URIM & THUMMIM - NYOBS 58.06

URIM & THUMMIM

First Word

·         Urim and Thummim (pronounced YOU rim & THUME em) signifying lights and perfection are something that very little is known or written about, therefore I must go out of the Bible to other writings to fill in the blanks such as was handed down by tradition, the Apocrypha and Josephus the 2,000 year old Jewish Historian who was a contemporary of the Apostle John.

·         There has been an attempt down through the ages to disregard the supernatural of the Bible and label it as a fable.  - If you do not believe in the supernatural, then this Word Study will be useless to you and your faith will be useless.

The Construction

·         No record has ever been found of a command that the Urim & Thummim be constructed; made or otherwise be required like the Priestly garments were.  - There has been No valid tradition that has survived from the time of their use as to their shape or material used.

·         It is thought that these two items were PASSED DOWN through the Patriarchs, Priest to Priest to be officially incorporated into the people’s worship. - They were thought to be precious stones that were of some material like gems which the Tetragrammaton; (YHWH) the Sacred Name of God had been engraved upon.

·         It is highly likely that both stones were the same; the front side would be the Urim and the reverse side would be the Thummim. – They were possibly flat and connected by a small chain with swivels.  – I must confess… that some students believe that there were two independent stones which could be drawn out individually, not both; giving Yes or No answer.  This seems highly unlikely to me if a decision could also come up as “undecided” or “neither”.

Numbers 20:28 – Passed down Priest to Priest; Aaron to Eleazar
²⁸ And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron died there on the top of the mountain.

1 Samuel 28:6 – Urim came up undecided – Did not answer
⁶ And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. (ESV)

Their Use

·          The High Priest wore the breastpiece of judgement (decision) over the front of the Ephod which formed a pouch in which the Urim and Thummim were placed. – They were LINKED to the breastplate and used to discover the Will of God concerning a matter, giving a Yes or No answer to their prayers. – (The Ephod carried the breastplate which carried the Urim & Thummim).

·         NOTE: Apparently the Urim & Thummim is sometimes assumed when the term Ephod is used; also there are no examples of negative answers recorded anywhere.

·         Some students believe the land was divided up among the 12 tribes by the use of the Urim and Thummim; others disagree since the larger portions of land went to the larger tribes, and the smaller portions to the smaller tribes.

·         When tossed out of the pouch, if both came up with the Urim (which means to curse) then the answer was negative. – If they both came up with the Thummim (which means to be perfect) then the answer was Affirmative.  – If there was one of each, then God’s answer was inconclusive. – Sounds like Chance doesn’t it, a roll of the dice; casting lots – Stay Tuned

Exodus 28:30 - Urim & Thummim placed inside the breastpiece
³⁰ And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before the LORD. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the LORD regularly. (ESV)

Numbers 27:21 – Used to discover God’s Will for His people
²¹ And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the LORD. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.” (ESV)

1 Samuel 14:41 – Determine guilt or innocence
⁴¹ Therefore Saul said, “O LORD God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant this day? If this guilt is in me or in Jonathan my son, O LORD, God of Israel, give Urim. But if this guilt is in your people Israel, give Thummim.” And Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped. (ESV)

Numbers 26:55-56 – Land divided up by casting lots
⁵⁵ But the land shall be divided BY LOT. According to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit.
⁵⁶ Their inheritance shall be divided according to lot between the larger and the smaller.” (ESV)

Numbers 33:54 – Large tribe, large land – small tribe, small land
⁵⁴ You shall inherit the land BY LOT according to your clans. To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance. Wherever the lot falls for anyone that shall be his. According to the tribes of your fathers you shall inherit.

1 Samuel 23:9 – Bring the Ephod here – (The Urim and Thummim)
⁹ David knew that Saul was plotting harm against him. And he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” (ESV)

The Supernatural

·         Tradition has it that the 12 stones on the Breast Plate which represented the twelve tribes of Israel were capable of SUPERNATURAL ILLUMINATION to give Divine guidance in conjunction with the Urim & Thummim. - You may recall that Urim means “LIGHT”. – I hesitate to say that they would light up, but more like “shine”; a reflection of light. – The Oracular powers of the Breastplate came from the Urim and Thummim.

·         It gets better – The Breastplate stones were engraved with the 12 tribal names and in addition to those stones could be added stones representing Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jeshurun which completed the Hebrew Alphabet. – They would illuminate or shine “in turn” or “in succession” to give Divine pronouncements. - In my pea brain mind, I can see the Shekinah Glory of God reflecting off of them. – (Just saying) – You may recall the Thummim means “PERFECTION”.

·         Jeshurun means the “upright” and was a symbolic name for the people of Israel.  The name is used when God confronts Israel with warnings of judgment or promises of blessings.

·         I must say that some students of the Bible believe the glow of the Urim and Thummim caused the High Priest to go into a state of ecstasy or a trance in which God would speak to them. – I must also say that no one knows the exact nature of the Urim and Thummim nor even how to use them.

Deuteronomy 33:5 - Jeshurun – The People; tribes of Israel
⁵ And he was king in Jeshurun, When the heads of the people were gathered, All the tribes of Israel together. (ASV)

Deuteronomy 32:15 - Jeshurun – The People were warned
¹⁵ But Jeshurun (God’s people) waxed fat, and kicked: Thou art waxed fat, thou art grown thick, thou art become sleek; Then he forsook God who made him, And lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. (ASV)

Deuteronomy 33:26 – Jeshurun – Promises of blessings
²⁶ There is none like unto God, O Jeshurun (God’s people) Who rideth upon the heavens for thy HELP, And in his Excellency on the skies. (ASV)

Isaiah 44:2 – Jeshurun – Promises of blessings
² Thus saith Jehovah that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, who will HELP thee: Fear not, O Jacob my servant; and thou, Jeshurun, (God’s people) whom I have chosen. (ASV)

Exodus 24:17 - Shekinah Glory of God
¹⁷ And the appearance of the glory of Jehovah was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. (ASV)

Josephus – 3.7.5.163- The Breastplate was the ORACLE

163 – But in the void place of this garment there was inserted a piece of the bigness of a span, embroidered with gold and the other colors of the ephod, and was called Essen (the Breastplate), which in the Greek language signifies the ORACLE.

Their Disappearance

·         It is believed that because of the increase of the number of sanctuaries and perhaps at Saul’s insistence,  COUNTERFEIT STONES were reproduced and used locally as a matter of convenience where travel to seek answers at the central sanctuary might be impossible. Therefore there was a tendency to doubt the validity of their findings; thus their non-use.

·         That coupled with two evil priest named Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of the Prophet Eli; there was the belief that the outcome of the stones might be manipulated by them.

·         Maccabees in the Apocrypha is the last mention of the use of the Urim & Thummim when the temple altar was desecrated and the stones were removed from the Altar to a place in the mountains where they awaited a prophet, to tell how God would like to disposed of them. - NYOBS 47.29 - MACCABEES HOLY JIHAD – NYOBS 47.15 – HANUKKAH & YOM KIPPER FEAST

·         Their use was discontinued around the time of the destruction of Solomon’s Temple just after the Hebrews returned from exile in Babylon and at the death of the former prophets. The Breastplate LEFT OFF SHINING and became just a memory as God was displeased at the transgressions of his laws by His chosen people.

·         Interest had already fallen off because the Rabbis were already reading the Torah placing the KNOWLEDGE OF GOD’S WORD on the same level of the Urim and Thummim; thus they could know God’s will for them and His people anytime.

·         Today, the Christian has been filled with the Holy Spirit and has the ability “within” to be able to discern God’s will in their everyday life through the reading of the Bible; His Word as well as attending Adult Bible Studies and Church.

·          Go thou and do likewise – Do not forsake gathering with other believers in the Church.  NYOBS 50.24 - RELATIONSHIP FELLOWSHIP

Ezra 2:63 – Out of Exile; Last “use” reference Urim & Thummim
⁶³ The governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food, until there should be a priest to consult Urim and Thummim. (ESV)

1 Maccabees 4:46 – Last “mention” of the Urim & Thummim 

So they took down the altar, and deposited the stones in the temple mountain, in a suitable place, until a prophet should come and declare what should be down with them.

Josephus – Book 3.8.9.21-22 – The Breastplate; QUIT shining

21 For as to those stones,

22 which we told you before, the high priest bare on his shoulders, which were sardonyxes, (and I think it needless to describe their nature, they being known to everybody,) the one of them SHINED OUT when God was present at their sacrifices; I mean that which was in the nature of a button on his right shoulder, BRIGHT RAYS darting out thence, and being seen even by those that were most remote; which splendor yet was not before natural to the stone. This has appeared a wonderful thing to such as have not so far indulged themselves in philosophy, as to despise Divine revelation. Yet will I mention what is still more wonderful than this: for God declared beforehand, by those twelve stones which the high priest bare on his breast, and which were inserted into his breastplate, when they should be victorious in battle; for so great a splendor shone forth from them before the army began to march, that all the people were sensible of God's being present for their assistance. Whence it came to pass that those Greeks, who had a veneration for our laws, because they could not possibly contradict this, called that breastplate THE ORACLE. Now this breastplate, and this sardonyx, LEFT OFF SHINING two hundred years before I composed this book, God having been displeased at the transgressions of his laws. Of which things we shall further discourse on a fitter opportunity; but I will now go on with my proposed narration. (The Works of Flavius Josephus)

Hebrews 10:24-25 – Don’t forsake assembling together in Church
²⁴ let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,
²⁵  not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (NKJV)

Luke 10:37 - Go, and do thou likewise – STUDY THE BIBLE
³⁷ And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. (KJV)

THE TAKE AWAY

The details of the Urim and Thummim have been kept secret for a reason. 

Today some NUT would try to make them and sell them on TV to folks seeking God’s Will. God wants us to come to the Him, the Creator for answers not to a creation.

In the multitude of counselors,

there is wisdom.

Proverbs 11:14

I am grateful to those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical information, and scripture verses.  Because of them I can stand on their shoulders and see further that I otherwise ever could have.

                                                                                                                                     

Antiquity of the Jews – Flavius Josephus Matthias

Apocrypha - Goodspeed

Bible Almanac; The – Packer-Tenney-White

Bible Dictionary – Harper and Row

English Standard Version Bible – ESV

Expositor’s Bible Commentary – Frank E. Gaebelein

Illustrated Bible Dictionary – Nelson’s

Illustrated Bible Dictionary; The – Tyndale

King James Version Bible – KJV

Mysteries of the Bible – Readers Digest

Nave’s Topical Bible - Zondervan

New International Dictionary of the Bible; The – Douglas - Tenney

New International Version Bible - NIV

Thru the Bible – J. Vernon McGee

Who’s Who in the Bible – Paul D. Gardner

Wikipedia -

Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible; The – Tenney