In the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' hoshen'', the breastplate worn by the

High Priest The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious organisation. Ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many god ...

attached to the ephod, a type of apron or garment. The pair are used frequently in the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

, in Exodus 28:30 through God's instruction to

Aaron According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...

on how to adorn his breastplate worn in the holy place; in

1 Samuel The Book of Samuel () is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) that constitute a theological ...

14:41 by

King Saul Saul (; , ; , ; ) was a monarch of ancient Israel and Judah and, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the first king of the United Monarchy, a polity of uncertain historicity. His reign, traditionally placed in the late elevent ...

to determine who was at fault for breaking the army's fast; and Ezra 2 to determine whether those who claimed to be the descendants of the priests of Israel were truly of that class. The Urim and Thummim are sometimes connected by scholars with

cleromancy Cleromancy is a form of sortition (casting of lots) in which an outcome is determined by means that normally would be considered random, such as the rolling of dice ( astragalomancy), but that are sometimes believed to reveal the will of a deit ...

(with divination by casting lots), although it is equally likely no casting was physically done, and the participants of Lights and Perfection waited for a sign to answer a question or reveal the will of God.

Name and meaning

''Urim'' () traditionally has been taken to derive from a

root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...

meaning "lights"; these derivations are reflected in the Neqqudot of the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...

. In consequence, ''Urim and Thummim'' has traditionally been translated as "lights and perfections" (by

Theodotion Theodotion (; , ''gen''.: Θεοδοτίωνος; died c. 200) was a Hellenistic Jewish scholar, perhaps working in Ephesus, who in c. A.D. 150 translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek. History Whether he was revising the Septuagint, or was wor ...

, for example), or, by taking the phrase allegorically, as meaning "revelation and truth" or "doctrine and truth." It appears in this form in the

Vulgate The Vulgate () is a late-4th-century Bible translations into Latin, Latin translation of the Bible. It is largely the work of Saint Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels used by the Diocese of ...

, in the writing of St. Jerome, and in the

Hexapla ''Hexapla'' (), also called ''Origenis Hexaplorum'', is a Textual criticism, critical edition of the Hebrew Bible in six versions, four of them translated into Ancient Greek, Greek, preserved only in fragments. It was an immense and complex wor ...

. The latter use was defended in modern Catholic interpretations by connecting ''Urim'' and ''Thummim'' to the roots ירה "to teach" and אׇמַן "be true". ''Thummim'' () is widely considered to be derived from the consonantal root (''t-m-m'') "innocent".' George Foote Moore, "Urim and Thummim", ''

Encyclopedia Biblica ''Encyclopaedia Biblica: A Critical Dictionary of the Literary, Political and Religion History, the Archeology, Geography and Natural History of the Bible'' (1899), edited by Thomas Kelly Cheyne and John Sutherland Black, J. Sutherland Black, is ...

'', ed. Cheyne & Black, vol. IV (Q−Z), cols
5235–5237
(1903). Many scholars now believe that ''Urim'' () simply derives from the Hebrew (''Arrim'') "curses" and thus that ''Urim and Thummim'' essentially means "cursed or faultless", in reference to the deity's judgment of an accused person; in other words, ''Urim'' and ''Thummim'' were used to answer the question "innocent or guilty". Assyriologist William Muss-Arnolt connected the singular forms—''ur'' and ''tumm''—with the Babylonian terms ''ūrtu'' and ''tamītu'', meaning "oracle" and "command", respectively. According to his theory, the Hebrew words use a '' pluralis intensivus'' to enhance their apparent majesty, not to indicate the presence of more than one. Along these lines, the ''Urim'' and ''Thummim'' are hypothesized to derive from the Tablet of Destinies worn by

Marduk Marduk (; cuneiform: Dingir, ᵈAMAR.UTU; Sumerian language, Sumerian: "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) is a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of Babylon who eventually rose to prominence in the 1st millennium BC. In B ...

on his breast according to

Babylonian religion Babylonian religion is the religious practice of Babylonia. Babylonia's mythology was largely influenced by its Sumerian counterparts and was written on clay tablets inscribed with the cuneiform script derived from Sumerian cuneiform. The myths ...

Form and function

is regarded by

biblical scholars Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse academic discipline, disciplines to the study of the Bible, with ''Bible'' referring to the books of the Biblical canon#Jewish canons, canonical Hebrew Bible in mainstream Judais ...

as key to understanding the Urim and Thummim; the passage describes an attempt to identify a sinner by repeatedly splitting the people into two groups and identifying which group contains the sinner. In the version of this passage in the

, it describes

Saul Saul (; , ; , ; ) was a monarch of ancient Israel and Judah and, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the first king of the United Monarchy, a polity of uncertain historicity. His reign, traditionally placed in the late eleventh c ...

and Jonathan being separated from the rest of the people, and lots being cast between them; the

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

version, however, states that ''Urim'' would indicate Saul and Jonathan, while ''Thummim'' would indicate the people. In the Septuagint, a previous verse uses a phrase which is usually translated as "inquired of God", which is significant as the grammatical form of the Hebrew implies that the inquiry was performed by objects being manipulated; scholars view it as evident from these verses and versions that cleromancy was involved, and that ''Urim'' and ''Thummim'' were the names of the objects being cast. William Muss-Arnolt,
The Urim and Thummim: A Suggestion as to their Original Nature and Significance
, '' American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures'' (continuing ''Hebraica''), Vol. XVI, No. 4, July 1900. The description of the clothing of the Hebrew high priest in the

Book of Exodus The Book of Exodus (from ; ''Šəmōṯ'', 'Names'; ) is the second book of the Bible. It is the first part of the narrative of the Exodus, the origin myth of the Israelites, in which they leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through the strength of ...

portrays the Urim and Thummim as being put into the sacred breastplate, worn by the high priest over the Ephod. Where the biblical text elsewhere describes an Ephod being used, scholars presume that it is referring to use of the Urim and Thummim in conjunction with the Ephod, as this seems to be intimately connected with it; similarly where non-prophets are portrayed as asking God for guidance, and the advice is not described as given by visions, scholars think that Urim and Thummim were the medium implied. In all but two cases ( and ), the question is one which is effectively answered by a simple "yes" or "no"; a number of scholars believe that the two exceptions to this pattern, which give more complex answers, were originally also just sequences of "yes" or "no" questions, but became corrupted by later editing. There is no description of the form of the Urim and Thummim in the passage describing the high priest's vestments, and a number of scholars believe that the author of the passage, which textual scholars attribute to the

priestly source The Priestly source (or simply P) is perhaps the most widely recognized of the sources underlying the Torah, both stylistically and theologically distinct from other material in it. It is considered by most scholars as the latest of all sources, a ...

, was not actually entirely aware of what they were either. Nevertheless, the passage does describe them as being ''put into'' the breastplate, which scholars think implies they were objects put into some sort of pouch within it, and then, while out of view, one (or one side, if the ''Urim and Thummim'' was a single object) was chosen by touch and withdrawn or thrown out; since the Urim and Thummim were put inside this pouch, they were presumably small and fairly flat, and were possibly tablets of wood or of bone. Considering the scholars' conclusion that ''Urim'' essentially means "guilty" and ''Thummim'' essentially means "innocent", this would imply that the purpose of the Urim and Thummim was an ordeal to confirm or refute suspected guilt; if the Urim was selected it meant guilt, while selection of the Thummim would mean innocence. According to

classical rabbinical literature Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire corpus of works authored by rabbis throughout Jewish history. The term typically refers to literature from the Talmudic era (70–640 CE), as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic w ...

, in order for the Urim and Thummim to give an answer, it was first necessary for the individual to stand facing the fully dressed high priest, and vocalise the question briefly and in a simple way, though it was not necessary for it to be loud enough for anyone else to hear it.

Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

explains that the High Priest would stand facing the

Ark of the Covenant The Ark of the Covenant, also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, was a religious storage chest and relic held to be the most sacred object by the Israelites. Religious tradition describes it as a wooden storage chest decorat ...

with the inquirer behind him, facing the Priest's back. After the inquirer asked his question, the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

would immediately overcome the Priest and he would see the letters protruding in a prophetic vision. The

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

ic rabbis argued that ''Urim and Thummim'' were words written on the sacred breastplate. Most of the Talmudic rabbis, and

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

, following the belief that ''Urim'' meant "lights", argued that the rituals involving Urim and Thummim involved questions being answered by great rays of light shining out of certain jewels on the breastplate; each jewel was taken to represent different letters, and the sequence of lighting thus would spell out an answer (though there were 22 letters in the

Hebrew alphabet The Hebrew alphabet (, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is a unicase, unicameral abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language and other Jewish languages, most notably ...

, and only 12 jewels on the breastplate); two Talmudic rabbis, however, argued that the jewels themselves moved in a way that made them stand out from the rest, or even moved themselves into groups to form words.

History of use

The first reference to ''Urim and Thummim'' in the Bible is the description in the Book of Exodus concerning the high priest's vestments; the chronologically earliest passage mentioning them, according to textual scholars, is in the

Book of Hosea The Book of Hosea () is collected as one of the Twelve Minor Prophets, twelve minor prophets of the Nevi'im ("Prophets") in the Tanakh, and as a book in its own right in the Christian Old Testament where it has fourteen chapters. According to the ...

, where it is implied, by reference to the Ephod, that the Urim and Thummim were fundamental elements in the popular form of the Israelite religion, in the mid 8th century BC. Consulting the Urim and Thummim was said to be permitted for determining territorial boundaries, and was said to be required, in addition to permission from the king or a prophet, if there was an intention to expand

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

or the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Accord ...

; however, these rabbinical sources questioned, or at least tried to justify, why Urim and Thummim would be required when a prophet was also present. The classical rabbinical writers argued that the Urim and Thummim were only permitted to be consulted by very prominent figures such as army generals, the most senior of court figures, and kings, and the only questions which could be raised were those which were asked for the benefit of the people as a whole. To uncover the sin of Achan the sacred Lots were used by

Joshua Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...

Abiathar Abiathar ( ''ʾEḇyāṯār'', "father (of) abundance"/"abundant father"), in the Hebrew Bible, is a son of Ahimelech or Ahijah, Kohen Gadol, High Priest at Nob, Israel, Nob, the fourth in descent from Eli (Bible), Eli and the last of Eli's Ho ...

joined David, who was then in the cave of Adullam (1 Sam. 22:20–23, 23:6). He remained with David, and became priest of the party of which he was the leader (1 Sam. 30:7). When David ascended the throne of Judah, Abiathar was appointed High Priest (1 Chr. 15:11; 1 Kings 2:26) and the "king's counselor" (1 Chr. 27:33–34). Meanwhile, Zadok, of the house of Eleazar, had been made High Priest. According to the ''Jewish Encyclopedia'' Abiathar was deposed from office when he was deserted by the Holy Spirit without which the Urim and Thummin could not be consulted. Although

argues that the Urim and Thummim continued to function until the era of the

Maccabees The Maccabees (), also spelled Machabees (, or , ; or ; , ), were a group of Jews, Jewish rebel warriors who took control of Judea, which at the time was part of the Seleucid Empire. Its leaders, the Hasmoneans, founded the Hasmonean dynasty ...

, Talmudic sources are unanimous in agreeing that the Urim and Thummim stopped functioning much earlier, when Jerusalem was sacked by the Babylonians. In a passage from the part of the

Book of Ezra The Book of Ezra is a book of the Hebrew Bible which formerly included the Book of Nehemiah in a single book, commonly distinguished in scholarship as Ezra–Nehemiah. The two became separated with the first printed Mikraot Gedolot, rabbinic bib ...

which overlaps with the

Book of Nehemiah The Book of Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible largely takes the form of a first-person memoir by Nehemiah, a Hebrew prophet and high official at the Persian court, concerning the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile and the ...

, it is mentioned that individuals who were unable to prove, after the

Babylonian captivity The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile was the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The deportations occurred ...

had ended, that they were descended from the priesthood before the captivity began, were required to wait until priests in possession of Urim and Thummim were discovered; this would appear to confirm the statements in the Talmud that the Urim and Thummim had by then been lost. Indeed, since the priestly source, which textual scholars date to a couple of centuries prior to the captivity, does not appear to know what the Urim and Thummim looked like, and there is no mention of the Urim and Thummim in the deuteronomic history beyond the death of

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

, scholars suspect that use of them decayed some time before the Babylonian conquest, probably as a result of the growing influence of prophets at that time. Maimonides states that in the

Second Temple The Second Temple () was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod ...

the Urim and Thummim actually existed but no longer functioned in the practical sense since the priests no longer possessed the Holy Spirit. Rabbi

Abraham ben David Abraham ben David ( – 27 November 1198), also known by the abbreviation RABaD (for ''Rabbeinu'' Abraham ben David) Ravad or RABaD III, was a Provençal ḥakham, an important commentator on the Talmud, ''Sefer Halachot'' of Isaac Alfasi, an ...

disagrees and maintains that during that era, the Urim and Thummim were completely absent. According to the ancient

apocrypha Apocrypha () are biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of scripture, some of which might be of doubtful authorship or authenticity. In Christianity, the word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to ...

l '' Lives of the Prophets'', after the death of Zechariah ben Jehoiada, the priests of the Temple could no longer see the apparitions of the angel of the Lord, make

divination Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...

s with the Ephod, or give responses from the

Holy of Holies The Holy of Holies ( or ''Kodesh HaKodashim''; also ''hadDəḇīr'', 'the Sanctuary') is a term in the Hebrew Bible that refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, where the Shekhinah (God in Judaism, God's presence) appeared. According ...

Latter Day Saint movement

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

, founder of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by ...

, said that he used interpreters in order to translate the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...

from the golden plates. In early accounts, Smith described the interpreters as "spectacles", described as two transparent stones set in silver bows. The earliest association of the spectacles with the biblical term "Urim and Thummim" occurred in 1833 and Smith appears to have adopted the term in subsequent descriptions. The Urim and Thummim were said to have been found with the golden plates, a breastplate (to which the silver bows were attached in some descriptions), and the Sword of Laban. Smith's mother,

Lucy Mack Smith Lucy Mack Smith (July 8, 1775 – May 14, 1856) was the mother of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. She is noted for writing the memoir, ''History of Joseph Smith by His Mother, Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, the Pr ...

, described these Urim and Thummim as being like "two smooth three-cornered diamonds." Smith and others also referred to individual seer stones also associated with Smith's dictation of the Book of Mormon as Urim and Thummim, although his wife,

Emma Smith Emma Hale Smith Bidamon (July 10, 1804 – April 30, 1879) was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement and a prominent member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church) as well as the first wife of Josep ...

, in her later accounts distinguished between the seer stones and the Urim and Thummim. Smith also said he used the Urim and Thummim to assist him in receiving other divine revelations, including some of the sections of the

Doctrine and Covenants The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chur ...

and portions of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible. Only

Oliver Cowdery Oliver H. P. Cowdery (October 3, 1806 – March 3, 1850) was an American religious leader who, with Joseph Smith, was an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836. He was the first bapt ...

is claimed to have attempted to use them to receive his own revelation. Many Latter Day Saints believe that Smith's Urim and Thummim were functionally identical to the biblical Urim and Thummim. Smith extended the use of the term "Urim and Thummim" to describe the dwelling place of God, the earth in a future state, and the white stone mentioned in the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...

In popular culture

In accordance with the belief that ''Urim and Thummim'' translates to "Light and Truth", the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

equivalent ''Lux et Veritas'' has been used for several university mottoes. For example, ''Lux et Veritas'' is the motto of

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

and the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...

. Similarly,

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

's motto is ''Lux, Veritas, Virtus'' ("Light, Truth, Virtue"). ''Urim and Thummim'' itself is emblazoned in Hebrew across the open book pictured on the Yale University coat of arms, and the translation ''Lux et Veritas'' appears below on a banner. The Urim and Thummim are also mentioned in some modern fiction: * Urim and Thummim were the names given to two objects of mystical technology in the Prosopopeia transmedia series, culminating in the

International Emmy The International Emmy Awards, or International Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based International Academy of Television Arts and Sc ...

Award-winning participatory drama series '' The Truth About Marika'' by SVT and The company P. * In the television series '' Dig'', the breastplate that is a part of the mystery is said to be the breastplate of the

of the

and used to communicate with God. * In Paulo Coelho's 1988 novel '' The Alchemist'', Urim and Thummim are black and white fortune-telling stones that

Melchizedek In the Hebrew Bible, Melchizedek was the king of Salem and priest of (often translated as 'most high God'). He is first mentioned in Genesis 14:18–20, where he brings out bread and wine and then blesses Abraham, and El Elyon or "the Lord, Go ...

gives to Santiago, with their colors representing “yes” and “no” answers to questions. *In John Bellairs’ young adult novel ''The Revenge of the Wizard’s Ghost'', the two main characters go in search of the Urim and Thummim, imagined as stones with healing powers. * In ''The Object – The Urim and Thummim'' (2007), a documentary directed by Jacob Young, "The story of a musician's fascinating discovery of an ancient relic, as he attempts to seek its mysterious significance and share the artifact with the world." * In the visual novel series '' Misericorde'', Urim and Thummim are the names of a pair of swords that are central to the mysteries and symbolism of the story.

Notes and citations

External links

Urim and Thummim in recent research

b
Reb Chaim HaQoton

* ttp://www.studylight.org/com/wen/view.cgi?book=ex&chapter=028#Ex28_30 Commentary on Exodus 28:30by

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

Commentary on Exodus 28:30
by Cyrus Scofield
The Urim V'tumim: The History of Yale's Insignia and Jewish Thought Today
at westvilleshul.org, by Beth Hamedrosh Hagodol – B'nai Israel, the Westville Synagogue, New Haven, Connecticut {{DEFAULTSORT:Urim And Thummim Hebrew Bible objects Hebrew words and phrases in the Hebrew Bible Jewish religious clothing Objects used for divination