Cleromancy

Cleromancy is a form of sortition (casting of lots) in which an outcome is determined by means that normally would be considered random, such as the rolling of dice (astragalomancy), but that are sometimes believed to reveal the will of a deity. In ancient Rome fortunes were told through the casting of lots or sortes. Casting of lots (gōral, klē̂ros) is mentioned 47 times in the Bible. Some examples in the Hebrew Bible of the casting of lots as a means of determining God's will: In the Book of Leviticus , God commanded Moses, "And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the , and the other lot for the scapegoat." One goat will be sacrificed as a sin offering, while the scapegoat is loaded up with the sins of the people and sent into the wilderness. According to Numbers , Moses allocated territory to the tribes of Israel according to each tribe's male population and by lot. In Joshua 7:14, a guilty party (Achan) is found by lot. In the Book of Joshua , Joshua says, "Ye shall therefore describe the land into seven parts, and bring the description hither to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the our God." The Hebrews took this action to know God's will as to the dividing of the land between the seven tribes of Israel who had not yet "received their inheritance" (Joshua 18:2). In the First Book of Samuel , lots are used to determine that it was Jonathan, Saul's son, who broke the oath that Saul made, "Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies" (1 Samuel 14:24). In the Book of Jonah , the desperate sailors cast lots to see whose god was responsible for creating the storm: "Then the sailors said to each other, 'Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.' They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah." Other places in the Hebrew Bible relevant to divination include: Book of Proverbs : "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from Yahweh" and : "The lot settles disputes, and keeps strong ones apart.