An ephod (Hebrew אֵפוֹד) ( /ˈɛfɒd/ or /ˈiːfɒd/) was an article of clothing, and a worship object, in ancient Israelite culture, and was closely connected with oracular practices.

In the Books of Samuel, David is described as wearing an ephod when dancing in the presence of the Ark of the Covenant (2 Samuel 6:14) 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 in Leviticus one is described as being created for the Jewish High Priest to wear as part of his official vestments (Exodus 28:4+, 29:5, 39:2+; Leviticus 8:7).

In the Book of Judges, Gideon and Micah each cast one from a metal, and Gideon's was worshipped (Judges 8:26-27, Judges 17:5).

Within the Bible, in the contexts where it is worn, the ephod is usually described as being linen, but did not constitute complete clothing of any kind, as the Books of Samuel describe David's wife Michal as taunting him for indecently exposing himself by wearing one. Though some Bible translations insert the word 'only' before ephod (inferring David was indecent), the book of 1 Chronicles states that David was "clothed with a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who bore the ark... [and] David also wore an ephod of linen," [NAS Bible translation; 1 Chronicles, 15:27] "and David was wearing a linen ephod" [NAS Bible translation; 2 Samuel, 6:14]. There appears to have been a strong religious and ceremonial implication to wearing an ephod, since the eighty-five priests at Nob are specifically identified as being the type of people who wore an ephod; though the Masoretic text here describes them as being linen ephods (1 Samuel 22:18) the word linen is not present in the Septuagint version of the passage, nor is it present when the Septuagint describes David and Samuel as girding themselves with an ephod. Therefore, some textual scholars regard its presence in the Masoretic text as a later editorial gloss.