Teraphim

Teraphim is a Hebrew word from the Bible, found only in the plural, of uncertain etymology [1911] . 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") [JewishEncyclopedia] . The word "Teraphim" is explained in Classical Rabbinical Literature as meaning "disgraceful things" ["Jewish Encyclopedia"] (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, [Genesis 31:34] 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 ["Peake's commentary on the Bible"] . 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 ["Encyclopedia Britannica", 11th edition, 1911] . In Hosea the "Teraphim" is described as being as essential as the "ephod" in national worship [ibid] , 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 [ibid] ; textual scholars attribute this passage to the Jahwist [Richard Elliott Friedmann, "Who wrote the Bible?"] , 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) [ibid; "Peake's commentary on the Bible"; "Jewish Encyclopedia", passim] .

The "Teraphim" would seemingly have been finally outlawed in Josiah's "reform" [2 Kings 23:24] . However, Josephus mentions that there was a custom of carrying "housegods" on journeys to foreign lands [Josephus, "Antiquities of the Jews", volume 18, 9:5] , and it is thus possible that the use of "Teraphim" continued in popular culture well into the Hellenic era and possibly beyond ["Jewish Encyclopedia"]

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 ["Encyclopedia Britannica", 11th Edition, 1911] . 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" [Zechariah 10:2] .

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 ["Jewish Encyclopedia"] . 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 ["Encyclopedia Britannica", 11th Edition, 1911] . 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 ["Jewish Encyclopedia"] . 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 ["Peake's commentary on the Bible"] . It is considered possible that they originated as a fetish ["Jewish Encyclopedia"] , possibly initially representative of ancestors [ibid] , but gradually becoming oracular [ibid] .

ee also

*Ephod
*Lares
*Mount Gerizim
*Micah's Idol

Citations and notes