Their inheritances were assigned by lot to the nine and a half tribes, as the LORD had commanded through Moses. – Joshua 14:2

Today's Scripture Reading (April 5, 2025): Joshua 14

Lotteries have a long and rich history. They seem to have arisen as a way to support public projects financially. It is rumored that even the Great Wall of China was built and paid for via an ancient form of the lottery. The lottery, as we know it, appears to date back to the 1400s. A record from the city of Sluis in the Netherlands indicates that on May 9, 1455, a lottery was held, with the winner taking home the equivalent of almost $200,000 in contemporary currency: 1737 florins. The money raised through the lottery was used to build walls for the city and other town fortifications. By the 1600s, it was common for lotteries to be organized in the Netherlands to help people experiencing poverty and raise funds for a wide range of public projects. 

The lottery that was performed in Canaan to divide up the area was a little different. Rabbis believe that twenty pieces of property were used for this lottery. First, the land was divided into ten separate areas, and each region was assigned a number. This number was then placed onto the ten pottery pieces and put in a container. The second group of ten pottery pieces was taken, and the name of a tribe was placed on each pottery piece, which was then placed in a separate container. (Important note: the number of tribes was ten because the tribes of Reuben and Gad received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan River.) At the time of the lottery, a number was withdrawn from the first container and a name from the second container. The two were combined, and the land was assigned to each tribe.

However, rather than being a game of chance, the people believed that, in this way, the decision of who got which parcel of land was given to God rather than to a priest or even the leaders themselves.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Joshua 15