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An ephod (; or ) was a type of apron that, according to the Hebrew Bible, was worn by the High Priest of Israel, an artifact and an object to be revered in ancient Israelite culture, and was closely connected with oracle practices and priestly ritual.
In the Books of Samuel and Books of Chronicles, David is described as wearing an ephod when dancing in the presence of the Ark of the Covenant (2 Samuel 6:14, 1 Chronicles 15:27) and one is described as standing in the sanctuary at Nob, with a sword behind it (1 Samuel 21:9). In the book of Exodus and the Book of Leviticus, one is described as being created for the High Priest to wear as part of his official vestments (Exodus 28:4+, 29:5, 39:2+; Leviticus 8:7).
The biblical description (Exodus 28:16, 39:9) continues describing the size of the breastplate which is affixed to the front of the ephod as a square measuring one span by one span (the width of an outstretched hand from little finger tip to outstretched thumb tip). Stating that it was held together by a girdle, and had two shoulder straps which were fastened to the front of the ephod by golden rings, to which the breastplate was attached by golden chains (). From this description, it appears to have been something like an apron or skirt with braces, though Rashi argued that it was like a woman's riding girdle. The biblical description also adds that there were two over the shoulder straps like made from shoham. This is thought by scholars to mean malachite, Jewish Encyclopedia, Gems by Jewish tradition to mean heliodor, and in the King James Version translated as "onyx", and with the names of the 12 tribes written upon them; the classical rabbinical sources differ as to the order in which the tribes were named on the jewels (Sotah 36a).
The object at Nob, which must have been somewhat freestanding since another object was kept behind it, and the objects made by Gideon and by Micah from molten gold, logically cannot have just been garments. The object made by Gideon is plainly described as having been worshipped, and therefore the cult image of a deity, while the object made by Micah is closely associated with a teraphim, and the ephod and teraphim are described interchangeably with the Hebrew terms pesel and massekah, meaning graven image, and molten image, respectively.
Even the ephods used for oracular purposes were not necessarily just pieces of cloth, as they are not described as being worn, but carried (though some translations render 1 Samuel 2:28 as "wear an ephod'" rather than "carry an ephod"); the Hebrew term used in these passages for "carry" specifically implies that the ephod was carried either in the hand or on the shoulder. The conclusion thus is that the ephod in these cases referred to a portable idol the lots were cast in front of. Some scholars have suggested that the connection between the idol and the garment is that the idol was originally clothed in a linen garment, and the term ephod gradually came to describe the idol as a whole.
According to the Talmud, the wearing of the ephod atoned for the sin of idolatry on the part of the Israelites.Babylonian Talmud, Zevachim 88:B
Gideon went on to make an ephod out of the gold won in battle; according to Ginzberg's The Legends of the Jews: "In the high priest's breastplate, Joseph was represented among the twelve tribes by Ephraim alone, not by Manasseh, too. To wipe out this slight upon his own tribe, Gideon made an ephod bearing the name of Manasseh. He consecrated it to God, but after his death homage was paid to it as an idol. In those days the Israelites were so addicted to the worship of Beelzebub that they constantly carried small images of this god with them in their pockets, and every now and then they were in the habit of bringing the image forth and kissing it fervently." According to the Bible, this action eventually caused the whole of Israel to turn away from God yet again and the ruin of Gideon and his family. Gideon had 70 sons from the many women he took as wives. He also had a concubine who bore him a son he named Abimelech, which means "my father is king" ().
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