Numbers 26:55

26:55 The land must be divided by lot; and they will inherit in accordance with the names of their ancestral tribes.

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 ¹  tribes.

Joshua 18:10-11

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

Benjamin’s Tribal Lands

18:11 The first lot belonged to the tribe of Benjamin ²  by its clans. Their allotted territory was between Judah and Joseph. ³ 

Joshua 18:1

The Tribes Meet at Shiloh

18:1 The entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh and there they set up the tent of meeting. ⁴  Though they had subdued the land, ⁵ 

Joshua 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. ⁶ 

Joshua 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. ⁷ 

Proverbs 16:33

16:33 The dice are thrown into the lap, ⁸ 

but their every decision ⁹  is from the Lord. ¹⁰ 

Ezekiel 48:29

48:29 This is the land which you will allot to the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, declares the sovereign Lord.

Jonah 1:7

1:7 The sailors said to one another, ¹¹  “Come on, let’s cast lots ¹²  to find out ¹³  whose fault it is that this disaster has overtaken us. ¹⁴ ” So they cast lots, and Jonah was singled out. ¹⁵ 

Acts 1:23-26

1:23 So they ¹⁶  proposed two candidates: ¹⁷  Joseph called Barsabbas (also called Justus) and Matthias. 1:24 Then they prayed, ¹⁸  “Lord, you know the hearts of all. Show us which one of these two you have chosen 1:25 to assume the task ¹⁹  of this service ²⁰  and apostleship from which Judas turned aside ²¹  to go to his own place.” ²²  1:26 Then ²³  they cast lots for them, and the one chosen was Matthias; ²⁴  so he was counted with the eleven apostles. ²⁵ 

[33:54]  ¹ tn Heb “of your fathers.”

[18:11]  ² tn Heb “and the lot came up for the tribe of the sons of Benjamin.”

[18:11]  ³ tn Heb “and the territory of their allotment went out between the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph.”

[18:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “the tent of assembly.”

[18:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the land was subdued before them.”

[14:1]  ⁶ 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.”

[14:1]  ⁷ 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.”

[16:33]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “all its decision.”

[16:33]  ¹⁰ sn The point concerns seeking God’s will through the practice. The Lord gives guidance in decisions that are submitted to him.

[1:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “And they said, a man to his companion.” The plural verb is individualized by “a man.”

[1:7]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “On whose account this calamity is upon us.”

[1:7]  ¹⁵ 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.

[1:23]  ¹⁶ tc Codex Bezae (D) and other Western witnesses have “he proposed,” referring to Peter, thus emphasizing his role above the other apostles. The Western text displays a conscious pattern of elevating Peter in Acts, and thus the singular verb here is a palpably motivated reading.

[1:23]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “So they proposed two.” The word “candidates” was supplied in the text for clarity.

[1:24]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “And praying, they said.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[1:25]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “to take the place.”

[1:25]  ²⁰ tn Or “of this ministry.”

[1:25]  ²¹ tn Or “the task of this service and apostleship which Judas ceased to perform.”

[1:25]  ²² sn To go to his own place. This may well be a euphemism for Judas’ judged fate. He separated himself from them, and thus separated he would remain.

[1:26]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Grk “and the lot fell on Matthias.”

[1:26]  ²⁵ tn Or “he was counted as one of the apostles along with the eleven.”