BATH-KOL, "the daughter of a voice." So the Jews denominate one of their oracles, which is frequently mentioned in their books, especially the Talmud. The bath-kol was a fantastic method of divination invented by the Jews, though called by them a revelation of God's will, made to his chosen people after all verbal prophecies had ceased in Israel, being, in fact, analogous to the Sortes Virgilianæ among the Romans. For as, with the latter, the first words they happened to turn to in the works of the Mantuan bard were considered a kind of oracle prognostic of future events, so with the Jews, when they appealed to Bath-kol, the first words they heard from any man's mouth were regarded as a voice from heaven, directing them in the matter they inquired about. And even the Christians were not quite free from this superstition, often making the same use of the Scriptures as the Romans did of the works of Virgil; and it descended, through them, to later times. In France it was the practice for several ages to use this kind of divination at the consecration of a bishop, in order to discover his life, manners, and future behaviour; and the usage came into England with the Norman conquest, for we are told, that, at the consecration of William, the second Norman bishop of the diocese of Norwich, the words which first occurred on dipping into the Bible were, "Not this man, but Barabbas." William died soon after, and was succeeded by Herbert de Lozinga, chief simony broker to King William Rufus, on whose consecration the Bible opened at the words in which Jesus accosted Judas Iscariot; "Friend, wherefore art thou come?" This circumstance so affected Herbert that it brought him to a thorough repentance of his crime, in expiation of which he built the cathedral church of Norwich, the first stone of which he laid in the year 1096.