Amsal 16:33

16:33 The dice are thrown into the lap, ¹ 

but their every decision ²  is from the Lord. ³ 

Yosua 14:2

14:2 The land assignments to the nine-and-a-half tribes were made by drawing lots, as the Lord had instructed Moses. ⁴ 

Yosua 14:1

Judah’s Tribal Lands

14:1 The following is a record of the territory assigned to the Israelites in the land of Canaan by Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the Israelite tribal leaders. ⁵ 

1 Samuel 10:21-27

10:21 Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the family of Matri was chosen by lot. At last Saul son of Kish was chosen by lot. But when they looked for him, he was nowhere to be found. 10:22 So they inquired again of the Lord, “Has the man arrived here yet?” The Lord said, “He has hidden himself among the equipment.” ⁶ 

10:23 So they ran and brought him from there. When he took his position among the people, he stood head and shoulders above them all. 10:24 Then Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one whom the Lord has chosen? Indeed, there is no one like him among all the people!” All the people shouted out, “Long live the king!”

10:25 Then Samuel talked to the people about how the kingship would work. ⁷  He wrote it all down on a scroll and set it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away to their homes. 10:26 Even Saul went to his home in Gibeah. With him went some brave men whose hearts God had touched. 10:27 But some wicked men ⁸  said, “How can this man save us?” They despised him and did not even bring him a gift. But Saul said nothing about it. ⁹ 

1 Samuel 14:42

14:42 Then Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan!” ¹⁰  Jonathan was indicated by lot.

1 Samuel 14:1

14:1 Then one day Jonathan son of Saul said to his armor bearer, ¹¹  “Come on, let’s go over to the Philistine garrison that is opposite us.” But he did not let his father know.

1 Samuel 6:1

The Philistines Return the Ark

6:1 When the ark of the Lord had been in the land ¹²  of the Philistines for seven months, ¹³ 

1 Samuel 24:1

David Spares Saul’s Life

24:1 (24:2) When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, they told him, “Look, David is in the desert of En Gedi.”

Nehemia 11:1

The Population of Jerusalem

11:1 So the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem, ¹⁴  while the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of every ten to settle in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the other nine ¹⁵  remained in other cities.

[16:33]  ¹ tn Heb “the lot is cast.” Because the ancient practice of “casting lots” is unfamiliar to many modern readers, the imagery has been updated to “throwing dice.”

[16:33]  sn The proverb concerns the practice of seeking divine leading through casting lots. For a similar lesson, see Amenemope (18, 19:16-17, in ANET 423).

[16:33]  ² tn Heb “all its decision.”

[16:33]  ³ sn The point concerns seeking God’s will through the practice. The Lord gives guidance in decisions that are submitted to him.

[14:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “By lot was their inheritance, as the Lord had commanded by Moses, to the nine tribes and the half-tribe.”

[14:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “These are [the lands] which the sons of Israel received as an inheritance in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes assigned as an inheritance to the sons of Israel.”

[10:22]  ⁶ tn Or “baggage” (so many English versions); KJV “stuff”; TEV “supplies.”

[10:25]  ⁷ tn Heb “the regulation of the kingship.” This probably refers to the regulations pertaining to kingship given to Moses (see Deut 17:14-20).

[10:27]  ⁸ tn Heb “sons of worthlessness” (see 2:12).

[10:27]  ⁹ tc In place of the MT (“and it was like one being silent”) the LXX has “after about a month,” taking the expression with the first part of the following chapter rather than with 10:27. Some Hebrew support for this reading appears in the corrected hand of a Qumran ms of Samuel, which has here “about a month.” However, it seems best to stay with the MT here even though it is difficult.

[14:42]  ¹⁰ tc The LXX includes the following words: “Whomever the Lord will indicate by the lot, let him die! And the people said to Saul, ‘It is not this word.’ But Saul prevailed over the people, and they cast lots between him and between Jonathan his son.”

[14:1]  ¹¹ tn Or “the servant who was carrying his military equipment” (likewise in vv. 6, 7, 12, 13, 14).

[6:1]  ¹² tn Heb “field.”

[6:1]  ¹³ tc The LXX adds “and their land swarmed with mice.”

[11:1]  ¹⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[11:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “nine of the hands.” The word “hand” is used here in the sense or a part or portion.