FIRST.--Because the said _Ureem_ and _Thumeem_ were instituted to ask counsel of the Lord of such things which concerned _all_ the tribes of Israel, and the common interest of the whole nation. Now, there being at that time the tribes of Judah and Benjamin only, these oracles could not _be_ consulted, the common interest of the nation having then ceased. SECONDLY--And possibly the principal reason, was, that the _Tetragrammaton_, or ineffable name of the Deity, which Moses put between the folds of the breast-plate, was wanting. This being the most important part, and the very essence of the whole--when the cause ceased, the effect also ceased. CHAPTER XII. Of the Mishna, or Oral Law. The Pentateuch, or written law, was communicated by God to Moses, and by him to the people of Israel at different times, and adapted to the various seasons, places and circumstances during the forty years' sojournment in the wilderness. The mode adopted in instructing the Israelites in the wilderness in the divine law was as follows: Every passage or chapter of the written law, whether historical or preceptive, was written by Moses, as received from God himself, which he placed before his council or senate, called, afterwards, Sanhedrin, as well as before the whole body of the people. This council consisted of seventy elders, or senators, the most learned and pious among the nation, of whom Moses was the president. Every chapter of the law was explained by Moses according to the oral tradition, which he received coeval with the written law. The agreement of these two was proved in such a way as to show that the oral law is the true and genuine spirit and sense of the Pentateuch; that they are so intimately and inseparably connected with each other as to be considered as one and indivisible.