Bible Dictionary
Idolatry
Idolatry is giving worship, trust, or devotion belonging to God to a created thing, false deity, image, or human desire. Scripture condemns it as unfaithfulness to God; the New Testament also applies the idea to covetousness.
Biblical Usage
Idolatry is treated in Scripture as unfaithfulness to the living God and as the great national sin of Israel. It included worship of images, nature, heavenly bodies, household gods, and foreign deities. The first and second commandments oppose it, and the New Testament applies the idea to covetousness.
Scripture References
Romans 1:21-25
Genesis 31:19
Joshua 24:2
Joshua 24:14
Ezekiel 20:7
Exodus 22:20
Deuteronomy 13:20-10
Deuteronomy 17:2-7
Exodus 34:15
Exodus 34:16
Deuteronomy 7
Deuteronomy 12:29-31
Deuteronomy 20:17
Jeremiah 2:17
1 Samuel 15:23
Exodus 23:24
Exodus 23:32
Deuteronomy 7:5
Deuteronomy 7:25
Matthew 6:24
Luke 16:13
Colossians 3:5
Ephesians 5:5
Exodus 32:1
Judges 2:1
Judges 2:12
Judges 2:14
Isaiah 57:8
Hosea 9:1
Hosea 9:2
1 Samuel 7:3-6
1 Kings 11:14
1 Kings 14:22-24
1 Kings 12:26-33
2 Chronicles 31:1
Isaiah 29:13
Job 31:20-28
2 Kings 23:5
Genesis 12:7
Genesis 13:18
Genesis 21:33
1 Kings 11:7
1 Kings 14:23
2 Kings 16:4
Isaiah 1:29
Hosea 4:13
2 Kings 23:12
Jeremiah 19:3
Jeremiah 32:29
Zephaniah 1:5