1. CONCERNING THE WHITE HORSE as described in the Book of Revelation, Chapter 19.

In the writings of John, in the Book of Revelation, the following is a description of the Word in its spiritual sense, in other words the sense contained within it, or its 'inner meaning:'

I saw heaven standing open, and behold, a White Horse. And the one sitting on the White Horse was called faithful and true, judging and fighting in righteousness. His eyes were a flame of fire, and on His head were many jewels. He had a name inscribed that no one knew but He Himself. And He was dressed in a garment dyed with blood, and His name is called the Word of God. The armies that followed Him in heaven were on white horses, they themselves dressed in clean white linen. On His garment and on His thigh was written a name, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Revelation 19:11-14, 16.

No one can have a clear idea of what each of the details in this description entails except by way of its 'inner meaning." It is obvious that each particular detail must represent or signify something, as follows:

Heaven which was standing open; a horse which was white; the one seated on it was called faithful and true, ¹ judging and fighting in righteousness; His eyes a flame of fire; and many jewels ² on His head; having a name inscribed that no one knew but He Himself; and dressed in a garment dyed with blood; and the armies that followed Him in heaven were on white horses, they themselves dressed in clean white linen; ³ on His garment and on His thigh He has written a name.

It is stated plainly that the one seated on the White Horse is the Word, and He is the Lord who is the Word, for what is said is that His name is called The Word of God; and then, He has written on His garment and on His thigh the title King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

From the interpretation of each individual phrase or statement it is clear that all this serves to describe the spiritual sense or internal meaning of the Word. The phrase heaven which was standing open' represents and signifies that the inner meaning of the Word is seen by those in heaven, and consequently also by those on earth for whom heaven stands open. 'A horse which was white' represents and signifies an understanding of the Word as regards its inner meanings. ⁴ That the 'white horse' means what I have said will be clear from what follows.

It is clear that 'the one seated on it' means the Lord in His capacity as the Word, and thus means the Word itself, for it is stated that 'His name is called the Word of God;' and he is called 'faithful' and 'judging in righteousness' because of His goodness; and 'true' and 'fighting in righteousness' because of His truth, for the Lord Himself is righteousness. 'His eyes a flame of fire' signify divine truth radiating from the divine good flowing from His divine love. The 'many jewels on His head' signify all the good and true properties of faith. Having a 'name written which no one knew other than He Himself' signifies that no one sees what is the nature of the Word in its inner meaning except Himself, and one to whom He reveals it.

Dressed in a garment dyed with blood' signifies the violence done to the Word in its literal meaning. ⁵ 'The armies in heaven which followed Him on white horses' signifies those who understand the Word as regards its inner meanings.' 'Those dressed in clean white linen' signifies the same people who are endued with truth arising from what is good. 'On His garment and on His thigh a name written ⁶ ' signifies what is true and what is good and their specific qualities.

From all these verses, and from those which come before and after them, it is clear that they serve to foretell that the spiritual or internal sense of the Word will be laid open at around the final time of the Church; and what will happen at that time is also described there, Revelation 19:17-21. There is no need to show here the things which are signified by these words since they are individually shown in Arcana Caelestia. The Lord is the Word because He is the divine truth: 2533, 2803, 2894, 5272, 8535; ⁷ the Word is the divine truth: 4692, 5075, 9987; He is proclaimed to be sitting on a horse judging and fighting in righteousness because the Lord is righteousness. The Lord is proclaimed to be righteousness from the fact that by His own power He has saved the human race: 1813, 2025-2027, 9715, 9809, 10019, 10152. Righteousness is a merit belonging to the Lord alone: 9715, 9979. 'His eyes a flame of fire' signify divine truth radiating from the divine good flowing from His divine love, because 'eyes' signify the understanding and truth of faith: 2701, 4403-4421, 4523-4534, 6923, 9051, 10569; and 'a flame of fire' signifies the good of love: 934, 4906, 5215, 6314, 6832; the 'jewels on His head' ⁸ signify all the good and true properties of faith: 114, 3858, 6335, 6640, 9863, 9865, 9868, 9873, 9905.

Having a name written which no one knew other than He Himself' signifies that no one sees what is the nature of the Word in its inner meaning except Himself, and one to whom He reveals it, because a name signifies the nature of a thing: 144-145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006, 3237, 3421, 6674, 9310. 'Dressed in a garment dyed with blood' signifies the violence done to the Word in its literal meaning because a garment' signifies truth, which clothes what is good: 1073, 2576, 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216, 9952, 10536; especially truth in its outermost form, and thus the Word in its literal meaning: 5248, 6918, 9158, 9212; and because 'blood' signifies violence done to truth by what is false: 374, 1005, 4735, 5476, 9127. 'The armies in heaven which followed Him on white horses' signify those who understand the Word as regards its inner meanings because 'armies' signify those who are equipped with the truth and goodness of heaven and the Church: 3448, 7236, 7988, 8019; and the horse' signifies understanding: 3217, 5321, 6125, 6400, 6534, 7024, 8146, 8381; and 'white' means the truth which the light of heaven has within itself thus, the inner truth: 3301, 3993, 4007, 5319.

Those dressed in clean white linen' signify the same people who are endued with truth arising from what is good because 'linen' or 'a garment of linen' signifies truth from a heavenly sourcewhich is truth from what is good: 5319, 9469. 'On His garment and on His thigh a name written' signifies what is true and what is good, and their specific qualities, because 'a garment' signifies truth, and 'a name' signifies its nature, as above, and 'thigh' signifies the good properties of love: 3021, 4277, 4280, 9961, 10488. 'King of Kings and Lord of Lords' is the Lord as regards divine truth and divine good; the Lord is called King by virtue of His divine truth: 3009, 5068, 6148, and He is called Lord by virtue of His divine good: 4973, 9167, 9194.

From all this it is clear what the nature of the Word is in its spiritual or inner sense, and that there is no single word within it which does not have some spiritual meaning relating to heaven and the Church.

Footnotes:

3993. 'Removing from it every speckled and spotted member of the flock' means that everything good and true that is meant by 'Laban' and which - when mingled with evil, meant by 'speckled', or mingled with falsity, meant by 'spotted' - will be separated. This is clear from the meaning of 'removing' as separating, and from the meaning of 'member of the flock', in this case she-goats and lambs, as goods and truths, dealt with in 1824, 3519. The fact that these details and those that follow in this chapter hold arcana within them may be recognized from the consideration that for the most part they would not be worth mentioning in the Divine Word if they did not include any deeper arcana than those to be seen in the letter, such as the following: For his wages Jacob asked for the speckled and the spotted among the she-goats and for the black among the lambs; and after this, in the runners he placed rods - which he had peeled down to the white and which were of hazel and of plane - in front of Laban's flocks when these came on heat, and in the case of the lambs he set the faces of the flock towards the variegated and the black in Laban's flock, thereby making himself rich not by the use of a good skill but of an evil one. These details do not seem to hold anything Divine within them, and yet the Word is Divine in every single part, even to the smallest part of a letter. And what is more, knowing all these details does not contribute one tiny bit to a person's salvation, yet being Divine the Word does not contain within itself anything else than such things as lead to salvation and eternal life.

[2] From these details and others like them elsewhere anyone may come to the conclusion that some arcanum is concealed within them, and that although in the literal sense they are the kind of facts that are not worth mentioning, those details - every single one - are pregnant with ideas much more Divine. But what exactly these ideas may be cannot possibly be seen by anyone except from the internal sense, that is, unless he knows the way in which angels perceive these matters; for they perceive the spiritual sense when man sees the historical natural sense. How remote these two senses seem to be from each other when in fact they are closely linked to one another may become quite evident from the historical details explained above and from all other such details. The actual arcanum present within the details here and in those after them in this chapter may, it is true, be known to some extent from what has been stated already about Laban and Jacob - about 'Laban' meaning the kind of good by means of which genuine goods and truths are able to be introduced, while 'Jacob' means the good of truth. Yet few know what natural good corresponding to spiritual good is, even fewer what spiritual good is and that a correspondence ought to exist between the two, and fewer still that a type of good which merely looks like good is the means for introducing genuine goods and truths. This being so, the arcana which describe these matters cannot be explained easily and intelligibly since they fall within the poorly lit parts of the understanding. It is rather like someone talking in a foreign language, in that no matter how clearly the thing is explained in that language the hearer does not understand. Even so, because what is concealed in the internal sense of the Word is to be made known, the actual arcanum within the details here has to be discussed.

[3] In the highest sense the subject at this point is how the Lord made His own Natural Divine, and in the representative sense how the Lord regenerates the natural as it exists with man and brings it into correspondence with his interior man, that is, with that which is going to live after the death of the body. At that point it is called man's spirit which, when released from the body, takes with it every part of the external man except the flesh and bones. If the correspondence of the internal man with the external has not been effected in the temporal state, that is, during a person's life in the body, it is not effected after that. The Lord's joining of the two together through regeneration is the subject in the internal sense here.

[4] Previous sections have dealt with the general truths which a person ought to receive and acknowledge before he can be regenerated, those truths being meant by Jacob's ten sons by Leah and the servant-girls; then they deal - after he has received and acknowledged them - with the joining of the external man to the interior, that is, of the natural man to the spiritual, which was meant by 'Joseph'. Now in the sequence of ideas the subject is the fruitfulness of good and the multiplication of truth which begin to occur once the rational man has been joined to the spiritual, and in the measure that they are so joined. These are the considerations meant by the flock which Jacob acquired to himself by means of Laban's flock. 'Flock' here means good and truth, as it does many times elsewhere in the Word. 'Laban's flock' means the good that is represented by 'Laban', the nature of which has been stated above; 'Jacob's flock' means the genuine good and truth which is acquired by means of that good represented by Laban.

[5] It is the way in which genuine goods and truths are acquired that is described here. Yet this cannot by any means be comprehended unless one knows what is meant in the internal sense by 'speckled', 'spotted', 'black' and 'white', and therefore these must first be dealt with here. That which is speckled or that which is spotted consists of black and of white. In general 'black' means that which is evil, in particular man's proprium since this is nothing but evil. 'Dark' however means that which is false, and in particular false assumptions. 'White' in the internal sense means truth; strictly speaking it means the Lord's Righteousness and Merit, and from this the Lord's righteousness and merit as these exist with man. This whiteness is called bright because it shines from the light that radiates from the Lord. But 'white' in the contrary sense means self-righteousness or one's own merit. Indeed truth devoid of good has such merit within it, for when any good action performed by a person does not stem from the good of truth that person always desires something in return since he acts for the sake of himself. But when good lies behind the truth that a person carries into effect, that truth is enlightened by the light which radiates from the Lord. From this one may see what is meant by 'spotted', namely truth with which falsity has been mingled, and what by 'speckled', namely good with which evil has been mingled.

[6] Actually visible in the next life are colours so beautiful and bright that they defy description, 1053, 1624. They are the product of the variegation of light and shade within white and black. But although it appears before the eyes as light, the light there is unlike the light in the world. The light in heaven includes intelligence and wisdom, for Divine Intelligence and Wisdom from the Lord manifest themselves there as light and also light up the whole of heaven, 2776, 3138, 3167, 3190, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3225, 3339-3341, 3485, 3636, 3643, 3862. Shade likewise in the next life, although it appears as shade, is unlike shade in the world, since the shade in that life is the absence of light and as a consequence the lack of intelligence and wisdom. So because the white and the black are in the next life a product of light which has intelligence and wisdom within it, and a product of the shade which is the lack of these, it is evident that white and black mean such things as have been stated above. Consequently, since colours are the modifications of light and shade within surfaces consisting of white and black, it is the variegations produced by those modifications that are called colours, 1042, 1043, 1053.

[7] From all this one may see what is meant by speckled, or marked and dotted with black and white specks, namely good with which evil has been mingled, and also what is meant by spotted, namely truth with which falsity has been mingled. These are the things that were taken from 'Laban good' to serve in the introducing of genuine goods and truths. But in what way they are able to serve is an arcanum which can indeed be presented clearly to those who see in the light of heaven because this light, as has been stated, holds intelligence within it, but not to those who see in the light of the world unless their light of the world is lit up by the light of heaven, as it is with those who are regenerate. For every regenerate person sees goods and truths within his own natural light from the light of heaven, because the light of heaven brings sight to his understanding even as the inferior light of the world gives him natural sight.

[8] But all this needs to be taken a little further. No pure good, or good with which evil is not mingled, exists with anyone. Neither does any pure truth, or truth with which falsity is not mingled, exist with him. This is because man's will is nothing but evil, from which falsity is constantly passing into his understanding; for as is well known, he possesses by inheritance the evil that has been accumulated consecutively by his forefathers. From this inheritance he brings out evil into his own actions and makes it his own, adding further evil from himself to the inheritance. But the evils residing with man are of various kinds. There are evils with which goods cannot be mingled and there are evils with which they can. And the same applies to falsities. If this were not so nobody could ever have been regenerated. The evils and falsities with which goods and truths cannot be mingled are ones that are contrary to love to God and love towards the neighbour - forms of hatred, revenge, and cruelty, and consequent contempt for others in comparison with oneself, and also consequent false persuasions. But the evils and falsities with which goods and truths can be mingled are ones that are not contrary to love to God and love towards the neighbour.

[9] Take for example anyone who loves himself more than others and because of that love strives to excel others in private life and in public life, to excel them in knowledge and doctrine, and to be promoted to positions of greater importance than others, and also to greater affluence than others. If at the same time he acknowledges and adores the Lord, from the heart performs acts of kindness to the neighbour, and from conscience behaves justly and fairly, the evil that belongs to his self-love is such that good and truth can be mingled with it. For this is an evil which belongs to a person as his own and into which he is born by heredity. And to take that away from him suddenly would be to put out the fire of life that burns in him at first. But in the case of someone who loves himself more than others and because of that love despises others in comparison with himself, hates those who do not hold him in esteem and so to speak adore him, and therefore enjoys the feelings of hatred that are present in revenge and cruelty, the evil of that love is such that good and truth cannot be mingled with it because they are contraries.

[10] Take as another example anyone who believes that he is pure from sins, and so is cleansed like somebody from whom dirt has been washed away by means of much water, once he has repented and carried out the prescribed penances, or after he has made his confession and heard the confessor declare him free from sins, or after he has been to the Holy Supper. If he leads a new life, being stirred by an affection for good and truth, that falsity is such that good can be mingled with it. But if he goes on leading a carnal and worldly life as before, it is in that case a falsity with which good cannot be mingled. Also, with anyone who believes that man is saved by virtue of believing what is good and not of willing it, and yet who does will what is good and therefore does it, that falsity is such that good and truth can be attached to it. But not so if he does not will what is good and therefore does not do it.

[11] Take yet another example. If anyone does not know that man rises again after death and consequently does not believe in the resurrection, or else if anyone who does know but nevertheless doubts or practically denies it, and yet each one leads a life of truth and goodness, good and truth can be mingled with that falsity also. But if a person leads a life of falsity and evil they cannot be mingled with that same falsity because they are contraries. The falsity destroys the truth, and the evil destroys the good.

[12] And still another example. Pretence and shrewdness which have a good end in view, whether the good of the neighbour, or of one's country, or of the Church, constitute prudence. The evils that are mixed up with them can be mingled with good by reason of and for the sake of the end in view. But presence and shrewdness which have an evil end in view do not constitute prudence but trickery and deceit. Good cannot possibly be joined to these, for deceit which goes with an evil end in view brings what is of hell into every single part of a person, sets evil in the middle, and casts good away to the circumferences. This order is the order itself of hell. And so with countless other examples that could be taken.

[13] The fact that there are some evils and falsities to which goods and truths can be attached may be seen merely from the consideration that so many different dogmas and teachings exist, many of them totally heretical, and yet subscribing to each one there are people who are saved. The same may also be seen from the consideration that among gentiles outside of the Church there is another Church that is the Lord's, and that those are saved who lead charitable lives, even though falsities exist with them, 2589 2604. This could by no means be the case if there were no evils with which goods can be mingled, and no falsities with which truths can be mingled. For the evils with which goods are mingled, and the falsities with which truths are mingled, are wonderfully arranged into order by the Lord. For they are not combined with one another, still less are they made into one, but lie adjacent to and touch one another, so that in fact the goods together with the truths occupy the middle, at the central point so to speak, while the evils and falsities occupy positions radiating outwards to the surrounding areas or circumferences. Consequently the evils and falsities receive light from the goods and truths, and are variegated like patches of white and black created by light radiating from the middle or centre. This constitutes heavenly order. These are the things meant in the internal sense by 'speckled' and 'spotted'.

3862. In 3858 above it was shown that 'the twelve tribes' meant all things forming part of truth and good, or of faith and love. In this present paragraph, now that the sons of Jacob individually after whom the tribes were named are the subject, a second arcanum is to be brought to light, namely the meaning which each son carries. In heaven all celestial and spiritual warmth, or love and charity, is in its external form felt as the glow from the sun, and in heaven all celestial and spiritual light, or faith, is in its external form seen as the light from the sun. Also that celestial and spiritual warmth holds wisdom within itself, and the light from that source holds intelligence, and they do so because they flow from the Lord, who is the Sun of heaven, see 1053, 1521-1533, 1619-1632, 2441, 2495, 2776, 3138, 3167, 3190, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3338, 3339, 3341, 3413, 3485, 3636, 3643.

These paragraphs show that all good is a product of the warmth which flows from the Lord as the Sun, and that all truth is a product of the light from that source. They also show that all affections which go with love or good are variations of that celestial and spiritual warmth flowing from the Lord, and that this is the origin of changes of state. They show too that all thoughts which go with truth or faith are variations of that celestial and spiritual light which flows from the Lord, and that this is the origin of intelligence. All angels in heaven are bathed in that warmth and light. Their affections and thoughts have no other source, nor are they anything else. This is evident from the different forms of communication employed by the angels, in that because those forms of communication have their origin in heavenly warmth and light, they consist of variations and modifications of heavenly light containing heavenly warmth, and are therefore indescribable and so varying and complete as to be quite beyond one's comprehension, 3342, 3344, 3345.

[2] So that these things might be manifested in a representative way in the world names were given to each of the sons of Jacob which meant the universal divisions of good and truth, or of love and faith, and so the universal manifestations of variation in celestial and spiritual warmth and of variation in light from that source. What determines the intensity of the flame and the brightness from it is the actual order of those universal manifestations. When love comes first in such order, everything which follows within genuine order from that love is flaming, but when faith comes first everything which follows within genuine order is full of light, yet with all the differences that the things which follow entail. If however they do not follow according to genuine order everything is obscure, and in ever differing ways. But this order and resulting differences will in the Lord's Divine mercy be discussed later on. This then is how the Lord gave answers by means of the Urim and Thummim and how according to the state of the actual thing in question they received answers by means of lights and their flashes from the precious and transparent stones on which the names of the twelve tribes had been inscribed. For as has been stated, inscribed on the names were the universal divisions of love and faith which exist in the Lord's kingdom and so the universal manifestations of flame and light by which those divisions of love and faith are represented in heaven.

[3] First therefore let evidence from the Word be presented to confirm that the order of the names in which the tribes are mentioned varies in the Word, and that each variation of their order is determined by the particular state of the subject under discussion there. And from such evidence one may see that the answers from the Lord given by means of the Urim and Thummim were radiations of light determined by the particular states of the thing - such variations being due to the order of all that was involved. For the entire light of heaven is made to vary by the different states which that thing passes through, and those states are made to vary by the order in which good and truth come. But which aspect of truth or good is meant by each name will be evident from the explanation that is being given. That is to say, Reuben means faith from the Lord; Simeon faith possessed by the will which is received from the Lord; Levi spiritual love, which is charity; Judah the Divinity of love, and the Lord's heavenly kingdom. What the other eight mean will be stated in the next chapter. Described here is the order in which they were born, which was as follows: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin - see verses 32-35 of the present chapter, and then Genesis 30:6, 8, 11, 13, 18, 20, 24; 35:18. This order is determined by the state of the subject that is being dealt with at this point, which is that of the regeneration of man, for this starts with the truth of faith, meant by 'Reuben', progresses from this towards the willing of truth, meant by 'Simeon', and from this to charity, meant by 'Levi', and so on to the Lord, who is meant in the highest sense by 'Judah'. The progression of spiritual conception and birth, or regeneration, from what is external to what is internal has been stated immediately above in 3860; that is, the progression is from the truth of faith to the good of love.

[4] Before Jacob came to Isaac his father in Mamre, or Kiriath Arba, his sons are mentioned in Genesis 35:23-26 in the following order: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher. In this case those by Leah and Rachel come first, and those by the servant-girls last, this being determined by the state of the subject dealt with at that point. They are listed in yet another order when they travelled and came into Egypt, in Genesis 46:9-19; in another when before his death they were blessed by Jacob, who by then was Israel, in Genesis 49:3-27; and in another again when blessed by Moses, in Deuteronomy 33:6-24. And when they encamped around the Tent of Meeting they did so in the following order: To the east Judah, Issachar, Zebulun; to the south Reuben, Simeon, Gad; to the west Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin; to the north Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Numbers 2:1-end. In what order they stood on Mount Gerizim to bless the people, or on Mount Ebal to curse them, see Deuteronomy 27:12-13. When the princes chosen from each tribe were sent to spy out the land they are listed in Numbers 13:4-16 in the following order: Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Issachar, Ephraim, Benjamin, Zebulun, Joseph or Manasseh, Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Gad. But there is a different order to the princes who were to divide the land for inheritance, Numbers 34:19-29. In what order the lot fell when it was cast, at the time that the land was divided for inheritance, see Chapters 13 - 19 of Joshua.

[5] When the boundaries of the new or holy land which the tribes were to inherit are referred to in Ezekiel the tribes are mentioned in the following order: Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben, Judah, Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, Gad. All are described from the corner pointing east to the corner pointing to the sea or west, except Gad which was situated at the south corner pointing towards the south, Ezekiel 48:1-7, 23-26. And where the gates of the new or holy city are referred to they are mentioned in the following order: Facing north the three gates of Reuben, Judah, and Levi; facing east the three gates of Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan; facing south the three gates of Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun; facing west the three gates of Gad, Asher, and Naphtali, Ezekiel 48:31-34. For the order of those sealed, twelve thousand from each tribe, see Revelation 7:5-8. In all these places the listing of the tribes depends completely on the state of the subject dealt with, to which the order corresponds. That particular state is evident from what comes before and after.

[6] The order of the precious stones in the Urim and Thummim is mentioned and described in the Word, but which tribes individual stones corresponded to is not mentioned. For those stones represented all things belonging to the light shed by heavenly flame, that is, all aspects of truth originating in good, or of faith originating in charity. And because they represented these things heavenly light itself shone through them in a miraculous way in accordance with the state of the subject concerning which a question was asked and an answer was given. Flashing and bright light stood for a positive answer concerning good and truth, which light was accompanied by variations of the stones' colours according with the differences of the state of good and truth, as in heaven where all celestial and spiritual things are expressed by means of lights and their differences, and in a way beyond description and completely incomprehensible to man. For as has been shown frequently, heavenly light includes life from the Lord, and so includes wisdom and intelligence. Consequently the differences in light include everything that constitutes the life, that is, everything that constitutes wisdom and intelligence, while the differences in flaming, flashing, and shining include everything that constitutes the life of good and the life of truth received from good, that is, of love to the Lord and of faith derived from that love. Such then were the Urim and Thummim which were on the breastplate of the ephod and were over Aaron's heart. The nature of them is also evident from the fact that the terms Urim and Thummim mean lights and perfections, and that the breastplate in which they were set is called the breastplate of judgement, because judgement consists in intelligence and wisdom, 2235. The reason it was worn over Aaron's heart was that 'the heart' means Divine love, see 3635 and the section at the end of the present chapter. For this reason also those precious stones were placed in settings of gold, for 'gold' in the internal sense means good which is an attribute of love, 113, 1551, 1552, and 'precious stone' truth which shines through from good, 114.

[7] The Urim and Thummim are spoken of in Moses as follows,

You shall make the breastplate of judgement, the work of designing, like the work of the ephod you shall make it; out of gold, violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and of fine-twined linen you shall make it. It shall be square when doubled. And you shall set within it stone-settings, four rows of stones shall there be. There shall be sockets of gold in their settings. And the stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names. The engravings of a signet, each one according to its name, there shall be for the twelve tribes. Exodus 28:15-21; 39:8-14.

Which stones had to be set in each row is also specified in those chapters. And further,

The breastplate shall not come away from the ephod. And Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgement over his heart when he goes into the holy place, for a remembrance before Jehovah continually. And you shall put into the breastplate of judgement the Urim and Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron's heart when he goes in before Jehovah. And Aaron shall bear the judgement of the sons of Israel over his heart before Jehovah continually. Exodus 28:28-30; Leviticus 8:7-8.

The fact that Jehovah or the Lord was inquired of and gave answers by means of the Urim is seen in Moses,

Jehovah said to Moses, Take Joshua the son of Nun. You shall place some of your glory on him, so that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, and he shall inquire for him in the judgement of the Urim before Jehovah. Numbers 27:18, 20-21.

And in Samuel,

Saul inquired of Jehovah, but Jehovah did not answer him by dreams, or by the Urim, or by prophets. 1 Samuel 28:6.