Deuteronomy 33:8

Blessing on Levi

33:8 Of Levi he said:

Your Thummim and Urim17 belong to your godly one,18

whose authority you challenged at Massah,19

and with whom you argued at the waters of Meribah.20

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17	sn Thummim and Urim. These terms, whose meaning is uncertain, refer to sacred stones carried in a pouch on the breastplate of the high priest and examined on occasion as a means of ascertaining God’s will or direction. See Exod 28:30; Lev 8:8; Num 27:21; 1 Sam 28:6. See also C. Van Dam, NIDOTTE 1:329–31.
18	tn Heb “godly man.” The reference is probably to Moses as representative of the whole tribe of Levi.
19	sn Massah means “testing” in Hebrew; the name is a wordplay on what took place there. Cf. Exod 17:7; Deut 6:16; 9:22; Ps 95:8–9.
20	sn Meribah means “contention, argument” in Hebrew; this is another wordplay on the incident that took place there. Cf. Num 20:13, 24; Ps 106:32.