Overview
Teraphim were small carved images or idols kept in homes, often associated with household gods and divination practices. Though sometimes treated as family heirlooms or status symbols, Scripture presents them as incompatible with genuine faith in Israel's God. Their presence in believers' homes represented a compromise with pagan practices.
Key Scriptures
"Then Rachel said, 'With my great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.' So she called his name Naphtali." (Genesis 30:8, ESV) — Context shows Rachel stole her father's teraphim (Genesis 31:19). Jacob demanded their removal: "Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, 'Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments'" (Genesis 35:2, ESV). "So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree near Shechem" (Genesis 35:4, ESV).
Application
Believers today should examine their lives for modern "teraphim"—anything that competes with wholehearted devotion to God—and remove these hindrances to authentic worship.