For the use of random selection as a way to make a fair form of selection see Sortition. Sortition, also known as allotment, is an equal-chance method of selection by some form of lottery such as drawing coloured pebbles from a bag
Cleromancy is a form of divination using sortition, casting of lots, or casting bones, in which an outcome is determined by means that normally would be considered random, such as the rolling of dice, but that are believed to reveal the will of God or other supernatural entities. Divination (from Latin divinare "to be inspired by a god" related to Divine, Diva and Deus) is the attempt of ascertaining Sortition, also known as allotment, is an equal-chance method of selection by some form of lottery such as drawing coloured pebbles from a bag Randomness is a lack of order Purpose, cause, or predictability For other uses see either Die or Dice (disambiguation. Dice (the Plural of Die, from Old French God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. The term supernatural or supranatural ( Latin: super, supra "above" + natura "nature" pertains to entities events
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In Judeo-Christian culture
Casting of lots occurs relatively frequently in the Bible. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin
In the Hebrew Bible, there are at least four cases where casting lots was invoked as a means of determining God's mind:
- In the Book of Joshua 7:11-22, God commands that a thief be found by casting lots, first among the tribes of Israel, then among the families of that tribe, etc. The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written in Biblical Hebrew (and the related Biblical Aramaic God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. The Book of Joshua ( Hebrew: Sefer Y'hoshua ספר יהושע is the sixth book in both the Hebrew Tanakh and the Old Testament of the Christian Achan, the person identified in this way, confesses his guilt, and shows where he has buried the loot. Achan (ā'kăn - called also Achar - is a figure mentioned by the Book of Joshua in connection with the fall of Jericho and conquest of Ai.
- In the First book of Samuel 10:17-24, the people of Israel demand God to set a king over them, and God decrees a king to be found by a procedure similar to the above, leading to the selection of king Saul. The Books of Samuel ( Hebrew: Sefer Sh'muel ספר שמואל are part of the Tanakh (part of Judaism 's Hebrew Bible) and also of Saul (שאול המלך (or Sha'ul) ( Arabic: طالوت,Tālūt ( (reigned 1047 - 1007 BCE is identified in the Books of Samuel, 1 Chronicles
- Also in the First book of Samuel 14:42, lots are used to determine that it was Jonathan, Saul's son, who broke the oath that Saul made, "Cursed be the man who eats food until its evening and I am avenged on my enemies". The Books of Samuel ( Hebrew: Sefer Sh'muel ספר שמואל are part of the Tanakh (part of Judaism 's Hebrew Bible) and also of Saul (שאול המלך (or Sha'ul) ( Arabic: طالوت,Tālūt ( (reigned 1047 - 1007 BCE is identified in the Books of Samuel, 1 Chronicles An oath (from Anglo-Saxon āð, also called plight) is either a Promise or a Statement of Fact calling
- In the Book of Jonah 1:7, casting of lots is used to determine that Jonah was the cause of the storm. In the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Jonah is the fifth book in a series of books called the Minor Prophets According to the Hebrew Bible ( Tanakh / Old Testament) and Qur'an, Jonah (; Arabic: يونس, Yunus or He was subsequently cast overboard, and the storm dissipated.
Other places in the Hebrew Bible relevant to divination:
- Book of Proverbs 16:33: "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from Yahweh" and 18:18: "The lot settles disputes, and keeps strong ones apart. The Book of Proverbs is one of the books of the Ketuvim of the Tanakh, and thus also one of the books of the Old Testament. ".
- Leviticus 19:26: "'You shall not eat any meat with the blood still in it; neither shall you use enchantments, nor practice sorcery" (some translations have "augury" instead of "sorcery"). Leviticus (from Greek Λευιτικός, "relating to the Levites " The Augur was a priest and official in the classical world especially Ancient Rome and Etruria.
- In the Book of Esther, Haman casts lots to decide the date on which to exterminate the Jews of Shushan; see Purim. The Book of Esther is a book of the Tanakh ( Hebrew Bible) and of the Old Testament. Purim ( Hebrew: פורים Pûrîm " lots " related to Akkadian pūru) is a Jewish holiday that commemorates
Note that there are two distinct Hebrew concepts which are confused if both are translated by casting of lots. The Hebrew word translated as sorcery, nachash, is the same word as serpent and means literally to hiss when used as a verb. The idea of divination, or fortune-telling, is conveyed through association with the breath [fig. spirit] of a serpent [fig. deceiver] and implicitly declares diviners as con artists. In contrast, the Hebrew word for lot-casting, gowral, merely means to assign portions, or allotments, in the interests of fairness.
The most notable examples in the New Testament occur in the Acts of the Apostles 1:23-26 where the eleven remaining apostles draw lots to determine whether Matthias or Barsabbas (surnamed Justus) would be chosen to replace Judas, and in John 19:24, where the soldiers cast lots for Jesus' clothes as he was dying on the cross. The Acts of the Apostles is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. The Twelve Apostles (Greek apostolos, "someone sent out" e In the New Testament Acts of the Apostles, the author of the Gospel of Luke records that Saint Matthias was the Apostle chosen by the remaining Judas Iscariot, יהודה איש־קריות Yəhûḏāh ʾΚ-qəriyyôṯ was according to the New Testament, one of the twelve original apostles The Gospel of John (literally According to John; Greek, Κατὰ Ἰωάννην Kata Iōannēn) is the fourth Gospel in the canon Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE)
In the Book of Mormon, the sons of Lehi cast lots in the First Book of Nephi to determine who will obtain the plates of brass, a record containing the Israelite scriptures, from the merchant Laban. The Book of Mormon is a Sacred text of the churches in the Latter Day Saint movement. The First Book of Nephi (ˈniːfaɪ is the first book of the Book of Mormon. Laman is selected to represent the brothers by this method, but he fails to do so and barely escapes with his life (the brothers successfully retrieve the plates through other means, however). [1][2]
In Eastern culture
In China, and especially in Chinese Taoism, various means of divination through random means are employed, such as use of the I Ching. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Taoism (pronounced /ˈdaʊɪzəm/ or /ˈtaʊɪzəm/ also spelled '''Daoism''') refers to a variety of related Philosophical and Religious traditions The I Ching ( Wade-Giles) or “Yì Jīng” ( Pinyin) also called “Classic of Changes” or “Book of Changes” is one of the oldest of the In Japan, omikuji is one form of drawing lots. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Omikuji (御御籤 御神籤 or おみくじ are random fortunes written on strips of paper at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan.
See also
External links
- Halliday, Greek Divination (1913), full online edition. The Magic 8-Ball, manufactured by Mattel, is a Toy used for Fortune-telling. This list of topics is related to Spirituality, Esotericism, Mysticism, Religion and/or Parapsychology. Chapter 10 is on Kleromancy.
Dictionary
cleromancy
-noun
- Divination by casting lots (sortilege).
- Divination by throwing dice or any such marked objects, like beans, pebbles, or bone.
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