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C. Adjective.
(
, 6862), “narrow.”
describes a space as “narrow” and easily blocked by
a single person (Num. 22:26).
TO DIVIDE
A. Verb.
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(
, 2505), “to divide, share, plunder, assign, distribute.” Used throughout
the history of Hebrew, this verb is probably reflected in the ancient Akkadian term for
“field” i.e., that which is divided. The word is found approximately 60 times in the
Hebrew Old Testament; it appears for the first time in Gen. 14:15, where it is said that
Abram “divided his forces” (
RSV
) as he rescued his nephew Lot from the enemy.
Apparently, Abram was “assigning” different responsibilities to his troops as part of his
strategy. The sense of “dividing” or “allotting” is found in Deut. 4:19, where the sun,
moon, and stars are said to have been “allotted” to all peoples by God. A similar use is
seen in Deut. 29:26, where God is said not to have “allotted” false gods to His people.
)
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is used in the legal sense of “sharing” an inheritance in Prov. 17:2. The word
is used three times in reference to “sharing” the spoils of war in 1 Sam. 30:24.
This verb describes the “division” of the people of Israel, as one half followed Tibni
and the other half followed Omri (1 Kings 16:21). The word
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is also important in
the description of the “dividing” of the land of Canaan among the various tribes and clans
(Num. 26:52-55).
B. Noun.
%
(
, 2506), “portion; territory.” The noun form of
%
is used often in
the biblical text. It has a variety of meanings, such as “booty” of war (Gen. 14:24), a
“portion” of food (Lev. 6:17), a “tract” of land (Josh. 18:5), a spiritual “possession” or
blessing (Ps. 73:26), and a chosen “pattern” or “life-style” (Ps. 50:18).
TO DIVINE, PRACTICE DIVINATION
%
(
, 7080), “to divine, practice divination.” Cognates of this word appear
in late Aramaic, Coptic, Syriac, Mandean, Ethiopic, Palmyran, and Arabic. This root
appears 31 times in biblical Hebrew: 11 times as a verb, 9 times as a participle, and 11
times as a noun.
Divination was a pagan parallel to prophesying: “There shall not be found among you
anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination.…
For those nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and
to diviners, but as for you the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so. The Lord
your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your
countrymen; you shall listen to him” (Deut. 18:10, 14-15—first occurrence.)
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is a seeking after the will of the gods, in an effort to learn their future action
or divine blessing on some proposed future action (Josh. 13:22). It seems probable that
the diviners conversed with demons (1 Cor. 10:20).
The practice of divination might involve offering sacrifices to the deity on an altar
(Num. 23:1ff.). It might also involve the use of a hole in the ground, through which the
diviner spoke to the spirits of the dead (1 Sam. 28:8). At other times, a diviner might