thing
Urim
אוּרִיםδῆλος
The Urim, along with the Thummim, were objects carried in the breastpiece of the high priest's ephod and used to seek divine guidance (Exodus 28:30; Numbers 27:21).
- verses
- 8
- first named
- Exodus 28:30
- last named
- 1 Samuel 28:6
Description
Urim in the text
The Urim, along with the Thummim, were objects used by the high priest of Israel to seek divine guidance and revelation from God. They are first mentioned in Exodus 28:30, where God instructs Moses to place the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece of the high priest's ephod, a special garment worn during religious ceremonies.
The exact nature and appearance of the Urim are not described in detail in the Bible. Some scholars suggest that they may have been precious stones or small objects inscribed with sacred symbols. The Urim, whose name is derived from the Hebrew word for "light" or "revelation," were likely associated with the concept of divine illumination and guidance.
In Numbers 27:21, God instructs Moses to have the high priest, Eleazar, use the Urim to seek divine guidance on behalf of Joshua and the Israelites. This suggests that the Urim, along with the Thummim, were used in a process of divination to discern God's will and direction.
The Urim and Thummim are also mentioned in Deu.33.8, where Moses blesses the tribe of Levi and associates the Urim and Thummim with their priestly role. In 1Sa.28.6, it is noted that when Saul inquired of the Lord, He did not answer him by dreams, Urim, or prophets, indicating that the Urim was one of the means by which God communicated with His people.
In Ezra 2:63 and Nehemiah 7:65, the Urim and Thummim are mentioned as being absent during the post-exilic period, indicating that the means of seeking divine guidance through these objects had been lost.
The use of the Urim, along with the Thummim, emphasizes the importance of seeking God's guidance and revelation in the religious life of ancient Israel. These objects were seen as a means of discerning the divine will and were closely associated with the role and authority of the high priest.
Relations
Direct connections
Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.
The pattern
Where Urim is named
Every book of the corpus in the order it is read, each as wide as the chapters it holds. A bar is the verses of that book which write the name, and the flat stretches are as much of the answer as the bars.
8 verses across 7 of 66 books; 59 write the name nowhere. Named in Exodus (1), Leviticus (1), Numbers (1), Deuteronomy (1), 1 Samuel (2), Ezra (1) and Nehemiah (1).
Read it
Where to read it
Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 8, across 7 books.
Onward
Where this page goes
Nothing in the graph stands one hop from this entity yet. These are the best-connected entities of the same type, so the page still ends somewhere.
Sources