the foreign gods they had in their hands and the earrings. These were obviously “ornaments that carried some kind of religious significance, possibly with iconic impressions on them.”1 The implication is that this type of jewelry was incompatible with the worship of Yahweh. Jacob hid them under a tree.2 In Exodus 33:4–6 we find another incident in which God commanded the Israelites to remove their jewelry. This happened immediately after the worship of the golden calf when God was angered at them.