Town in the Judean wilderness near the wilderness (the exact location is uncertain; traditionally identified with et-Taiyibeh, about thirteen miles northeast of Jerusalem), to which the Lord Jesus withdrew with His disciples after the raising of Lazarus, before His final return to Jerusalem for the Passion week (John 11:54). The narrative context is significant. After the raising of Lazarus at Bethany (John 11:1-44), the Jewish leaders gathered a council and resolved to kill Jesus: Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death (John 11:53). In response: Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples (John 11:54). The withdrawal to Ephraim is a deliberate retreat for the final preparation of the disciples before the Passion week. Jesus did not flee permanently or abandon His Jerusalem-bound trajectory; He retreated for a brief season of preparation, then returned for the Triumphal Entry and the Passion. The patriarchal-Reformed reader receives Ephraim as the type of the deliberate retreat for preparation that precedes the climactic moment of public engagement. The Lord Jesus modeled the rhythm of withdrawal-for-preparation followed by return-for-engagement throughout His earthly ministry; the Ephraim retreat is the most consequential of these withdrawals.