What are Urim and Thummim? You will find mention of these mysterious objects in 1 Samuel 14. Saul is investigating who may have broken his vow, that “no Israelite eat food before he avenged his enemies.” (1 Samuel 14:24). Jonathan, his son, was away at the time, valiantly making headway against the Philistines.
“But Jonathan had no heard that his father had bound the people with the oath, so he reached out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it into the honeycomb. He raised his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened.” (1 Samuel 14:27).
As the priests were later inquiring of the LORD, it soon became obvious that someone had broken the oath. Saul decided to utilize Urim and Thummim, casting lots (a type of divination) to discover who the oath breaker was.
Urim and Thummim are gemstones from the breastplate of the high priest (also called the hoshen), attached to the ephod. These two objects are assumed to be used by the high priest to answer a question, or the will of God, through the practice of casting lots (also called cleromancy).
Urim comes from the Hebrew word for “lights,” and Thummim may come from the word “perfections.” These objects, then could divine an answer for “this or that,” or “yes or no” types of questions. Further, Thummim may be derived from the Hebrew root for “innocent,” and Urim from the term meaning “curses.” Therefore, Urim and Thummim could divine guilt or innocence.
Scholars believe these lots were cast by the gemstones, Urim and Thummim, being both placed inside a bag, or pouch, and then one item drawn out while unseen. In this case, it worked. Jonathan was revealed as guilty. And Saul was ready to kill his courageous and kind son (1 Samuel 14:44).
“But the men said to Saul, “Should Jonathan die–he who has brought about this great deliverance in Israel? Never! As surely as the LORD lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for he did this today with God’s help.” So the men rescued Jonathan, and he was not put to death.” (1 Samuel 14:45).
Divination and witchcraft are forbidden in the law.
“When you enter than land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you anyone who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, one practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist, or who consults the dead.” (Deuteronomy 18:9-11).
Casting of lots, under careful guidance from the Torah, was okay (in those circumstances). However, Saul didn’t have the best track record with proper religious practice. Later in his life, Saul actually seeks out forbidden arts, despite outlawing them himself. After Samuel passes away, Saul encounters many troubles due to to his disobedience to the LORD. Eventually, he faces a great battle with the Philistines. Feeling especially desperate, Saul disguises himself and visits a medium in Endor. He asks her to communicate with Samuel from the grave. It didn’t go well for him.
“Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”…”The LORD will deliver both Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you are your sons will be with me.” (1 Samuel 28:15-19).
In fact, swearing and cursing are also not godly practices.
While we see several important moments in the Bible where an individual makes an oath or covenant, we also see very careless and foolish events as well. For example, Jephthah made a vow to sacrifice the first thing to exit the door of his house to meet him upon returning from a battle victory. This of course, ended up being his only child, a daughter. Scholars believe that she may have been only forbidden to marry, as opposed to being killed. However, this still negatively affected her life forever, and ended his bloodline (Judges 11).
In the New Testament, Jesus makes His feelings clear on swearing. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explains the deeper truths of the Law and the New Covenant. He ups the ante, from “Eye for eye,” to “Turn the other cheek.” He also explains the importance of careful words.
“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the LORD the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:33-37).
Thankfully, the men in Saul’s army rescued Jonathan and refused to allow him to die for Saul’s careless words. I find it interesting that they reference the hair on his head (see above), a detail mentioned in Matthew 5. I love that the Bible doesn’t just show perfect people. It shows the true failures, lessons, and humanity in biblical figures, so we can learn to do better in our own lives.
Thank you for reading, What are Urim and Thummin? If you are enjoying this deep dive into 1 Samuel, check out Hannah and the Issue of Barrenness, and How did Samuel hear from God?
