Definition and Etymology:
Teraphim are small household idols or figurines mentioned in the Old Testament. The term "teraphim" is derived from the Hebrew word "תְּרָפִים" (teraphim), which is often translated as "household gods" or "idols." These objects were typically associated with domestic worship and divination practices in ancient Near Eastern cultures.

Biblical References:
Teraphim are mentioned in several passages throughout the Old Testament, often in contexts that highlight their use in idolatry and divination. One of the earliest references is found in Genesis 31:19, where Rachel, the wife of Jacob, steals her father Laban's teraphim: "Now while Laban was out shearing his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols" . This incident underscores the significance of teraphim in familial and cultural settings, as well as the potential for conflict they could cause.

In 1 Samuel 19:13, teraphim appear in the narrative of David's escape from King Saul. Michal, David's wife, uses a teraphim to deceive Saul's messengers: "Then Michal took a household idol and laid it in the bed, placed some goat hair on its head, and covered it with a garment" . This passage illustrates the physical form of teraphim, suggesting they were of a size and shape that could resemble a human figure.

The prophet Hosea condemns the use of teraphim in Hosea 3:4, indicating their association with idolatrous practices: "For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or idol" . This verse reflects the broader biblical theme of opposing idolatry and emphasizing exclusive worship of Yahweh.

Cultural and Religious Context:
Teraphim were common in the ancient Near East and were often used for household worship and as oracles. They were believed to provide protection, guidance, and blessings to the household. The presence of teraphim in Israelite homes suggests a syncretism where elements of surrounding pagan practices were incorporated into Israelite culture, despite the clear prohibitions against idolatry in the Mosaic Law.

Theological Implications:
The use of teraphim is consistently portrayed negatively in the biblical narrative, reflecting the tension between the worship of Yahweh and the idolatrous practices of surrounding nations. The First Commandment, "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3), underscores the exclusivity of worship that Yahweh demands from His people. The presence of teraphim in Israelite society serves as a reminder of the constant struggle against idolatry and the call to faithfulness.

Archaeological Evidence:
Archaeological findings have uncovered various small figurines and idols from ancient Israelite sites, which are believed to be similar to the teraphim mentioned in the Bible. These artifacts provide insight into the religious practices and daily life of the ancient Israelites, illustrating the tangible reality of the biblical accounts.

Conclusion:
While teraphim were a common feature in the religious landscape of the ancient Near East, the biblical narrative consistently condemns their use, emphasizing the call to exclusive worship of Yahweh. The presence of teraphim in the biblical text serves as a cautionary tale against the allure of idolatry and the importance of maintaining covenantal faithfulness.2 Kings 23:24
Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.
Topicalbible.org

Judges 17:5
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.
Topicalbible.org

Ezekiel 21:21
For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver.
Topicalbible.org

1 Samuel 19:13
And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.
Topicalbible.org

Judges 18:17
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.
Topicalbible.org

Psalm 31:6
I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD.
Topicalbible.org

Hosea 3:4
For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim:
Topicalbible.org

Teraphim

images; idols

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 -- (1 Samuel 19:13,16) --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 corrupt practices to the patriarchal religion. Teraphim again are included among Micah's images. (Judges 17:3-5; 18:17,18,20) Teraphim were consulted for oracular answers by the Israelites, (Zechariah 10:2) 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. (Ezekiel 21:19-22)

Teraphim

Small idols or superstitious figures, from the possession, adoration, and consultation of which extraordinary benefits were expected. See margin 2Ki 23...24; Ezekiel 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, Jud 17:1-13.

They seem in one case to have resembled the human form in shape and size, 1 Samuel 19:13,16. The images of Rachel, Genesis 31:19,30, were teraphim. So Jud 17:5 18:14, 20 Hosea 3:4.

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 (1 Samuel 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 (2 Kings 23:24). The ephod and teraphim are mentioned together in Hosea 3:4. It has been supposed by some (Cheyne's Hosea) that the "ephod" here mentioned, and also in Judges 8:24-27, was not the part of the sacerdotal dress so called (Exodus 28:6-14), but an image of Jehovah overlaid with gold or silver (Comp. Judges 17, 18; 1 Samuel 21:9; 23:6, 9; 30:7, 8), and is thus associated with the teraphim. (see THUMMIM.) (n. pl.) Images connected with the magical rites used by those Israelites who added corrupt practices to the patriarchal religion. Teraphim were consulted by the Israelites for oracular answers.TERAPHIM

ter'-a-fim.

See ASTROLOGY; DIVINATION; IMAGES.

8655. teraphim -- (a kind of idol) perhaps household idol
... 8654, 8655. teraphim. 8656 . (a kind of idol) perhaps household idol.
Transliteration: teraphim Phonetic Spelling: (ter-aw-feme') Short Definition: idols. ...
/hebrew/8655.htm - 6k

CHAPTER III.
... days the children of Israel shall sit without a king, and without a prince, and
without a sacrifice, and without a pillar, and without an Ephod and Teraphim.". ...
/.../hengstenberg/christology of the old testament/chapter iii.htm

Chapter xxxi
... Critics ascribe most of v.18 to P. 19-21. But Laban had gone to shear his sheep;
and Rachel stole the teraphim which belonged to her father. ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xxxi.htm

Appendix xvi. On the Jewish views About Demons' and the Demonised ...
... (Comp. for examples Pes.110 b; Sot.22 a; Gitt.45 a; Sanh.67 b). A very
peculiar idea is that about the Teraphim of Scripture. It ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/appendix xvi on the jewish.htm

Samuel
... In one document, eg, teraphim are found in the house of a devout worshipper of Jehovah,
1 Samuel 19:13, in another they are the symbol of an idolatry which is ...
//christianbookshelf.org/mcfadyen/introduction to the old testament/samuel.htm

The King --Continued.
... resented her violent separation from the household joys that had grown up about
her in her second home; probably the woman who had had teraphim among her ...
//christianbookshelf.org/maclaren/the life of david/xi the kingcontinued.htm

Ezekiel's Discourse
... 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 ...
/.../various/select masterpieces of biblical literature/vi ezekiels discourse.htm

Chapter xxxv
... It now appears that Rachel's purpose in stealing her father's teraphim (Genesis
31:19) may well have been at least occasionally to engage in the worship of them ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xxxv.htm

Letter xxix. To Marcella.
... To Marcella. An explanation of the Hebrew words Ephod bad (1 Samuel 2:18) and Teraphim
(Judges 17:5). Written at Rome to Marcella, also at Rome ad384. ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/letter xxix to marcella.htm

Laban had Two Daughters, Leah and Rachel; but Leah had Tender Eyes ...
... Jacob's thigh shrank. Footnotes: [262] eidola is the Septuagint rendering
of the Hebrew word Teraphim. Perhaps the original word ...
/.../severus/life and writings of sulpitius severus /chapter ix laban had two.htm

The Exile.
... Her ready wit dresses up one of those mysterious teraphim (which appear to have
had some connection with idolatry or magic, and which are strange pieces of ...
//christianbookshelf.org/maclaren/the life of david/iv the exile.htm

Teraphim (14 Occurrences)
... 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 ...
/t/teraphim.htm - 13k

Carved (36 Occurrences)
... men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered, and said to their brothers,
"Do you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and an ...
/c/carved.htm - 17k

Graven (61 Occurrences)
... 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 ...
/g/graven.htm - 27k

Engraved (62 Occurrences)
... men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered, and said to their brothers,
"Do you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and an ...
/e/engraved.htm - 26k

Idol (56 Occurrences)
... Judges 17:3, 4). (18.) Teraphim, pl., "images," family gods (penates)
worshipped by Abram's kindred (Joshua 24:14). Put by Michal ...
/i/idol.htm - 29k

Idols (186 Occurrences)
... lies. (WEY). Genesis 31:19 Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep: and Rachel
stole the teraphim that were her father's. (See NAS). ...
/i/idols.htm - 37k

Ephod (45 Occurrences)
... or itself wrapped in a protecting cloth (1 Samuel 21:9). (3) The ephod mentioned
in Judges 17:5; Judges 18:14; Hosea 3:4 is associated with teraphim and other ...
/e/ephod.htm - 27k

Rachel (42 Occurrences)
... She was the mother of Joseph (Genesis 30:22-24). Afterwards, on Jacob's departure
from Mesopotamia, she took with her her father's teraphim (31:34, 35). ...
/r/rachel.htm - 24k

Molten (41 Occurrences)
... men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered, and said to their brothers,
"Do you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and an ...
/m/molten.htm - 22k

Liver (16 Occurrences)
... of divination. The first recorded instance of divination (qv) is that of
the teraphim of Laban. By the teraphim the LXX. and Josephus ...
/l/liver.htm - 16k

What are teraphim? | GotQuestions.org

Why did people keep family idols in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

What was the significance of the ephod? | GotQuestions.org

Teraphim: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus