In biblical times people used dice, bones, sticks, and other objects to play games. One type of ancient die wasn't a cube, like modern dice, but rather a pyramid with the top cut off and numbers inscribed on its surfaces. Archeologists have also found the knuckle bones of animals buried with ancient board games and believe that the players rolled these bones like dice to make their moves.
The Bible often refers to casting "lots," which may looked like dice, but no one is certain. In Old Testament times people cast lots to determine God's will. They believed that when someone was searching for the answer to a question and threw the lots, God would control how they fell. Perhaps the lots were inscribed with numbers, single words, or simple phrases that revealed God's answer. People used lots to divide inheritances or land, establish the work schedule of priests, predict the outcome of battles, and probably to determine the innocence or guilt of a person.
Before the time of the Babylonian captivity, the chief priest carried sacred lots, called the Urim and Thummim, in a pouch concealed in "the breastpiece of judgment" (Ex 28:30) which hung on the priest's chest. Some scholars believe the lots were flat tokens with the words yes inscribed on one side and no on the other. By uttering a prayer for guidance and tossing the tokens, or shaking them from the pouch, a priest would get God's answer to a question.
Lots were used in the New Testament. At the Crucifixion Roman soldiers cast lots for Jesus' clothing (Jn 19:24). The Apostles also cast lots to choose a replacement for Judas after he'd betrayed Jesus (Acts 1:26). |
