LOTS (Casting of) (λαγχάνω, κλῆ?ρον βάλλειν).—Among the Jews the lot was in frequent use (see Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible, art. ‘Lots’). It was the recognized method by which the order of service and most of the individual duties of the priesthood were determined. The order of the 24 ‘courses’ or priestly families was arranged by lot. The ‘course’ to which Zacharias (Luke 1:5-9) belonged was that of Abijah, which stood eighth on the list (1 Chronicles 24:1-19). Each family or ‘course’ was on duty for a week, from one Sabbath to another, twice a year (2 Kings 11:9). The priests from whom the officiating ministers for the service of the day (ἐ?φημερία) were to be chosen, had to present themselves ‘washed’ (Exodus 40:12-15) before the officer who had special charge of the lots. The lots were cast in the ‘Hall of Hewn Polished Stones’ in the Temple. The distribution of duties for a day among the priests required that the lot should be cast four times. The priest who had to offer incense was chosen by the third lot. This duty was regarded as one of special honour, and the lot by which it was assigned was cast after prayer and confession. The decision was accepted as indicating the man whom God had chosen to offer the prayers of the people. The third of April or the first week of October is by some reckoned as the time when Zacharias was appointed to offer incense (Luke 1:9). It may have been at the morning or the evening service.
At the Crucifixion the soldiers cast lots for the clothes of Jesus. As they were divided into ‘four parts, to every soldier a part’ (John 19:23), it was evidently a quaternion of soldiers that was on duty. The Synoptists simply record the parting of the garments by lot (Matthew 27:35, Mark 15:24, Luke 23:34). In Jn. special reference is made to His ‘coat.’ it is impossible to say whether the ‘coat’ was added to one of the four parts, or if a separate lot was cast for it. The precision and detail of the narrative in Jn. have been regarded as proofs that the Fourth Evangelist was an eye-witness of the things which he records. In the casting of the lot for the ‘coat’ he saw the fulfilment of one of the predicted woes of the Messiah (Psalms 22:18). The quotation is in the exact words of the LXX Septuagint . Critical editions of the NT omit the quotation in Matthew.
There is no indication as to the particular method by which the lot was cast in the two incidents in which it is employed in the Gospels.
It may be noted under this heading that the idea of the lot as giving expression to the Divine will runs through all the words which relate to inheritance (κληρονόμεω, -ομία, -ονόμος). With this fundamental significance all such words become part of the language of grace. The right of inheritance in the Kingdom of God, or to eternal life, does not spring from legal enactment or personal merit, but from the will of God.
Literature.—Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, i. 133–187, ii. 592 f.; Josephus Ant. vii. xiv. 7; Godet on Luke, vol. i. 71; Muirhead, Times of Christ, p. 79; Godet on John, vol. iii. 266. See also art. Chance.
John Reid.