Urim ve’Thumim

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)

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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).