Exodus 28:30
in Exodus 28And place the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece of judgment, so that they will also be over Aaron’s heart whenever he comes before the LORD. Aaron will continually carry the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before Jehovah: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before Jehovah continually.
KJV
And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth 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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This verse in Exodus 28
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThou shalt put in the breastplate - the Urim and the Thummim - What these were has, I believe, never yet been discovered. 1. They are nowhere described. 2. There is no direction given to Moses or any other how to make them. 3. Whatever they were, they do not appear to have been made on this occasion. 4. If they were the work of man at all, they must have been the articles in the ancient tabernacle, matters used by the patriarchs, and not here particularly described, because well known. 5. It is probable that nothing material is designed.
This site's exposition
bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate
on Exodus 28:29-30
Aaron carries the names on his shoulders at verse 12 and on his heart here, and the verb both times is bear. Into the doubled pouch go the Urim and the Thummim, and the text never says what they were or how they worked. Josephus reports a shining in the stones, an old rabbinic reading has the engraved letters standing out to be read, and other writers take them as lots. Numbers 27:21 and 1 Samuel 28:6 show them in use, and Ezra 2:63 records a time when no priest had them.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
But it was a shadow of good things to come, and the substance is Christ. He is our oracle; by him God in these last days makes known himself and his mind to us, Heb. i. Divine revelation centres in him, and comes to us through him; he is the light, the true light, the faithful witness, the truth itself, and from him we receive the Spirit of truth, who leads into all truth.
It was the Lamb that had been slain that was worthy to take the book and to open the seals. The judgment - The breast-plate of judgment: That breast-plate which declared the judgment or mind of God to the Israelites.
And thou shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and Thummim--The words signify "lights" and "perfections"; and nothing more is meant than the precious stones of the breastplate already described (compare Ex 39:8-21;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
26 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנָתַתָּ֞ | venatata | and you will put | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| חֹ֣שֶׁן | choshen | [the] breastpiece of | H2833 → | 25 times |
| הַמִּשְׁפָּ֗ט | hamishpat | <the> judgment | H4941 → | 422 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאוּרִים֙ | haurim | the Urim | H224 → | |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַתֻּמִּ֔ים | hatumim | the Thummim | H8550 → | |
| וְהָיוּ֙ | vehayu | and they will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| לֵ֣ב | lev | [the] heart of | H3820 → | 595 times |
| אַהֲרֹ֔ן | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| בְּבֹא֖וֹ | bevoo | when goes he | H935 → | 2568 times |
| לִפְנֵ֣י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְנָשָׂ֣א | venasa' | and he will bear | H5375 → | 656 times |
| אַ֠הֲרֹן | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִשְׁפַּ֨ט | mishpat | [the] judgment of | H4941 → | 422 times |
| בְּנֵי־ | benei- | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֧ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| לִבּ֛וֹ | libo | heart his | H3820 → | 595 times |
| לִפְנֵ֥י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| תָּמִֽיד׃ ס | tamid | continually | H8548 → | 104 times |
וְנָתַתָּ֞and you will put
venatataH5414 →2011 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
חֹ֣שֶׁן[the] breastpiece of
choshenH2833 →25 times
הַמִּשְׁפָּ֗ט<the> judgment
hamishpatH4941 →422 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאוּרִים֙the Urim
haurimH224 →
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַתֻּמִּ֔יםthe Thummim
hatumimH8550 →
וְהָיוּ֙and they will be
vehayuH1961 →3559 times
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
לֵ֣ב[the] heart of
levH3820 →595 times
אַהֲרֹ֔ןAaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
בְּבֹא֖וֹwhen goes he
bevooH935 →2568 times
לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְנָשָׂ֣אand he will bear
venasa'H5375 →656 times
אַ֠הֲרֹןAaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מִשְׁפַּ֨ט[the] judgment of
mishpatH4941 →422 times
בְּנֵי־[the] people of
benei-H1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֧לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
לִבּ֛וֹheart his
liboH3820 →595 times
לִפְנֵ֥י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
תָּמִֽיד׃ סcontinually
tamidH8548 →104 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Nehemiah 7:65The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.
it leads to
- Nehemiah 8:9
Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all of them, “This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezra 2:63
The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Nehemiah 8:9
Through
Ezra 2:63The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.
it leads to
- Numbers 27:21
He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the LORD by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him—the entire congregation—will…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 27:21
Through
Deuteronomy 33:8Concerning Levi he said: “Give Your Thummim to Levi and Your Urim to Your godly one, whom You tested at Massah and contested at the waters of Meribah.
it leads to
- Leviticus 8:8
Then he put the breastpiece on him and placed the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 17:7
He named the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled, and because they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
- Numbers 20:13
These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD, and He showed His holiness among them.
- Leviticus 8:8
Through
Numbers 27:21He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the LORD by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him—the entire congregation—will…
it leads to
- Joshua 9:14
Then the men of Israel sampled their provisions, but did not seek the counsel of the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 28:6
He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.
- Joshua 9:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies6
On this verse
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Alfred Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.