Rachel's Stealing of the Terafim/2
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Rachel's Stealing of the Terafim
Exegetical Approaches
Survival
Rachel stole the terafim so that her father could not use them to divine where the family had fled to.
Sources:Tanchuma #1, Rashbam, Ibn Ezra, R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, Tosafists, Radak, Ramban, Ralbag #2, Shadal
What are terafim? According to these commentators the terafim were objects used for divination. Tanchuma asserts that they are called "תְּרָפִים" because they are a "מַעֲשֵׂה תֹרֶף", an object of impurity. Ramban, in contrast, asserts that the term comes from the fact that their words are like a weak prophecy (נבואה רפה) and not very reliable.
לָמָּה גָנַבְתָּ אֶת אֱלֹהָי
Sitting on the terafim
Belief in magic and divination
Evaluation of Rachel's actions
Religiosity of the forefathers
Religious Motivations
Preventative
Rachel took the terafim so that her father would no longer worship them.
Personal
Rachel wanted the terafim for her own personal use.
Sources:Hoil Moshe
Economic Advantage
The terafim testified to Yaakov's rights to Lavan's inheritance.
Sources:Modern scholars