Purim: The Casting of Lots
As we know from the Book of Esther, the casting of lots – known as ‘Pur’ - was used by Haman to establish the date on which he intended to attack and murder the Jews of Shushan. Purim is a plural of that term. Scholars note that the date of Purim falls during a Persian festival. As such, apparently wishing to coincide the attack with Persian rejoicing, Haman had lots cast repeatedly (multiple Pur – or Purim) until the result called for a date during that time frame:
In the Book of Esther 3:7 we read:
“In the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, in the first month, i.e., the month Nissan, one cast the pur (i.e. the lot) in the presence of Haman, day by day and month by month (until it fell on the fourteenth day of ) the twelfth month, i.e., the month of Adar.”
Later in the same book (9:26) we read:
“Therefore they called these days Purim, after the word (or: on account of the) pur.”
The technique of casting lots was equally well-known in the Bible. The Bible records many different uses for the casting of lots, ranging from the division of the Promised Land among the twelve tribes by Joshua to the finding of the culprit in the tale of Jonah and to the gambling for the garment of the condemned man in Psalm 22.
Remarkably, the casting of lots was confirmed by the discovery of the Black Obelisk in 1845. The Black Obelisk is a monument that details the military campaigns of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III (859-824 BCE), including the conquest of the Kingdom of Israel in 841 BCE. It provided the first extra-biblical proof of the biblical stories and also contains a reference to the use of lots (puru) for royal decision-making. In 9th Century BCE Assyria, the order in which the individual ministers and governors succeeded each other was determined by lot. Shalmaneser III, in the thirtieth year of his reign, having run through the roster of his assistants, he started over again, as recorded on the Black Obelisk. The inscription reads:
“In my thirty-first year (i.e., 828 BCE), I cast the lot for the second time in front of the gods Ashur and Adad.”
One of Shalmaneser’s minister’s lots has survived and is now housed in the Yale Babylonian Collection. The “lot”, shown below, is a simple little cube inscribed on four sides, similar to modern dice, although with more detail inscribed on each side. The Assyrian word for lot is puru. It appears twice on the inscribed cube. The translation reads:
“Oh Assur the great lord, oh Adad the great lord, the lot of Iahali the grand vizier of Shalmaneser king of Assyria, governor-of-the-land (for) the city of Kibshuni (in) the land of Qumeni, the land of Mehrani, Uqu and the Cedar Mountain, and minister of trad—in his year assigned to him by lot may the harvest of the land of Assyria prosper and thrive, in front of the gods Assur and Adad may his lot fall.”
Not only does the Black Obelisk mention the casting of lots, but it also depicts Jehu, the King of Israel, kissing the feet of Shalmaneser. The Obelisk describes the major events in 31 military campaigns conducted by the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III. The reliefs in the second panel from the top on each face of the obelisk, according to the inscription below the picture, depict “The tribute of Jehu, son of Omri,” an event dated to about 841 B.C. The Black Obelisk, British Museum
“ And Jehu struck down all that were left of the House of Ahab in Jezreel—and all his notables, intimates, and priests—till e left him no survivor.”
2 Kings 10:11
Article: George Blumenthal
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