Gideon made an ephod of it, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel played the prostitute after it there; and it became a snare to Gideon, and to his house.
Whatever this ephod was, it became an object of worship and a spiritual stumbling block to the Israelites (Judges 8:27). Thus Gideon became the second official sponsor of idolatry in Israel, as far as we know, Aaron being the first. He was doing what was right in his own eyes (cf. Judges 17:6; Judges 21:25).