Urim and Thummim
What Were the Urim and Thummim?
The Urim and Thummim are among the most mysterious objects in the Old Testament. They were placed in or on the high priest's breastplate, which was called the "breastplate of judgment" or "breastplate of decision" (Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:8). The names are often translated as "Lights and Perfections" or "Lights and Truths," though the exact etymology remains debated.
Scripture never describes what the Urim and Thummim looked like or precisely how they functioned. They appear to have been physical objects — perhaps stones, gems, or sacred lots — that the high priest consulted to receive yes-or-no answers from God, or at minimum to determine God's will in specific situations. Their possession was one of the greatest distinctions of the priestly office (Deuteronomy 33:8), and Moses' blessing on the tribe of Levi specifically mentions them.
How They Were Used
The primary function of the Urim and Thummim was to seek divine guidance in moments of national crisis. When Joshua succeeded Moses, God instructed that he should stand before Eleazar the priest, "who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord" (Numbers 27:21). This established the pattern: the leader of the nation would bring questions to the high priest, who would consult the Urim to receive God's answer.
Several episodes in Israel's history likely involved their use, even when they are not explicitly named. The identification of Achan as the one who had violated the ban at Jericho (Joshua 7:14-18) may have involved the Urim. The selection of Saul as king through a process of narrowing down tribes and families (1 Samuel 10:20-22) suggests a similar method. The Septuagint version of 1 Samuel 14:41 preserves what appears to be the original text of Saul's inquiry, explicitly mentioning the Urim and Thummim in the process of identifying Jonathan as the one who had broken the king's oath.
David made extensive use of priestly inquiry during his years as a fugitive and early in his reign. When Abiathar the priest fled to David after the massacre at Nob, he brought the ephod (which contained the Urim and Thummim) with him (1 Samuel 23:6). David repeatedly "inquired of the Lord" through this means, receiving specific guidance about military actions (1 Samuel 23:2-4, 9-12; 30:7-8; 2 Samuel 2:1; 5:19, 23).
The Decline and Disappearance
After the time of David, the Urim and Thummim gradually fade from the biblical narrative. There are two notable occasions when God refused to answer Saul through the Urim (1 Samuel 14:37; 28:6), suggesting that the instrument was not a mechanical device but depended on God's willingness to respond. With the rise of the prophetic movement under Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, and their successors, direct prophetic revelation became the primary means of divine guidance, and the priestly oracle apparently fell into disuse.
By the post-exilic period, the Urim and Thummim were no longer available. When difficult questions of priestly genealogy arose after the return from Babylon, the governor declared that certain priests should be excluded "until there should arise a priest with Urim and Thummim" (Ezra 2:63; Nehemiah 7:65). This statement reveals both the recognition of their importance and the acknowledgment that they had been lost, probably during the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC.
Theories About Their Nature
Scholars have proposed numerous theories about the physical form and operation of the Urim and Thummim. The most common suggestion is that they were two flat stones or sacred lots, one marked for "yes" and one for "no" (or one light and one dark, matching the possible meaning of their names). When drawn from the breastplate, they would indicate God's answer. This theory is supported by the apparent binary nature of the responses in many passages.
Other proposals include gemstones that would light up or change appearance when God communicated, or a system more complex than simple lots. Some Jewish traditions suggest they involved the letters inscribed on the twelve stones of the breastplate lighting up to spell out divine messages. Whatever their form, Scripture consistently presents them not as a magical device but as an instrument through which the living God chose to communicate with His people.
Theological Significance
The Urim and Thummim illustrate a fundamental biblical principle: God desires to guide His people and has provided means for them to know His will. In the patriarchal period, God spoke directly or through dreams and visions. Through Moses, He established the priestly oracle. Through the prophets, He spoke His word directly. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit indwells every believer and guides them into truth (John 16:13; Romans 8:14).
The progression from Urim to prophets to the indwelling Spirit reveals an ever-deepening intimacy in God's communication with His people. What was once mediated through objects in a breastplate is now written on the heart by the Spirit (Jeremiah 31:33; 2 Corinthians 3:3). The mystery of the Urim and Thummim points forward to the fullness of revelation in Christ, who is Himself the Light and the Truth (John 14:6).
Biblical Context
The Urim and Thummim are mentioned by name in Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:8; Numbers 27:21; Deuteronomy 33:8; 1 Samuel 28:6; Ezra 2:63; and Nehemiah 7:65. Their use is implied in numerous episodes of priestly inquiry throughout Joshua, Judges, and the books of Samuel. They are associated with the high priest's breastplate and the ephod, and their consultation was a formal means of seeking God's will in matters of national importance.
Theological Significance
The Urim and Thummim demonstrate God's provision for guiding His people in critical decisions. They remind us that divine guidance is not a matter of human manipulation but depends on God's sovereign willingness to respond. Their eventual disappearance and replacement by prophetic revelation, and ultimately by the indwelling Holy Spirit, trace a trajectory of increasing intimacy in God's relationship with His people. They point forward to Christ, who is the final and perfect revelation of God's will.
Historical Background
The use of sacred lots for divination was widespread in the ancient Near East. Babylonian priests used various forms of divination, including casting lots and consulting omens. The Urim and Thummim may have been Israel's divinely sanctioned alternative to pagan forms of lot-casting. Rabbinic tradition in the Talmud (Yoma 73b) provides detailed, though late, descriptions of how the Urim was believed to function. The Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC likely resulted in the loss of these sacred objects, as suggested by the post-exilic references in Ezra and Nehemiah.