ef'-rath, e'-frath, ef'-ra-tha, ef-ra'-tha ('ephrath; Ephratha;Ge 35:16;48:7); ('ephrathah, in the other references:Jos 15:59(in added verse of Septuagint only);Ru 4:11;1Ch 2:19,24,50;Ps 132:6;Mic 5:2, the King James Version "Ephratah"):
The name either of Bethlehem itself or of a district in which Bethlehem was situated. A man of this place was called an Ephrathite (Ru 1:2;1Sa 17:12). It is held by many authorities that the Ephrath where Rachel was buried (Ge 35:16;48:7) was a different place, the words "the same is Bethlehem" being a gloss. The reading inPs 132:6is doubtful; the Revised Version, margin has "Ephraim."
E. W. G. Masterman