Yosua 18:10

18:10 Joshua drew lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord and divided the land among the Israelites according to their allotted portions.

Amsal 16:33

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

but their every decision ²  is from the Lord. ³ 

Yunus 1:7

1:7 The sailors said to one another, ⁴  “Come on, let’s cast lots ⁵  to find out ⁶  whose fault it is that this disaster has overtaken us. ⁷ ” So they cast lots, and Jonah was singled out. ⁸ 

Kisah Para Rasul 1:26

1:26 Then ⁹  they cast lots for them, and the one chosen was Matthias; ¹⁰  so he was counted with the eleven apostles. ¹¹ 

[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.

[1:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “And they said, a man to his companion.” The plural verb is individualized by “a man.”

[1:7]  ⁵ sn The English word lots is a generic term. In some cultures the procedure for “casting lots” is to “draw straws” so that the person who receives the short straw is chosen. In other situations a colored stone or a designated playing card might be picked at random. In Jonah’s case, small stones were probably used.

[1:7]  ⁶ sn In the ancient Near East, casting lots was a custom used to try to receive a revelation from the gods about a particular situation. The Phoenician sailors here cried out to their gods and cast lots in the hope that one of their gods might reveal the identity of the person with whom he was angry. CEV has well captured the sentiment of v.7b: “‘Let’s ask our gods to show us who caused all this trouble.’ It turned out to be Jonah.”

[1:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “On whose account this calamity is upon us.”

[1:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “the lot fell on Jonah.” From their questions posed to Jonah, it does not appear that the sailors immediately realize that Jonah was the one responsible for the storm. Instead, they seem to think that he is the one chosen by their gods to reveal to them the one responsible for their plight. It is only after he admits in vv. 9-10 that he was fleeing from the God whom he served that they realize that Jonah was in fact the cause of their trouble.

[1:26]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the continuity with the preceding verse. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style does not.

[1:26]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and the lot fell on Matthias.”

[1:26]  ¹¹ tn Or “he was counted as one of the apostles along with the eleven.”