How to Pronounce Teraphim

What does Teraphim mean?

Teraphim means “images; idols”.

Hitchcock’s Bible Names (1869), public domain.

What is Teraphim?

Givers of prosperity, idols in human shape, large or small, analogous to the images of ancestors which were revered by the Romans. In order to deceive the guards sent by Saul to seize David, Michal his wife prepared one of the household teraphim, putting on it the goat’s-hair cap worn by sleepers and invalids, and laid it in a bed, covering it with a mantle. She pointed it out to the soldiers, and alleged that David was confined to his bed by a sudden illness (1 Sam. 19:13-16). Thus she gained time for David’s escape. It seems strange to read of teraphim, images of ancestors, preserved for superstitious purposes, being in the house of David.

Adapted from Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), public domain.

Found in Scripture

Other names from Judges