The Casting of Lots At Qumran and in the Book of Acts

Abstract

The casting of lots in the Book of Acts is usually regarded as an actual survival of the ancient practice which, in simple societies, still functions to express a divine Recent studies of the meaning of the at Qumran, however, suggest that behind the story of Acts there may lie a metaphorical use of the term to mean decision. In order to examine this possibility, the background of the term, both in Judaism and in the Hellenistic world, must be set forth briefly. The original function of the lot in judicial decision appears in the Old Testament in such instances as the story of Achan 1) and the decision between David and Jonathan 2). The actual casting of lots maintained itself in Hebrew religious life in certain ritual practices, such as the decision between the two goats on the Day of Atonement, and the assignment of tasks in the temple to the priests 3), but the sacred lots, the Urim and Thummim, were unknown in the post-exilic period 4). On the whole the actual casting of lots played a small role in Hebrew and Jewish religious life, as is only natural in view of the strong element of responsibility in the confrontation of the holy which is characteristic both of the legal and of the prophetic apprehension of Yahweh. Naturally the casting of lots in secularized form existed in Hebrew and Jewish life. In Judaism, however, this practice seems to have been confined to relatively trivial or purely playful functions 5).