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Writer's pictureKeith Posner

Goral

The word goral translates as lot or lottery. One of the key applications of this mechanism in the Jewish Bible (Tanach), is when the various tribal territories in the Land of Israel were bequeathed to the tribes of Israel using a lottery process. However, as we shall see, goral appears in many othe narrative passages within Tanach.


In this article we shall explore the concept of lottery as a form of randomness and ask ourselves how this mechanism fits in with the more familiar religious concepts of divine will and human free choice.


Cover photo by Jarren Simmons on Unsplash


The plain meaning of the word

According the the BDB Dictionary, the root of goral, g-r-l, relates to a stony place, based on the Arabic root with the same letters. Klein defines the meaning as lot, fortune, or portion, but agrees that the origin of the word is a small pebble, or in Arabic, a small stone. Interestingly there are some who say that the English word "coral" is etymologically related to the word goral, via Latin and Greek.


The BDB dictionary goes on to define the term goral as "a lot cast for the decision of questions, designation of persons, assignment of property and so on; probably stones put into the bosom-fold of a garment[...], or into a vessel, and shaken until one springs out [...]; this was regarded originally as divine decision". In today's terminology, we would refer to this as drawing lots.


Incidences in Tanach

A cursory review of Tanach shows that the term goral appears in multiple Biblical books in a wide range of contexts. The list below describes some of the key narrative sections where this term appears.


Leviticus 16:8-10: As part of the atonement ceremony of of Yom haKippurim, lots were drawn to determine which one of two goats would be sent to the desert and which would be offered as an atonement offering on the altar.


Numbers Chapter 26 and Joshua Chapters 13 to 21: The Land of Israel is divided among the 12 tribes, and the Levite cities are divided among the Levite families by the goral, by drawing lots.


Joshua Chapter 7: Tragedy befalls the Israelites when they are unable to conquer thr city of Ai.

The defeat is a punishment for taking of booty from the recently conquered Jericho, an act that had been banned by G-d. Joshua uses the mechanism of goral to determine the guilty party and the lot falls on Achan from the tribe of Judah. Once confronted, Achan confesses. The text seems to indicate that goral is a more effective tool to uncover the truth than investigstion.


Judges 20:9: In the dreadful war of the other tribes against the Tribe of Benjamin, outlined at the end of the Book of Judges, the process of goral, the drawing of lots, is used to decide who will fight against Benjamin, and who will supply provisions to the troops.


Jonah 1:7: The terrified sailors aboard the ship sailing from Jaffa to Tarshish, believed to be a location in modern-day Spain or Portugal, find themselves in a severe storm. Jonah confesses his guilt to the ship's captain and volunteers to be thrown overboard. The sailors are horrified by the idea of executing a potentially innocent man; so in an attempt to identify the individual responsible for angering his deity and hence triggering the storm, the sailors decide to apply the goral, to cast lots among the passengers. Even when the lot falls on Jonah, the sailors hesitate to throw him overboard, and only after multiple unsuccessful attempts to regain control of the ship and fervent prayers to the G-d of Israel, do they accede to his entreaties to be thrown overboard. The sea calms immediately.


Esther 3:7 and 9:24: The wicked Haman uses the process of goral, he draws lots to determine in which month to organise a state-sponsored genocide against the Jewish people. Interestingly in both of these passages, the term goral is introduced using its Akkadian language equivalent pur, and is then translated into the Hebrew word goral.


Daniel 12:13: In a profound statement of Jewish theology, G-d tells Daniel that the secrets of the age of the Messiah are hidden. Daniel will have a long life, pass on from this world, and at the end of days his destiny will be revealed. The word "destiny" is the Jewish Publication Translation of goral in this verse. Other translations render goral as "lot" or "portion" but the sense of the word is the portion that is assigned to a person, often without clear understanding of why, a sort of metaphorical drawing of lots.


Nechemiah 11:1: One tenth of the Jewish population of Judea was selected by lottery to live in Jerusalem, with an eye toward ensuring the city’s ongoing security.


What does goral represent?

One of the more simplistic understandings of goral is that it directly represents the will of G-d. This is difficult to understand on a logical or rational level. Based on a review of Curwin (2021), this post will explore the concept of goral as a form of randomness and show how this mechanism fits in with the more familiar religious concepts of divine will and human free choice.


Two conflicting ideas

The key question, as expressed by David Curwin in Curwin (2021), is "whether goral reflects predetermined divine fate, or is it just a random roll of the dice"? The Book of Proverbs provides two conflicting views of goral.


Verse 16:33: predetermined divine fate

בַּ֭חֵיק יוּטַ֣ל אֶת־הַגּוֹרָ֑ל וּ֝מֵיְהֹוָ֗ה כׇּל־מִשְׁפָּטֽוֹ׃
Lots are cast into the lap; the decision depends on the LORD.

As explained by Malbim (see [2] below), this verse is saying that many things, including the lottery, seem to be hidden, i.e. to be random or chance, but are actually G-d's will. Examples include:



This is troubling. As Curwin (2021) points out, why did G-d institute prophecy during the Biblical period? Why do we have trials by judges based on investigation, evidence, and logical argument?


Verse 18:18: random roll of the dice

מִ֭דְיָנִים יַשְׁבִּ֣ית הַגּוֹרָ֑ל וּבֵ֖ין עֲצוּמִ֣ים יַפְרִֽיד׃
The lot puts an end to strife. And separates those locked in dispute.

Malbim sees this verse as treating goral, rather than as G-d's will, as a form of compromise. When justice cannot be served by investigations of truth, goral can be used to resolve issues between disputing parties. Examples include:



No miracles are involved here. The goral is simply a compromise between disputing parties.


Mapping the elements

Based on the analysis contained in Curwin (2021), the following model emerges that shows the tension between different elements involved in the control continuum. Halakhah is Jewish law, and the dashed line in the diagram shows which activities are acceptable under Halakhah and which are not.





References

[1] David Curwin, "Goral — Can we let God roll the dice," Tradition 53:2 (2021), 51-67

[2] Rabbi Meir Leibush ben Yehiel Michel Weisser, known as Malbim (1809-1879) was a rabbi, Hebrew grammarian, halakhic scholar, and author of a uniquely creative and comprehensive Torah commentary. Known as the "ilui (prodigy) of Volhynia (a historic region in modern day Ukrained and Poland)," he served in multiple rabbinic posts. For more information, see Sefaria.








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