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goral גּוֹרָל goral

A LOT — a marked stone or token drawn or cast to decide a question thought to be in God's hands (the 'let God point' procedure): 'the LOT is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from Jehovah' (Proverbs 16:33). Casting lots divides the promised land among the tribes (Numbers 26:55 — Joshua's tribal allotments are goral country), exposes Achan (Joshua 7:14-18), nearly condemns Jonathan (1 Samuel 14:41-42), and chooses Saul as king (1 Samuel 10:20-21). ⚠ In Jonah 1:7 pagan sailors cast lots to find whose guilt has raised the storm, and it falls on Jonah — the same procedure Edom had just thrown OVER Jerusalem as it fell (Obadiah 11). Its last appearances frame the Gospels: soldiers cast lots for Jesus' clothing (Matthew 27:35, fulfilling Psalm 22:18) and the eleven cast lots to replace Judas with Matthias (Acts 1:26) — the last time in Scripture, just before the Spirit comes and it is never used again. By extension goral means one's allotted PORTION or destiny — Daniel's last word of hope: 'you shall stand up to your LOT at the end of the days' (Daniel 12:13), a share with your name on it, not a game of chance. → first discussed at Jonah 1:7