Hebrew word · H8655

תְּרָפִים

haterafim

teraphim

Figures of household or family gods, probably linked to ancestors. People kept them in the home and consulted them for omens and guidance (Ezek 21:21; Zech 10:2). The word is always plural in form but can mean one object, as here. Size varied.

Appears 15 times in 15 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ 1) idolatry, idols, image(s), teraphim, family idol

1a) a kind of idol used in household shrine or worship

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 1 Samuel 19:13

Range of meaning

Figures of household or family gods, probably linked to ancestors. People kept them in the home and consulted them for omens and guidance (Ezek 21:21; Zech 10:2). The word is always plural in form but can mean one object, as here. Its origin is disputed: proposals include the Hittite tarpiš (a kind of spirit), the root behind rephaim (the shades of the dead), and a contemptuous root meaning 'rot, decay'. Size varied. Rachel hid Laban's teraphim under a camel saddle (Gen 31:34), but Michal's could pass for a man in bed.

Against the English

KJV says 'image', which is vague. BSB, NIV and NLT say 'idol' or 'household idol'. NASB says 'household idol'. WEB and YLT keep 'teraphim'. 'Idol' points a modern reader to a pagan temple statue. In this period the teraphim were a fixture of ordinary Israelite households, found alongside the ephod in the shrine of Micah the Ephraimite (Judg 17:5) and listed by Hosea with things Israel would do without (Hos 3:4).

How it drifted

Later writers condemned teraphim outright. Josiah removed them (2 Kgs 23:24), and Samuel had already ranked them with rebellion (1 Sam 15:23). English 'idol' carries that later verdict into a scene where the narrator says nothing about them.

Used elsewhere in the period

Gen 31:19, 34–35; Judg 17:5; 18:14–20; 1 Sam 15:23; 2 Kgs 23:24; Ezek 21:21; Hos 3:4; Zech 10:2. Cuneiform texts from Nuzi and Emar mention household gods (ilānu) passed down with the family estate, often linked to the ancestors. Van der Toorn (1990) and others use these to argue that teraphim were ancestor figurines. Here the Septuagint translates the word as kenotaphia ('cenotaphs, effigies'), which suggests the translators pictured a human-shaped memorial figure.

From the study of Genesis 31:19

Range of meaning

A word that is always plural in form. It names objects used in household or local cult, which could be consulted for guidance. They seem to have been figures of some kind. The plural can refer to a single object: in 1 Samuel 19:13 Michal puts "the teraphim" in David's bed, apparently one figure about the size of a man. The size could vary. Here the figures fit in a saddle-bag (Gen 31:34). Where the word comes from is uncertain (see debates).

Against the English

KJV has "images", BSB and NASB "household idols", NIV and ESV "household gods". WEB and YLT simply transliterate it as "teraphim". "Idols" and "gods" both pick up something true: Laban calls them elohai, "my gods" (31:30). But Hebrew has other, plainer words for idols (pesel, elilim, gillulim), and the narrator chooses this one instead. "Household gods" also implies we know whose images they were, and we do not.

How it drifted

The Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate translated the word here as "idols" (eidōla, idola). From there it passed into Christian Bibles as a general word for pagan worship-images. That covered over the specific roles teraphim had in divination and, possibly, in honouring ancestors.

Used elsewhere in the period

Teraphim belong to Micah's private shrine next to an ephod, a priestly object used for consulting God (Judg 17:5; 18:14–20). They sit in David's house (1 Sam 19:13, 16). Samuel ranks them with divination as rebellion (1 Sam 15:23). The king of Babylon consults teraphim alongside arrows and liver-reading (Ezek 21:21 [Heb 21:26]). The teraphim "speak nonsense" (Zech 10:2). Hosea lists them, without obvious condemnation, among the things Israel will lack for a time (Hos 3:4). Josiah removes them (2 Kgs 23:24). In the ancient Near East, household gods (Akkadian ilānu) are attested at Nuzi and elsewhere, and figurines of family deities and ancestors were common in homes.

From the study of 1 Samuel 15:23

Range of meaning

Household gods or cult figures. Their size varied: Rachel hides them in a camel saddle (Gen 31:19–35), while Michal uses one to pose as David in bed (1 Sam 19:13). They were linked with getting oracles (Judg 17–18; Ezek 21:21; Zech 10:2, "the teraphim utter nonsense"). The word's origin is debated.

Against the English

BSB and NIV render "idolatry", which captures the category but loses the concrete object. KJV puts "idolatry" in its place, and WEB keeps "teraphim". Because teraphim were themselves used for divination, the two halves of the line are closer than "witchcraft … idolatry" suggests: both are about illegitimate ways of seeking guidance.

Used elsewhere in the period

Josiah's reform removes teraphim alongside mediums (2 Kgs 23:24). Hos 3:4 lists teraphim beside the ephod as things Israel will lose, which shows they had a place in popular Israelite religion.

Where it appears

Genesis · 3

  1. Genesis 31:19 הַתְּרָפִ֖ים the teraphim

    Now while Laban was out shearing his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols.

    Here: "The teraphim" means the household's own known set of cult figures. Laban calls them "my gods" (31:30). They were small enough to hide in a camel's saddle-bag (31:34).

  2. Genesis 31:34 הַתְּרָפִ֗ים the teraphim

    Now Rachel had taken Laban’s household idols, put them in the saddlebag of her camel, and was sitting on them. And Laban searched everything in the tent but found nothing.

  3. Genesis 31:35 הַתְּרָפִֽים׃ the teraphim

    Rachel said to her father, “Sir, do not be angry that I cannot stand up before you; for I am having my period.” So Laban searched but could not find the household idols.

Judges · 5

  1. Judges 17:5 וּתְרָפִ֔ים and teraphim

    Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household idols, and ordained one of his sons as his priest.

    Here: Household cult images, probably linked to the family and its ancestors and used to divine the future. Together with the ephod they make Micah's shrine a place for getting oracles.

  2. Judges 18:14 וּתְרָפִ֔ים and teraphim

    Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish said to their brothers, “Did you know that one of these houses has an ephod, household gods, a graven image, and a molten idol? Now think about what you should do.”

  3. Judges 18:17 הַתְּרָפִ֖ים the teraphim

    And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went inside and took the graven image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molten idol, while the priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred armed men.

  4. Judges 18:18 הַתְּרָפִ֖ים the teraphim

    When they entered Micah’s house and took the graven image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molten idol, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

  5. Judges 18:20 הַתְּרָפִ֖ים the teraphim

    So the priest was glad and took the ephod, the household idols, and the graven image, and went with the people.

1 Samuel · 3

  1. 1 Samuel 15:23 וּתְרָפִ֖ים and teraphim

    For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.”

    Here: "And teraphim": household god-figures, sometimes used to get oracles. Translators often render it "idolatry", but it names specific cult objects.

  2. 1 Samuel 19:13 הַתְּרָפִ֗ים the teraphim

    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.

    Here: 'The teraphim.' The word has 'the' on it, so this is an object the household already had. Teraphim were figures of household or ancestral gods, also used to seek omens. The word is plural in form, but here it seems to mean one figure, large enough to pass for a sleeping man under a cover.

  3. 1 Samuel 19:16 הַתְּרָפִ֖ים the teraphim

    And when the messengers entered, there was the idol in the bed with the goat hair on its head.

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 23:24 הַתְּרָפִ֨ים the teraphim

    Furthermore, Josiah removed the mediums and spiritists, the household gods and idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. He did this to carry out the words of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had found in the house of the LORD.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 21:21 בַּתְּרָפִ֔ים by the teraphim

    For the king of Babylon stands at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He shakes the arrows, he consults the idols, he examines the liver.

Hosea · 1

  1. Hosea 3:4 וּתְרָפִֽים׃ and teraphim

    For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or idol.

    Here: Small or life-sized household figures, probably linked to ancestors and used to seek oracles. The ephod and teraphim appear together at Micah's private shrine (Judg 17–18), so they likely formed one kit for seeking guidance. Both are gone.

Zechariah · 1

  1. Zechariah 10:2 הַתְּרָפִ֣ים the teraphim

    For idols speak deceit and diviners see illusions; they tell false dreams and offer empty comfort. Therefore the people wander like sheep, oppressed for lack of a shepherd.

    Here: The figures kept in homes and consulted for oracles (compare Ezekiel 21:21). With the article: 'the teraphim', a familiar institution. They are said to 'speak', so the point is divination, not just image-worship.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.