And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgement the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart when he goeth in before the LORD; and Aaron shall bear the judgement of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually. (Exodus 28:30)
Before exploring the linguistic meaning of the phrase Urim
and Thummim, I’ll mention the obvious point that a person’s opinion about its
purpose and significance will be influenced by his or her religious background.
In the footnotes at the end of this post I’ll include a few comments about
Mormon theology on the subject, but for the time being I’ll only focus on common
viewpoints that many faith-based groups share. These collective ideas primarily
come from Old Testament references to this Divinely-prepared tool and its
related gifts, so I’ll rely heavily on various Bible verses throughout this commentary.
Samuel 28:6 and Numbers 27:21 establish that the Urim and
Thummim was a means by which prophets and priests in Israel received guidance, spiritual
discernment (judgement), direction, and intelligence (light) from the Lord.
And he (Joshua) stall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the after the judgement of the Urim before the Lord… (Numbers 27:21)
We also learn from other Biblical references that it was a
part of sacred ceremony associated with the tabernacle and priestly
administrations. Tragically, the Urim and Thummim falls out of the Biblical
picture sometime during the reign of King Saul. Afterwards it’s only referenced
in connection with post-Diasporic Israel’s hopes for the future ministry of prophets
and priests once again in the land. (See Ezra 2:63 and Nehemiah 7:65.)
Like many other members of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, I first learned that the Hebrew phrase Urim and Thummim אורים ותומים (oo-REEM veh too-MEEM)
meant “light(s) and perfection(s)” by reading the translation footnotes in the
LDS King James version of the Bible. The introductory verse I quoted above is
the earliest reference to the Urim and Thummim we find in the Old Testament, so
this passage is probably the same that first exposed me to the term as a
teenager. This happened long before I had developed any interest in studying Biblical
Hebrew. For me, that linguistic footnote I came across was just one of those
interesting scripture-based trivia facts that I considered fun to know.
The phrase means
much more to me now. Once I learned enough Hebrew to be able to understand something about the broader meaning of its component parts, I found some instructive connections that
have helped me better appreciate how revelation works, both on a universal and
individual level. There’s obviously much more to be understood than the few
personally-applicable insights that I’ve picked up from my studies, but this
linguistic launching point has at least given me a place to begin.
Breaking down the phrase to its main parts, the most common
word used in Hebrew for “light” in its singular form is ohr (אוֹר), while “perfection” in the singular is tohm (תוֹם). The
other word that makes up this expression (and)
is represented by the ve’ (veh sound) that’s attached to the front
of Thummim.
Interestingly, the
expression Urim and Thummim uses ohr
and tohm in their plural
forms (you’ll notice their altered vowel sounds, oh to oo, and the
addition of the –im suffix), so the literal
meaning of Urim ve’Thumim is “Lights
and Perfections”. The “perfections” part sounds a little awkward to English speakers
since this word is rarely used in its plural form. One explanation for why light and perfection were both pluralized in this Hebrew phrase lies in
the language’s semantic rules, or how its grammatical structure influences
meaning. One explanation goes as follows: the
Hebrew suffix –im can either be a masculine-gender
plural marker or a superlative suffix, like the English -est. So Urim ve’Thumim can also be read as “Supreme (highest) light and
perfection” in addition to “Lights and Perfections”.
The second noun in Urim ve’Thumim, tohm (תוֹם) represents
more ideas than just perfection. For
example, it shares several meanings with shalom
(a noun I detailed in my last blog post), including wholeness, completeness,
and order. But tohm also carries additional meanings, such as righteousness, purity
and integrity.
So the Hebrew phrase can be alternatively translated as “Supreme (highest)
light and order” or “Supreme (highest) light and purity.”
The Biblical record shows an unmistakable connection
between tohm (righteousness, purity, order, and integrity) and the serviceable use of the Urim and Thummim for
revelatory purposes. We have
the account of Moses blessing members of the tribe of Levi with the following: “Let thy (the Lord’s) Thummim and Urim be
with thy holy one…” (Deuteronomy 33:8). The Levites had
qualified for this blessing of continued guidance through the Lord’s prophets
and seers because “they (had) observed (God’s) word, and kept (His) covenant.” (Deuteronomy 33:9). In contrast, an example
of self-disqualification from Divine direction via the Urim can be found in
King Saul’s life. Through the prophet Samuel, God had chosen him to be the first
King of Israel, but owing to his later extreme and repeated disobedience Saul
lost the privilege of receiving spiritual help through the Urim and other
means.
“And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.” (1 Samuel 28:6)
This and other scriptural references support the translation of tohm as order. There were structured standards of behavior that qualified
nations and individuals to receive Divine guidance through the Urim and Thummim.
It also appears that the order of Heaven precluded more than one prophet-seer
having an Urim at one time. For example, we don’t find evidence, Biblical or
otherwise, of God having established competing interests with multiple Urim in the same geographical location at
the same time. This type of arrangement would naturally run counter to the
order of Heaven:
“For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” (1 Corinthians 14:33)_______________________________
Footnotes:
1)
In the Standard Works of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, at least five different Urim and Thummim recipients
are referenced:
a.
Abraham
(Pearl of Great Price, Abraham 3:1, 4)
b.
Moses and
Aaron - Eleazar the priest may have used this same Urim during Joshua’s prophetic reign (Numbers 27:21).
c.
The Brother
of Jared (The Book of Mormon, Ether
3:21-28). This set was the one that Joseph Smith received to initially help him
translate the records that were the source of The Book of Mormon (Doctrine and
Covenants, Section 17:1).
d.
Mosiah,
a Book of Mormon prophet-seer (Mosiah 8:13, 19 and Mosiah 28:17)
2)
Abraham, who was entrusted with an Urim, came
from Ur of the Chaldees. Ur means
“light”, just as ohr does. This
is only one of many scriptural linguistic connections between the Urim and
Thummin and “light”. In Mosiah 8:13-17, Ammon speaks about the Urim’s
instrumentality in bringing God’s truth and judgments “to light” (i.e., out into the open and to one's understanding).
