Numbers 26:55-56

26:55 The land must be divided by lot; and they will inherit in accordance with the names of their ancestral tribes. 26:56 Their inheritance must be apportioned ¹  by lot among the larger and smaller groups.

Numbers 33:54

33:54 You must divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families. To a larger group you must give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group you must give a smaller inheritance. Everyone’s inheritance must be in the place where his lot falls. You must inherit according to your ancestral ²  tribes.

Numbers 34:13

34:13 Then Moses commanded the Israelites: “This is the land which you will inherit by lot, which the Lord has commanded to be given ³  to the nine and a half tribes,

Psalms 16:5-6

16:5 Lord, you give me stability and prosperity; ⁴ 

you make my future secure. ⁵ 

16:6 It is as if I have been given fertile fields

or received a beautiful tract of land. ⁶ 

Proverbs 16:33

16:33 The dice are thrown into the lap, ⁷ 

but their every decision ⁸  is from the Lord. ⁹ 

Proverbs 18:18

18:18 A toss of a coin ¹⁰  ends ¹¹  disputes,

and settles the issue ¹²  between strong opponents. ¹³ 

Matthew 25:34

25:34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

¹ tn Heb “divided.”

² tn Heb “of your fathers.”

³ tn The infinitive forms the direct object of what the Lord commanded. It actually means “to give,” but without an expressed subject may be made passive.

⁴ tn Heb “O Lord, the portion of my possession and my cup”; or “the Lord [is] the portion of my possession and my cup.” The psalmist compares the Lord to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel, and to a cup of wine, which may symbolize a reward (in Ps 11:6 it symbolizes the judgment one deserves) or divine blessing (see Ps 23:5). The metaphor highlights the fact that God is the psalmist’s source of security and prosperity.

⁵ tc Heb “you take hold of my lot.” The form תּוֹמִיךְ (tomikh) should be emended to a participle, תוֹמֵךְ (tomekh). The psalmist pictures the Lord as casting his lot (a method used to allot landed property) for him, thus assuring that he will receive a fertile piece of land (see v. 6). As in the previous line, land represents security and economic stability, thus “you make my future secure.”

⁶ tn Heb “measuring lines have fallen for me in pleasant [places]; yes, property [or “an inheritance”] is beautiful for me.” On the dative use of עַל, see BDB 758 s.v. II.8. Extending the metaphor used in v. 5, the psalmist compares the divine blessings he has received to a rich, beautiful tract of land that one might receive by allotment or inheritance.

⁷ 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.”

⁸ tn Heb “all its decision.”

⁹ sn The point concerns seeking God’s will through the practice. The Lord gives guidance in decisions that are submitted to him.

¹⁰ tn Heb “casting the lot.” Because modern readers are not familiar with the ancient practice of casting lots, the image of the coin toss to decide an issue has been employed in the translation (cf. CEV “drawing straws”). Although the casting of lots is often compared to throwing dice, the translation “throwing dice ends disputes” in this context could be misunderstood to mean “participating in a game of dice ends disputes.”

¹¹ tn The verb יַשְׁבִּית (yashbit) is the Hiphil imperfect from שָׁבַת (shavat), meaning “to cause to cease; to bring to an end; to end”; cf. NIV “settles disputes.” The assumption behind this practice and this saying is that providence played the determining role in the casting of lots. If both parties accepted this, then the issue could be resolved.

¹² tn Heb “makes a separation” or “decides.” In the book of Proverbs this verb often has a negative connotation, such as separating close friends (e.g., 16:9). But here it has a positive nuance: Opponents are “separated” by settling the issue.

¹³ tn The word is the adjective, “mighty” (so KJV, NAB, NASB) used here substantivally as the object of the preposition.