Bible Verses About Teraphim

At that time Laban was gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole away her father's idols.

Suppose thou didst desire to go to thy friends, and hadst a longing after thy father's house: why hast thou stolen away my gods?

Jacob answered: That I departed unknown to thee, it was for fear lest thou wouldst take away thy daughters by force.

But, whereas, thou chargest me with theft: with whomsoever thou shalt find thy gods, let him be slain before our brethren. Search, and if thou find any of thy things with me, take them away. Now when he said this, he knew not that Rachel had stolen the idols.

So Laban went into the tent of Jacob, and of Lia, and of both the handmaids, and found them not. And when he was entered into Rachel's tent,

She, in haste, hid the idols under the camel's furniture, and sat upon them: and when he had searched all the tent, and found nothing,

She said: Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise up before thee, because it has now happened to me according to the custom of women. So his careful search was in vain.

And Jacob being angry, said in a chiding manner: For what fault of mine, and for what offence on my part hast thou so hotly pursued me,

And searched all my household stuff? What hast thou found of all the substance of thy house? lay it here before my brethren, and thy brethren, and let them judge between me and thee.

Have I, therefore, been with thee twenty years? thy ewes and goats were not barren, the rams of thy flocks I did not eat:

Neither did I shew thee that which the beast had torn; I made good all the damage: whatsoever was lost by theft, thou didst exact it of me:

And Jacob having called together all his household, said: Cast away the strange gods that are among you, and be cleansed, and change your garments.

Arise, and let us go up to Bethel, that we may make there an altar to God; who heard me in the day of my affliction, and accompained me in my journey.

So they gave him all the strange gods they had, and the earrings which were in their ears: and he buried them under the turpentine tree, that is behind the city of Sichem.

And he separated also therein a little temple for the god, and made an ephod, and theraphim, that is to say, a priestly garment, and idols: and he filled the hand of one of his sons, and he became his priest.

The five men, that before had been sent to view the land of Lais, said to the rest of their brethren: You know that in these houses there is an ephod and theraphim, and a graven and a molten god: see what you are pleased to do.

But they that were gone into the house of the young man, went about to take away the graven god, and the ephod, and the theraphim, and the molten god, and the priest stood before the door, the six hundred valiant men waiting not far off.

So they that were gone in took away the graven thing, the ephod, and the idols, and the molten god, And the priest said to them: What are you doing?

And they said to him: Hold thy peace, and put thy finger on thy mouth, and come with us, that we may have thee for a father, and a priest. Whether is better for thee, to be a priest in the house of one man, or in a tribe and family in Israel?

When he heard this, he agreed to their words, and took the ephod, and the idols, and the graven god, and departed with them.