Page:The Ancient Scriptures and the Modern Jew (Baron, David).djvu/334

316 of the tribes of Israel engraven on them, and which had seemingly the same signification as the twelve stones of the breastplate, were called only Avneh Sicharon, "stones of memorial," and not "stones of judgment"? This question will be answered when we read Exod. xxviii. 30 "And thou shalt put into 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." From this verse we draw the following conclusions: 1st. The breastplate, without the Urim and Thummim within it, had the same signification as the two stones of the ephod. So these twelve stones could also have been called Avneh Sicharon, "stones of memorial," as the some signification is ascribed to both. In verse 12 we are told that the two stones of the ephod were for a memorial, and in verse 29 we are told that the twelve stones of the breastplate were for the same purpose. 2nd. We see, from the 30th verse, that the ornament with the twelve stones received the name Choshen Mishpat, "the breastplate of judgment," only because the Urim and Thummim were put into it. When we read that Moses was commanded to put the Urim and Thummim into the breastplate there is no mention made any more of a memorial, as is done in verse 29. We merely read, "And Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before Jehovah continually." As soon as the Urim and Thummim were put into the breastplate it was changed from a "breastplate of memorial" into a "breastplate of judgment."

In Deut. xxxiii. we are told that Moses blessed the children of Israel before his death. In the 8th verse we read, "And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one" (viz., with the priests of Levi's tribe). And again, "They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law" (Deut. xxxiii. 8-10). From this it is evident that the priests were to be instructed by the Urim and Thummim in all matters of judgment.

Therefore, when the Urim and Thummim were put into the breastplate it was called "the breastplate of judgment." Israel was commanded to have recourse with every hard matter of judgment, which could not be decided in the small towns, unto Jerusalem, unto the priests of the tribe of Levi, and unto the judge who was in office at that time (Deut. xvii. 8-n). In the 12th verse we read, "And the man that will do presumptuously,