Editing Urim and Thummim (section)

==Name and meaning==

''Urim'' ({{Script/Hebrew|אוּרִים}}) traditionally has been taken to derive from a [[root (linguistics)|root]] meaning "lights"; these derivations are reflected in the [[Niqqud|Neqqudot]] of the [[Masoretic Text]].<ref name="Biblica"/> In consequence, ''Urim and Thummim'' has traditionally been translated as "lights and perfections" (by [[Theodotion]], 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]], in the writing of [[Jerome|St. Jerome]], and in the [[Hexapla]].<ref name="Jewish"/> The latter use was defended in modern Catholic interpretations by connecting ''Urim'' and ''Thummim'' to the roots ירה "to teach" and אׇמַן "be true".<ref name=Muss-Arnolt1900 />

''Thummim'' ({{Script/Hebrew|תוּמִים}}) is widely considered to be derived from the [[Semitic root|consonantal root]] {{Script/Hebrew|ת.מ.ם}} (''t-m-m'') "innocent".<ref name="Peake"/><ref name="Jewish">'{{Cite Jewish Encyclopedia |title=Urim and Thummim |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14609-urim-and-thummim |first1=Emil G. |last1=Hirsch |first2=William |last2=Muss-Arnolt |first3= Wilhelm |last3=Bacher |first4=Ludwig |last4=Blau |author-link1=Emil G. Hirsch |author-link2=William Muss-Arnolt |author-link3=Wilhelm Bacher |author-link4=Ludwig Blau |volume=12 |page=384–385}}</ref><ref name="Biblica">[[George Foote Moore]], "Urim and Thummim", ''[[Encyclopedia Biblica]]'', ed. Cheyne & Black, vol. IV (Q−Z), cols. [https://archive.org/stream/encyclopaediabib04cheyuoft#page/n677/mode/2up 5235–5237] (1903).</ref> Many scholars now believe that ''Urim'' ({{Script/Hebrew|אוּרִים}}) simply derives from the Hebrew {{Script/Hebrew|אּרּרִים}} (''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".<ref name="Peake"/><ref name="Biblica"/>

Assyriologist [[William Muss-Arnolt]] connected the singular forms—''ur'' and ''tumm''—with the [[Akkadian language|Babylonian]] terms ''ūrtu'' and ''tamītu'', meaning "oracle" and "command", respectively. According to his theory, the Hebrew words use a ''[[pluralis excellentiae|pluralis intensivus]]'' to enhance their apparent majesty, not to indicate the presence of more than one.<ref name="Jewish"/> Along these lines, the ''Urim'' and ''Thummim'' are hypothesized to derive from the [[Tablet of Destinies (mythic item)|Tablet of Destinies]] worn by [[Marduk]] on his breast according to [[Babylonian religion]].<ref name=Muss-Arnolt1900 />{{efn|{{bibleverse|1|Samuel|28:3-6|}} mentions three methods of divine communication &ndash; dreams, prophets, and the ''Urim and Thummim''; the first two of these are also mentioned copiously in Assyrian and Babylonian literature, and such literature also mentions a ''[[Tablet of Destinies]]'', which is similar in some ways to the Urim and Thummim. The ''Tablet of Destinies'' had to rest on the breast of deities mediating between the other gods and mankind in order to function, while the Urim and Thummim had to rest within the breastplate of the priest mediating between God and mankind. [[Marduk]] was said to have put his [[Seal (emblem)|seal]] on the Tablets of Destiny, while the Israelite breastplate had a jewelled stone upon it for each of the Israelite tribes, which may derive from the same principle.<ref name="Jewish"/> Like the ''Urim'' and ''Thummim'', the Tablet of Destinies came into use when the fate of king and nation was concerned. According to some archaeologists, the Israelites emerged as a subculture from within [[Canaan]]ite society, not as an invading force from outside, and therefore it would be natural for them to have used similar religious practices to other Semitic nations;<ref>[[Israel Finkelstein]], ''The Bible Unearthed''</ref> such scholars suspect that the concept of ''Urim'' and ''Thummim'' was originally derived from the Tablet of Destinies.<ref name="Jewish"/><ref name=Muss-Arnolt1900 />}}