URIM
U"rim, n. Etym: [Heb. , pl. of , fire light.]
Definition: A part or decoration of the breastplate of the high priest
among the ancient Jews, by which Jehovah revealed his will on certain
occasions. Its nature has been the subject of conflicting
conjectures.
Thou shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the
Thummim. Ex. xxviii. 30.
And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not,
neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. 1 Sam. xxviii. 6.
Note: Professor Plumptre supposes the Urim to have been a clear and
colorless stone set in the breastplate of the high priest as a symbol
of light, answering to the mystic scarab in the pectoral plate of the
ancient Egyptian priests, and that the Thummim was an image
corresponding to that worn by the priestly judges of Egypt as a
symbol of truth and purity of motive. By gazing steadfastly on these,
he may have been thrown into a mysterious, half ecstatic state, akin
to hypnotism, in which he lost all personal consciousness, and
received a spiritual illumination and insight.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition