And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goes in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.
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George Leo Haydock
AD 1849
Doctrine and truth. Hebrew Urim and Thummim: illuminations and perfections. These words, written on the rational, seem to signify the light of doctrine, and the integrity of life, with which the priests of God ought to approach to him. (Challoner)
Aurim means things brilliant, "declarations "Septuagint, and thomim, "perfections "or "truths. "Some imagine, that God required the stones of the rational to be of the utmost brilliancy and perfection; Oleaster and Josephus (Antiquities iii. 8,) say, it was by the appearance of those stones that the high priest was enlightened, when he consulted God. If God approved of what was in agitation, they assumed a surprising brightness, as well as those on the high priest's shoulders. But this had not happened for 200 years before he began his history. The Urim and Thummim were not in the second temple, 1 Esdras ii. 63. Some think these words were engraven on stones in the rational. Whether God explained his will by articulate sounds, as (Matthew ii...
The priest bearing the judgment of the children of Israel on his breast in the sight of the Lord means that he examines the causes of his subjects in accordance only with the mind of the Judge within. So … he allows no admixture of human reason in what he dispenses in the place of God, lest personal displeasure embitter him in his zeal for correction. While showing himself zealous against the transgressions of others, he should punish his own, lest his latent ill will stain the calmness of his judgment or hasty anger distort it.
Doctrine and Truth: Hebrew, Urim and Thummim: illuminations and perfections. These words, written on the rational, seem to signify the light of doctrine and the integrity of life, with which the priests of God ought to approach him.
