Lot

Lot (Hebrew goral, a small pebble or stone) was the physical object used in casting lots—an ancient method of making decisions by chance that the biblical world understood as a means of divine determination. The lots were typically small stones, sticks, or pottery shards that were shaken together in a vessel or container and then drawn or thrown to yield a binary or multiple outcome. Lots were cast to divide the land of Canaan among the twelve tribes (Num. 26:55; 33:54; Josh. 14–19), to identify Achan's guilt (Josh. 7:14), to select Saul as king (1 Sam. 10:20–21), to divide temple duties among the priests (1 Chr. 24–25), and to determine who would bear Haman's genocide against the Jews (Esth. 3:7—which gave rise to the feast of Purim, from the Akkadian puru meaning lot).

The theological conviction behind lot-casting is expressed in Proverbs 16:33: The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD. The last recorded use of lots in Scripture is the apostles' selection of Matthias (Acts 1:26), which immediately precedes Pentecost—suggesting that after the Spirit's coming, direct prophetic guidance superseded the mechanical method of lot-casting in the early church's decision-making.