Urim and Thummim

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In the

High Priest attached to the ephod, a type of apron or garment. The pair are used frequently in the Old Testament, in Exodus 28:30 through God's instruction to Aaron on how to adorn his breastplate worn in the holy place; in 1 Samuel 14:41 by King Saul to determine who was at fault for breaking the army's fast; and Ezra 2 to determine whether those who claimed to be the descendants of the priests of Israel were truly of that class. The Urim and Thummim are sometimes connected by scholars with cleromancy (with divination by casting lots), although it is equally likely no casting was physically done, and the participants of Lights and Perfection waited for a sign to answer a question or reveal the will of God.[1][2]

Name and meaning

Urim (אוּרִים‎) traditionally has been taken to derive from a root meaning "lights"; these derivations are reflected in the Neqqudot of the Masoretic Text.[3] In consequence, Urim and Thummim has traditionally been translated as "lights and perfections" (by Theodotion, for example), or, by taking the phrase allegorically, as meaning "revelation and truth" or "doctrine and truth." It appears in this form in the Vulgate, in the writing of St. Jerome, and in the Hexapla.[4] The latter use was defended in modern Catholic interpretations by connecting Urim and Thummim to the roots ירה "to teach" and אׇמַן "be true".[2]

Thummim (תוּמִים‎) is widely considered to be derived from the consonantal root ת.מ.ם‎ (t-m-m) "innocent".[1][4][3] Many scholars now believe that Urim (אוּרִים‎) simply derives from the Hebrew אּרּרִים‎ (Arrim) "curses" and thus that Urim and Thummim essentially means "cursed or faultless", in reference to the deity's judgment of an accused person; in other words, Urim and Thummim were used to answer the question "innocent or guilty".[1][3]

Assyriologist William Muss-Arnolt connected the singular forms—ur and tumm—with the Babylonian terms ūrtu and tamītu, meaning "oracle" and "command", respectively. According to his theory, the Hebrew words use a pluralis intensivus to enhance their apparent majesty, not to indicate the presence of more than one.[4] Along these lines, the Urim and Thummim are hypothesized to derive from the Tablets of Destiny worn by Marduk on his breast according to Babylonian religion.[2][a]

Form and function

"God speaks through the Urim and Thummim," 1705 engraving by Jan Luyken. The breastplate projects the word ברקת‎ (barakat, "emerald").

disputeddiscuss
]

The description of the clothing of the Hebrew high priest in the Book of Exodus portrays the Urim and Thummim as being put into the sacred breastplate, worn by the high priest over the Ephod.[7] Where the biblical text elsewhere describes an Ephod being used, scholars presume that it is referring to use of the Urim and Thummim in conjunction with the Ephod, as this seems to be intimately connected with it;[4][2] similarly where non-prophets are portrayed as asking God for guidance, and the advice is not described as given by visions, scholars think that Urim and Thummim were the medium implied.[3] In all but two cases (1 Samuel 10:22 and 2 Samuel 5:23), the question is one which is effectively answered by a simple "yes" or "no";[3] a number of scholars[who?] believe that the two exceptions to this pattern, which give more complex answers, were originally also just sequences of "yes" or "no" questions, but became corrupted by later editing.[3]

There is no description of the form of the Urim and Thummim in the passage describing the high priest's vestments, and a number of scholars[who?] believe that the author of the passage, which textual scholars attribute to the priestly source, was not actually entirely aware of what they were either.[3] Nevertheless, the passage does describe them as being put into the breastplate, which scholars think implies they were objects put into some sort of pouch within it, and then, while out of view, one (or one side, if the Urim and Thummim was a single object) was chosen by touch and withdrawn or thrown out;[3] since the Urim and Thummim were put inside this pouch, they were presumably small and fairly flat, and were possibly tablets of wood or of bone.[3] Considering the scholars' conclusion that Urim essentially means "guilty" and Thummim essentially means "innocent", this would imply that the purpose of the Urim and Thummim was an ordeal to confirm or refute suspected guilt; if the Urim was selected it meant guilt, while selection of the Thummim would mean innocence.

According to classical rabbinical literature, in order for the Urim and Thummim to give an answer, it was first necessary for the individual to stand facing the fully dressed high priest, and vocalise the question briefly and in a simple way, though it was not necessary for it to be loud enough for anyone else to hear it.[4] Maimonides[8] explains that the High Priest would stand facing the Ark of the Covenant with the inquirer behind him, facing the Priest's back. After the inquirer asked his question, the Holy Spirit would immediately overcome the Priest and he would see the letters protruding in a prophetic vision.[9] The Talmudic rabbis argued that Urim and Thummim were words written on the sacred breastplate.[10] Most of the Talmudic rabbis, and Josephus, following the belief that Urim meant "lights", argued that the rituals involving Urim and Thummim involved questions being answered by great rays of light shining out of certain jewels on the breastplate; each jewel was taken to represent different letters, and the sequence of lighting thus would spell out an answer (though there were 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, and only 12 jewels on the breastplate);[11][12][13] two Talmudic rabbis, however, argued that the jewels themselves moved in a way that made them stand out from the rest, or even moved themselves into groups to form words.[14]

History of use

The first reference to Urim and Thummim in the Bible is the description in the Book of Exodus concerning the high priest's vestments;[15] the chronologically earliest passage mentioning them, according to textual scholars, is in the Book of Hosea,[16] where it is implied, by reference to the Ephod, that the Urim and Thummim were fundamental elements in the popular form of the Israelite religion,[3] in the mid 8th century BC.[4] Consulting the Urim and Thummim was said to be permitted for determining territorial boundaries, and was said to be required, in addition to permission from the king or a prophet, if there was an intention to expand Jerusalem or the Temple in Jerusalem;[17][18][19][20] however, these rabbinical sources questioned, or at least tried to justify, why Urim and Thummim would be required when a prophet was also present.[21] The classical rabbinical writers argued that the Urim and Thummim were only permitted to be consulted by very prominent figures such as army generals, the most senior of court figures, and kings, and the only questions which could be raised were those which were asked for the benefit of the people as a whole.[22] To uncover the sin of Achan the sacred Lots were used by Joshua.[23] Abiathar joined David, who was then in the cave of Adullam (1 Sam. 22:20–23, 23:6). He remained with David, and became priest of the party of which he was the leader (1 Sam. 30:7). When David ascended the throne of Judah, Abiathar was appointed High Priest (1 Chr. 15:11; 1 Kings 2:26) and the "king's counselor" (1 Chr. 27:33–34). Meanwhile, Zadok, of the house of Eleazar, had been made High Priest. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia Abiathar was deposed from office when he was deserted by the Holy Spirit without which the Urim and Thummin could not be consulted.[24]

Although

deuteronomic history beyond the death of David, scholars suspect that use of them decayed some time before the Babylonian conquest,[3] probably as a result of the growing influence of prophets at that time.[4]

Maimonides[30] states that in the Second Temple the Urim and Thummim actually existed but no longer functioned in the practical sense since the priests no longer possessed the Holy Spirit. Rabbi Abraham ben David disagrees and maintains that during that era, the Urim and Thummim were completely absent.[9]

Latter Day Saint movement

Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, said that he used interpreters in order to translate the Book of Mormon from the golden plates. In early accounts, Smith described the interpreters as "spectacles", described as two transparent stones set in silver bows.[31][32] The earliest association of the spectacles with the biblical term "Urim and Thummim" occurred in 1833 and Smith appears to have adopted the term in subsequent descriptions.[33] The Urim and Thummim were said to have been found with the golden plates, a breastplate (to which the silver bows were attached in some descriptions), and the Sword of Laban. Smith's mother, Lucy Mack Smith, described these Urim and Thummim as being like "two smooth three-cornered diamonds."[34] Smith and others also referred to individual seer stones also associated with Smith's dictation of the Book of Mormon as Urim and Thummim, although his wife, Emma Smith, in her later accounts distinguished between the seer stones and the Urim and Thummim.[33]

Smith also said he used the Urim and Thummim to assist him in receiving

Latter Day Saints believe that Smith's Urim and Thummim were functionally identical to the biblical Urim and Thummim.[36]

Smith extended the use of the term "Urim and Thummim" to describe the dwelling place of God, the earth in a future state, and the white stone mentioned in the Book of Revelation.[37]

In popular culture

Yale University coat of arms, with Urim and Thummim shown in Hebrew letters
on an open book

In accordance with the belief that Urim and Thummim translates to "Light and Truth", the

Yale University coat of arms, and the translation Lux et Veritas appears below on a banner.[38]

The Urim and Thummim are also mentioned in some modern fiction:

See also

  • Cleromancy: the drawing of lots for the purpose of divination
  • Divination: ascertaining information by supernatural means
  • Dice: polyhedral objects used to randomize decisions
  • Oracle: person or object used to obtain information via prophecy or clairvoyance
  • Scrying: obtaining supernatural knowledge by means of an object

Notes and citations

  1. seal on the Tablets of Destiny, while the Israelite breastplate had a jewelled stone upon it for each of the Israelite tribes, which may derive from the same principle.[4] Like the Urim and Thummim, the Tablets of Destiny came into use when the fate of king and nation was concerned. According to some archaeologists, the Israelites emerged as a subculture from within Canaanite society, not as an invading force from outside, and therefore it would be natural for them to have used similar religious practices to other Semitic nations;[5] such scholars suspect that the concept of Urim and Thummim was originally derived from the Tablets of Destiny.[4][2]
  1. ^ a b c d Peake, Arthur S. (Arthur Samuel); Grieve, Alexander James (1920). A commentary on the Bible. Princeton Theological Seminary Library. London, England: T. C. & E. C. Jack. p. 191.
  2. ^
    American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures
    (continuing Hebraica), Vol. XVI, No. 4, July 1900.
  3. ^
    Encyclopedia Biblica, ed. Cheyne & Black, vol. IV (Q−Z), cols. 5235–5237
    (1903).
  4. ^ . Vol. 12. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 384–385.
  5. ^ Israel Finkelstein, The Bible Unearthed
  6. ^ 1 Samuel 14:37
  7. ^ Exodus 28:13–30
  8. ^ Maimonides. הלכות כלי המקדש והעובדין בו פ"י הי"א  (in Hebrew) – via Wikisource.
  9. ^ a b Frankfurter, Yitzchok (Feb 21, 2018). "The Uniqueness of the Urim V'tumim". Ami Magazine. No. 356. p. 24.
  10. ^ Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus 28:30.
  11. ^ Yoma 73a-b.
  12. ^ Yoma 44c in the Jerusalem Talmud.
  13. ^ Sifre, Numbers 141.
  14. ^ Yoma 73b.
  15. ^ Exodus 28:30.
  16. ^ Hosea 3:4.
  17. ^ Sanhedrin 16a.
  18. ^ Yoma 41b (Jerusalem Talmud).
  19. ^ Shebbit 2–3 and 16a.
  20. ^ Shebbit 33d (Jerusalem Talmud).
  21. ^ Sanhedrin 19b (Jerusalem Talmud).
  22. ^ Yoma 7; Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus 28:30.
  23. ^ Public Domain Ginzberg, Louis (1901). "Achan". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
  24. ^ Public Domain Ginzberg, Louis (1901). "Abiathar". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 56.
  25. ^ Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews (volume 3) 8:9.
  26. ^ Sotah 9:12 and 48a-b.
  27. ^ "Yoma 21b:7". www.sefaria.org.
  28. ^ "Jerusalem Talmud Kiddushin 41b". www.sefaria.org.
  29. ^ Ezra 2:63, which is also Nehemiah 7:65.
  30. ^ Maimonides. הלכות כלי המקדש והעובדין בו פ"י ה"י  (in Hebrew) – via Wikisource.
  31. ^ Morgan, Dale (2014). Dale Morgan on the Mormons: Collected Works, Part 2, 1949–1970. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 199.
  32. ^ "Joseph Smith—History 1". www.churchofjesuschrist.org. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  33. ^ a b "Joseph Smith Documents Dating through June 1831". The Joseph Smith Papers.
  34. ^ Smith, Lucy Mack (1853). "Biographical sketches of Joseph Smith the prophet, and his progenitors for many generations". Brigham Young University Religious Education Archive. p. 101. Retrieved 2006-02-02. It [Joseph's Urim and Thummim]; also at EMD, 1: 328–329.
  35. ^ Section 9.
  36. ^ Spencer, Stan. "Seers and Stones: The Translation of the Book of Mormon as Divine Visions of an Old-Time Seer" Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 24 (2017): 27-98
  37. ^ "Doctrine and Covenants 130". www.churchofjesuschrist.org. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
  38. ^ "How Hebrew Came to Yale". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  39. ^ "The symbol of Urim and Thummim in The Alchemist". LitCharts. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  40. ^ O'Driscoll, Bill (7 June 2007). "A man's obsession with a 'sacred' object is the latest focus for 'Dancing Outlaw' filmmaker Jacob Young". Pittsburgh City Paper. Archived from the original on 13 August 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2010.

External links