Of the many instances of divination which oc cur in Holy Scripture, some must be taken in a good sense. These have accordingly been classed by J. Christopher Wichmannshausen (Dessert. de Divinat. Babyl.) as truly Divine.' It will be convenient to consider them first. (1.) The class which meets our view at the outset is designated in Greek anpoucuircia, divination by lot. This mode of decision was used by the Hebrews in matters of extreme importance, and always with solemnity and religious preparation (Josh. vii. 13). The land was divided by lot 6V, Oviyoz, sors); Num.
xxvi. 55, 56 ; Josh. xiv. 2). Achan's guilt was detected by lot (Josh. vii. 16-19). Saul was elected king by lot (I Sam. x. 20, 21). And, more remarkable still, St. Matthias was chosen to the vacant apostleship by solemn lot, and invo cation of God to guide the decision (Acts i. 26). This solemnity and reverence it is which gives force to such passages as Prov. xvi. 33 ; xviii. 18.
(See S. Augustin, de Doctr. Christ. i. 28; Thom. Aquin. ii. 2, qu. 95, art. 8). (2.) Under this pro cess of 51ja or lot, were appointed the interesting ordinances of the scape-goat and the goat of the sin-offering for the people (Lev. xvi. 8-1o). (3.) Some instances of what the Greeks technically called SvccooAapreta, require a place in our cate gory of heavenly divination. The interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams by the divinely-gifted Joseph (Gen. xli. 25-32) ; and the retracing and interpre tation of those of Nebuchadnezzar by the inspired prophet (Dan. ii. 27, etc., and again iv. 19.28), as opposed to the diviners of false dreams in Zech. x. 2, are very prominent cases in point ; and still more, the dreams themselves divinely sent [as those in Gen. xx. 6; Judg. vii. 15 ; r Kings iii. 5 ; so those in Math i. 20 ; ii. 12, 13, 19, 22], must be regarded as instances of divination in a good sense, a heavenly avapoihavreta (comp. Mohammed's dic ta ; Good dreams are from God ;' Good dreams are one of the great parts of prophecy.' Lane's Arab. Nights, i. 68). This is clear from Num. xii. 6 (where dreams [to the sleeping] and visions [to the awake] are expressly mentioned as correla tive divinations authorised by God), compared with I Sam. xxviii. 6. In this latter ver. there occur two other means of divination, which we mention under the next two heads. (4.) The Urim and Thummim (Num. xxvii. 27), which seem to have had the same relation in true divina tion, which the 7?raphim had in the idolatrous system. (See Has. iii. 4, and URIN1 and THU:g ram.) (5.) The Bath Kol (9ip or direct vocal communication) which God vouchsafed espe cially to Moses (See Deut. xxxiv. Jo). Various concomitants of revelation were employed by the Deity ; as the Rod-Serpent (Exod. iv. 3) ; the Leprous-Hand (ver. 4) ; the Burning Bush 4); the Plagues (vii.-xii.) ; the Cloud (xvi. to, I r) ; but most instances are without phenomena (Dent iv. 15 ; 1 Kings six. rz, 13, 15, and perhaps Matt. iii. 13). This, the true Bath-Kol, must not be confounded with the fabulous one of the Rab bis, which Dr. Lightfoot calls a fiction of their own brain to bring their doctors and their doc trines into credit' (Harm. Gasp.; Works iii. 132);
nor yet with the raparhpmns X6-ytov, the human voice (referred to in Smith's Bibl. Diet. Divina tion [7]). See BATH-KOL. (6.) The Oracles ; first, of the Ark of the Testimony or Covenant (TW111r1 described in Exod. xxv. 22, and a Kings vi. 16-31 (Cfr. Ps. xxviii. 2) ; secondly, of the Tabernacle of the Congregation or Testimony (11111171:1i1) , described in Exod. xxix. 42, 43.
[In the account of the Temple, both in I Kings vi., and 2 Chron., the word VZ1 is used fifteen times to designate the Oracle;' i.e., the Holy of Holies (see 1 Kings vi. 16), in which was placed the Ark of the Covenant (ver. 19) ; whose golden cover, called the Mercy-seat, was the actual sites Drama] (7.) The Angelic Voice, 1z-1 (e.g., Gen. xxii. 15 ; Judg. xiii. 3, 13). (8.)1 The Prophetic Institution nrn4, see Buxtorf, Lex. Rabb., s. v. This was the most ous and perfect means of holy divination (as the oracular system in the heathen world was the most eminent perversion and imitation of it ;) and was often accompanied with symbolical action (2 Kings xiii. 17 ; Jer. Ii. 63, 64). We may learn the importance of the place it was designed to occupy in the Theocracy as a means of divi nation, by the express contrast drawn between it, on the one hand, and the divinations of idolatry on the other. Comp. v. 14 with v. 15, of Deut. xviii. (See Michaelis' Laws of Moses, Art. xxxvi.) Under this head of Prophecy we must of course include the tipri as the Jews call the Inspiration of the Holy Spirit (comp. Nicene Creed, Who spake by the Prophets.') The Scriptures of the O. T. are most suitably called oracles,' di67La e€oi in the N. T. (See Acts vii. 38; Rom. hi. 2 ; Heb. v. 12 ; I Pet. iv. ri.) Such are the chief modes of divine com munication to men, or inspired divination : they are referred to in Heb. i. r, roXv/hipcos lad roXv Tp67rws ram 6 Ocas Aakrjcras roil rarpdatv. The antithesis points to the Son of God as the Ultimate Oracle [the Lops of St. John], the fulfiller of the promise, which Moses gave when he prohibited all spurious divination. (9.) Before we close our notice of divination in a good sense, we must ad duce two instances of the word ?0p. Of the thirty-one occurrences of this expressive term in the O. T., no less than twenty-nine bear an evil meaning. In Prov. xvi. ro, and Is. iii. 2, we claim for it a good sense. In the former of these passages the noun 1:11n (LXX. ; Divinatio), is rendered in A. V. A divine sentence [Marg. Divination] ; and denotes sagacitas qua ils divinantium' (Poli Synops. in lee. Melanc thon, as quoted by Bishop Patrick in loc., refers to the acute wisdom of Solomon, in his celebrated judgment, and of Gonzaga, in his sentence on the governor of Milan, as instances of this ?Dp ; we might add the case supposed by Solomon him self of the sagacious poor man who successfully de fended the city against the mighty invader, Eccl. ix. 15). In Is. iii. 2, the word occurs in the Poel form, 1:1; (crroxao-T*; ariolus), and is rightly rendered in A. V. prudent ; the company in which the term is found requires for it a good significa tion.