English
Urim and Thummim
Urim and Thummim comes from Biblical Hebrew אוּרִים.
- Biblical Hebrewc. 1000–200 BCEאוּרִיםʾûrîm
- Englishearliest quotation 1671Urim and Thummim
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Biblical Hebrewc. 1000–200 BCEאוּרִיםʾûrîm
- Englishearliest quotation 1671Urim and Thummim
Earliest quotation: 1671, John Milton, The Third Book: “Should Kings and Nations from thy mouth conſult, /…”
Made of the words Urim + and + Thummim
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- ‘face’
…
Proto-Germanic *andi ‘in addition’
Proto-West Germanic *andi
Old English and
Middle English and ‘and’
English and
The story
Traditionally the Hebrew has been understood, and sometimes translated, as “Light and Truth” owing to the similarity to אוֹרִים (ʾôrîm, “lights”) and תָּמִים (tāmîm, “complete, morally upright, in accordance with truth”), an interpretation that has contributed to the terms’ association with clairvoyance. There is no consensus on the validity of this reading in the original biblical context, particularly for Thummim.
Every English word from Biblical Hebrew אוּרִים
Today it means
noun Certain sacred objects (whose precise form and nature is unknown) that were worn on the breastplate of the Jewish high priest, as described in the Bible, and used in divination or casting lots.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Biblical Hebrew אוּרִים / Urim and Thummim