Keluaran 28:30

28:30 “You are to put the Urim and the Thummim ¹  into the breastpiece of decision; and they are to be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord. Aaron is to bear the decisions ²  of the Israelites over his heart before the Lord continually.

Keluaran 28:36

28:36 “You are to make a plate ³  of pure gold and engrave on it the way a seal is engraved: ⁴  “Holiness to the Lord.” ⁵ 

Imamat 8:8

8:8 He then set the breastpiece ⁶  on him and put the Urim and Thummim ⁷  into the breastpiece.

Bilangan 27:21

27:21 And he will stand before Eleazar the priest, who ⁸  will seek counsel ⁹  for him before the Lord by the decision of the Urim. ¹⁰  At his command ¹¹  they will go out, and at his command they will come in, he and all the Israelites with him, the whole community.”

Bilangan 27:1

Special Inheritance Laws

27:1 ¹² Then the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh of the families of Manasseh, ¹³  the son Joseph came forward. Now these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

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 ¹⁴  nor by the prophets.

Ezra 2:63

2:63 The governor ¹⁵  instructed them not to eat any of the sacred food until there was a priest who could consult ¹⁶  the Urim and Thummim.

Nehemia 7:65

7:65 The governor ¹⁷  instructed them not to eat any of the sacred food until there was a priest who could consult ¹⁸  the Urim and Thummim.

[28:30]  ¹ sn The Urim and the Thummim were two objects intended for determining the divine will. There is no clear evidence of their size or shape or the material of which they were made, but they seem to have been familiar items to Moses and the people. The best example of their use comes from 1 Sam 14:36-42. Some have suggested from the etymologies that they were light and dark objects respectively, perhaps stones or sticks or some other object. They seem to have fallen out of use after the Davidic period when the prophetic oracles became popular. It may be that the title “breastpiece of judgment” indicates that these objects were used for making “decisions” (J. P. Hyatt, Exodus [NCBC], 283-84). U. Cassuto has the most thorough treatment of the subject (Exodus, 378-82); he lists several very clear rules for their uses gathered from their instances in the Bible, including that they were a form of sacred lot, that priests or leaders of the people only could use them, and that they were used for discovering the divine will in areas that were beyond human knowledge.

[28:30]  ² tn Or “judgment” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV). The term is מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat), the same word that describes the breastpiece that held the two objects. Here it is translated “decisions” since the Urim and Thummim contained in the breastpiece represented the means by which the Lord made decisions for the Israelites. The high priest bore the responsibility of discerning the divine will on matters of national importance.

[28:36]  ³ tn The word צִּיץ (tsits) seems to mean “a shining thing” and so here a plate of metal. It originally meant “flower,” but they could not write on a flower. So it must have the sense of something worn openly, visible, and shining. The Rabbinic tradition says it was two fingers wide and stretched from ear to ear, but this is an attempt to give details that the Law does not give (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 818).

[28:36]  ⁴ tn Heb “the engravings of a seal”; this phrase is an adverbial accusative of manner.

[28:36]  ⁵ sn The engraving was a perpetual reminder of the holiness that was due the Lord (Heb “Yahweh”), that all the clothing, the furnishings, and the activities were to come under that description. This corresponded to the symbolism for the whole nation of binding the law between the eyes. It was to be a perpetual reminder of commitment.

[8:8]  ⁶ 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).

[8:8]  ⁷ 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.

[27:21]  ⁸ tn The passage simply has “and he will ask,” but Eleazar is clearly the subject now.

[27:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “ask.”

[27:21]  ¹⁰ 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.

[27:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “mouth,” meaning what he will say.

[27:1]  ¹² sn For additional information on this section, see N. H. Snaith, “The Daughters of Zelophehad,” VT 16 (1966): 124-27; and J. Weingreen, “The Case of the Daughters of Zelophehad,” VT 16 (1966): 518-22.

[27:1]  ¹³ tc The phrase “of the families of Manasseh” is absent from the Latin Vulgate.

[28:6]  ¹⁴ sn See the note at 1 Sam 14:41.

[2:63]  ¹⁵ 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).

[2:63]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to stand.”

[7:65]  ¹⁷ 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.

[7:65]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “stood.”