Maran; Dominus dicitur autem de politico & ecclefiaftico domino, id eft, doctore excellente, reliquorum fapientium capite: qui fimul judicandi habet poteftatem. Maran de fummo, qui præerat reliquis fapientibus quem etiamnum hodie communes Rabbini vocant Morenu. Inde & Chriftus vocatus fuit per excellentiam Maran. Hinc vox ifta Syra in N. T. Maranatha Dominus venit, qua extremum anathema indicabant.

All the Hebrew writers confefs themselves ignorant of the materials and of the form of the Urim and Thummim. Kimchi obferves, it is no where explained to us what were the Urim and Thummim; it is plain from the Scripture, they differed from the stones of the breast plate. (in voce T.)

Munsterus fays, what they were no mortal can tell. Sirachis thinks they were gems; and Schindler us, that it was only an infcription or writing of the name Jehovah, or fome other word, introduced between the linen of the breaft plate. Some affert the words were written upon a plate of gold.

Many opinions might be collected, but fays Rab. David, he spoke beft, who ingenuously confeffed, that he knew not what it was.

That it was an inftrument of divine revelation, is very plain. And according to Jofephus, this oracle ceafed about 112 years before Chrift. We learn from the Holy Scripture, that God revealed himfelf chiefly by four ways; 1ft, by Nebuah, i. e. by visions and apparitions; 2d, by Ruach Hecodesh, i. e. the inspiration of the Holy Ghoft; 3d, by Urim and Thummim; 4th, by Beth-Kol, i. e. the daughter of a voice or an echo. The Hibernian Druids pretended

by fome of their mouths to predict, &c. and as far as it was in their power to know, I think it may reasonably be fuppofed, while there was an oracle and prophets before Chrift came, the devils might be permitted to do what they could among the apoftates the Heathen, in those points. And as when the divine oracle had long ceafed, and prophecy alfo ceafed with the apoftles, &c. there was no further pretence to oracles, prophets, &c. among the Heathens. It almost amounts to evidence, that there had been fomething of that nature, and that it was no longer permitted: whether this be not one of the caftings out of Satan defcribed under various names in the Revelations, may be confidered.* Whether our Magogian Scythians received the use of the Jodhan Morain, whilst they remained in the Holy land, or if it defcended to them fince by communication with the Phoenicians, Thracians or Carthaginians, I cannot determine. Certain it is, they imitated the Urim and Thummim in the ornament before us. The Jews borrowed or were permitted to use several ornaments in their church, common to the Heathens. They also named them in their own language, fo as to correfpond as near as poffible with the Egyptian or Phoenician language in found. † Such may have been the words Urin and Thummim, which are fuppofed by fome, to fignify light

Hutchinfon Data in Chrift. See alfo, Princerus de divi

natione.

The learned Millius is of a contrary opinion: unde colligo facra gentilibus cum Ifraelitis communia, non a gentilibus ad Ifraelitas, fed ab Ifraelitis potius ad alias gentes manaffe.

and

and perfection; but why then are the Hebrew words in the plural number. The 70tranflate them by Axwor ✯ 'Axhbuæv, i. e. manifestation and truth, because the anfwers given by this oracle were alays clear and manifeft.

In Irish, uram and urm is to refolve, and tumam to enquire into diligently, and fo to distinguish: In the preamble of the Seanacafmor, or great code of Irish laws, (the oldest the Irish have) are these words, ag tumas ole on maith agus maith on olc. i. e. enquiring into and distinguishing good from evil and evil from good, that is, the oracle.-Thefe word is ftrong in the compound Brei-thumnas, an oracle. Dr. Hyde, derives the word from thamur, fa

crificium juge. Such fays he, was the Urim & Thummim, which the Arabs call temima. In Buxtorf's Chaldee Lex. we find a thamam, abfolvere, perfeci, compleri. Halloway under the Hebrew Hhartum, a magician, fays, it partakes of taman to hide and conceal. I believe it rather means to disclose a thing hidden. Ireland, till lately, abounded with Tamans. I know a farmer's wife in the Co. of Waterford, that loft a parcel of linen: fhe travelled three days journey to a Taman, in the Co. of Tipperary,-he confulted his Black-book, and affured her fhe would recover the goods;the robbery was proclaimed at the chapel, offering a reward, and the linen was recovered;-it was not the money, but the Taman that recovered it.

The learned Dr. Spencer, thinks the Phefal and Mafach of Micah made of the two hundred fhekels of filver, to have been the fame as the Urim and

Thum

Thummim. * Urim, autem inftrumentum concavum decore fabricatum Theraphim antiquitus appellatum fuiffe videtur,- Urim & Thummim per apertum duplicati Pectoralis latus immiffa concavum illius medium occupaffe& quia nonulli Urim & Thummim voces tantum inertes lamina quadam aurea exaratas, & in pectoralis arcano reconditas: alii ea duas tantum virtutes.

Christ. a Caftor tells us, they were two images, which being shut up in the doubling of the Breastplate, did from thence give the oracular answer by a voice and Dr. Spencer is alfo of this opinion. Dr. Pocock treats this as a conceit both abfurd and impious, as favouring more of heathenifm and idolatry, than of the pure inftitution of a Divine Law.

Dr. Prideaux, thinks the words Urim and Thummim, only meant the Divine virtue and power, given to the Breast-plate in its confecration, of obtaining an oraculous anfwer from God.

In Levit. viii. and 8. we find the Urim and Thummim, mentioned without the twelve ftones, viz. he put the breaft-plate upon him; alfo he put in the breaft-plate the Urim ou Thummim. And, Deut. xxxiii. and 8. Let thy Urim ou thy Thummim be with thy holy one: Here is no mention made of Breaft-plate or Stones.

The Hebrew copulative particle ou, fignifies or, as well as and. So that Urim & Thummim,

* Judges, chap. xvii. 4. and 5.

confufion,

may be fynonimous words, correfponding to the Irish Uraim or (vel) Tammam. *

The High Priest was not to confult the Urim for any private person, but only for the king, for the president of the Sanhedrim, for the general of an army, or for for fome other great prince or public governor in Ifrael; and not for any private affairs, but for fuch only as related to the public interest of the nation, either in Church or State.

Our Hibernian Druids never confulted the lodhan Morain, but in the courts of justice, or on affairs of state; to all their decrees Urraim, i. e. implicit obedience was paid.

In dubious cafes, or where the interest of the Church was concerned, or the election of a king, they confulted the LIATH MEISICITH, or Liath Fail.

* To avoid this confufion, the Irish language either prefixes' ce, ke, i. e. feeing that, or affixes gus, i. e. fact, deed, truly; ex. gr. ceo, keo, and: from whence the Greek xa: ougus, contract. ed to agus: or, oundea, i. e. and in truth, contracted to andea it is remarkable that agus is only to be found in the Egyptian Bafc, or Cantabrian; and in the Irish, Erfe and Manx:. from oundea, is formed the German unde, the Teutonik ende and the English and.

THE