Imamat 8:8

8:8 He then set the breastpiece ¹  on him and put the Urim and Thummim ²  into the breastpiece.

Bilangan 27:21

27:21 And he will stand before Eleazar the priest, who ³  will seek counsel ⁴  for him before the Lord by the decision of the Urim. ⁵  At his command ⁶  they will go out, and at his command they will come in, he and all the Israelites with him, the whole community.”

Ulangan 33:8

Blessing on Levi

33:8 Of Levi he said:

Your Thummim and Urim ⁷  belong to your godly one, ⁸ 

whose authority you challenged at Massah, ⁹ 

and with whom you argued at the waters of Meribah. ¹⁰ 

Ulangan 33:1

Introduction to the Blessing of Moses

33:1 This is the blessing Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death.

1 Samuel 28:6

28:6 So Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him – not by dreams nor by Urim ¹¹  nor by the prophets.

Ezra 2:63

2:63 The governor ¹²  instructed them not to eat any of the sacred food until there was a priest who could consult ¹³  the Urim and Thummim.

Nehemia 7:65

7:65 The governor ¹⁴  instructed them not to eat any of the sacred food until there was a priest who could consult ¹⁵  the Urim and Thummim.

¹ sn The breastpiece was made of the same material as the ephod and was attached to it by means of gold rings and chains on its four corners (Exod 28:15-30; 29:5; 39:8-21). It had twelve stones attached to it (representing the twelve tribes of Israel), and a pocket in which the Urim and Thummim were kept (see following).

² sn The Urim and Thummim were two small objects used in the casting of lots to discern the will of God (see Exod 28:30; Num 27:21; Deut 33:8; 1 Sam 14:41 in the LXX and 28:6; Ezra 2:63 and Neh 7:65). It appears that by casting them one could obtain a yes or no answer, or no answer at all (1 Sam 28:6; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 111-12). See the extensive discussion in J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:507-11.

³ tn The passage simply has “and he will ask,” but Eleazar is clearly the subject now.

⁴ tn Heb “ask.”

⁵ sn The new leader would not have the privilege that Moses had in speaking to God face to face. Rather, he would have to inquire of the Lord through the priest, and the priest would seek a decision by means of the Urim. The Urim and the Thummim were the sacred lots that the priest had in his pouch, the “breastplate” as it has traditionally been called. Since the Law had now been fully established, there would be fewer cases that the leader would need further rulings. Now it would simply be seeking the Lord’s word for matters such as whether to advance or not. The size, shape or substance of these objects is uncertain. See further C. Van Dam, The Urim and Thummim.

⁶ tn Heb “mouth,” meaning what he will say.

⁷ sn Thummim and Urim. These terms, whose meaning is uncertain, refer to sacred stones carried in a pouch on the breastplate of the high priest and examined on occasion as a means of ascertaining God’s will or direction. See Exod 28:30; Lev 8:8; Num 27:21; 1 Sam 28:6. See also C. Van Dam, NIDOTTE 1:329-31.

⁸ tn Heb “godly man.” The reference is probably to Moses as representative of the whole tribe of Levi.

⁹ sn Massah means “testing” in Hebrew; the name is a wordplay on what took place there. Cf. Exod 17:7; Deut 6:16; 9:22; Ps 95:8-9.

¹⁰ sn Meribah means “contention, argument” in Hebrew; this is another wordplay on the incident that took place there. Cf. Num 20:13, 24; Ps 106:32.

¹¹ sn See the note at 1 Sam 14:41.

¹² tn The Hebrew word תִּרְשָׁתָא (tirshata’) is an official title of the Persian governor in Judea, perhaps similar in meaning to “excellency” (BDB 1077 s.v.; HALOT 1798 s.v.; W. L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 395).

¹³ tn Heb “to stand.”

¹⁴ tn The Hebrew term תִּרְשָׁתָא (tirshata’; KJV “Tirshatha”) is the official title of a Persian governor in Judea. In meaning it may be similar to “excellency” (cf. NAB). See further BDB 1077 s.v.; W. L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 395; HALOT 1798 s.v.

¹⁵ tn Heb “stood.”