Teraphim

Teraphim (Hebrew teraphim) were household figurines or idols used for divination and as protective clan deities in the ancient Near East. They appear throughout the OT in varied contexts: Rachel stole her father Laban's teraphim (Gen. 31:19, 34–35), suggesting they had both religious and legal significance (perhaps as tokens of inheritance rights); Micah the Ephraimite kept teraphim in a private shrine (Judg. 17:5; 18:14–20); Michal placed a teraph in David's bed to simulate his form and delay his pursuers (1 Sam. 19:13–16); and Hosea's prophecy anticipates a day when Israel will live "without ephod, and without teraphim" (Hos. 3:4). Josiah's reform eliminated teraphim from Judah (2 Kgs. 23:24). Their size varied: small enough to conceal in a camel's saddle (Gen. 31:34) but also human-sized (1 Sam. 19:13–16). Zechariah 10:2 condemns them as speaking falsehood, associating them with divination.