Is it a coincidence that the Nephite interpreters are so similar to the Urim and Thummin?

Joseph Smith said that he interpreted (at least part of) the Book of Mormon using two transparent stones set in the rim of a bow fastened to a breastplate. These artifacts were buried with the gold plates.

Joseph’s description is similar to that found in Exodus 28:30 which says:

And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually. (emphasis added)

The Urim and Thummim in the Bible were also associated with light and used as a means of receiving divine messages.  

How many readers of the Bible know the Urim and Thunmin are put “in” the breastplate? Was Joseph Smith so familiar with the Bible that he would (and could) create something so fitting for translation? 

See:

• Evidence Central – Book of Mormon Evidence: Similarities between the Nephite Interpreters and the Urim and Thummim

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