lots

Home > ... > Social Sciences and the Law > Anthropology and Archaeology > Customs and Artifacts > ...

Essential reading Compare
side-by-side The Concise Oxford Dictionary ... A Dictionary of the Bible The Columbia Encyclopedia, ...

lots

lots The casting of lots was an ancient method of making a choice, settling a dispute, or determining a course of action. In biblical times lots were cast to determine the will of God (it is believed that the Urim and Thummim, mysterious sacred objects carved on the breastplate of the high priest, were originally used for casting lots and determining a course of action), to discover the guilty, to select officials, and in numerous other instances. The lot, probably a stone, die, or other object, was cast upon the ground, the manner of its fall determining the question in doubt; in other cases, lots were cast into a receptacle and drawn from it. It is possible that dice originated not as a game but as a device for casting lots.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

Give this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"lots." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 19 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"lots." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (December 19, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-lots.html

"lots." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved December 19, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-lots.html

Learn more about citation styles

lots

A Dictionary of the Bible | 1997 | | Â© A Dictionary of the Bible 1997, originally published by Oxford University Press 1997. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

lots A common means of making decisions among the Hebrews which continued into NT times, although the procedure of casting lots is never described. It was believed that God indicated his preferences by means of the lot, as when Saul was invited to be king (1 Sam. 10: 19–26). In the NT the soldiers divided Jesus' coat at the crucifixion by lot (Mark 15: 24), and Matthias was chosen by lot to replace Judas as one of the Twelve apostles (Acts 1: 26).

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

W. R. F. BROWNING. "lots." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 19 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

W. R. F. BROWNING. "lots." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (December 19, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-lots.html

W. R. F. BROWNING. "lots." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved December 19, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-lots.html

Learn more about citation styles

lot

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Â© The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology 1996, originally published by Oxford University Press 1996. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

lot object used in deciding a matter by appeal to chance; what falls to a person thus OE.; prize in a lottery XVI; plot of land XVII; set of articles XVIII; party or set XVI; large number XIX. OE. hlot portion, choice, decision, corr. to MLG. lot, (M)Du. lot, ON. hlutr, hluti; f. Gmc. *χlut- (also in OE. hlȳt lot), rel. to *χleut-, in OE. hlēotan, OS. hliotan, OHG. liozan, ON. hljóta cast lots, obtain by lot, and to *χlaut-, in OE. hlíet (:- *χlautiz). OS. hlōt, OHG. (h)lōz (G. loos, los), Goth. hlauts lot. The Gmc. word appears in F. lot, It. lotto.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

T. F. HOAD. "lot." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 19 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "lot." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (December 19, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-lot.html

T. F. HOAD. "lot." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved December 19, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-lot.html

Learn more about citation styles

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries and thesauruses

Rate these entries|See all related entries

Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Kids' Swine flu shots recalled; not strong enough News Wire article from: AP Online; 12/15/2009
	As sports scandals go, Tiger Woods is tops News Wire article from: AP Online; 12/15/2009
	'Up in the Air' leads Golden Globes with 6 noms News Wire article from: AP Online; 12/15/2009

Facts and information from other sites

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

	100 Years Of Johnny Mercer, Pop Poet Laureate Transcript from: NPR All Things Considered; 11/18/2009; ; 700+ words ; ...Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe") Ms. JUDY GARLAND (Performer): (Singing) Back in Ohio where I come from, I've done a lot of dreaming and I've traveled some. LUNDEN: Though Mercer was married to the same woman, Ginger, from the age of 20 until...
	Senate Democrats May Unveil New Health Bill [FtF] Transcript from: NPR All Things Considered; 11/18/2009; ; 700+ words ; ...SIEGEL: And first, we don't know a lot of what's in this merged bill that the...what we know. ROVNER: Well, we know in a lot of ways it will look like the bill that...option, Senator Reid has been having a lot of trouble getting the votes that he needs...
	Assessing Obama's China Trip Transcript from: NPR All Things Considered; 11/18/2009; ; 700+ words ; ...absolutely right. We are, however, in a mutually dependent relationship. It's not all one-sided. It's true that they hold a lot of our treasuries, but if those treasuries lose their value, that means the Chinese holdings lose their value. If they what...
	Reef Conservation Strategy Backfires Transcript from: NPR All Things Considered; 11/18/2009; ; 700+ words ; ...income for a while, until the regional fish population recovers. Mr. LEISHER: What we have found with our research is that a lot of alternative income activities are not successful in the long term, so what we do is just look for activities that can benefit...
	SEN. JEFF BINGAMAN CHAIRMAN SEN. JEFF BINGAMAN HOLDS A HEARING ON THE GLOBAL ASPECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE Transcript from: Washington Transcript Service; 11/17/2009; 700+ words ; ...partnership on clean energy and renewables and efficiencycould benefit both countries. Let me also just mention that we hear a lot about U.S. cleantechnology development and deployment effective programs to spur the developmentand deployment of clean energy...
	SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON DELIVERS REMARKS AT EMBASSY KABUL WITH EMPLOYEES AND THEIR FAMILIES Transcript from: Washington Transcript Service; 11/18/2009; 700+ words ; ...to haveall hands on deck, that we were going to be asking a lot of you, that wewere redefining and deepening our partnership with the people and Governmentof Afghanistan, so we brought in a lot of extraordinary talent. We also have an operation in Washington...
	Cheech, Chong Argue for Pot Legalization Transcript from: The O'Reilly Factor (Fox News Network); 11/18/2009; ; 700+ words ; ...people.O'REILLY: No, but there's a lot of people that aren't sick.CHONG: Absolutely...clinics, medical marijuana clinics, a lot of hard-core drug addicts go in there...re funny, and make it seem like it's a lot of fun, and kids see it. Have you ever...
	Afghan President Pledges To Clean Up Corruption Transcript from: NPR Morning Edition; 11/19/2009; ; 700+ words ; ...in Afghanistan? REEVES: Yes, he did. Obviously there's a lot of interest in this because of the debate going on in Washington...still going on. During that time, they've heard an awful lot of speeches and not seen all that many results. Certainly many...
	Flood Of Immigrants To Long Island Sparks Tension Transcript from: NPR Morning Edition; 11/19/2009; ; 700+ words ; ...important is it to them to hire a contractor who only uses documented workers? Ms. SCAROLA: You know, from what I see, I think a lot of people will go for the cheapest price they can get. So they're not really concerned with who's doing the work. But then...
	GOP Governors Meeting Decidedly Upbeat Transcript from: NPR Morning Edition; 11/19/2009; ; 700+ words ; ...Democrats. That 20-point gap is the biggest I've ever seen since we started asking this question 16 years ago. GONYEA: A lot of that enthusiasm comes from the very conservative ideological wing of the Republican Party, those who are part of the so...