Leviticus 8 Footnotes

8:8 The “Urim and Thummim” are mentioned in Scripture in only six other places (Ex 28:30; Nm 27:21; Dt 33:8; 1Sm 28:6; Ezr 2:63; Neh 7:65). They may have been flat stones, similar to the puru used in Mesopotamia, and attested in Hebrew as purim (“lots”) in Esther (see Est 9:24-26). Archaeological excavations have recovered such objects from non-Israelite sanctuary sites. The Urim and Thummim may have functioned like dice in determining God’s will. Rabbinic tradition dates the cessation of their use to the time of David and Solomon.