Eran was a descendant of Ephraim through his son Shuthelah. He is mentioned in Numbers as the ancestor of the clan of the Eranites, one of the family groups within the tribe of Ephraim that were counted during the census on the plains of Moab.
Eran is mentioned as the son of Shuthelah in connection with the second census of the people of Israel on the plains of Moab. His descendants, the Eranites, were recorded as a distinct clan within the tribe of Ephraim.
35These were the sons of Ephraim by their clans: from Shuthelah, the Shuthelahite clan; from Becher, the Becherite clan; from Tahan, the Tahanite clan.
Eran belonged to the lineage of Ephraim through Shuthelah. Ephraim was the son of Joseph, who was blessed by Jacob with the birthright among the tribes.
17When Joseph saw that his father was placing his right hand on Ephraim's head, he was displeased; so he took hold of his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's.
19But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will be great. Yet his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a multitude of nations."
20So he blessed them that day, saying: "By you Israel will pronounce this blessing: 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.'" And so he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.
The census in which the descendants of Er were registered formed the basis for distributing the promised land among the tribes of Israel. Each tribe's inheritance was determined based on the size of their recorded clans.