Reference: Teraphim
American
Small idols or superstitious figures, from the possession, adoration, and consultation of which extraordinary benefits were expected. See margin 2Ki 23.24; Eze 21.21. The Eastern people are still much addicted to this superstition of talismans. The ancient teraphim appear to have been household gods, and their worship was sometimes blended with that of Jehovah, Jg 17. They seem in one case to have resembled the human form in shape and size, 1Sa 19:13,16. The images of Rachel,
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Laban went to shear his sheep. And Rachel had stolen the images which were her father's.
And now you have gone because you longed after your father's house. Why have you stolen my gods?
And the man Micah had a house of gods, and made an ephod and household gods, and anointed one of his sons, who became his priest.
Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered and said to their brothers, Did you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and household gods, and an engraved image and a molten image? And now consider what you have to do.
And the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the household gods, and the carved image, and went in the midst of the people.
And Michal took an image and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair at its head, and covered it with a cloth.
And the messengers came in, and behold, the image was in the bed with a pillow of goats' hair at its head.
For the sons of Israel shall live many days with no king, and no ruler, and with no sacrifice, and no pillars, and no ephod, or teraphim.
Easton
givers of prosperity, idols in human shape, large or small, analogous to the images of ancestors which were revered by the Romans. In order to deceive the guards sent by Saul to seize David, Michal his wife prepared one of the household teraphim, putting on it the goat's-hair cap worn by sleepers and invalids, and laid it in a bed, covering it with a mantle. She pointed it out to the soldiers, and alleged that David was confined to his bed by a sudden illness (1Sa 19:13-16). Thus she gained time for David's escape. It seems strange to read of teraphim, images of ancestors, preserved for superstitious purposes, being in the house of David. Probably they had been stealthily brought by Michal from her father's house. "Perhaps," says Bishop Wordsworth, "Saul, forsaken by God and possessed by the evil spirit, had resorted to teraphim (as he afterwards resorted to witchcraft); and God overruled evil for good, and made his very teraphim (by the hand of his own daughter) to be an instrument for David's escape.", Deane's David, p. 32. Josiah attempted to suppress this form of idolatry (2Ki 23:24). The ephod and teraphim are mentioned together in HO 3:4. It has been supposed by some (Cheyne's Hosea) that the "ephod" here mentioned, and also in Jg 8:24-27, was not the part of the sacerdotal dress so called (Ex 28:6-14), but an image of Jehovah overlaid with gold or silver (comp. Jg 17; 17:13; 9/type/mkjv'>1Sa 21:9; 23:6,9; 30:7-8), and is thus associated with the teraphim. (See Thummim.)
Illustration: Teraphim
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And they shall make the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, scarlet, and fine twined bleached linen, skilled work. It shall have the two shoulder-pieces of it joined at the two edges of it. And so it shall be joined together. read more. And the embroidered girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work of it: of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined bleached linen. And you shall take two onyx stones, and you shall engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel. Six of their names shall be on one stone, and six of the remaining names on the other stone, according to their birth. With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall make them to be set in settings of gold. And you shall put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial to the sons of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before Jehovah upon his two shoulders for a memorial. And you shall make plaited work of gold, and two chains of pure gold at the ends. You shall make them of woven work, a work of cord, and fasten the woven chains to the plaited work.
And Gideon said to them, I would desire a favor of you, that each man of you would give me the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) And they answered, We will gladly give. And they spread a cloth, and each man threw the earrings of his prey in it. read more. And the weight of the golden earrings which he asked for was seventeen hundred of gold, besides ornaments, and pendants, and purple clothing that was on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains around their camels' necks. And Gideon made an ephod of it, and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel went there lusting after it, which thing became a snare to Gideon and to his house.
And Michal took an image and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair at its head, and covered it with a cloth. And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick. read more. And Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed so that I may kill him. And the messengers came in, and behold, the image was in the bed with a pillow of goats' hair at its head.
And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, behold, it is wrapped in a cloth under the ephod, if you will take, take it for yourself, for there is no other here except that one. And David said, There is none like that. Give it to me.
And it happened when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, he came down with an ephod in his hand.
And David knew that Saul secretly planned evil against him. And he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring the ephod here.
And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, Please bring the ephod here to me. And Abiathar brought the ephod there to David. And David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I go after this troop? Shall I overtake them? And He answered him, Go! For you shall surely overtake and will without fail recover all.
And also Josiah put away the mediums, and the soothsayers, and the family gods, and the idols, and all the abominations which were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, so that he might perform the Words of the Law which were written in the Book which Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Jehovah.
Fausets
(See IDOL.) Sometimes left untranslated; elsewhere "images ... idolatry" (Ge 31:19,30,34; 35:2, "strange gods".) Worshipped by Abram's kindred in Mesopotamia (Jos 24:14). Images in human form; Maurer thinks busts, cut off at the waist, from taaraph "to cut off," tutelary household gods; small enough to be hidden beneath the camel's furniture or palanquin on which Rachel sat. Michal put them in David's bed to look like him (1Sa 19:13; Jg 17:5; 18:14,17-18,20). Condemned as idolatrous (1Sa 15:23; 2Ki 23:24).
Used for divination (Eze 21:21; Zec 10:2), and to secure good fortune to a house, as the penates. From Arabic tarafa, "to enjoy the good things of life," according to Gesenius. The Syriac teraph means "to inquire" of an oracle, Hebrew toreph "an inquirer" (Ho 3:4-5). The Israelites used the teraphim for magic purposes and divination, side by side with the worship of Jehovah. Related perhaps to seraphim, the recognized symbol attending Jehovah; so perverted into a private idol meant to represent Him, a talisman whereby to obtain responses, instead of by the lawful priesthood through the Urim and Thummim. (See GATE.)
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Laban went to shear his sheep. And Rachel had stolen the images which were her father's.
And now you have gone because you longed after your father's house. Why have you stolen my gods?
And Rachel had taken the images and put them into the camel's saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all the tent, but did not find them.
Then Jacob said to his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods among you, and be clean, and change your garments.
Now, then, fear Jehovah, and serve Him in sincerity and truth. And put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt, and serve Jehovah.
And the man Micah had a house of gods, and made an ephod and household gods, and anointed one of his sons, who became his priest.
Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered and said to their brothers, Did you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and household gods, and an engraved image and a molten image? And now consider what you have to do.
And the five men who went up to spy out the land came in there, and took the engraved image and the ephod and the household gods, and the molten image. And the priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men who were dressed with weapons of war. And these went into Micah's house and brought out the carved image, the ephod, and the household gods, and the molten image. And the priest said to them, What are you doing?
And the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the household gods, and the carved image, and went in the midst of the people.
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idol-worship. Because you have rejected the Word of Jehovah, He has also rejected you from being king!
And Michal took an image and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair at its head, and covered it with a cloth.
For the king of Babylon shall stand at the parting of the way, at the head of the two highways, to practice divination. He shall shake arrows; he shall ask household idols; he shall look at the liver.
For the sons of Israel shall live many days with no king, and no ruler, and with no sacrifice, and no pillars, and no ephod, or teraphim. Afterward the sons of Israel shall return and seek Jehovah their God and David their king. And they shall fear Jehovah and His goodness in the ends of the days.
For the family idols speak iniquity, and the diviners have seen a lie and have told false dreams. They comfort in vain; therefore they wandered like a flock; they were troubled because there was no shepherd.
Hastings
Morish
This is a Hebrew word in the plural. It refers to domestic idols, as for instance those Rachel stole from her father; there the word, as elsewhere, is translated 'images' with'teraphim' in the margin. Ge 31:19,34-35. Michal the wife of David had one in her house, and laid it in the bed when David escaped. 1Sa 19:13,16. Micah also had them in his house, and regarded them as 'gods.' Jg 17:5; 18:14-20. They were used in some way for divination, and are included among the images and idols which Josiah cleared from the land. 2Ki 23:24; Eze 21:21; Zec 10:2. In Ho 3:4 the Jews are described as having neither king, nor prince, nor sacrifice, nor image, nor ephod, nor teraphim
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Laban went to shear his sheep. And Rachel had stolen the images which were her father's.
And Rachel had taken the images and put them into the camel's saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all the tent, but did not find them. But she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before you. For the custom of women is upon me. And he searched, but did not find the images.
And the man Micah had a house of gods, and made an ephod and household gods, and anointed one of his sons, who became his priest.
Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered and said to their brothers, Did you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and household gods, and an engraved image and a molten image? And now consider what you have to do. And they turned in that way, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, to the house of Micah, and greeted him. read more. And the six hundred men of the sons of Dan, girded with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the gate. And the five men who went up to spy out the land came in there, and took the engraved image and the ephod and the household gods, and the molten image. And the priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men who were dressed with weapons of war. And these went into Micah's house and brought out the carved image, the ephod, and the household gods, and the molten image. And the priest said to them, What are you doing? And they said to him, Be quiet, lay your hand on your mouth and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel? And the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the household gods, and the carved image, and went in the midst of the people.
And Michal took an image and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair at its head, and covered it with a cloth.
And the messengers came in, and behold, the image was in the bed with a pillow of goats' hair at its head.
And also Josiah put away the mediums, and the soothsayers, and the family gods, and the idols, and all the abominations which were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, so that he might perform the Words of the Law which were written in the Book which Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Jehovah.
For the king of Babylon shall stand at the parting of the way, at the head of the two highways, to practice divination. He shall shake arrows; he shall ask household idols; he shall look at the liver.
For the sons of Israel shall live many days with no king, and no ruler, and with no sacrifice, and no pillars, and no ephod, or teraphim.
For the family idols speak iniquity, and the diviners have seen a lie and have told false dreams. They comfort in vain; therefore they wandered like a flock; they were troubled because there was no shepherd.
Smith
Teraphim.
This word occurs only in the plural, and denotes images connected with magical rites. The derivation of the name is obscure. In one case --
--a single statue seems to be intended by the plural. The teraphim, translated "images" in the Authorized Version, carried away from Laban by Rachel were regarded by Laban as gods, and it would therefore appear that they were used by those who added corru
Teraphim were consulted for oracular answers by the Israelites,
comp. Judg 18:5,6; 1Sam 15:22,23; 19:13,16, LXX., and 2Kin 23:24 and by the Babylonians in the case of Nebuchadnezzar.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And they said to him, We pray you, Ask counsel of God so that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous. And the priest said to them, Go in peace. Your way in which you go is before Jehovah.
And Michal took an image and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair at its head, and covered it with a cloth.
And the messengers came in, and behold, the image was in the bed with a pillow of goats' hair at its head.
And also Josiah put away the mediums, and the soothsayers, and the family gods, and the idols, and all the abominations which were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, so that he might perform the Words of the Law which were written in the Book which Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Jehovah.
And you, son of man, set for yourself two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come. Both of them shall come out of one land. And create a hand at the head of the way to the city; create it. You shall set a way that the sword may enter into Rabbah of the Ammonites, and into Judah, into fortified Jerusalem. read more. For the king of Babylon shall stand at the parting of the way, at the head of the two highways, to practice divination. He shall shake arrows; he shall ask household idols; he shall look at the liver. At his right shall be the divining for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering-rams against the gates, to pour out and to build a siege wall.
For the family idols speak iniquity, and the diviners have seen a lie and have told false dreams. They comfort in vain; therefore they wandered like a flock; they were troubled because there was no shepherd.
Watsons
TERAPHIM. It is said, Ge 31:19, that Rachel had stolen the images (teraphim) of her father. What then were these teraphim? The Septuagint translate this word by "oracle," and sometimes by "vain figures." Aquila generally translates it by figures." It appears, indeed, from all the passages in which this word is used, that they were idols or superstitious figures. Some Jewish writers tell us the teraphim were human heads placed in niches, and consulted by way of oracles. Others think they were talismans or figures of metal cast and engraven under certain aspects of the planets, to which they ascribed extraordinary effects. All the eastern people are much addicted to this superstition, and the Persians still call them telefin, a name nearly approaching to teraphim. M. Jurieu supposes them to have been a sort of dii penates, or household gods; and this appears to be, perhaps, the most probable opinion.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Laban went to shear his sheep. And Rachel had stolen the images which were her father's.