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.
The grateful Israelites willingly donated a large quantity of gold jewelry, ". . . between 40 and 75 pounds’ weight, depending on whether the light or heavy shekel was employed." [Note: Cundall and Morris, p. 122.] Gideon took this gold and had it fashioned into an ephod, which he displayed publicly in his hometown of Ophrah. Even though Gideon had professed to reject kingship, he was behaving more and more like a king (cf. Deuteronomy 17:17).