Teraphim in the Bible

Meaning: images; idols

Exact Match

And Laban had gone to shear his sheep. And Rachel stole the teraphim that belonged to her father.

Verse ConceptsCriminalsHousehold GodsSheepStealingSuffering, Causes OfSheep ShearingRobbing Gods

Now Rachel had taken the teraphim and put them under the camel's saddle; and she sat upon them. And Laban explored all the tent, but found nothing.

Verse ConceptsHousehold GodsPeople Sitting DownSeeking For Concrete ThingsNot Findinghidingstatues

And she said to her father, Let it not be an occasion of anger in the eyes of my lord that I cannot rise up before thee, for it is with me after the manner of women. And he searched carefully, but did not find the teraphim.

Verse ConceptsMenstruationBleedingSeeking For Concrete ThingsNot FindingNot Able To Get Upwomanhood

And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.

Verse ConceptsephodsPriests, Institution In Ot TimesShrinesConsecration

Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye have to do.

Verse ConceptsFive People

And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war.

Verse ConceptsDishonesty, Examples OfFive PeopleSix To Seven HundredStanding In The GatewaySix Hundred And Above

And these went into Micah's house, and fetched the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then said the priest unto them, What do ye?

Verse ConceptsHousehold GodsCarvingWhat Do You Do?

And the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.

Verse ConceptsRobbing Gods

Michal took the teraphim, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair at its head, and covered it with the clothes.

Verse ConceptsHairsHairclothThose Who Deceived

When the messengers came in, behold, the teraphim was in the bed, with the pillow of goats' hair at its head.

Verse ConceptsHaircloth

Moreover the necromancers and the soothsayers, and the teraphim and the idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, Josiah took away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkijah the priest had found in the house of Jehovah.

Verse ConceptsAbolitionHousehold GodsMediumsSpiritismFortunetellingSpiritism AvoidedAbandoning IdolsThe Law Given To IsraelOccultismwitchespsychics

For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he shook the arrows to and fro, he consulted the teraphim, he looked in the liver.

Verse ConceptsLiversMagical Arts, Practice OfArrows, Uses OfHousehold GodsPeople Shaking

For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without statue, and without ephod and teraphim.

Verse ConceptsephodsJudaismPrincesStonesObelisksAvoiding IdolatryNo King

For the teraphim have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams: they comfort in vain. Therefore they have gone away as a flock, they are in distress, because there is no shepherd.

Verse ConceptsAstrologyFutilityencouragement, examples ofdiscouragementGuidance, Need For God'sHousehold GodsPeace, Human Destruction OfRestlessnessSheepSorcery And MagicVisionsDivinationWanderersMisleading DreamsProphesying LiesNo ComfortDreams And False Prophets

Thematic Bible



Jacob announced to his household and to everyone with him, "Throw away the foreign gods that you've kept among you, purify yourselves, and change your clothes. Then let's get up and go to Bethel, where I'll build an altar to the God who answered me when I was in distress and who was with me on the road, wherever I went." So they handed over to Jacob all their foreign gods on which they had been depending, along with the rings that they were wearing on their ears. Jacob buried them under the oak that grew near Shechem.

Then Rachel told her father, "Sir, please don't be angry that I cannot stand up in your presence. It's that time of the month." So Laban searched for the idols, but never did find them. Then Jacob got angry and started an argument with Laban. "What have I done?" he demanded. "What's my crime that would cause you to come pursue me so violently? Now that you've searched all my belongings, what did you find that belongs to your house? Set it here in front of our relatives and we'll let them judge between us! read more.
Meanwhile, these past 20 years that I've been with you, your sheep and goats never had miscarriages, I never once ate any of the rams from your flock, and whatever was torn by beasts, I never bothered to bring to you. Instead, I bore the losses myself. Even so, you demanded that I provide restitution for anything that was stolen, whether during the day or the night.


This man Micah had his own shrine, had crafted his own ephod and some household idols, and had installed one of his sons as a priest.

Then the five men who had gone to scout out the territory of Laish told their relatives, "Are you aware that in these houses there's an ephod, some household idols, a carved image, and a cast image? You know what you need to do."

the five men who had gone to scout out the land arrived, entered Micah's home and confiscated the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the cast image. Meanwhile, the priest stood outside by the entrance to the gate with the 600 men armed with military weapons. After they went into Micah's home and took possession of the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the cast image, the priest challenged them. "What are you doing?" he asked them. They told him, "Shut up and keep quiet. Come with us and be our spiritual father and priest. It's better for you, isn't it, to be a priest to an entire tribe and family in Israel than to be priest to the home of one man?" read more.
The priest was happy to oblige, so he took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved image and went along with the army.


Meanwhile, Laban had been out shearing his sheep. While he was away, Rachel stole her father's personal idols.

Now, you can go if you must go, because you certainly are longing to go to your father's house. But why did you steal my gods?" "I was afraid," Jacob replied. "I thought you might take your daughters from me. Now as to your gods, if you find someone has them in their possession, he's a dead man. Take our relatives as witnesses, search through our belongings, and take whatever belongs to you that's in my possession." But Jacob didn't know that Rachel had stolen the idols. read more.
So Laban entered Jacob's tent, Leah's tent, and the tents of the two maid servants, but he didn't find them. Then he left Leah's tent and entered Rachel's tent. Meanwhile, Rachel had taken the idols, placed them inside the saddle of her camel, and sat on them. Laban searched through the whole tent, but found nothing. Then Rachel told her father, "Sir, please don't be angry that I cannot stand up in your presence. It's that time of the month." So Laban searched for the idols, but never did find them.


References

Hastings

Easton

American

Fausets

Morish

Smith

Watsons

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