba and various islands in Oceania. The United States long controlled the Panama canal, one of the world’s most strategic "gates." While the United States is clearly more powerful than Great Britain in our modern world, the British empire was far greater in a historical sense. While the British sought to expand its empire, the United States has exhibited an "isolationist" tendency in its history, and has not sought to rule a large empire. While the British used their armies to conquer and hold territory, America typically withdraws its armies quickly from conquered territory. In World Wars I and II, the Persian Gulf War, etc., America has exhibited no desire to create an empire out of conquered territory, even though it had the power to easily do so.
The above traits of the British and Americans were also exhibited by the Parthians and Scythians. The Parthian Empire began as a union of the clans of Ephraim, and Parthia was comfortable with ruling an empire of diverse nations, using its armies to conquer and hold territory. The British emulated this Parthian trait in the time of the British Empire, further cementing their identity as modern Ephraim. The ancient Scythians, however, preferred to live in the "wide open spaces" of the Russian steppe and were isolationist (content to "live and let live"). One of the dominant tribes of the Scythians were the Massagetae (i.e. "Manasseh"). After the Scythians conquered Mesopotamia and virtually the entire Mideast (circa 620 B.C., they completely withdrew their armies in a few years, disdaining to rule an empire when they could easily have done so. The Americans have emulated this Scythian trait. At the end of World War II, America could have enforced a "Pax America" on the entire earth! It ruled (or dominated) the Western Hemisphere, its armies occupied Japan, much of Europe and North Africa and most Pacific islands. Only America had the atomic bomb. Americans, like the ancient Scythians, disdained having an empire. It quickly withdrew most armies from conquered nations, mothballed much of its fleet and returned its soldiers to civilian life as soon as they could be transported home.
Even as the Parthians and Scythians were allied fellow kinsmen in the ancient world, the British and the Americans have had a "special relationship" in the modern world. When Parthia needed military help in the ancient world, the Scythians regularly came charging to the rescue. The British and Americans have repeated this Parthian-Scythian tradition. When the British needed military help in World Wars I and II, the Americans came charging to the rescue! These ancient and modern alliances are no accident. Ephraim and Manasseh are "brother" tribes (with a common culture and language) and their descendants have traditionally acted as "brother nations" in the world.
At this juncture, a few readers may say: "Wait a minute, this sounds like British Israelism;" however, this book does not espouse that doctrine. "British-Israelism" was a doctrine that developed during the Victorian heyday of the British Empire. It began with people who say (correctly) that the Anglo-Saxon people were exhibiting the characteristics of the "birthright" tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, and who say that the Christian British Empire was expanding its power throughout the earth. They then came to believe (erroneously)that the BritishEmpire was (or would develop into) the kingdom of God on earth. This doctrine was discredited when it became clear that the British empire would never become the millennial "kingdom of God." Although the Messianic nationalism of British-Israelism was proven incorrect, the evidence that the Anglo-Saxons were the modern tribes of Ephraim and manasseh remained as solid as ever.
Since their initial struggles in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, the British-American alliance has dominated world politics, fulfilling the Genesis 27:39 birthright promise that "nations would bow down to thee." This has been true in both war and peacetime. Many nations have "bowed down" to the United States and Great Britain in warfare over the last few centuries. In peacetime, a map of the immediate post-World War II world indicated that a large percentage of the earth’s population was subject to either the British Empire or the United States (either as colonies, protectorates or occupied territories). This British-American alliance was typically merciful to conquered enemies, exhibiting a characteristic of their forefather Joseph. This attribute of wise and benevolent rule was also common among the Scythians, the Parthians and among the Goths who conquered the Romans. The example of America’s mercy and magnanimous behavior in restoring the people and economies of its former enemies, Japan and Germany, after World War II is a marvelous example of this trait of the tribe of Joseph. After America and Britain conquered much of Germany in World War II, the Americans worked around the clock to feed Germans in "the Berlin Airlift" necessitated by Russia’s grab for power over West Berlin.
The United States of America may be the most generous, magnanimous, and merciful nation in the history of our planet! Besides rebuilding and restoring Japan and much of Europe after World War II, the USA has poured mega-billions of dollars into nations everywhere (usually without repayment or even gratitude) in the form of Marshall Plan, foreign aid, the Peace Corps, etc. When natural disaster strike anywhere on earth, American agencies (public and private) rush to the scene to offer aid and assistance (even to enemy nations). When American TV sets show suffering and starving people in Ethiopia, Somalia and Rwanda (To name recent examples), it isn’t long before American aid rushes to those affected areas. This world would be a grim place if Americans were not such a philanthropic people. Indeed, America is generous to a fault. So many nations which own so much to American generosity and help are frequently anti-American in their policies. Americans see this, but simply go on giving anyway. They can’t help it; its in their genes that date back to Joseph.
In doing so, the United States has fulfilled the birthright promise of Genesis 12:3 that "in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." Whatever America’s faults are (and there are many), America has historically been "a cheerful giver" to friends, enemies and neutrals alike. II Corinthians 9:7 states that "God loves a cheerful giver," and Proverbs 10:12 and I Peter 4:8 mention a divine principle that "love covers a multitude of sins." Perhaps herein lies the reason why God withholds due punishment from America for its various sins: God "covers" (pardons) some of America’s sins because of its unusually generous and merciful attitude toward other nations.
Great Britain has also fulfilled this promise, but in a different way. When Ephraimites formed the backbone of the Parthian Empire, they ruled subject nations with wisdom, providing an environment of peace and stability. History record that nations fought the Greeks and Romans in order to live under Parthian rule. History repeated itself when the English (modern Ephraim) ruled an empire of many nations, providing an environment of peace and stability. In the wave of nationalism that swept the post-war world, many British colonies were granted an "independence" which proved to be a great curse. Many of these nations had so little capacity to govern themselves that they have been prey for despots ever since. &
For Further Study
The "Lost" Ten Tribes of Israel...Found!, 439 pages, by Steven M. Collins, PO Box 99735, Sioux Falls, SD 57109-1005. The most thorough book we know of. Discount price: $12 + shipping (4$USA, $5 Canada, $10 Europe, $12 Pacific Rim).
The Tribes, 480 pages, and Ephraim, 271 pages, by Yair Davidy, PO Box 595, Jerusalem, Israel 91004. Contact Davidy or History Research Projects, below, regarding availability.
America and Britain in Prophecy, 65 pages, by Raymond McNair. Free from the Global Church of God, PO Box 501111, San Diego, CA 92150.
Judah’s Sceptre & Joseph’s Birth right 1902 version, 368 pages, by J. H. Allen. $9 postpaid from Giving and Sharing, PO Box 100, Neck City, MO 64849.
The United States and Britain in Prophecy (1945 version), 51 pages by Herbert Armstrong. (Note the many paragraphs of this book that were copied from J. H. Allen’s book, above.) Free from the Philadelphia Church of God, PO Box 3700, Edmond, OK 73083.
History Research Projects Catalog, 4 pages, by Craig White. Many other books about origins of nations. Free from Servants’ News
New book to be announced! In 1991, the Worldwide Church of God paid for John Halford and Rick Sherrod to visit the best libraries in the USA and England to research the origins of those nations. The WCG never published the research, but Sherrod has now written a 139 page booklet for the UCG, which may be published this year if money is available. In the next month or so, Sherrod will be making two 40-hour courses for IBLC. Contact IBLC at 7 Berean Way, Hawkins, Texas 75765, 903-636-4155. Contact Sherrod at HCR 51 Box 41, Stephenville, TX 76401.