Reference: Urim and Thummim
Fausets
(See HIGH PRIEST; EPHOD.) ("lights and perfections".) The article "the" before each shows their distinctness. In De 33:8 the order is reversed "thy Thummim and thy Urim." Urim is alone in Nu 27:21; 1Sa 28:6 Saul is answered neither by dreams nor by Urim. Thummim is never by itself. Inside the high priest's breast-plate were placed the Urim and Thummim when he went in before the Lord (Ex 28:15-30; Le 8:8). Mentioned as already familiar to Moses and the people. Joshua, when desiring counsel to guide Israel, was to "stand before Eleazar the priest, who should ask it for him after the judgment of Urim before Jehovah" (Nu 27:21). Levi's glory was "thy Thummim and thy Urim are with thy Holy One," i.e. with Levi as representing, the whole priestly and Levitical stock sprung from him (De 33:8-9).
In Ezr 2:63 finally those who could not prove their priestly descent were excluded from the priesthood "till there should stand up a priest with Urim and Thummim." Theteraphim apparently were in Ho 3:4; Jg 17:5; 18:14,20,30, the unlawful substitute for Urim (compare 1Sa 15:23 "idolatry," Hebrew teraphim; and 2Ki 23:24, margin). Speaker's Commentary thinks that lots were the mode of consultation, as in Ac 1:26; Pr 16:33. More probably stones with Jehovah's name and attributes, "lights" and "perfections," engraven on them were folded within the ephod. By gazing at them the high priest with ephod on, before the Lord, was absorbed in heavenly ecstatic contemplation and by God was enabled to declare the divine will.
The Urim and Thummim were distinct from the 12 stones, and were placed within the folds of the double choshen. Philo says that the high priest's breast-plate was made strong in order that he might wear as an image the two virtues which his office needed. So the Egyptian judge used to wear the two figures of Thmei (corresponding to Thummim), truth and justice; over the heart of mummies of priests too was a symbol of light (answering to Urim). No image was tolerated on the Hebrew high priest; but in his choshen the white diamond or rock crystal engraven with "Jehovah," to which in Re 2:17 the "white stone" with the "new name written" corresponds, belonging to all believers, the New Testament king-priests. Compare Ge 44:5,15; Ps 43:5, "send out Thy light and Thy truth, let them lead me."
Also 1Sa 14:19. Never after David are the ephod and its Urim and Thummim and breast-plate used in consulting Jehovah. Abiathar is the last priest who uses it (1Sa 23:6-9; 28:6; 2Sa 21:1). The higher revelation by prophets superseded the Urim and Thummim. Music then, instead of visions, became the help to the state of prayer and praise in which prophets revealed God's will (1Sa 9:9).
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Is this not that from which my master drinks? Now he himself certainly practices divination with it. You have done evil [in] what you have done.'"
Then Joseph said to them, "What is this deed that you have done? Did you not know that a man who [is] like me surely practices divination?"
And you will make a breast piece of judgment, a work of a skilled craftsman; you will make it like the work of the ephod; you will make it of gold, blue and purple and crimson [yarns], and finely twisted linen. It will be squared, doubled, a span its length and a span its width. read more. And you will fill it [with] stone mounting, four rows [of] stone, a row of carnelian, topaz, and emerald [is] the first row; and the second row [is] a malachite, a sapphire, and a moonstone; and the third row [is] a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row [is] a turquoise and an onyx and a jasper. Their settings will be woven [with] gold. The stones will be according to the names of the {Israelites}, twelve according to their names, [with] seal engravings, each according to its name they will be for [the] twelve tribes. "And you will make on the breast piece braided chains, a work of pure gold ornamental cord. And you will make on the breast piece two gold rings, and you will put the two rings on the two edges of the breast piece. And you will put the two gold ornamental cords on the two rings on the edges of the breast piece. And you will put the two ends of the two ornamental cords on the two filigree settings, and you will put [them] on the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front of it. And you will make two gold rings, and you will place them on the two ends of the breast piece, on its edge that [is] {on the other side} of the ephod, {to the inside}. And you will make two rings and put them on the two shoulder pieces of the ephod below at its front near its seam above the waistband of the ephod. And they will tie the breast piece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord to be on the waistband of the ephod, and the breast piece will not come loose from the ephod. And Aaron will bear the names of the {Israelites} in the breast piece of judgment on his heart, when he comes to the sanctuary, for a remembrance before Yahweh continually. And you will put the Urim and the Thummim on the breast piece of judgment, and they will be on the heart of Aaron when he comes before Yahweh, and Aaron will bear the judgment of the {Israelites} on his heart before Yahweh continually.
Then he placed the breastpiece on him and put the Urim and the Thummim into the breastpiece;
He will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will ask for him by the decision of the Urim before Yahweh. On {his command} they will go out, and at {his command} they will come in, [both] he and all of the {Israelites} with him, the entire community."
He will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will ask for him by the decision of the Urim before Yahweh. On {his command} they will go out, and at {his command} they will come in, [both] he and all of the {Israelites} with him, the entire community."
And of Levi he said, "Your Thummim and your Urim [are] for {your faithful one}, {whom you tested at Massah}; you contended [with] him at the waters of Meribah.
And of Levi he said, "Your Thummim and your Urim [are] for {your faithful one}, {whom you tested at Massah}; you contended [with] him at the waters of Meribah. The [one] saying of his father and of his mother, 'I have not regarded them,' and his brothers he [did] not acknowledge, and his children [he did] not know, but [rather] they observed your word, and your covenant they kept.
The man Micah had for himself {a shrine}, and he made an ephod and teraphim, and {he appointed one of his sons} who became a priest for him.
And the five men that went out to spy out the land ([that is], Laish) responded and said to their relatives, "Do you know that there are in these houses an ephod, teraphim, and an idol of cast metal? So then, consider what you must do."
{The priest accepted the offer}, and he took the ephod, teraphim, and molten image and went along with the people.
And the descendants of Dan set up for themselves the carved divine image, and Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests for the tribe of the Danites until the time of the captivity of the land.
(Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he would say: "Come, let us go up to the seer." For the prophet of today was formerly called a seer.)
While Saul was still speaking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of [the] Philistines {increased more and more}, so Saul said to the priest, "Withdraw your hand!"
For rebellion [is like] the sin of divination; arrogance [is like] iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh, he has rejected you from [being] king!"
{Now when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled} to David [at] Keilah, he went down [with] an ephod in his hand. When it was told to Saul that David had gone to Keilah, Saul said, "God {has given him} into my hand, because he has shut himself in by going into a city [with] {two barred gates}. read more. Saul then summoned all of the army for the battle, to go down [to] Keilah to lay a siege against David and his men. When David learned that Saul [was] plotting evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod here."
And Saul inquired of Yahweh, but Yahweh did not answer him, not by dreams or by the Urim or by the prophets.
Moreover, the mediums and the spiritists, the household gods and the idols, and all of the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, Josiah removed in order to establish the words of the law written on the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had found [in] the temple of Yahweh.
The governor said to them that they could not eat from the holy food of the sanctuary until there was present a priest for the Urim and Thummim.
Why are you {in despair}, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, because I will again praise him, {my salvation} and my God.
The lot will be cast into the lap, but all of its decisions are from Yahweh.
The children of Israel will remain for many days without a king and prince, without sacrifice and stone pillar, ephod and teraphim.
And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was added [to serve] with the eleven apostles.
The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give to him [some] of the hidden manna, and I will give to him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, that no one knows except the one who receives [it].'
Hastings
These denote the two essential parts of the sacred oracle by which in early times the Hebrews sought to ascertain the will of God. Our OT Revisers give as their meaning 'the Lights and the Perfections' (Ex 28:36 Revised Version margin). This rendering
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And you will put the Urim and the Thummim on the breast piece of judgment, and they will be on the heart of Aaron when he comes before Yahweh, and Aaron will bear the judgment of the {Israelites} on his heart before Yahweh continually.
"And you will make a pure gold rosette, and you will engrave on it with seal engravings: "A holy object for Yahweh."
Then he placed the breastpiece on him and put the Urim and the Thummim into the breastpiece;
He will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will ask for him by the decision of the Urim before Yahweh. On {his command} they will go out, and at {his command} they will come in, [both] he and all of the {Israelites} with him, the entire community."
And of Levi he said, "Your Thummim and your Urim [are] for {your faithful one}, {whom you tested at Massah}; you contended [with] him at the waters of Meribah.
The allotment of the descendants of Joseph went from [the] Jordan by Jericho, at the waters of Jericho to the east, [into] the wilderness, going up from Jericho into the hill country [to] Bethel;
The second allotment {fell} for Simeon, for the tribe of the descendants of Simeon, according to their families. And their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the descendants of Judah.
Then Saul said to Yahweh the God of Israel, "{Render a decision perfectly}." Jonathan and Saul were chosen [by lot] and the people went out.
So David inquired of Yahweh, saying, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?" And Yahweh said to David, "Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah." But David's men said to him, "Look, we [are] afraid here in Judah. {How much more} [if] we go [to] Keilah to the battle lines of [the] Philistines?" read more. So David again inquired of Yahweh, and Yahweh answered him and said, "Get up, go down [to] Keilah, for I [am] giving [the] Philistines into your hand.
And Saul inquired of Yahweh, but Yahweh did not answer him, not by dreams or by the Urim or by the prophets.
Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Please bring the ephod here for me." So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. And David inquired of Yahweh, saying, "Should I pursue after this band [of raiders]? Will I overtake them?" He said to him, "Pursue [them], for you will certainly overtake them, and you will certainly rescue them."
The governor said to them that they could not eat from the holy food of the sanctuary until there was present a priest for the Urim and Thummim.
So the governor said to them that they could not eat the most holy food until a priest could come with Urim and Thummim.
For the king of Babylon stands at the fork of the road at the head of the two roads to practice divination. {He shakes the arrows}, he inquires with the teraphim, he {examines} the liver.
Morish
The signification of these Hebrew words is 'lights' and 'perfections.' They were distinct from the gems on the breastplate, for Moses put the breastplate upon Aaron, "also he put in or 'on' the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim." Le 8:8. It is clear that God answered questions by means of the Urim and Thummim. Nu 27:21; De 33:8; 1Sa 28:6. On the return of the Jews from Babylon some, who claimed to be priests but could not show their genealogy, were not allowed to eat of the holy things until there should stand up a priest with Urim and Thummim, and an answer be obtained from God. This great privilege has never yet been restored. Ezr 2:63; Ne 7:65.
It may be remarked that there is no record as to the construction of the Urim and Thummim, nor of their form. The first mention of them is in Ex 28:30; "Thou shalt put in or 'on' the breastplate of judgement the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart when he goeth in before the Lord," as if God had given them to Moses, and had merely to tell him what to do with them
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And you will put the Urim and the Thummim on the breast piece of judgment, and they will be on the heart of Aaron when he comes before Yahweh, and Aaron will bear the judgment of the {Israelites} on his heart before Yahweh continually.
Then he placed the breastpiece on him and put the Urim and the Thummim into the breastpiece;
He will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will ask for him by the decision of the Urim before Yahweh. On {his command} they will go out, and at {his command} they will come in, [both] he and all of the {Israelites} with him, the entire community."
And of Levi he said, "Your Thummim and your Urim [are] for {your faithful one}, {whom you tested at Massah}; you contended [with] him at the waters of Meribah.
The governor said to them that they could not eat from the holy food of the sanctuary until there was present a priest for the Urim and Thummim.
So the governor said to them that they could not eat the most holy food until a priest could come with Urim and Thummim.
Smith
U'rim and Thum'mim
(light and perfection). When the Jewish exiles were met on their return from Babylon by a question which they had no data for answering, they agreed to postpone the settlement of the difficulty till there should rise up "a priest with Urim and Thummim."
The inquiry what those Urim and Thummim themselves were seems likely to wait as long for a final and satisfying answer. On every side we meet with confessions of ignorance. Urim means "light," and Thummim "perfection." Scriptural statements. --The mysterious words meet us for the first time, as if they needed no explanation, in the description of the high Priest's apparel. Over the ephod there is to be a "breastplate of judgment" of gold, scarlet, purple and fine linen, folded square and doubled, a "span" in length and width. In it are to be set four rows of precious stones, each stone with the name of a tribe of Israel engraved on it, that Aaron "may bear them on his heart." Then comes a further order. In side the breastplate, as the tables of the covenant were placed inside the ark,
are to be placed "the Urim and the Thummim," the light and the perfection; and they too are to be on Aaron's heart when he goes in before the Lord.
Not a word describes them. They are mentioned as things-already familiar both to Moses and the people, connected naturally with the functions of the high priest as mediating between Jehovah and his people. The command is fulfilled.
They pass from Aaron to Eleazar with the sacred ephod and other pontificalia.
When Joshua is solemnly appointed to succeed the great hero-law-giver he is bidden to stand before Eleazar, the priest, "who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim," and this counsel is to determine the movements of the host of Israel.
In the blessings of Moses they appear as the crowning glory of the tribe of Levi: "thy Thummim and thy Urim are with thy Holy One."
De 33:8-9
In what way the Urim and Thummim were consulted is quite uncertain. Josephus and the rabbins supposed that the stones gave out the oracular answer by preternatural illumination; but it seems to be far simpler and more in agreement with the different accounts of inquiries made by Urim and Thummim,
4/3/type/leb'>1Sa 14:3,18-19; 23:2,4,9,11-12; 28:6; Jg 20:28; 2Sa 5:23
etc., to suppose that the answer was given simply by the word of the Lord to the high priest comp.
Joh 11:51
when, clothed with the ephod and the breastplate, he had inquired of the Lord. Such a view agrees with the true notion of the breastplate.
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And you will put into the ark the testimony that I will give to you.
And you will make a breast piece of judgment, a work of a skilled craftsman; you will make it like the work of the ephod; you will make it of gold, blue and purple and crimson [yarns], and finely twisted linen. It will be squared, doubled, a span its length and a span its width. read more. And you will fill it [with] stone mounting, four rows [of] stone, a row of carnelian, topaz, and emerald [is] the first row; and the second row [is] a malachite, a sapphire, and a moonstone; and the third row [is] a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row [is] a turquoise and an onyx and a jasper. Their settings will be woven [with] gold. The stones will be according to the names of the {Israelites}, twelve according to their names, [with] seal engravings, each according to its name they will be for [the] twelve tribes. "And you will make on the breast piece braided chains, a work of pure gold ornamental cord. And you will make on the breast piece two gold rings, and you will put the two rings on the two edges of the breast piece. And you will put the two gold ornamental cords on the two rings on the edges of the breast piece. And you will put the two ends of the two ornamental cords on the two filigree settings, and you will put [them] on the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front of it. And you will make two gold rings, and you will place them on the two ends of the breast piece, on its edge that [is] {on the other side} of the ephod, {to the inside}. And you will make two rings and put them on the two shoulder pieces of the ephod below at its front near its seam above the waistband of the ephod. And they will tie the breast piece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord to be on the waistband of the ephod, and the breast piece will not come loose from the ephod. And Aaron will bear the names of the {Israelites} in the breast piece of judgment on his heart, when he comes to the sanctuary, for a remembrance before Yahweh continually. And you will put the Urim and the Thummim on the breast piece of judgment, and they will be on the heart of Aaron when he comes before Yahweh, and Aaron will bear the judgment of the {Israelites} on his heart before Yahweh continually.
And you will put the Urim and the Thummim on the breast piece of judgment, and they will be on the heart of Aaron when he comes before Yahweh, and Aaron will bear the judgment of the {Israelites} on his heart before Yahweh continually.
Then he placed the breastpiece on him and put the Urim and the Thummim into the breastpiece;
And Moses stripped off Aaron's garments and put them on Eleazar his son. Aaron died there on the top of the mountain; and Moses and Eleazar went down from the mountain.
He will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will ask for him by the decision of the Urim before Yahweh. On {his command} they will go out, and at {his command} they will come in, [both] he and all of the {Israelites} with him, the entire community."
And of Levi he said, "Your Thummim and your Urim [are] for {your faithful one}, {whom you tested at Massah}; you contended [with] him at the waters of Meribah. The [one] saying of his father and of his mother, 'I have not regarded them,' and his brothers he [did] not acknowledge, and his children [he did] not know, but [rather] they observed your word, and your covenant they kept.
and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, [was] standing {before it} [to minister] in those days), saying, "Should we go out once more to battle against the descendants of Benjamin our relatives, or should we stop?" And Yahweh said, "Go up tomorrow; I will give them into your hand."
Now Ahijah, the son of Ahitub (the brother of Ichabod), the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli the priest of Yahweh at Shiloh, was carrying an ephod. The troops did not know that Jonathan had gone.
Then Saul said to Ahijah, "Bring near the ark of God" (for the ark of God was {at that time} with the {Israelites}). While Saul was still speaking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of [the] Philistines {increased more and more}, so Saul said to the priest, "Withdraw your hand!"
So David inquired of Yahweh, saying, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?" And Yahweh said to David, "Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah."
So David again inquired of Yahweh, and Yahweh answered him and said, "Get up, go down [to] Keilah, for I [am] giving [the] Philistines into your hand.
When David learned that Saul [was] plotting evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod here."
Will the rulers of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down as your servant has heard? O Yahweh, God of Israel, please tell your servant!" And Yahweh said, "He will come down." Then David said, "Will the rulers of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?" And Yahweh said, "They will deliver [you]."
And Saul inquired of Yahweh, but Yahweh did not answer him, not by dreams or by the Urim or by the prophets.
The governor said to them that they could not eat from the holy food of the sanctuary until there was present a priest for the Urim and Thummim.
So the governor said to them that they could not eat the most holy food until a priest could come with Urim and Thummim.
(Now he did not say this from himself, but being high priest in that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,
Watsons
URIM AND THUMMIM. The high priests of the Jews, we are told, consulted God in the most important affairs of their commonwealth, and received answers by the Urim and Thummim. What these were, is disputed among the critics. Josephus, and some others, imagine the answer was returned by the stones of the breastplate appearing with an unusual lustre when it was favourable, or in the contrary case dim. Others suppose, that the Urim and Thummim were something enclosed between the folding of the breastplate; this some will have to be the tetragrammaton, or the word ????, Jehovah. Christophorus de Castro, and after him Dr. Spencer, maintain them to be two little images shut up in the doubling of the breastplate, which gave the oracular answer from thence by an articulate voice. Accordingly, they derive them from the Egyptians, who consulted their lares, and had an oracle, or teraphim, which they called Truth. This opinion, however, has been sufficiently confuted by the learned Dr. Pococke and by Witsius. The more common opinion among Christians concerning the oracle by Urim and Thummim, and which Dr. Prideaux espouses, is, that when the high priest appeared before the veil, clothed with his ephod and breastplate, to ask counsel of God, the answer was given with an audible voice from the mercy seat, within the veil; but, it has been observed, that this account will by no means agree with the history of David's consulting the oracle by Abiathar, 1Sa 23:9,11; 30:7-8; because the ark, on which was the mercy seat, was then at Kirjathjearim; whereas David was in the one case at Ziklag, and in the other in the forest of Hareth. Braunius and Hottinger have adopted another opinion: they suppose, that, when Moses is commanded to put in the breastplate the Urim and Thummim, signifying lights and perfections in the plural number, it was meant that he should make choice of the most perfect set of stones, and have them so polished as to give the brightest lustre; and, on this hypothesis, the use of the Urim and Thummim, or of these exquisitely polished jewels, was only to be a symbol of the divine presence, and of the light and perfection of the prophetic inspiration; and, as such, constantly to be worn by the high priest in the exercise of his sacred function, especially in consulting the oracle.
Michaelis observes: That in making distributions of property, and in cases of disputes relative to meum [mine] and tuum, [thine,] recourse was had to the lot, in default of any other means of decision, will naturally be supposed. The whole land was partitioned by lot; and that, in after times, the lot continued to be used, even in courts of justice, we see from Pr 16:33; 18:18; where we are expressly taught to remember, that it is Providence which maketh the choice, and that therefore we ought to be satisfied with the decision of the lot, as the will of God. It was for judicial purposes, in a particular manner, that the sacred lot called Urim and Thummim was employed; and on this account the costly embroidered pouch, in which the priest carried this sacred lot on his breast, was called the judicial ornament. "But was this sacred lot used likewise in criminal trials?" Yes, says Michaelis, only to discover the guilty, to convict them; for in the only two instances of its use in such cases which occur in the whole Bible, namely, in Jos 7:14-18; 1Sa 14:37-45, we find the confessions of the two delinquents, Achan and Jonathan, annexed. It appears also to have been used only in the case of an oath being transgressed which the whole people had taken, or the leader of the host in their name, but not in the case of other crimes; for an unknown murder, for example, was not to be discovered by recourse to the sacred lot.
The inner sanctuary, within the veil of the tabernacle, observes Dr. Hales, or most holy place, was called the oracle, 1Ki 6:16, because there the Lord communed with Moses, face to face, and gave him instructions in cases of legal difficulty or sudden emergency, Ex 25:22; Nu 7:89; 9:8; Ex 33:11; a high privilege granted to none of his successors. After the death of Moses a different mode was appointed for consulting the oracle by the high priest, who put on "the breastplate of judgment," a principal part of the pontifical dress, on which were inscribed the words Urim and Thummim, emblematieal of divine illumination; as the inscription on his mitre, "Holiness to the Lord," was of sanctification, Ex 28:30-37; Le 8:8. Thus prepared, he presented himself before the Lord to ask counsel on public matters, not in the inner sanctuary, which he presumed not to enter, except on the great day of national atonement, but without the veil, with his face toward the ark of the covenant, inside; and behind him, at some distance, without the sanctuary, stood Joshua, the judge, or person who wanted the response, which seems to have been given with an audible voice from within the veil, Nu 27:21, as in the case of Jos 6:6-15; of the Israelites during the civil war with Benjamin, Jg 20:27-28; on the appointment of Saul to be king, when he hid himself, 1Sa 10:22-24; of David, 1Sa 22:10; 23:2-12; 30:8; 2Sa 5:23-24; of Saul, 1Sa 28:6. This mode of consultation subsisted under the tabernacle erected by Moses in the wilderness, and until the building of Solomon's temple; after which we find no instances of it. The oracles of the Lord were thenceforth delivered by the prophets; as by Ahijah to Jeroboam 1Ki 11:29; by Shemaiah to Rehoboam, 1Ki 12:22; by Elijah to Ahab, 1Ki 17:1; 21:17-29; by Michaiah to Ahab and Jehoshaphat, 1Ki 22:7; by Elisha to Jehoshaphat and Jehoram, 2Ki 3:11-14; by Isaiah to Hezekiah, 2Ki 19:6-34; 20:1-11; by Huldah to Josiah, 2Ki 22:13-20; by Jeremiah to Zedekiah, Jer 32:3-5, &c. After the Babylonish captivity, and the last of the prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, the oracle ceased; but its revival was foretold by Ezr 2:63, and accomplished by Christ, who was himself the oracle, under the old and new covenants, Ge 15:1; Joh 1:1. See BREASTPLATE.
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After these things the word of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision, saying: "Do not be afraid, Abram; I [am] your shield, [and] your reward [shall be] very great."
And I will meet you there, and I will speak with you from over the atonement cover, from between the two cherubim that [are to be] on the ark of the testimony--all that I will command you to the {Israelites}.
And you will put the Urim and the Thummim on the breast piece of judgment, and they will be on the heart of Aaron when he comes before Yahweh, and Aaron will bear the judgment of the {Israelites} on his heart before Yahweh continually. "And you will make the robe of the ephod totally of blue [yarn]. read more. And the opening for his head will be in the middle of it; its opening will have an edge all around, the work of a weaver; it will be like the opening of a sturdy garment for it, [so that] it will not be torn. And you will make on its hem pomegranates of blue and purple and crimson [yarns] on its hem all around and bells of gold in the midst of them all around, a gold bell and a pomegranate, a gold bell and a pomegranate, on the hem of the robe all around. And it will be on Aaron for serving, and its sound will be heard at his coming into the sanctuary before Yahweh and at his going out, so that he will not die. "And you will make a pure gold rosette, and you will engrave on it with seal engravings: "A holy object for Yahweh." And you will place it on a blue cord, and it will be on the turban, at the front of the turban it will be.
And Yahweh would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his neighbor. And he would return to the camp, and his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not leave the middle of the tent.
Then he placed the breastpiece on him and put the Urim and the Thummim into the breastpiece;
And when Moses came to the tent of assembly to speak with him, he would hear the voice speaking to him from the atonement cover, which [is] on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim, and he would speak to him.
Moses said to them, "Stay. I will hear what Yahweh commands to you."
He will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will ask for him by the decision of the Urim before Yahweh. On {his command} they will go out, and at {his command} they will come in, [both] he and all of the {Israelites} with him, the entire community."
So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry the trumpets of the rams' horns before the ark of Yahweh." And he said to the people, "Go forward and march around the city, and let the armed [men] pass before the ark of Yahweh. read more. {And when Joshua spoke} to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the presence of Yahweh went forward and they blew the trumpets; and the ark of the covenant of Yahweh followed behind them. And the armed [men] went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while they were blowing the trumpets. But Joshua commanded the people, saying, "You will not shout, and you will not let your voice be heard; a word will not go out from your mouth until the day I say to you 'Shout!' Then you will shout." And the ark of Yahweh went around the city, {circling once}, and they came [into] the camp and spent the night in the camp. Then Joshua got up early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of Yahweh. The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of the rams' horns before the ark of Yahweh went on continually, and they blew on the trumpets. And the armed [men] went before them, and [the] rear guard came after the ark of Yahweh, while the trumpets blew continually. And they marched around the city once on the second day, and they returned [to] the camp. They did [this] for six days. Then on the seventh day they rose early at dawn, and they marched around the city in this manner seven times. [It was] only on that day that they marched around the city seven times.
In the morning you will come forward, {tribe by tribe}, and the tribe that Yahweh will select by lot will come forward by clans, and the clan that Yahweh selects by lot will come forward by families, and the family that Yahweh selects by lot will come forward one by one. The one caught with the devoted things will be burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because {he transgressed the covenant} of Yahweh, and because he did a disgraceful thing in Israel." '" read more. So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought forward Israel, {tribe by tribe}, and the tribe of Judah was selected by lot. And he brought forward the clans of Judah and selected the clan of the Zerahites by lot. Then he brought forward the clan of the Zerahites, one by one, and Zabdi was selected by lot. He brought forward his family, one by one, and Achan son of Carmi son of Zabdi son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was selected by lot.
And the {Israelites} inquired of Yahweh (In those days the ark of the covenant of God [was] there, and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, [was] standing {before it} [to minister] in those days), saying, "Should we go out once more to battle against the descendants of Benjamin our relatives, or should we stop?" And Yahweh said, "Go up tomorrow; I will give them into your hand."
So they inquired again of Yahweh, "{Did the man come here}?" And Yahweh said, "Look, he [is] hiding himself among the baggage." So they ran and took him from there, and when he took his stand among the people, he was taller than all the people from his shoulders and up. read more. Then Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him whom Yahweh has chosen? For there is no one like him among all the people!" And all the people shouted and said, "Long live the king!"
And he inquired of Yahweh for him and gave him provisions and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine."
So David inquired of Yahweh, saying, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?" And Yahweh said to David, "Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah." But David's men said to him, "Look, we [are] afraid here in Judah. {How much more} [if] we go [to] Keilah to the battle lines of [the] Philistines?" read more. So David again inquired of Yahweh, and Yahweh answered him and said, "Get up, go down [to] Keilah, for I [am] giving [the] Philistines into your hand. So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with [the] Philistines. They drove off their livestock and {dealt them a heavy blow}. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. {Now when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled} to David [at] Keilah, he went down [with] an ephod in his hand. When it was told to Saul that David had gone to Keilah, Saul said, "God {has given him} into my hand, because he has shut himself in by going into a city [with] {two barred gates}. Saul then summoned all of the army for the battle, to go down [to] Keilah to lay a siege against David and his men. When David learned that Saul [was] plotting evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod here."
When David learned that Saul [was] plotting evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod here." And David said, "O Yahweh, God of Israel, your servant has clearly heard that Saul [is] seeking to come to Keilah to destroy the city because of me. read more. Will the rulers of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down as your servant has heard? O Yahweh, God of Israel, please tell your servant!" And Yahweh said, "He will come down."
Will the rulers of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down as your servant has heard? O Yahweh, God of Israel, please tell your servant!" And Yahweh said, "He will come down." Then David said, "Will the rulers of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?" And Yahweh said, "They will deliver [you]."
And Saul inquired of Yahweh, but Yahweh did not answer him, not by dreams or by the Urim or by the prophets.
Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Please bring the ephod here for me." So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. And David inquired of Yahweh, saying, "Should I pursue after this band [of raiders]? Will I overtake them?" He said to him, "Pursue [them], for you will certainly overtake them, and you will certainly rescue them."
And David inquired of Yahweh, saying, "Should I pursue after this band [of raiders]? Will I overtake them?" He said to him, "Pursue [them], for you will certainly overtake them, and you will certainly rescue them."
He built twenty cubits from the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor up to the ceiling, and he built for it an inner sanctuary on the inside, as the {most holy place}.
It happened at that time that Jeroboam went out from Jerusalem, and he accidentally met Ahijah the Shilonite the prophet on the way. Now he had clothed himself with new clothing. While the two of them [were] alone in the field,
Then the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
Elijah the Tishbite from Tishbe of Gilead said to Ahab, "{As Yahweh lives}, the God of Israel before whom I stand, there shall surely not be dew nor rain these years {except by my command}."
The word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, "Arise, go down to meet Ahab the king of Israel who is in Samaria. Look in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession of it. read more. You shall say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh: "Have you committed murder and also taken possession?" ' You shall also say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh: "In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, the dogs will also lick your blood." '" Then Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me, my enemy?" He said, "I have found you because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of Yahweh. 'Look, I [am] bringing disaster on you, and I will sweep away after you. I will cut off for Ahab {every male} in Israel, bond or free. I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, {because you made me angry} and have caused Israel to sin.' Moreover, concerning Jezebel, Yahweh has said, 'The dogs will eat Jezebel in the outer rampart of Jezreel.' The one who dies for Ahab in the city, the dogs will eat; the one who dies in the open country, the birds of heaven will eat." Truly, there was no one like Ahab who had sold himself by doing evil in the eyes of Yahweh, whose wife Jezebel urged him on. Also, he acted very abominably by going after idols like all the Amorites had done whom Yahweh had driven out from before the {Israelites}." When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth over his flesh, fasted, lay in the sackcloth, and went about dejectedly. Then the word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, "Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring disaster in his days. I will bring the disaster on his house in the days of his son."
So Jehoshaphat said, "Is there no prophet of Yahweh here that we might still inquire from him?"
Then Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there no prophet of Yahweh here that we might inquire [guidance] from Yahweh?" One of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, "Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah." Jehoshaphat said, "The word of Yahweh is with him." So the king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom went down to him. read more. Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, "{What do we have in common}? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother." Then the king of Israel said to him, "No, for Yahweh has called for these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab." Then Elisha said, "{As Yahweh of hosts lives}, before whom I stand, surely if I was not {regarding the face} of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would have not looked at you nor even glanced at you.
and Isaiah said to them, "Thus you must say to your master, 'Thus says Yahweh, "You must not be afraid because the face of the words which you have heard, [with] which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. Look, I [am] putting in him a spirit. He will hear a rumor and return to his land. Then I will cause him to fall by the sword in his land." '" read more. When [the] chief commander returned, he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that he had departed from Lachish. He heard about Tirhakah, the king of Cush, saying, "Look, he has set out to fight with you," so he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus you shall say to Hezekiah the king of Judah, 'Let not your God whom you [are] trusting deceive you, by his saying, "Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria!" Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, by utterly destroying them, and shall you be delivered? Did the gods of the nations that my {predecessors} destroyed deliver them? [Not] Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, [nor] the children of Eden who [were] in Tel Assar. Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?'" Hezekiah took the letters from the hand of the messengers and read them. [Then] he went up to the temple of Yahweh, and Hezekiah spread them out before the presence of Yahweh. Then Hezekiah prayed before the face of Yahweh and said, "O Yahweh, God of Israel who lives [above] the cherubim. You [are] God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the world; you have made the heavens and the earth. Incline your ears and hear; open, O Yahweh, your eyes and see and hear the words of Sennacherib which he has sent to insult the living God. Truly, O Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have utterly destroyed the nations and their land. He has hurled their gods in the fire because they [are] not gods, but the work of the hands of a human [made of] wood and stone, so they destroyed them. So then, O Yahweh our God, rescue us, please, from his hand, that all of the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Yahweh, you alone are God!" Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel, 'What you have prayed to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. This is the word that Yahweh has spoken concerning him: She despises you, she scorns you, the virgin daughter of Zion. Behind you the daughter of Jerusalem shakes [her] head. Whom have you mocked and reviled? And against whom have you have raised [your] voice and have haughtily lifted your eyes? Against the Holy One of Israel! By the hand of your messengers you have mocked the Lord, and you have said, 'With my many chariots I have gone up [to] the height of the mountains. [To] the remote areas of Lebanon, I have felled the tallest of its cedars, the choicest of its cypresses. I have entered the place of overnight lodging. Even [to] the edge of forest of its fertile land. I dug [wells] and I drank foreign water, and I dried up with the sole of my steps all the canals of Egypt.' Have you not heard? From long ago I have determined it, from the days of old I have planned it, and now I am bringing it to pass. It shall be turned into a pile of rocks; fortified cities are ruined. Their inhabitants, short of hand, shall be dismayed; and they shall be ashamed. They have become green plants of the open field, and tender grass, green grass of the roof and blight before the standing grain. Your sitting, your going out, and your coming [in] I know, and your raging against me. Because you are raging against me, and your arrogance has come up in my ears, I will put my nose ring in your nose and my bridle in your mouth. And I will turn you back on the way that you have come. " 'This will be the sign for you: Eat the volunteer plants for the year, and in the second year, the volunteer plants that spring up from that. But [in] the third year, sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. The remainder of the house of Judah which survives will again [take] root below and bear fruit above. For from Jerusalem a remnant shall go out and survivors from Mount Zion; the zeal of Yahweh will do this. " 'Therefore thus says Yahweh to the king of Assyria, "He shall not come to this city, nor shall he shoot an arrow there, nor shall he bring a small shield near her, nor shall he cast a siege ramp against her. By the way that he came to her he shall return; but to this city, he shall not come," declares Yahweh. And I will defend this city to save her for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.'"
In those days Hezekiah became {deathly ill}, and Isaiah the son of Amoz the prophet came to him and said to him, "Thus says Yahweh, 'Command your house, for you [are about] to die; you will not recover.'" Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahweh, saying, read more. "O Yahweh, please remember how I went about before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and [remember] the good that I have done in your eyes." Then Hezekiah {wept bitterly}. Isaiah had not gone out from the middle of the city when the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, "Return; you must say to Hezekiah, the leader of my people, 'Thus says Yahweh the God of David your ancestor, "I have heard your prayer and I have seen your tears. Look, I [am about to] heal you. On the third day you shall go up [to] the temple of Yahweh. I will add to your days fifteen years, and from the hand of the king of Assyria I will deliver you and this city. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of David my servant." '" Then Isaiah said, "Bring a lump of figs," so they took and put it on the skin sores, and he lived. Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "What is the sign that Yahweh will heal me that I shall go up on the third day [to] the temple of Yahweh?" Isaiah said, "This [is] the sign for you from Yahweh that Yahweh will do the thing that he has promised: Shall the shadow advance ten steps or shall it return ten steps?" Hezekiah answered, "It is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. No, but let the shadow return backwards ten steps." Isaiah the prophet called to Yahweh, and he brought back the shadow on the steps where it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz, backwards ten steps.
"Go, inquire of Yahweh for me and for the people and for all of Judah concerning the words of this scroll [that was] found. For the wrath of Yahweh that is kindled against us [is] great because our ancestors did not listen to the words of this scroll to do according to all that is written concerning us!" So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah the son of Harhas, the keeper of the robes. Now she [was] living in Jerusalem in the second district. Then they spoke to her, read more. and she said to them, "Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel, 'Say to the man who sent you to me, "Thus says Yahweh, 'Look I am bringing evil to this place and upon its inhabitants, [according to] all of the words of that scroll that the king of Judah has read because they have abandoned me and they have burned incense to other gods, provoking me to anger with all of the works of their hands. My wrath shall be kindled against this place and not be quenched.'" And to the king of Judah who sent all of you to inquire of Yahweh, thus you shall say to him, "Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel, '[Concerning] the words that you have heard, because you have a responsive heart, and you humbled yourself before Yahweh when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants to become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before my face, I have also heard, declares Yahweh. Therefore look, I am gathering you to your ancestors, and you shall be gathered to your tombs in peace. Your eyes will not see all of the disaster that I am bringing onto this place.'" '" Then they {reported the word} to the king.
The governor said to them that they could not eat from the holy food of the sanctuary until there was present a priest for the Urim and Thummim.
The lot will be cast into the lap, but all of its decisions are from Yahweh.
The lot will put an end to disputes, and between powerful contenders it will decide.
where Zedekiah, the king of Judah, had confined him, {saying}, "Why [are] you prophesying, {saying}, 'Thus says Yahweh, "Look, I [am] going to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it, and Zedekiah, the king of Judah, will not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but surely he will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and {he will speak face to face with him} and {he will see him eye to eye}, read more. and [to] Babylon he will bring Zedekiah, and there he will be until my attending to him," {declares} Yahweh. "If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will not be successful" '?"
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.