Judges 8:27

8:27 Gideon used all this to make ¹  an ephod, ²  which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. All the Israelites ³  prostituted themselves to it by worshiping it ⁴  there. It became a snare to Gideon and his family.

Judges 18:18

18:18 When these men broke into Micah’s house and stole ⁵  the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

---

¹ tn Heb “made it into.”

² sn In Exod 28:4-6 and several other texts an ephod is described as a priestly or cultic garment. In some cases an ephod is used to obtain a divine oracle (1 Sam 23:9; 30:7). Here the ephod is made of gold and is described as being quite heavy (70-75 lbs?). Some identify it as an idol, but it was more likely a cultic object fashioned in the form of a garment which was used for oracular purposes. For discussion of the ephod in the OT, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 236-43, and R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 349-52.

³ tn Heb “Israel” (a collective singular).

⁴ tn The words “by worshiping it” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “These went into Micah’s house and took.”