plural noun

• Small images or cult objects used as domestic deities or oracles by ancient Semitic peoples.

  ‘Rachel stole the teraphim, the household gods of her family’

  More example sentences

  • ‘The existence of the teraphim, or cult objects (Rachel, Michal) is an indication of family worship that is indirectly shown by the discovery of hundreds of figurines (mostly female).’
  • ‘There followed a confrontation between them, in which Laban accused Jacob of stealing his teraphim (household images, or ‘gods’, used for divination and supposed to ‘protect’ a home from evil forces).’
  • ‘Made in many sizes, but always in human form, the teraphim was thought to be the giver of a prosperous existence.’
  • ‘Her theft of the teraphim was, thus, a preventive measure designed to protect her family.’