It’s been awhile since I did my series on the Bible Dictionary. I’ve got a question for you all. Concerning Teraphim, it says,
To use teraphim was probably not to worship strange gods but to worship the true God in a corrupt manner.
When I first thought of this I was thinking of Cherubim and a flaming sword as Alma Alma 42:3 says
the Lord God placed acherubim and the flaming sword, that he should not partake of the fruit—
What’s the difference between Cherubim or Seraphim or Teraphim? Are they the same thing?
Cherubim are glorified creatures. They were also found on the mercy seat of the ark, in the Holy of Holies, in the tabernacle. Some Protestants believe they are a type of angel.
Seraphim are described in Isaiah as winged creatures having 6 wings. With twain they cover their face, with twain they cover their feet & with twain they do fly. In chapter 6 of Isaiah, a seraph places a hot coal on his lips in purification. They are also glorified creatures.
Teraphim is usually translated as household idols. In the Book of Samuel, when Michal uses goat hair in “an image” in a bed to trick her father’s guards that have come to arrest David, that image would have been a teraph. Teraphim were images of ancestors, kept by the ancient Israelites, & often referred to as household gods. Rachel stole the “household gods” from her father Laban & hid them in a trunk. She then sat on the trunk to prevent their discovery, claiming it was her time of ritual impurity. Having household gods or idols was apparently not considered evil at that time.
However, this info is all from my Protestant childhood, so your mileage may vary in LDS theology.
These are three very different Hebrew words, even though they share the masculine plural “im” ending. You can read more about them here: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H3742&t=NKJV and https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H8655&t=KJV and https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H8314&t=NKJV
The seraphim also have a connection with poisonous serpents.
This short piece expounds the idea presented in the sentence you quoted from Bible Dictionary:
http://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1272&index=3