The Scroll of the Low
WORDS fromthe WORD by Charles L. Feinberg, Th.D., Ph.D., Director, Talbot Theological Seminary Teraphim
(Hebrew, Sefer Torah) One-third Actual Size
I n several passages of the Old Testa ment the reader encounters the term teraphim which clearly refers to images. Some older Jewish com mentators d e r i v e the wo r d from t o r e p h meaning “foulness.” Later opinion related the term to raphah, root of rephaim or “ shades” (Isa. 14). A recent r e n d e r i n g favors “ vile things.” The noun is a plural and mostly used in a plural sense, though it appears to be employed of one image in 1 Samuel 19:13, 16. Teraphim are usually thought to be household gods which were sup posed to bring good luck. Many have considered they were images of fam ily ancestors but there is no evidence for this position. However, it cannot be ruled out as impossible. There is no proof whatsoever that they were images of the God of Israel. The images were of various sizes; evi dently some were small (Gen. 31:19, 34, 35) while others were large enough to represent a man, at least the upper part of his body (1 Sam. 19:13). Archaeology has found no large teraphim. Teraphim were used in Babylonia; witness Laban’s pos session of them (Gen. 31). The Genesis 31 account is the first mention of them in the Bible. It has been sug g e s t ed that i t was no t Rachel’s purpose to draw her father from the worship or use of these idols but to take with her the good fortune of her former home as a kind of luck charm. According to the Nuzi evi dence coming from excavations in Mesopotamia, it is now known that the possession of these household gods meant headship of the family and the right of inheritance. It guaranteed a married daughter that her husband would inherit the property of her fa ther. The reverence paid the teraphim has been compared to that shown the Lares and Penates, household gods of the Roman times. Teraphim are next encountered in Judges 17 and 18 in the account of Micah of Mount Ephraim who had teraphim in his home sanctuary. The tribe of Dan carried them off and sank into idolatry as a tribe. Samuel placed these images in the same class with witchcraft and rebellion (1 Sam. 15: 23). However, there was one in
David’s household, evidently belong ing to his wife (1 Sam. 19:13, 16). On the basis of this passage Jewish com mentators thought the teraphim were in ancient times mummified heads, represented in later centuries by rude images. They had a large part in the idola try of the 10 tribes (Hos. 3:4). King Josiah c o n d emn e d them and de stroyed them in his work of reforma t i on (2 Kings 23:24). T h e y are spoken of in connection with wizard ry and as a means of divination. Zechariah 10:2 is a reference which manifestly is pointing to pre-exilic conditions, though found in a post- exilic prophecy. Teraphim were con sulted for decisions on proposed ac tions as in Ezekiel 21:21 and Zech ariah 10:2. An interesting sidelight is set forth on the 1 Samuel passage by a noted archaeologist. He claims that “ ar chaeology can now give a negative an swer to the traditional view that the teraphim of 1 Samuel 19:12-17 were an ‘image’ or images of idols. That the word sometimes had this sense is undeniable, but the context absolute ly precludes it in this passage. No ‘idols’ of comparable size have ever been found in Palestinian excava tions, and the representations of divinity from Canaanite temples are all carved outlines on stelae; all known copper or clay plaques and figurines are much too small. Since neither the true meaning of the word ‘teraphim’ nor the expression trans lated ‘pillow of goats’ hair’ in the Authorized Version is clear, there is no reason to suppose that any cult object is referred to.” The same authority suggests the translation “ old rags” here, since trp in the Canaanite language meant “to wear out.” In all other Old Testa ment usages the meaning is clearly to images; unless evidence is forthcom ing to the contrary, some such sense, even if modified, must obtain for the 1 Samuel text. For the teraphim as with all forms of idolatry the word of the Lord through Isaiah holds: “ I am the L o r d : that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images” (Isa. 42:8). END.
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