Extispicy:
Extispicy is both the most indirect and non-spontaneous form of divination. Thus, it requires a complex cultic process in order to provoke it, and a complex interpretive process in order to reveal the divine message that is concealed within the organs of the sacrificial sheep. Although interpreting the shape of a sheep’s liver may seem strange to us, it was normal to those who lived in the ancient Near East, who perceived it as the most sophisticated act of divination. [TheTorah.com]
Noted in “Bad Moon Rising,” Jason Urbanus, Archaeology (January/February 2025):
Scholars are uncertain how Babylonian astronomers arrived at their grim conclusions. One theory holds that during an eclipse early in the empire’s history, a ruler may have perished, or a natural disaster may have struck. It’s possible that, thereafter, such events became inextricably connected with death and devastation. There were, however, steps that a king could take to alter his empire’s, and even his own, fate. First, priests could turn to extispicy, another way of interpreting the gods’ will that involved inspecting a sacrificed animal’s entrails. If those readings were seen as favorable, the priests would conclude that the eclipse had been a false alarm. If the diviners determined that the king’s life was indeed in danger, however, rituals would be performed to ward off the approaching peril. If all else failed, the king would go into hiding and a temporary substitute would be placed on the throne. Once the threat was deemed to have passed, the king would reassume his position. To dispose of any lingering evil, his stand-in would then be executed.
