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 17:5

17:5 Now this man Micah owned a shrine. ⁵  He made an ephod ⁶  and some personal idols and hired one of his sons to serve as a priest. ⁷ 

Judges 18:18

18:18 When these men broke into Micah’s house and stole ⁸  the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

Judges 18:20

18:20 The priest was happy. He took the ephod, the personal idols, and the carved image and joined the group. ⁹ 

[8:27]  ¹ tn Heb “made it into.”

[8:27]  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.

[8:27]  ³ tn Heb “Israel” (a collective singular).

[8:27]  ⁴ tn The words “by worshiping it” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[17:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “house of God.”

[17:5]  ⁶ sn Here an ephod probably refers to a priestly garment (cf. Exod 28:4-6).

[17:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he filled the hand of one of his sons and he became his priest.”

[18:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “These went into Micah’s house and took.”

[18:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “and went into the midst of the people.”