Teraphim
“Possibly 'nourishers' or 'healers'”
Summary
Teraphim were household idols or images used for divination and as tutelary deities, similar to the Roman Penates, that were found among various ancient Near Eastern peoples including some Israelites.
☩Nature and Form
Though the word teraphim is always plural in Hebrew, it sometimes refers to a single image. The size varied considerably: Rachel could hide Laban's teraphim under a camel's saddle cushion, while Michal placed one in David's bed to simulate his sleeping form. They appear to have been human-shaped images, possibly busts, and were distinct from both graven and molten images. Some scholars connect them with ancestor worship, comparing them to the Roman Lares and Penates.
☩Use in Divination
The teraphim were used for obtaining oracular responses and guidance. Nebuchadnezzar consulted teraphim along with other divination methods when deciding which route to take against Jerusalem. Zechariah denounced them as speaking vanity, placing them alongside diviners who see lies. Despite their idolatrous nature, they were sometimes used alongside worship of Yahweh, as in Micah's shrine where a Levite served as priest.
☩Condemnation and Abolition
Samuel condemned teraphim as equivalent to the sin of idolatry and rebellion. King Josiah removed teraphim from the land during his religious reformation. Jacob required his household to surrender their foreign gods, which likely included teraphim, burying them under the oak near Shechem. Yet Hosea prophesied that Israel would be deprived of teraphim along with legitimate institutions like king, sacrifice, and ephod—indicating that their use persisted despite prophetic condemnation.
Related Verses9 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Teraphim," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. X (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.George Morrish, "Teraphim," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 3.Philip Schaff and Johann Herzog (ed.), "TERAPHIM," in The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. XI (Funk and Wagnalls, 1908–1914).