On Mon 1 Feb 99 , klbarney AT yahoo.com wrote:
> "A question for the Hebrew literate. We have the expression in English
> that things are "black and white" using the opposition between the
> colors as indicative of the separation of two other concepts. Is there
> any idiom used in Biblical Hebrew that conveys that same meaning?"
Kevin:
I would suggest the Urim and Thummim: Ha'uWRiYM W:HaTTuMMiYM (Lights and
Perfections?). It seems to have been two plates or tablets, black on one
side and white on the other. When the High Priest wished to consult the
U&T, he would pray for a perfect lot (1 Samuel 14:41), then draw out the
Urim and Thummim. See Exodus 28:30, Leviticus 8:8, Deuteronomy 33:8, Ezra
2:63, Nehemiah 7:65.
Two Lights (whites) was a Yes; two Darks was a No. One of each was
indeterminate; an imperfect lot (1 Samuel 28:6).
Shalom,
Ben
--
Revd Ben Crick, BA CF
<ben.crick AT argonet.co.uk>
232 Canterbury Road, Birchington, Kent, CT7 9TD (UK) http://www.cnetwork.co.uk/crick.htm