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'Teraphim' is a Hebrew word from the Bible, found only in the plural, of uncertain etymology[1]. Despite being plural, ''Teraphim'' is thought to refer to singular objects, using the ''great plural'' of Hebrew which implies magnificence not plurality (cf. ''Elohim'' for ''El'')[1]. The word ''Teraphim'' is explained in Classical Rabbinical Literature as meaning ''disgraceful things''[3] (dismissed by modern etymologists), and in many English translations of the Bible it is translated as ''idols'', or ''household god(s)'', though its exact meaning is more specific than this, but unknown precisely.
Although the meaning of the phrase is unexplained in the text, some details can be ascertained by its use. In the Book of Genesis, Rachel takes the ''Teraphim'' of Laban, and hides it in a saddle bag,[4] while in the Books of Samuel, Michal tricks Saul's men into thinking that a ''Teraphim'' in her bed is actually David; from these details some limits can be put on the size of Teraphim[5]. Additional details can be gathered from the Septuagint translation of ''Teraphim''; for its occurrences in Genesis it becomes ''images''; for its occurrences in Samuel it becomes ''images'' and ''idols''; for its occurrences in Ezekiel it becomes ''carved images''; in Zechariah it becomes ''oracles'' and ''idols''; in Hosea it becomes ''manifest objects''.
In the narrative of Michal tricking Saul's men, it appears that, in the era of the narrative, there was a place for Teraphim in every household[6]. In Hosea the ''Teraphim'' is described as being as essential as the ''ephod'' in national worship[7], but Biblical texts traditionally ascribed to later prophets seem to treat the ''Teraphim'' as something to be prohibited. In Genesis, Jacob takes the ''Teraphim'' of his household, and buries the ''Teraphim'' under the ''Oak of Shechem'', which is clearly indicative of the ''Teraphim'' being something associated with Aramaean religion that was being given up[7]; textual scholars attribute this passage to the Jahwist[9], whose religious prejudices are thought by textual scholars to have been far more ''conservative'' than those of Hosea, and potentially later than the relevant source of the Books of Samuel(though not its editing together with other sources to create the Books of Samuel)[10].
The ''Teraphim'' would seemingly have been finally outlawed in Josiah's ''reform''[11]. However, Josephus mentions that there was a custom of carrying ''housegods'' on journeys to foreign lands[12], and it is thus possible that the use of ''Teraphim'' continued in popular culture well into the Hellenic era and possibly beyond[3]
In the narrative of Micah's Idol, and in Hosea, the ''Teraphim'' is closely associated with the ephod, and both are mentioned elsewhere in connection with divination; it is thus a possibility that the ''Teraphim'' were involved with the process of cleromancy[14]. That they were used for divination is suggested by Zechariah, which in the Septuagint often translates ''Teraphim'' as ''oracles'', and in both Septuagint and masoretic text, evidently viewing them as somewhat negative, states ''for the [Teraphim] have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie; and they have told false dreams''[15].
That Micah, who worshipped Yahweh, used the ''Teraphim'' as an idol, and that Laban regarded the Teraphim as representing ''his gods'', is thought to indicate that they were evidently images of Yahweh[3]. The implied size and the fact that Michal could pretend that one was David, has led to the Rabbinical conjecture that they were heads, possibly mummified human heads[14]. According to Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, ''Teraphim'' were made from the heads of slaughtered first born male adult humans, shaved, salted, spiced, with a golden plate placed under the tongue, and magic words engraved upon the plate; it was believed that the ''Teraphim'', mounted on the wall, would talk to people[3]. During the excavation of Jericho by Kathleen Kenyon, evidence of the use of human skulls as cult objects was uncovered, lending credence to the Rabbinical conjecture[5]. It is considered possible that they originated as a fetish[3], possibly initially representative of ancestors[7], but gradually becoming oracular[7].
★ Ephod
★ Lares
★ Mount Gerizim
★ Micah's Idol
1.
2.
3. ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
4. Genesis 31:34
5. ''Peake's commentary on the Bible''
6. ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', 11th edition, 1911
7. ibid
8. ibid
9. Richard Elliott Friedmann, ''Who wrote the Bible?''
10. ibid; ''Peake's commentary on the Bible''; ''Jewish Encyclopedia'', passim
11. 2 Kings 23:24
12. Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'', volume 18, 9:5
13. ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
14. ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', 11th Edition, 1911
15. Zechariah 10:2
16. ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
17. ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', 11th Edition, 1911
18. ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
19. ''Peake's commentary on the Bible''
20. ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
21. ibid
22. ibid
Although the meaning of the phrase is unexplained in the text, some details can be ascertained by its use. In the Book of Genesis, Rachel takes the ''Teraphim'' of Laban, and hides it in a saddle bag,[4] while in the Books of Samuel, Michal tricks Saul's men into thinking that a ''Teraphim'' in her bed is actually David; from these details some limits can be put on the size of Teraphim[5]. Additional details can be gathered from the Septuagint translation of ''Teraphim''; for its occurrences in Genesis it becomes ''images''; for its occurrences in Samuel it becomes ''images'' and ''idols''; for its occurrences in Ezekiel it becomes ''carved images''; in Zechariah it becomes ''oracles'' and ''idols''; in Hosea it becomes ''manifest objects''.
In the narrative of Michal tricking Saul's men, it appears that, in the era of the narrative, there was a place for Teraphim in every household[6]. In Hosea the ''Teraphim'' is described as being as essential as the ''ephod'' in national worship[7], but Biblical texts traditionally ascribed to later prophets seem to treat the ''Teraphim'' as something to be prohibited. In Genesis, Jacob takes the ''Teraphim'' of his household, and buries the ''Teraphim'' under the ''Oak of Shechem'', which is clearly indicative of the ''Teraphim'' being something associated with Aramaean religion that was being given up[7]; textual scholars attribute this passage to the Jahwist[9], whose religious prejudices are thought by textual scholars to have been far more ''conservative'' than those of Hosea, and potentially later than the relevant source of the Books of Samuel(though not its editing together with other sources to create the Books of Samuel)[10].
The ''Teraphim'' would seemingly have been finally outlawed in Josiah's ''reform''[11]. However, Josephus mentions that there was a custom of carrying ''housegods'' on journeys to foreign lands[12], and it is thus possible that the use of ''Teraphim'' continued in popular culture well into the Hellenic era and possibly beyond[3]
In the narrative of Micah's Idol, and in Hosea, the ''Teraphim'' is closely associated with the ephod, and both are mentioned elsewhere in connection with divination; it is thus a possibility that the ''Teraphim'' were involved with the process of cleromancy[14]. That they were used for divination is suggested by Zechariah, which in the Septuagint often translates ''Teraphim'' as ''oracles'', and in both Septuagint and masoretic text, evidently viewing them as somewhat negative, states ''for the [Teraphim] have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie; and they have told false dreams''[15].
That Micah, who worshipped Yahweh, used the ''Teraphim'' as an idol, and that Laban regarded the Teraphim as representing ''his gods'', is thought to indicate that they were evidently images of Yahweh[3]. The implied size and the fact that Michal could pretend that one was David, has led to the Rabbinical conjecture that they were heads, possibly mummified human heads[14]. According to Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, ''Teraphim'' were made from the heads of slaughtered first born male adult humans, shaved, salted, spiced, with a golden plate placed under the tongue, and magic words engraved upon the plate; it was believed that the ''Teraphim'', mounted on the wall, would talk to people[3]. During the excavation of Jericho by Kathleen Kenyon, evidence of the use of human skulls as cult objects was uncovered, lending credence to the Rabbinical conjecture[5]. It is considered possible that they originated as a fetish[3], possibly initially representative of ancestors[7], but gradually becoming oracular[7].
| Contents |
| See also |
| Citations and notes |
See also
★ Ephod
★ Lares
★ Mount Gerizim
★ Micah's Idol
Citations and notes
1.
2.
3. ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
4. Genesis 31:34
5. ''Peake's commentary on the Bible''
6. ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', 11th edition, 1911
7. ibid
8. ibid
9. Richard Elliott Friedmann, ''Who wrote the Bible?''
10. ibid; ''Peake's commentary on the Bible''; ''Jewish Encyclopedia'', passim
11. 2 Kings 23:24
12. Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'', volume 18, 9:5
13. ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
14. ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', 11th Edition, 1911
15. Zechariah 10:2
16. ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
17. ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', 11th Edition, 1911
18. ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
19. ''Peake's commentary on the Bible''
20. ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
21. ibid
22. ibid
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