Teraphim

Family gods or idols, at times consulted for omens. (Eze 21:21) Some were the size and shape of a man, while others were much smaller. (Ge 31:34; 1Sa 19:13, 16) Archaeological findings in Mesopotamia indicate that possessing the teraphim images had a bearing on who would receive the family inheritance. (This may explain why Rachel took her father’s teraphim.) This does not seem to have been the case in Israel, although the idolatrous use of teraphim existed in the days of the judges as well as the kings, and they were included among the items destroyed by faithful King Josiah.​—Jg 17:5; 2Ki 23:24; Ho 3:4.