Objects of uncertain description, kept in the breastplate and vestments of the Israelite high priest. They were apparently used to discern God's answer to yes-or-no questions put to him, and served either as gemstones catching the light (if urim means lights) or as flat markers used in casting lots (if urim means curse and thummim means perfect).
Device or process
Because the words Urim and Thummim are plural and in most cases do not connote an object, the device or process could be referred to as Urim and Thummim rather than "the" Urim and Thummim (Hebrew: האורים והתמים, Standard haʾUrim vəhaTummim Tiberian hāʾÛrîm wəhatTummîm;
According to the teachings of Judaism, a small parchment with God's holy name, the Tetragrammaton, inscribed on it was slipped into an opening under the Urim and Thummim on the high priest's breast plate, which caused the breastplate to "glow" and thereby "transmit messages" from God to the Children of Israel.
Some scholars have suggested "the" Urim and Thummim consists of two crystals; (In Mormonism, Joseph Smith, Jr.'s Urim and Thummim consisted of "two transparent stones set in the rim of a [silver] bow fastened to a breast plate" (History of the Church 4:537), or one of a number of "seer stones" used by Smith.
More recent scholars have pointed to the plural nature of the words to argue that there wasn't "a" certain device, but rather Urim and Thummim was the process or procedure priests used in the casting of lots and some sort of stones or jewels would be the medium. Others have pointed out that the words "Urim and Thummim," in the Hebrew, begin with the first letter (aleph, א) and the final letter (tav, ת) of the Hebrew alphabet, respectively, and have suggested that the device contained these and perhaps other letters of the Hebrew alphabet, which were used as lots to determine the response of the oracle.
There is some evidence that Urim and Thummim were/was used as a lot that provided "yes" or "no" answers, depending upon whether the Urim or the Thummim came into play, as manipulated by a Hebrew oracle. Upon the death of Aaron and Moses, Joshua was instructed to present himself to the high priest for the counsel of the Urim and Thummim when he wished to consult God. The last agreed-upon reference to Urim and Thummim in the Bible is in Ezra and Nehemiah when, as the Temple and its worship practices are being restored, those who cannot prove their lineage as priests are commanded to wait for a priest who was worthy to use the Urim and Thummim to confirm their eligibility.
Christian views
Some feel that "Urim and Thummim" is another name for the casting of lots (or stones, etc.), rather than a device that is used as a medium. Because of this context, some traditions hold that the choosing of Matthias to replace Judas Iscariot in the book of Acts by the casting of lot was done by Urim and Thummim, rather than by "the" Urim and Thummim. In either case, Urim and Thummim is not mentioned specifically in Biblical text in regard to this calling.
Non-Biblical references
Mormonism
Urim and Thummim play a role in Mormonism. claimed to have used devices, which he later referred to as the Urim and Thummim, in the translation of the Book of Mormon from metal plates. Many associates of Smith saw the Urim and Thummim;
According to an account of Martin Harris as remembered by Charles Anthon, the Urim and Thummim were a large pair of golden eyeglasses, big enough that one man could look through a single lens with both eyes. The Doctrine and Covenants clarifies that the interpreters are indeed Urim and Thummim. The use of a Urim and Thummim in Mormonism relates to the function of a seer, although Latter-day Saints will acknowledge that anyone with the gift of prophecy may at times see visions.
Freemasonry
Masonic legend (taught during the 13, 14 and 21 degrees ceremonies of Masonry) and Kabbalistic tradition state that Urim and Thummin were part of the recovered artifacts taken from Solomon's Temple after Hiram Abif was murdered while protecting the temple treasury.
Popular culture
In popular literature, a treasure hunt for "the" Urim and Thummim (as a unique artifact) forms the central plot of the John Bellairs novel The Revenge of the Wizard's Ghost, or its apparent desecration by a vandal unknown in the Arthur Conan Doyle short story "The Jew's Breastplate".
In the Christian fiction novel The Face of God by Bill Myers, the pastor Daniel Lawson and terrorist Ibrahim el-Magd race to find the Urim and Thummim as well as the twelve stones of the high priest's breastplate mentioned in the Old Testament in order to hear God's voice.
It has been suggested that the descriptions of the Urim and Thummim provide substantiation for paleocontact theory.
In the novel The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, an old man who claims to be the king of Salem gives Santiago (the main character, also known as "the boy") two stones, one white, one black and tells him that they are called Urim and Thummim.
In the film The Dark Crystal, a Healer from the mystic urRu race is named urIm, probably after Urim and Thummim.
University References
The Biblical Hebrew "Urim and Thummim" (אורים ותמים) is emblazoned across the open book pictured on the Yale University shield, a legacy of Yale College president Ezra Stiles.
Scriptural Passages Mentioning the Urim and Thummim
Hebrew scriptures
Judaica Press Translation:
Exodus 28:30 - You shall place the Urim and the Tummim into the choshen of judgment so that they will be over Aaron's heart when he comes before the Lord, and Aaron will carry the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the Lord at all times. Leviticus 8:8 - And he placed the choshen upon him, and he inserted into the choshen the Urim and the Tummim. Deutoronomy 33:8 - And of Levi he said: "Your Tummim and Urim belong to Your pious man, whom You tested at Massah and whom You tried at the waters of Meribah, Ezra 2:63 - And Hattirshatha said to them that they should not eat of the most holy sacrifices until a priest arises for the Urim and the Tumim. Nehemiah 7:65 - And Hattirshatha said to them that they should not eat of the most holy sacrifices until a priest arises for the Urim and the Tumim.
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