I'm reading Genesis and wondering what the "images" were that Rebecca took from her father's house that

Question

Jacob didn't know about. Were they keepsakes from the past or
religious and meaningful somehow with affiliation to God?

Answer 1

I think you are referring to Jacob's second wife, Rachel, right? Depending on the traslation you use, the passage says she took the household "idols" or "gods". It was very common for a household to have idols carved of their favorite gods. They believed their prosperity was directly tied to the gods. This was particularly true for women, who believed their fertility was linked to their worship/behavior towards the fertility goddess.

Remember Rachel was already experiencing fertility problems. In that time, a woman was considered almost worthless if she could not have children. It was the single most important part of their lives. Rachel would have grown up worshipping that particular idol; she was already having problems conceiving a child, she would not have wanted to leave them behind when she left her home. She probably believed that is she did not continue to have that idol to serve, she would be risking adversely affecting her ability have children even more.

When Laban pursued them, she hid them by concealing them on her camel as she was sitting on it and telling her father she had her period. That would have made Laban think she was "unclean" and if he touched her or things she was in contact with, he would be "unclean" too. It was also believed that that was a special time for women, they should not have to do any work, or get up, etc.

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

I just read a commentary about the images.

It said they were "household gods" or "figurines of deities".

It also said that her actions shows how the Laban's family accepted the pagan beliefs.

She may have been getting him back for letting her sister marry first, which was not the custom.

According to some tablets found in the 15th century B.C. , having these figurines meant she would have the right to the family inheritance.

Pretty interesting, huh?

Answer 3

If I remember correctly, they were terraphim, or little household idols.

Answer 4

pagan idols