Why do we use Hebrew words

• Herzog_Zwei

  25 Aug 06, 09:07

  Originally posted by breytonhartge:

  the israelites do not need the blessings of allah... they have Yahweh as their God. Just be careful how you talk about or treat Yahweh's chosen and firstborn.
  
  If you want to be rude to me, that is one thing, but to deride the jews is a totally different matter altogether.

  So you claim that the decedents of Ishmael are wrong about their God?
• breytonhartge

  25 Aug 06, 10:34

  Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:

  So you claim that the decedents of Ishmael are wrong about their God?

  allah is not Yahweh. He can never be as allah does not acknowledge Yeshua as the son.
  
  FYI:
  
  Many believe the word “Allah” was derived from the mid- eastern word “el” which in Ugaritic, Caananite and Hebrew can mean a true or false God. This is not the case, “The source of this (Allah) goes back to pre-Muslim times. Allah is not a common name meaning “God” (or a “god”), and the Muslim must use another word or form if he wishes to indicate any other than his own peculiar deity.” (Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics (ed. Hastings), I:326.)
  
  According to the Encyclopedia of Religion, Allah corresponded to the Babylonian god Baal, and Arabs knew of him long before Mohammed worshipped him as the supreme God. Before Islam the Arabs recognized many gods and goddesses, each tribe had their own deity. There were also nature deities. Allah was the god of the local Quarish tribe, which was Mohammed's tribe before he invented Islam to lead his people out of their polytheism. Allah was then known as the Moon God, who had 3 daughters who were viewed as intercessors for the people into Allah. Their names were Al-at, Al-uzza, and Al-Manat, which were three goddesses; the first two daughters of Allah had names which were feminine forms of Allah. Hubal was the chief God of the Kaaba among the other 360 deities. Hubal was the chief God of the Kaaba among the other 360 deities. Hubal was a statue likeness of a man whose body was made of red precious stones whose arms were made of gold. (Reference Islam George Braswell Jr.)
  
  “Historians like Vaqqidi have said Allah was actually the chief of the 360 gods being worshipped in Arabia at the time Mohammed rose to prominence. Ibn Al-Kalbi gave 27 names of pre-Islamic deities...Interestingly, not many Muslims want to accept that Allah was already being worshipped at the Ka'ba in Mecca by Arab pagans before Mohammed came. Some Muslims become angry when they are confronted with this fact. But history is not on their side. Pre-Islamic literature has proved this.” (G. J. O. Moshay, Who Is This Allah? (Dorchester House, Bucks, UK, 1994), pg. 138 ).
  
  “The name Allah, as the Qur'an itself is witness, was well known in pre-Islamic Arabia. Indeed, both it and its feminine form, Allat, are found not infrequently among the theophorous names in inscriptions from North Africa.” (Arthur Jeffrey, ed., Islam: Muhammad and His Religion (1958 ), p. 85.)
  
  Mecca was the place where the idol Allah was located, so the people would face in that direction when they prayed. Prior to Islam the people would pray 5 times a day facing Mecca (The Encyclopedia of Islam p.303) Prior to Islam's beginning each Arab tribe used Allah to refer to its own particular high god. This is why Hubal, the Moon god, (known by other names) was the central focus of prayer at the Kaabah and people prayed to Hubal and they used the name Allah. The crescent moon was the symbol of the moon God Allah (Hubal) and is still used as a symbol of Islam today (although they have changed the meaning to be -from Mecca to the moon Islam will spread). Today there is hardly a Muslim that knows its ancient origin. History records it as an ancient pagan fertility symbol that is found throughout the Middle East. Mohammed smashed all the idols that led the people into idolatry but the black stone was kept which Muslims continue to kiss today. This was another practice that preceded Mohammad.
  
  Of the 99 names of God in Islam, not one is “Father” or has a personal connotation. The difference is not to be overlooked. The God of the Bible is personal and wants an ongoing friendship with each of us. Islam portrays God as one who expects us to do our religious duty or He angers. There are rules to be obeyed and one can only please him but not know him personally. No Muslim would ever consider being able to have a personal relationship with him, by talking to him, and loving him. Jesus instead taught Christians to pray “our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). Throughout the Old Testament God was real to the prophets who had him personally speak to them and they to him. “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously with one another by profaning the covenant of the fathers?” (Mal 2:10)
  
  The God in the Bible is called the God of the Jews, an impossibility with Allah. They are called his chosen people, but they are not Allah's chosen. Allah commands the Muslim to not take the Jews or Christians as friends, Sura.5:51 disdains the Jews. Mohammed said, “The last hour will not come before the Muslims fight the Jews, and the Muslims kill them.” (Mishkat Al Masabih Sh.M. Ashraf pp.147, 721, 810-11, 1130). So how could Israel inherit the land or any of God's promises from Allah, if he is their God. Clearly he is not the same God of the Bible.
• Herzog_Zwei

  26 Aug 06, 01:36

  Originally posted by breytonhartge:

  allah is not Yahweh. He can never be as allah does not acknowledge Yeshua as the son.
  
  FYI:
  
  Many believe the word “Allah” was derived from the mid- eastern word “el” which in Ugaritic, Caananite and Hebrew can mean a true or false God. This is not the case, “The source of this (Allah) goes back to pre-Muslim times. Allah is not a common name meaning “God” (or a “god”), and the Muslim must use another word or form if he wishes to indicate any other than his own peculiar deity.” (Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics (ed. Hastings), I:326.)
  
  According to the Encyclopedia of Religion, Allah corresponded to the Babylonian god Baal, and Arabs knew of him long before Mohammed worshipped him as the supreme God. Before Islam the Arabs recognized many gods and goddesses, each tribe had their own deity. There were also nature deities. Allah was the god of the local Quarish tribe, which was Mohammed's tribe before he invented Islam to lead his people out of their polytheism. Allah was then known as the Moon God, who had 3 daughters who were viewed as intercessors for the people into Allah. Their names were Al-at, Al-uzza, and Al-Manat, which were three goddesses; the first two daughters of Allah had names which were feminine forms of Allah. Hubal was the chief God of the Kaaba among the other 360 deities. Hubal was the chief God of the Kaaba among the other 360 deities. Hubal was a statue likeness of a man whose body was made of red precious stones whose arms were made of gold. (Reference Islam George Braswell Jr.)
  
  “Historians like Vaqqidi have said Allah was actually the chief of the 360 gods being worshipped in Arabia at the time Mohammed rose to prominence. Ibn Al-Kalbi gave 27 names of pre-Islamic deities...Interestingly, not many Muslims want to accept that Allah was already being worshipped at the Ka'ba in Mecca by Arab pagans before Mohammed came. Some Muslims become angry when they are confronted with this fact. But history is not on their side. Pre-Islamic literature has proved this.” (G. J. O. Moshay, Who Is This Allah? (Dorchester House, Bucks, UK, 1994), pg. 138 ).
  
  “The name Allah, as the Qur'an itself is witness, was well known in pre-Islamic Arabia. Indeed, both it and its feminine form, Allat, are found not infrequently among the theophorous names in inscriptions from North Africa.” (Arthur Jeffrey, ed., Islam: Muhammad and His Religion (1958 ), p. 85.)
  
  Mecca was the place where the idol Allah was located, so the people would face in that direction when they prayed. Prior to Islam the people would pray 5 times a day facing Mecca (The Encyclopedia of Islam p.303) Prior to Islam's beginning each Arab tribe used Allah to refer to its own particular high god. This is why Hubal, the Moon god, (known by other names) was the central focus of prayer at the Kaabah and people prayed to Hubal and they used the name Allah. The crescent moon was the symbol of the moon God Allah (Hubal) and is still used as a symbol of Islam today (although they have changed the meaning to be -from Mecca to the moon Islam will spread). Today there is hardly a Muslim that knows its ancient origin. History records it as an ancient pagan fertility symbol that is found throughout the Middle East. Mohammed smashed all the idols that led the people into idolatry but the black stone was kept which Muslims continue to kiss today. This was another practice that preceded Mohammad.
  
  Of the 99 names of God in Islam, not one is “Father” or has a personal connotation. The difference is not to be overlooked. The God of the Bible is personal and wants an ongoing friendship with each of us. Islam portrays God as one who expects us to do our religious duty or He angers. There are rules to be obeyed and one can only please him but not know him personally. No Muslim would ever consider being able to have a personal relationship with him, by talking to him, and loving him. Jesus instead taught Christians to pray “our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). Throughout the Old Testament God was real to the prophets who had him personally speak to them and they to him. “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously with one another by profaning the covenant of the fathers?” (Mal 2:10)
  
  The God in the Bible is called the God of the Jews, an impossibility with Allah. They are called his chosen people, but they are not Allah's chosen. Allah commands the Muslim to not take the Jews or Christians as friends, Sura.5:51 disdains the Jews. Mohammed said, “The last hour will not come before the Muslims fight the Jews, and the Muslims kill them.” (Mishkat Al Masabih Sh.M. Ashraf pp.147, 721, 810-11, 1130). So how could Israel inherit the land or any of God's promises from Allah, if he is their God. Clearly he is not the same God of the Bible.

  So tell me accurately, are the decendants of Ishmael the Muslims of today?
• Chin Eng

  26 Aug 06, 11:02

  Originally posted by breytonhartge:

  allah is not Yahweh. He can never be as allah does not acknowledge Yeshua as the son.
  

  allah does not, or the muslims does not....???? this distinction has to be clear.
  
  al = el?
  
  The god of the Islamic world, historically is also the god of the Hebrew. The fact that muslims see Jesus as someone else has nothing to do with the historical perspective of who this God is.
  
  It needed to be recognised that the folklores of Islam is intertwined with the folklores of the Hebrews. This has nothing to do with whether we are comfortable with this fact or not, and any denial on our part does not take away the historical account of Genesis.
• breytonhartge

  26 Aug 06, 11:59

  Originally posted by Chin Eng:

  allah does not, or the muslims does not....???? this distinction has to be clear.
  
  al = el?
  
  The god of the Islamic world, historically is also the god of the Hebrew. The fact that muslims see Jesus as someone else has nothing to do with the historical perspective of who this God is.
  
  It needed to be recognised that the folklores of Islam is intertwined with the folklores of the Hebrews. This has nothing to do with whether we are comfortable with this fact or not, and any denial on our part does not take away the historical account of Genesis.

  the allah that the muslims now claim to worship cannot be Yahweh. See my earlier post.
• breytonhartge

  26 Aug 06, 12:00

  Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:

  So tell me accurately, are the decendants of Ishmael the Muslims of today?

  whilst they may be, they are not worshipping Yahweh.
• Herzog_Zwei

  26 Aug 06, 16:49

  Originally posted by breytonhartge:

  whilst they may be, they are not worshipping Yahweh.

  Do you tell me you know exactly what's God's will? If God is Allah to them, what are you to tell them no?
• breytonhartge

  26 Aug 06, 23:38

  Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:

  Do you tell me you know exactly what's God's will? If God is Allah to them, what are you to tell them no?

  I don't know what the will of Yahweh is exactly. But I do know that Yahweh is not allah. If they choose to take a false idol as their "god" they are free to choose. I don't ever recalling telling the muslims not to take allah as their "god".
  
  You can tell which god they worship. It is simple. We worship Yahweh, whose chosen people are the Jews. But as can be seen from my post, their "allah" despises the jews. If Yahweh is the same yesterday today and forever, then, it would be safe to assume that the "allah" that the muslims worship cannot be the same Yahweh that the Jews call GOD.
• Chin Eng

  28 Aug 06, 10:12

  *** never mind ***
• Yaffa

  1 Sep 06, 00:19

  Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:

  So tell me accurately, are the decendants of Ishmael the Muslims of today?

  Yes, Muslims are the descendants of Ishmael just as the Jews are the descendants of Isaac.
• vince69

  1 Sep 06, 00:33

  Originally posted by Yaffa:

  Yes, Muslims are the descendants of Ishmael just as the Jews are the descendants of Isaac.

  strictly speaking, not really,
  if I not wrong, only the middle eastern muslims are descendant of Ishmael.
  *don't think the Egyptians are in the list though (cause Ishmael's mother is an Egyptian)
  
• Yaffa

  1 Sep 06, 00:33

  Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:

  Do you tell me you know exactly what's God's will? If God is Allah to them, what are you to tell them no?

  It is crucial for our salvation to know which God we are worshipping. If Allah is the same as the God of Israel, Yahweh, the Jews and Arabs would be living happily together as one big family. The Quran is so different from the Torah, impossible that they are worshipping the same God.
• Yaffa

  1 Sep 06, 00:43

  Originally posted by vince69:

  strictly speaking, not really,
  if I not wrong, only the middle eastern muslims are descendant of Ishmael.
  *don't think the Egyptians are in the list though (cause Ishmael's mother is an Egyptian)
  

  Islam traces its own roots back to Ishmael, so I think they all believe they are ultimately descendants of Ishmael and Abraham, just like the Jews believe they are descendants of Isaac and Abraham. Not only was Ishmael's mother an Egyptian, I think he married an Egyptian wife as well.
• Chin Eng

  1 Sep 06, 14:55

  Originally posted by Yaffa:

  Islam traces its own roots back to Ishmael, so I think they all believe they are ultimately descendants of Ishmael and Abraham, just like the Jews believe they are descendants of Isaac and Abraham. Not only was Ishmael's mother an Egyptian, I think he married an Egyptian wife as well.

  so can we conclude that the God of Ishmael is also the the God of Isaac? purely from the standpoint of history, deviations in the modern times nonwithstanding?
• Yaffa

  2 Sep 06, 01:53

  Originally posted by Chin Eng:

  so can we conclude that the God of Ishmael is also the the God of Isaac? purely from the standpoint of history, deviations in the modern times nonwithstanding?

  Well, clearly both Isaac and Ishmael have Abraham as their father, however, in the Jewish lineage, the children follow the faith of their mother. So since Sarah was Isaac's mother and she was Jewish, Isaac's God is the God of Abraham (since he too was Jewish).
  
  Ishmael's mother was an Egyptian, so Ishmael couldn't be of the same faith as Abraham unless he conscientiously made the decision himself. No where in the Torah does it mention that Ishmael did so.
  
• Chin Eng

  2 Sep 06, 09:48

  Originally posted by Yaffa:

  Well, clearly both Isaac and Ishmael have Abraham as their father, however, in the Jewish lineage, the children follow the faith of their mother. So since Sarah was Isaac's mother and she was Jewish, Isaac's God is the God of Abraham (since he too was Jewish).
  

  Interesting.... the children follow the faith of their mother? then why in the entire Bible, it's always God of Abraham, Jacob and Isaac.... and not God of Sarah etc etc. Since when has the Hebrew faith been matriachy.... it has always be patriachy.... where the emphasis is on the male side of the family... You've got to better than that.... Yaffa.
  
  

  Originally posted by Yaffa:

  Ishmael's mother was an Egyptian, so Ishmael couldn't be of the same faith as Abraham unless he conscientiously made the decision himself. No where in the Torah does it mention that Ishmael did so.
  

  Neither is there any mention that Ishmael did not....
• breytonhartge

  2 Sep 06, 11:59

  Originally posted by Chin Eng:

  Interesting.... the children follow the faith of their mother? then why in the entire Bible, it's always God of Abraham, Jacob and Isaac.... and not God of Sarah etc etc. Since when has the Hebrew faith been matriachy.... it has always be patriachy.... where the emphasis is on the male side of the family... You've got to better than that.... Yaffa.
  

  Hi CE,
  
  Did a search on wikis.. here is what I found, if we take the traditional or conservative Jewish perspective according to Jewish law, then yes, religion follows the mother.
  
  Traditional (Halakhic) perspective
  According to the traditional Rabbinic view, which is maintained by all branches of Orthodox Judaism and Conservative Judaism today, only Halakha ("Jewish law" ) can define who is or is not a Jew when a question of Jewish identity, lineage, or parentage arises about any person seeking to define themselves or claim that they are a "Jew" or "Jewish".
  
  Therefore, Halakha defines a "Jew" as someone, male or female, who is:
  
  Either
  
  (1) The child of a Jewish mother, known in English as "matrilineal descent". This tradition is derived from Deuteronomy 7:4.[1] [2]
  or
  
  (2) A person who converts, meaning, formally converted to Judaism under the auspices of a halakhically constituted and recognized Beth Din ("Court [of Jewish-Torah Law]" ) consisting preferably of three learned rabbis acting as Dayanim ("judges" ), but also possibly two learned and respected lay members of the community along with a rabbi who then issue a Shtar geirut ("Certificate of Conversion" ).
  Who the first Jews were is a matter of some controversy. Some maintain that it was those who were present, bodily, at the revelation of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai; others maintain that Abraham and Sarah were the first Jews.
  
  This standard for conversion is mandated by a long series of codes of law and texts, including the Talmud, through the Shulkhan Arukh, and subsequent interpretations that are held as authoritative by Orthodox Judaism and Conservative Judaism.
  
  As a result, mere belief in the principles of Judaism does not make one a Jew. Similarly, non-adherence by a Jew to the Jewish principles of faith, or even formal conversion to another faith, does not make one lose one's Jewish status. Thus the immediate descendants of all female Jews (even apostates) are still considered to be Jews, as are those of all her female descendants. Even those descendants who are not aware they are Jews, or practice a faith other than Judaism, are technically still Jews, as long as they come from an unbroken female line of descent. As a corollary, the children of a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother are not considered to be Jews by Orthodoxy or Conservatism unless they formally convert, even if raised practising Judaism.
  
  Those not born to a Jewish mother may become accepted as Jews by the Orthodox and Conservative movements through a formal and usually difficult process of conversion to Judaism in order to become "true converts" (Geirei tzedek in Hebrew), and they are then accepted as Jews by the movement doing the conversion. In addition, Halakha requires that the new convert commits himself to observance of its tenets; this is called Kabbalat Ol Mitzvot, "Acceptance [of the] Yoke [of the] Commandments", the most important being the observance of Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath), Kashrut (the dietary laws), Niddah (husband and wife abstaining from sexual contact during menstruation).
  
  Conversion is still relatively rare, and typically discouraged. Orthodoxy does not accept the validity of non-Orthodox conversions; it recognises only those conversions in which the new convert accepts and undertakes to observe Halakha as interpreted by the teachings of Orthodox Judaism. Non-Orthodox rabbis do not require that converts make this commitment, and therefore do not perform conversions accepted under Orthodoxy. Additionally, because of the constant internal differences within all groups, it is not unusual for rabbis to be suspicious of conversions performed by their colleagues.
  
  Conservative Judaism may accept the validity of some Reform and Reconstructionist conversions, but only if they include immersion in a ritual bath (mikvah), appearance before a rabbinical court (beit din) and, for men, circumcision (brit milah) or a symbolic circumcision for those already circumcised (hatfah dam brit).
  
  Taken from WhoisaJew?
  
  
• Yaffa

  2 Sep 06, 12:00

  [quote]Originally posted by Chin Eng:
  
  Interesting.... the children follow the faith of their mother? then why in the entire Bible, it's always God of Abraham, Jacob and Isaac.... and not God of Sarah etc etc. Since when has the Hebrew faith been matriachy.... it has always be patriachy.... where the emphasis is on the male side of the family... You've got to better than that.... Yaffa.
  
  It is common knowledge that the Jewish faith follows the line of the mother, ask any Jew! Only the tribal lineage is traced patriachally.
  
  quote:
  
  Neither is there any mention that Ishmael did not....
  
  Had Ishmael turned out to be a follower of the God of Israel, he would have been mentioned and commended as a man of faith in the Torah. Yet not a single word was made mention of him that he was a faithful follower of the God of his father. And in your own words, God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, not of Abraham, Ishmael and so on.
• Chin Eng

  3 Sep 06, 09:06

  Nonetheless it is interesting that the entire Torah has taken a patriachy flavour.
  
  ... and brey.... wikipedia? has an entire page on patriachy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarchs_%28Bible%29 and a short paragraphy on matriachy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matriarchs_%28Bible%29...
• breytonhartge

  3 Sep 06, 10:06

  Originally posted by Chin Eng:

  Nonetheless it is interesting that the entire Torah has taken a patriachy flavour.
  
  ... and brey.... wikipedia? has an entire page on patriachy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarchs_%28Bible%29 and a short paragraphy on matriachy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matriarchs_%28Bible%29...

  for fast reference, but still it is common knowledge that a person is considered jewish or not by the mother and not the father. The lineage always follows the mother, its the little naunces that are also important. Disregard this if you want to, up to you.
• breytonhartge

  3 Sep 06, 10:10

  CE you might want to look at this page.
  
  Who is a Jew?
• breytonhartge

  3 Sep 06, 10:13

  CE you may also want to look here:
  
  Who is a Jew?
• breytonhartge

  3 Sep 06, 10:18

  and an exerpt from another webpage not wiki...
  
  Who is a Jew according to Halacha (Jewish Law)?
  According to Jewish law, a child born to a Jewish mother or an adult who has converted to Judaism is considered a Jew; one does not have to reaffirm their Jewishness or practice any of the laws of the Torah to be Jewish. According to Reform Judaism, a person is a Jew if they were born to either a Jewish mother or a Jewish father. Also, Reform Judaism stresses the importance of being raised Jewish; if a child is born to Jewish parents and was not raised Jewish then the child is not considered Jewish. According to the Orthodox movement, the fatherÂ’s religion and whether the person practices is immaterial. No affirmation or upbringing is needed, as long as the mother was Jewish.
  
  Besides for differing opinions on patrilineal descent, the various streams also have different conversion practices. Conversion done under the auspices of an Orthodox rabbi, entails Jewish study, brit milah (for men), mikvah (for both men and women) and a stated commitment to follow the laws of the Torah. Conservative conversions use the same requirements as the Orthodox do; however, conversions by the Reform movement and other streams do not have the same requirements. Since the conversion practices are not uniform, many Orthodox Jews do not recognize Reform or Conservative conversions as valid and, hence, do not consider the converts Jews. Once a person has converted to Judaism, he is not referred to by any special term; he is as much a Jew as anyone born Jewish.
  
  About Matrilineal Descent
  Many people have asked why traditional Judaism uses matrilineal descent to determine Jewish status, when in all other things (tribal affiliation, priestly status, royalty, etc.) patrilineal descent is used.
  
  The Torah does not specifically state anywhere that matrilineal descent should be used; however, there are several passages in the Torah where it is understood that the child of a Jewish woman and a non-Jewish man is a Jew, and several other passages where it is understood that the child of a non-Jewish woman and a Jewish man is not a Jew.
  
  In Deuteronomy 7:1-5, in expressing the prohibition against intermarriage, G-d says "he [ie, the non-Jewish male spouse] will cause your child to turn away from Me and they will worship the gods of others." No such concern is expressed about the child of a non-Jewish female spouse. From this, we infer that the child of a non-Jewish male spouse is Jewish (and can therefore be turned away from Judaism), but the child of a non-Jewish female spouse is not Jewish (and therefore turning away is not an issue).
  
  Leviticus 24:10 speaks of the son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian man as being "among the community of Israel" (i.e., a Jew).
  
  On the other hand, in Ezra 10:2-3, the Jews returning to Israel vowed to put aside their non-Jewish wives and the children born to those wives. They could not have put aside those children if those children were Jews.
  
  by Rebecca Weiner Jewish Virtual Library
• Chin Eng

  3 Sep 06, 10:53

  Originally posted by breytonhartge:

  On the other hand, in Ezra 10:2-3, the Jews returning to Israel vowed to put aside their non-Jewish wives and the children born to those wives. They could not have put aside those children if those children were Jews.
  by Rebecca Weiner Jewish Virtual Library

  Just wondering..... why did the Israelites recognise Ephraim and Manasseh, afterall, these two boys were born to the daughter of the a priest of On.... decidedly Egyptians in race.....
• breytonhartge

  3 Sep 06, 11:41

  Originally posted by Chin Eng:

  Just wondering..... why did the Israelites recognise Ephraim and Manasseh, afterall, these two boys were born to the daughter of the a priest of On.... decidedly Egyptians in race.....

  See Genesis 48:1-7
  
  Here is an exerpt from About Torah
  
  B’reisheet 48:5 states, “And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.” The passage makes it clear that Yaakov intended to adopt Ephraim and Manasseh as his own. The reason Yaakov gives for choosing Ephraim and Manasseh is because they were the sons born to Yosef before his father and brothers came to Egypt. HaShem is rewarding Yosef's sons through adopting them into Yisrael. Therefore, HaShem’s reward for Yosef’s steadfast faith is the grafting-in of Ephraim and Manasseh. In other words, because Yosef remained faithful during the separation from his family, HaShem’s reward to Yosef is an equal portion in the land HaShem promised Avraham’s descendents. In fact, B’reisheet 41:50 states Ephraim and Manasseh were born to “Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On.” We can see that HaShem is making Yosef’s non-Hebrew sons part of the commonwealth of Yisrael. Yaakov even places the blessings of three generations on the heads of Ephraim and Manasseh, as B’reisheet 48:16 states “The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” Yaakov retroactively brought them into the covenant by placing the names of Yitzak and Avraham on their heads. HaShem completely replaced their Egyptian ancestry with Hebrew ancestry. Therefore, Ephraim and Manasseh become a symbol of the concern HaShem has for all nations. B’reisheet 48:20 states “In you shall Yisrael bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh.” It is clear that one form of encouragement HaShem gives to His servants is a reward for their faithfulness.
  
  See also:
  
  Ephraim and Manasseh