The settlement of the ephrathites in bethlehem and the location of Rachel's tomb

The article discusses the two biblical locations of Rachel's tomb: one in northern Benjamin and the other north of Bethlehem. It posits that Ephraimite families migrated to north Judah, settled in the Bethlehem district and were called "Ephrathites", after their place of origin. The new settlers identified the tomb of their eponymous ancestress, Rachel, in a site near Bethlehem. Hence emerged the tomb's two conflicting identifications. It is thus evident that the tradition of Rachel's tomb near Bethlehem is very old, dated probably to the early Iron Age, when the Ephrathites first settled in this region.