H1486 — גּוֹרָל (gowral)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H1486
Original: גּוֹרָל
Transliteration: gowral
Pronunciation: go-rawl'
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: From an unused root meaning to be rough (as stone); properly a pebble
Occurrences: 67 unique verses (90 tokens) across 18 books
First Occurrence: Lev 16:8 — "And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Or (shortened) גֹּרָל goral; from an unused root meaning to be rough (as stone); properly, a pebble, i.e. a lot (small stones being used for that purpose); figuratively, a portion or destiny (as if determined by lot):—lot.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
lot	15	22.4%
by lot	15	22.4%
lots	14	20.9%
the lot	13	19.4%
thy lot	3	4.5%
The lot	2	3.0%
of their lot	2	3.0%
Other (my lot, his lot, a lot, etc.)	10	14.9%

Note: Nearly all renderings are "lot" or "lots" — the KJV never translates gowral as "portion" or "inheritance" directly, though the figurative extension to an allotted share is present in context.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Joshua	24	3.6
1 Chronicles	11	1.2
Numbers	6	0.5
Leviticus	3	0.3
Proverbs	3	0.3
Isaiah	3	0.2
Psalms	3	0.1
Esther	2	1.2
Nehemiah	2	0.5
Judges	2	0.3
Obadiah	1	4.8
Jonah	1	2.1
Nahum	1	2.1
Joel	1	1.4
Micah	1	1.0
Daniel	1	0.3
Ezekiel	1	0.1
Jeremiah	1	0.1

Joshua dominates with 24 of 67 verses (36%), reflecting the lot-based land allotment to the tribes. 1 Chronicles adds 11 verses (16%) for priestly/Levitical service divisions. Together, land distribution and temple service assignments account for over half of all usage. The prophetic books use gowral almost exclusively in the figurative "portion/destiny" sense.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Casting Lots to Determine Divine Will¶

Lev 16:8 — "And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat."
Jonah 1:7 — "Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us... and the lot fell upon Jonah."
Pro 16:33 — "The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD."
Pro 18:18 — "The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty."

2. Land Allotment to Tribes¶

Jos 14:2 — "By lot was their inheritance, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes."
Jos 18:10 — "And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD: and there Joshua divided the land."
Jos 15:1 — "This then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah by their families."
Num 26:55 — "Notwithstanding the land shall be divided by lot."

3. Temple Service Assignments¶

1Ch 24:5 — "Thus were they divided by lot, one sort with another; for the governors of the sanctuary."
1Ch 25:8 — "And they cast lots, ward against ward, as well the small as the great, the teacher as the scholar."
1Ch 26:13 — "And they cast lots, as well the small as the great, according to the house of their fathers, for every gate."
Neh 10:34 — "And we cast the lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood offering."

4. Figurative: Allotted Portion or Destiny¶

Psa 16:5 — "The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot."
Psa 125:3 — "For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous."
Dan 12:13 — "But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days."
Isa 17:14 — "This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us."

5. Hostile / Judgment Lots¶

Joel 3:3 — "And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot."
Oba 1:11 — "In the day that... the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem."
Nah 3:10 — "Her young children also were dashed in pieces... and they cast lots for all her honourable men."
Jer 13:25 — "This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the LORD."

6. Participation / Fellowship by Lot¶

Pro 1:14 — "Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse."
Jdg 1:3 — "And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot."
Mic 2:5 — "Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the LORD."

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
בֵּן (ben)	H1121	31x (46%)	"children of [tribe]" — tribal identity in allotment contexts
מַטֶּה (matteh)	H4294	19x (28%)	"tribe of..." — tribal unit receiving a lot
מִשְׁפָּחָה (mishpachah)	H4940	18x (27%)	"according to their families" — subdivision of allotment
יְהֹוָה (YHWH)	H3068	17x (25%)	"before the LORD" — divine oversight of the lot
יָצָא (yatsa)	H3318	13x (19%)	"the lot came forth/out" — technical lot-drawing formula
נָפַל (naphal)	H5307	13x (19%)	"the lot fell to..." — result of lot-casting
עִיר (iyr)	H5892	11x (16%)	"cities" — Levitical city allotments (Jos 21)
נַחֲלָה (nachalah)	H5159	9x (13%)	"inheritance" — land-inheritance by lot
חָלַק (chalaq)	H2505	7x (10%)	"divided by lot" — division-by-lot formula

Synonyms¶

H6332 פּוּר (pur) — a lot (Persian loanword); used in Esther for Haman's lot-casting (the festival Purim derives from this word)
H2506 חֵלֶק (cheleq) — portion, share, allotment; emphasizes the divided share rather than the mechanism of selection
H4521 מְנָת (menath) — portion, allotted portion; emphasizes the measured share assigned

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
חֶבֶל (chebel)	H2256	"the lot" (3v)	chebel = measuring line/rope → portion of land measured out; gowral = pebble → portion determined by lot
נָפַל (naphal)	H5307	"by lot" (2v)	naphal = "to fall" — used of the lot falling, not the lot itself; verb vs. noun
κλῆρος (kleros)	G2819	"lot/lots" (NT)	Greek equivalent — same range of literal and figurative senses

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI	Score
κλῆρος (kleros) G2819	56	7.36	29.78
βάλλω (ballo) G906	13	6.58	17.36
κληρονομία (kleronomia) G2817	7	4.01	8.34
μερίς (meris) G3310	5	3.98	7.14

The dominant LXX equivalent is κλῆρος (kleros, G2819), which preserves the full semantic range: literal lot-casting, allotted land, and figurative portion/destiny. The βάλλω co-occurrences reflect the "cast lots" formula (βάλλω κλῆρον).