במדבר, פרק כ״ו, פסוק כ״ח

The descendants of Joseph are counted as two distinct tribes during the national census. In the first census taken years earlier, the tribe of Ephraim was listed ahead of Manasseh. However, a noticeable shift occurs in the later count, where the order of the two tribes is reversed.

This change directly reflects the shifting population sizes of the two groups. During the initial count, the people of Ephraim were much more numerous. Over the passing years, however, the population of Manasseh grew significantly. Because the descendants of Manasseh eventually outnumbered those of Ephraim by a large margin, they earned the right of precedence and are therefore mentioned first in the updated census [ביאור שטיינזלץ, העמק דבר].