(כט) יֶשׁ־לְאֵ֣ל יָדִ֔י לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת עִמָּכֶ֖ם רָ֑ע וֵֽאלֹהֵ֨י אֲבִיכֶ֜ם אֶ֣מֶשׁ ׀ אָמַ֧ר אֵלַ֣י לֵאמֹ֗ר הִשָּׁ֧מֶר לְךָ֛ מִדַּבֵּ֥ר עִֽם־יַעֲקֹ֖ב מִטּ֥וֹב עַד־רָֽע׃ (ל) וְעַתָּה֙ הָלֹ֣ךְ הָלַ֔כְתָּ כִּֽי־נִכְסֹ֥ף נִכְסַ֖פְתָּה לְבֵ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ לָ֥מָּה גָנַ֖בְתָּ אֶת־אֱלֹהָֽי׃ (לא) וַיַּ֥עַן יַעֲקֹ֖ב וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לְלָבָ֑ן כִּ֣י יָרֵ֔אתִי כִּ֣י אָמַ֔רְתִּי פֶּן־תִּגְזֹ֥ל אֶת־בְּנוֹתֶ֖יךָ מֵעִמִּֽי׃ (לב) עִ֠ם אֲשֶׁ֨ר תִּמְצָ֣א אֶת־אֱלֹהֶ֘יךָ֮ לֹ֣א יִֽחְיֶה֒ נֶ֣גֶד אַחֵ֧ינוּ הַֽכֶּר־לְךָ֛ מָ֥ה עִמָּדִ֖י וְקַֽח־לָ֑ךְ וְלֹֽא־יָדַ֣ע יַעֲקֹ֔ב כִּ֥י רָחֵ֖ל גְּנָבָֽתַם׃
(29) I have it in my power to do you harm; but the God of your father’s [house] said to me last night, ‘Beware of attempting anything with Jacob, good or bad.’ (30) Very well, you had to leave because you were longing for your father’s house; but why did you steal my gods?” (31) Jacob answered Laban, saying, “I was afraid because I thought you would take your daughters from me by force. (32) But anyone with whom you find your gods shall not remain alive! In the presence of our kin, point out what I have of yours and take it.” Jacob, of course, did not know that Rachel had stolen them.
(ב) למה גנבת את אלהי, קרא התרפים אלהים לפי שהיו בוטחים בהם כמו בדבר אלהים:
(2) אלוהי, he called his Teraphim “my gods,” as he and his kind of people relied on them just as we rely on the true G’d.
...למה גנבת את אלהי, הלא בבית אביך אין עובדים ע"ז, והתרפים הם תועבה בבית הזה, ולמה גנבת אותם, וע"כ שיש אתך גנבות אחרות, ויראת שיודע לי ע"י התרפים מה שגנבת מביתי, וע"כ לקחת אותם, כדי שלא אוכל לידע ע"י את החסר לי מכלי ביתי:
...Isn't it the case in your father's house they do not worship idols? The terafim are an abomination, why did you steal them? And maybe you've stolen other items also...(?)
(א) ועתה הלוך וגו'. פי' להיות שמקודם קבל עליו למה נחבא לברוח שמחזיקו כבורח ואחר כך חזר לומר ועתה פי' לשון תשובה כאומרם ז"ל, (ב"ר פ' כ"א) והכונה ואם תשיבני דבר כי לא ברחת אלא הלוך כדרך הליכה הלכת כי נכסוף נכספתה וגו' ולא כמו שאמרתי לך בדרך בריחה אם כן למה גנבת את אלהי אלא ודאי כי לצד שהוא המגיד לחששת שמא יודיעני ויגיד לי שהלכת גנבת אותו וזה לך האות שברחת:
(1) ועתה הלוך הלכת, "When you left now, etc." Laban said: "since you have previously expressed your longing to see your father again, why did you choose to leave now in such a way that it looked like a flight?" Laban was leading up to what he expected Jacob's defence to be, namely that he was anxious to see his father. If so, he argued, why did you have to steal my תרפים, charms? Surely this makes your entire departure appear like a flight! You must have been afraid that the תרפים would reveal your where-abouts to me!
TERAPHIM (Heb. תְּרָפִים), household gods. The etymology of the word teraphim has defied commentators from ancient times until the present. W.F. Albright suggests the possible rendering of "old rags," based on the Canaanite trp, "to wear out." L. Koehler and W. Baumgartner also suppose that teraphim has obvious odious connotations and that its root trp means to act ignominiously. H.A. Hoffner has pointed to a Hurro-Hittite source for the word (Hittite: tarpis, "protective or malevolent spirit"). That these figurines were small and portable is obvious from the way Rachel managed to hide them in the camel cushion (Gen. 31:34). On the other hand, the fact that Michal could deceive her father's messengers by leading them to believe that the teraphim on the bed were David's figure, makes it seem that some were of considerable size (I Sam. 19:13). There is nothing in this incident, however, to show conclusively whether such a figure represented an entire human form or simply a head or bust.
The teraphim are both condoned and condemned in biblical writing. From the story of Rachel's flight and her appropriation of her father's teraphim, it seems to have been the accepted custom among the people in Mesopotamia to have objects of worship in their house and to take them along when going abroad (see Greenberg, in bibl.). Furthermore, in the story of Michal, teraphim seem to be a usual piece of household furniture and were most probably tolerated by the Israelite religion of that time.
EJ
The teraphim are both condoned and condemned in biblical writing. From the story of Rachel's flight and her appropriation of her father's teraphim, it seems to have been the accepted custom among the people in Mesopotamia to have objects of worship in their house and to take them along when going abroad (see Greenberg, in bibl.). Furthermore, in the story of Michal, teraphim seem to be a usual piece of household furniture and were most probably tolerated by the Israelite religion of that time.
EJ
(לב) עִ֠ם אֲשֶׁ֨ר תִּמְצָ֣א אֶת־אֱלֹהֶ֘יךָ֮ לֹ֣א יִֽחְיֶה֒ נֶ֣גֶד אַחֵ֧ינוּ הַֽכֶּר־לְךָ֛ מָ֥ה עִמָּדִ֖י וְקַֽח־לָ֑ךְ וְלֹֽא־יָדַ֣ע יַעֲקֹ֔ב כִּ֥י רָחֵ֖ל גְּנָבָֽתַם׃
(32) But anyone with whom you find your gods shall not remain alive! In the presence of our kin, point out what I have of yours and take it.” Jacob, of course, did not know that Rachel had stolen them.
“Why did you steal my gods” [31:30]. Laban said: why did you steal my god? Jacob responded: wherever you will find it, that person should not live. Rashi writes: as a result of that curse, Rachel died on the way. Jacob did not know that Rachel had taken the images.
Tzeenah U'renah
Tzeenah U'renah
(א) לא יהיה. רק אהרגנו וי"א שהוא דרך תפלה, על כן מתה רחל בדרך, אם כן יודיעני מי התפלל על אשת פנחס:
(1) HE SHALL NOT LIVE. Because I will put him to death. Some say that this was a prayer47Jacob prayed, “May God strike the one who stole the teraphim dead.” This interpretation is offered by Rashi. It is found in the Talmud, Berakhot 56a; Sanhedrin 90b. and it was because of this utterance that Rachel died on the way.48In childbirth. In the way is a quote from Gen. 48:7. If this be so, let them tell us who prayed and thus caused the death of Phinehas’ wife?49She, too, died in childbirth. Cf. I Sam. 4:19, 20.
(יט) וְכַלָּת֣וֹ אֵשֶׁת־פִּֽינְחָס֮ הָרָ֣ה לָלַת֒ וַתִּשְׁמַ֣ע אֶת־הַשְּׁמוּעָ֗ה אֶל־הִלָּקַח֙ אֲר֣וֹן הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים וּמֵ֥ת חָמִ֖יהָ וְאִישָׁ֑הּ וַתִּכְרַ֣ע וַתֵּ֔לֶד כִּֽי־נֶהֶפְכ֥וּ עָלֶ֖יהָ צִרֶֽיהָ׃ (כ) וּכְעֵ֣ת מוּתָ֗הּ וַתְּדַבֵּ֙רְנָה֙ הַנִּצָּב֣וֹת עָלֶ֔יהָ אַל־תִּֽירְאִ֖י כִּ֣י בֵ֣ן יָלָ֑דְתְּ וְלֹ֥א עָנְתָ֖ה וְלֹא־שָׁ֥תָה לִבָּֽהּ׃
(19) His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was with child, about to give birth. When she heard the report that the Ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she was seized with labor pains, and she crouched down and gave birth. (20) As she lay dying, the women attending her said, “Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not respond or pay heed.
(ג) ולא ידע יעקב. שאם היה יודע לא היה מעיז פניו לכחש ולא היה אומר לא יחיה:
(3) ולא ידע יעקב, if he had known that Rachel had taken the teraphim he would not have had the audacity to deny this. Also, he most certainly would not have cursed her by saying “he shall not live!” [actually he had not cursed the thief but the one with whom the stolen goods would be found, and in the event Lavan never did find the teraphim. Ed.]
- Why does Rachel take the terafim?
(יט) וְלָבָ֣ן הָלַ֔ךְ לִגְזֹ֖ז אֶת־צֹאנ֑וֹ וַתִּגְנֹ֣ב רָחֵ֔ל אֶת־הַתְּרָפִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר לְאָבִֽיהָ׃
(19) Meanwhile Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father’s household idols.
(א) לגזוז את צאנו. שֶׁנָּתַן בְּיַד בָּנָיו דֶּרֶךְ שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים בֵּינוֹ וּבֵין יַעֲקֹב: (ב) ותגנב רחל את התרפים. לְהַפְרִישׁ אֶת אָבִיהָ מֵעֲ"זָ נִתְכַּוְּנָה (בראשית רבה):
(1) לגזז את צאנו TO SHEAR HIS FLOCK which he had given into the charge of his sons at a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob. (2) ותגגב רחל את התרפים AND RACHEL STOLE THE TERAPHIM — her intention was to wean her father from idol-worship (Genesis Rabbah 74:5).
Some say that Rachel stole the teraphim in order to keep her father from idolatry. If this were the case, why did she take them with her and not bury them on the way? The most likely reason that Rachel stole the teraphim was that Laban, her father, was an astrologer, and Rachel feared that he would look at the stars and discover which way they fled.
Ibn Ezra
Ibn Ezra
Her intention was to wean her father from idol-worship. This is the language of Rashi.
Now it is possible that Laban used the teraphim for idol worship, as he himself said, Why hast thou stolen my gods? But not all teraphim were for the purpose of worship, for how could one find idolatry in the house of our lord David. That which the commentators say seems reasonable, namely, that these are vessels to receive a knowledge of the hours, and they divine with them in order to gain knowledge of future events...The word teraphim is derived from the expressions: ‘rephai’ (weak) handed; ‘nirpim’ (idle) ye are, idle. They are called “teraphim” in order to hint by their name that their words are like a weak prophecy, usually occurring as a prophecy for many days hence and turning out to be false, just as the prophets have said, For the teraphim have spoken vanity. People of little faith set them up for themselves as gods. They do not seek to know by the glorious name of the Eternal, nor do they offer their prayers to Him. Rather, their deeds are guided by divination revealed to them by the teraphim.
Now it is possible that Laban used the teraphim for idol worship, as he himself said, Why hast thou stolen my gods? But not all teraphim were for the purpose of worship, for how could one find idolatry in the house of our lord David. That which the commentators say seems reasonable, namely, that these are vessels to receive a knowledge of the hours, and they divine with them in order to gain knowledge of future events...The word teraphim is derived from the expressions: ‘rephai’ (weak) handed; ‘nirpim’ (idle) ye are, idle. They are called “teraphim” in order to hint by their name that their words are like a weak prophecy, usually occurring as a prophecy for many days hence and turning out to be false, just as the prophets have said, For the teraphim have spoken vanity. People of little faith set them up for themselves as gods. They do not seek to know by the glorious name of the Eternal, nor do they offer their prayers to Him. Rather, their deeds are guided by divination revealed to them by the teraphim.
(ב) כִּ֧י הַתְּרָפִ֣ים דִּבְּרוּ־אָ֗וֶן וְהַקּֽוֹסְמִים֙ חָ֣זוּ שֶׁ֔קֶר וַֽחֲלֹמוֹת֙ הַשָּׁ֣וְא יְדַבֵּ֔רוּ הֶ֖בֶל יְנַחֵמ֑וּן עַל־כֵּן֙ נָסְע֣וּ כְמוֹ־צֹ֔אן יַעֲנ֖וּ כִּי־אֵ֥ין רֹעֶֽה׃ {פ}
(2) For the oracle idolsdoracle idols Figurines, apparently with a human form, used as a medium for divination in household settings; cf. 1 Sam. 15.23; Ezek. 21.26. spoke delusion,
The augurs predicted falsely;
And dreamers speak lies
And console with illusions.
That is why My people have strayedestrayed Meaning of Heb. uncertain. like a flock,
They sufferfsuffer Meaning of Heb. uncertain. for lack of a shepherd.
The augurs predicted falsely;
And dreamers speak lies
And console with illusions.
That is why My people have strayedestrayed Meaning of Heb. uncertain. like a flock,
They sufferfsuffer Meaning of Heb. uncertain. for lack of a shepherd.
- Is astrology/horoscopes a modern version of the function of t'rafim?
By the time of the Talmud, the rabbis took the fact that the stars influenced the lives of people for granted. At that point, their main debate focused on whether Jews were immune to the stars' influences. Rabbi Yohanan famously said, "Ein Mazal L'Yisrael," meaning, "there is no constellation for the people of Israel." However, Rabbi Hanina ben Hama held the opposite opinion, stating, "the stars make one wise, the stars make one rich, and there are stars for Israel" (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 156a). Astrology continued to be appreciated as something of a science through the Middle Ages, with one notable voice of dissent.
One of the most famous medieval Jewish philosophers, Maimonides, is the only documented Jewish philosopher of his time who completely rejected astrology. Ironically, Maimonides's name itself is linked to astrology, as it's derived from the Arabic word maymūn, which means "luck" or "good fortune" and is connected to the stars. While other scholars were skeptical, they understood astrology as a science that could only go so far before running into the free will of humans, which had the power to negate personal horoscopes. The majority of later Jewish scholars shared the prevailing opinion of Maimonides's contemporaries, with only a couple opposing the practice. Indeed, there were several notable Jewish astrologers who were fixtures at the courts of European royalty and popes.
https://reformjudaism.org/blog/siman-tov-umazal-tov-astrology-and-judaism
Crystal Hill 3/9/2023
One of the most famous medieval Jewish philosophers, Maimonides, is the only documented Jewish philosopher of his time who completely rejected astrology. Ironically, Maimonides's name itself is linked to astrology, as it's derived from the Arabic word maymūn, which means "luck" or "good fortune" and is connected to the stars. While other scholars were skeptical, they understood astrology as a science that could only go so far before running into the free will of humans, which had the power to negate personal horoscopes. The majority of later Jewish scholars shared the prevailing opinion of Maimonides's contemporaries, with only a couple opposing the practice. Indeed, there were several notable Jewish astrologers who were fixtures at the courts of European royalty and popes.
https://reformjudaism.org/blog/siman-tov-umazal-tov-astrology-and-judaism
Crystal Hill 3/9/2023