“Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone”

“Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone” is a biblical saying that Joseph Poorgrass invokes in the novel’s final scene, turning a private reservation about Bathsheba and Gabriel Oak’s marriage into a comic, affectionate farewell. Its force lies in the turn that follows: Poorgrass remembers his disapproval, but chooses to accept the couple’s happiness and give thanks for it.

The Allusion at the Wedding’s Close

As the old Weatherbury band plays its instruments, Gabriel invites the musicians to eat and drink with him and his wife. They decline for the moment, but offer their admiration and wish the newly married couple long life and happiness. Jan Coggan jokes that Gabriel has already learned to say “my wife” with remarkable naturalness, despite being so new to married life. Gabriel laughs, and Bathsheba smiles, though she is said not to laugh readily now.

Poorgrass’s remark comes as the friends prepare to leave. He wishes Gabriel joy of Bathsheba, then recalls that he had been close to saying, in his scriptural manner, “Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone.” The allusion thus belongs not to a formal sermon but to a moment of village talk: Poorgrass supplies a solemn biblical judgment, only to qualify it with good-humored acceptance.

Meaning and Narrative Function

In the scene, the saying expresses Poorgrass’s earlier impulse to leave the couple to their choice rather than approve it outright. His qualification is decisive: since matters have turned out as they have, they could have been worse, and he is thankful accordingly. The movement from remembered reservation to gratitude makes the line a small measure of the community’s response to the marriage—wry, imperfectly approving, but ultimately welcoming.

The allusion also helps shape the novel’s ending. After the musicians’ salute and the neighbors’ jokes, Poorgrass’s scriptural phrasing gives the farewell a brief comic solemnity without displacing its warmth. The saying is recalled rather than allowed to stand as a verdict: the last emphasis falls on the marriage’s acceptance and on the neighbors’ wish for the couple’s happiness.