What are the teraphim (household gods) Rachel stole from Laban?

But if you find anyone who has your gods, that person shall not live. In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself whether there is anything of yours here with me; and if so, take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods. Genesis 31:32 (NIV)

The Book of Jasher is lost and unknown, though there appear to be at least two forgeries. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Jasher_(Pseudo-Jasher)

@ Styfle - The most accurate answer, and to the point, is given by Christiana. The "gods" (idols, teraphim, etc.) were used to determine the inheritance rights of the clan. Whoever possessed them were the rightful heirs. This explained the anger of Laban (and his sons) who would loose rights.

10 Answers 10

The original word translated here as "household gods" is Teraphim, a Hebrew plural which may have actually referred to a singular object. (Hebrew is weird like that, sometimes using plural forms for singular things as a way to indicate greatness. Many people interpret Elohim this way, for example.) The word is used in various places throughout the Old Testament, always referring to some object of worship.

In other words, yes, they were idols. However, they seem to be frequently connected with Jehovah-worship, which implies that the use of Teraphim was not so much the worship of false gods as the worship of the true God in an incorrect manner.

What is the evidence for the claim that teraphim are idols? The link to Wikipedia provides this, "[I]n 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." Your answer is either incomplete or unsupported.

The concept you mention in parenthesis is not uncommon in other languages. It is called pluralis majestatis. In the Tanakh, discerning when pluralis majestatis is being utilized or not is very tricky and can lead to vastly different interpretations of a speaker's intentions.

Oh, by the way, I could not find an instance of one being used for veneration. Rather they seem to be associated with divination specifically. Please provide a source to justify your claim of worship or correct your answer.

The verses say this:

Genesis 31: 30 Now you have indeed gone away because you longed greatly for your father’s house; but why did you steal my gods?” 31 Then Jacob replied to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. 32 The one with whom you find your gods shall not live; in the presence of our kinsmen point out what is yours among my belongings and take it for yourself.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them. (NASB)

To answer your question, yes they are talking about idols. Jacob is serious because whether these are idols or not, it is another man's property (probably made out of gold or silver or something precious), and Jacob, being a man of honor, was not in favor of stealing.

Since he didn't know that Rachel had stolen the idols, he is basically angry at the accusation that anyone from his house would steal the property of Laban.

That's what I think is going on.

The Hebrew word translated as 'gods' in Gen.31:30 -- which this answer appears to equate with teraphim and 'idols' -- is 'elohiym, which is usually rendered 'God'. This answer would be strengthened with the addition of evidence for its claim that teraphim are idols.

@Schuh It is probably not pluralis majestatis because "gə-nā-ḇā-ṯam" ("had stolen them") in 31:32 is either masculine plural or feminine singular. The latter option doesn't conform to the Hebrew pattern of divorcing Asherah from El. Thus, the "’ĕ-lō-hāy" in 31:30 is the plural, "deities."

The Jewish Virtual Library says in reference to the Nuzi tablets:

Rachel's theft of her father Laban's household gods (Genesis 31:19) may be explained by the idea that possession of household gods could be part of a legal title to the paternal estate.

And in the case of a married daughter, it gave her husband the claim to her father's property (C.H. Gordon, Revue Biblique, p. 35f).

Because Laban now had sons of his own who alone had the right to their father's god's, Rachel's theft was a serious offense.

Looks like the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.

@ Christiana - This is the most correct Answer! I recall the same understanding from my research long ago (so I can't give a resource now). He (or she) who had the family idols (teraphim) had the inheritance rights. Crafty Rachel understood this--and had seen the corrupt commercial practices of her dad against Jacob--so she just did a one-up on her dad. Keep contributing, and studying the Bible; it's great for the soul!

Teraphim: more than mere ‘idols’

The most that can be said with certainty is that teraphim were cultic objects, distinguished in Hebrew vocabulary from carved and molded idols, of significant value and meaning in Israelite religion and lore. They were probably made in human form to represent a household god or deceased ancestors. Like the more familiar Urim and Thummin – also associated with the priestly ephod vestment – teraphim were likely used for divination, specifically cleromancy or necromancy. 1

1. Genesis 31: Rachel secretly stole her father’s small teraphim, which she hid in her camel saddle, when Jacob and his family snuck from Laban’s home to return to Canaan. Laban pursued them and asked why they had stolen ‘my elohim’, his god(s) or spirit(s).
2. Judges 17-18: The Ephraimite Micah had a shrine dedicated to Yahweh in his house in which he placed a graven image (פֶּסֶל, pecel) and molded image (מַסֵּכָה, maccekah). He then made a teraphim and ephod and installed his son, and later a Levite, as priest in this shrine. Micah’s cultic objects and his priest were stolen by Danite tribesmen on their way to La’ish. Micah pursued them and asked why they had stolen ‘my elohim’, but they outnumbered him. The Danites conquered La’ish and installed Micah’s cult objects and priest, now identified as a grandson of Moses, in their city of Dan.
3. 1 Samuel 19:8-17: Michal helped her husband, David, escape her father, King Saul, by telling the king’s guards that the teraphim – which she had put in her bed and covered with clothes and goat’s hair – was actually David, thus buying time for his escape.

Teraphim were also associated with divination in passing references by the prophets Samuel (1Sa.15:23), Ezekiel (Eze.21:21), and Zechariah (Zec.10:2), and were connected with the ephod and ‘sacred pillar’ by Hosea (Hos.3:4). They were also destroyed with necromancers and their idol pillars (גִּלּוּל, gilluwl) during the religious reforms of King Josiah in Judah.

Several etymologies of the Hebrew word itself have been offered, but none have gained scholarly consensus. 2 The typical translation of ‘idol’ is plainly inadequate, teraphim being somehow distinct from the many other Hebrew words for ‘idol’, often in the same sentence. Because of its frequent association with the ephod and divination, teraphim were thought by McClintock and Strong to be “unauthorized substitutes for the Urim”. They continue: 3

The inference is strengthened by the fact that the [Septuagint] uses here, instead of teraphim, the same word (δήλων) which it usually gives for Urim. That the teraphim were thus used through the whole history of Israel may be inferred from their frequent occurrence in conjunction with other forms of divination. . The obnoxious name Teraphim was dropped. The thing itself was retained. The very name Urim was, [Spencer] argued, identical in meaning with Teraphim (Urim = “lights, fires;” Seraphim = “the burning,or fiery ones;” and Teraphim is but the same word, with an Aramaic substitution of ה for שִׂ).

This explanation suggests a development in the meaning of the word, if not the use of the object itself. More recent scholarship has similarly focused on the teraphim’s frequent association with necromancy, positing teraphim may have been simple ancestor figurines later given cultic purpose.

As Christopher Hays summarizes, “There is reason to think that the teraphim were once an accepted part of Israelite family religion” and only later “came to be condemned by representatives of Yahwism.” 4 Whatever their exact use, teraphim were certainly more than mere idols.

1. For a full review of the scholarship, see B.D. Cox and S. Ackerman, "Micah’s Teraphim", Journal of Hebrew Scriptures, vol.12, art.11.

4. Christopher B. Hays, Death in the Iron Age II and in First Isaiah, (Mohr Siebeck, 2001); p.174.