Rachel's Stealing of the Terafim/2

Rachel's Stealing of the Terafim

Exegetical Approaches

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Survival

Rachel stole the teraphim so that her father could not use them to divine where the family ahd fled to.

Sources:TanchumaVayetze 12About the Tanchuma, RashbamBereshit 31:19About R. Shemuel b. Meir, Ibn EzraBereshit 31:19About R. Avraham ibn Ezra, R. Yosef Bekhor ShorBereshit 31:19About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, RadakBereshit 31:19Bereshit 31:30About R. David Kimchi, RambanBereshit 31:19About R. Moshe b. Nachman, ShadalBereshit 31:19About R. Shemuel David Luzzatto

What are teraphim?

לָמָּה גָנַבְתָּ אֶת אֱלֹהָי

Evaluation of Rachel's actions

Religious Motivations

Preventative

Sources:Bereshit Rabbah74:5About Bereshit Rabbah, Rashi,

Personal

Hoil MosheBereshit 31About R. Moshe Yitzchak Ashkenazi

Economic Advantage

Sources:Modern scholars