Encyclopedia entry
Idol
Disambiguation
The source enumerates 18 distinct subjects under Idol. Jump to one below, or read in order.
- 1.Heb.
- 2.‘Elil, “a thing of naught” (Ps.
- 3.‘Emah, “terror,” in allusion to the hideous form of idols (Jer.
- 4.Miphletzeth, “a fright;” “horror” (1 Kings 15:13; 2 Chr.
- 5.Bosheth, “shame;” “shameful thing” (Jer.
- 6.Gillulim, also a word of contempt, “dung;” “refuse” (Ezek.
- 7.Shikkuts, “filth;” “impurity” (Ezek.
- 8.Semel, “likeness;” “a carved image” (Deut.
- 9.Tselem, “a shadow” (Dan.
- 10.Temunah, “similitude” (Deut.
- 11.‘Atsab, “a figure;” from the root “to fashion,” “to labour;” denoting that idols…
- 12.Tsir, “a form;” “shape” (Isa.
- 13.Matztzebah, a “statue” set up (Jer.
- 14.Hammanim, “sun-images.” Hamman is a synonym of Baal, the sun-god of the Phoenicians…
- 15.Maskith, “device” (Lev.
- 16.Pesel, “a graven” or “carved image” (Isa.
- 17.Massekah, “a molten image” (Deut.
- 18.Teraphim, pl., “images,” family gods (penates) worshipped by Abram’s kindred (Josh.
Idol (1)
#Heb. aven, “nothingness;” “vanity” (Isa. 66:3; 41:29; Deut. 32:21; 1 Kings 16:13; Ps. 31:6; Jer. 8:19, etc.).
Idol (2)
#‘Elil, “a thing of naught” (Ps. 97:7; Isa. 19:3); a word of contempt, used of the gods of Noph (Ezek. 30:13).
Idol (3)
#‘Emah, “terror,” in allusion to the hideous form of idols (Jer. 50:38).
Idol (4)
#Miphletzeth, “a fright;” “horror” (1 Kings 15:13; 2 Chr. 15:16).
Idol (5)
#Bosheth, “shame;” “shameful thing” (Jer. 11:13; Hos. 9:10); as characterizing the obscenity of the worship of Baal.
Idol (6)
#Gillulim, also a word of contempt, “dung;” “refuse” (Ezek. 16:36; 20:8; Deut. 29:17, marg.).
Idol (7)
#Shikkuts, “filth;” “impurity” (Ezek. 37:23; Nah. 3:6).
Idol (8)
#Semel, “likeness;” “a carved image” (Deut. 4:16).
Idol (9)
#Tselem, “a shadow” (Dan. 3:1; 1 Sam. 6:5), as distinguished from the “likeness,” or the exact counterpart.
Idol (10)
#Temunah, “similitude” (Deut. 4:12-19). Here Moses forbids the several forms of Gentile idolatry.
Idol (11)
#‘Atsab, “a figure;” from the root “to fashion,” “to labour;” denoting that idols are the result of man’s labour (Isa. 48:5; Ps. 139:24, “wicked way;” literally, as some translate, “way of an idol”).
Idol (12)
#Tsir, “a form;” “shape” (Isa. 45:16).
Idol (13)
#Matztzebah, a “statue” set up (Jer. 43:13); a memorial stone like that erected by Jacob (Gen. 28:18; 31:45; 35:14, 20), by Joshua (4:9), and by Samuel (1 Sam. 7:12). It is the name given to the statues of Baal (2 Kings 3:2; 10:27).
Idol (14)
#Hammanim, “sun-images.” Hamman is a synonym of Baal, the sun-god of the Phoenicians (2 Chr. 34:4, 7; 14:3, 5; Isa. 17:8).
Idol (15)
#Maskith, “device” (Lev. 26:1; Num. 33:52). In Lev. 26:1, the words “image of stone” (A.V.) denote “a stone or cippus with the image of an idol, as Baal, Astarte, etc.” In Ezek. 8:12, “chambers of imagery” (maskith), are “chambers of which the walls are painted with the figures of idols;” comp. ver. 10, 11.
Idol (16)
#Pesel, “a graven” or “carved image” (Isa. 44:10-20). It denotes also a figure cast in metal (Deut. 7:25; 27:15; Isa. 40:19; 44:10).
Idol (17)
#Massekah, “a molten image” (Deut. 9:12; Judg. 17:3, 4).
Idol (18)
#Teraphim, pl., “images,” family gods (penates) worshipped by Abram’s kindred (Josh. 24:14). Put by Michal in David’s bed (Judg. 17:5; 18:14, 17, 18, 20; 1 Sam. 19:13).
“Nothing can be more instructive and significant than this multiplicity and variety of words designating the instruments and inventions of idolatry.”
Also from Smith's (1884) +−
An image or anything used as an object of worship in place of the true God. Among the earliest objects of worship, regarded as symbols of deity, were the meteoric stones, which the ancients believed to have been images of the Gods sent down from heaven. From these they transferred their regard to rough unhewn blocks, to stone columns or pillars of wood, in which the divinity worshipped was supposed to dwell, and which were connected, like the sacred stone at Delphi, by being anointed with oil and crowned with wool on solemn days. Of the forms assumed by the idolatrous images we have not many traces in the Bible. Dagon, the fish-god of the Philistines, was a human figure terminating in a fish; and that the Syrian deities were represented in later times in a symbolical human shape we know for certainty. When the process of adorning the image was completed, it was placed in a temple or shrine appointed for it. Epist. (Jeremiah 12:1; Jeremiah 19:1) ... Wisd. 13:15; (1 Corinthians 8:10) From these temples the idols were sometimes carried in procession, Epist. (Jeremiah 4:26) on festival days. Their priests were maintained from the idol treasury, and feasted upon the meats which were appointed for the idols’ use. Bel and the Dragon 3,13.
In the Bible
37
Verses where Idol is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- 1 Corinthians 8:4
So about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one.
- 1 Corinthians 8:7
But not everyone has this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that they eat such food as if it were sacrificed to an idol. And since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.
- 1 Corinthians 10:19
Am I suggesting, then, that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything?
- 1 Kings 15:13
He also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
- 1 Samuel 19:13
Then Michal took a household idol and laid it in the bed, placed some goat hair on its head, and covered it with a garment.
- 1 Samuel 19:16
And when the messengers entered, there was the idol in the bed with the goat hair on its head.
+31 more verses naming Idol.
Scripture on Idol
56
See all 56 +−
- 1 Samuel 19Isaiah 401 Corinthians 8Leviticus 261 Kings 152 Chronicles 152 Chronicles 33Isaiah 48Isaiah 66Genesis 28Exodus 20Numbers 33Deuteronomy 5Deuteronomy 7Deuteronomy 9Deuteronomy 27Deuteronomy 29Deuteronomy 32Joshua 241 Samuel 61 Samuel 71 Kings 162 Kings 32 Chronicles 34Psalms 24Psalms 31Psalms 97Psalms 139Isaiah 17Isaiah 19Isaiah 45Jeremiah 4Jeremiah 8Jeremiah 11Jeremiah 12Jeremiah 19Jeremiah 22Jeremiah 43Jeremiah 50Ezekiel 16Ezekiel 30Ezekiel 37Daniel 3Hosea 3Hosea 9Nahum 1Nahum 3Habakkuk 2Zechariah 11Acts 71 Corinthians 10
Entries that reference Idol
1
Idol references
20
Voices on Idol
24
Surfaced by name match — accuracy varies by title clarity.
Sources · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.