Nehemiah 10:34
| And we cast lots among the priests, and the Levites, and the people, for the offering of wood, that it might be brought into the house of our God, by the houses of our fathers, at set times, from year to year: to burn upon the altar of the Lord, our God, as it is written in the law of Moses:
| Wood. The Nathinites had performed this office till the captivity. But not their numbers were too small. (Calmet) --- The people therefore brought the wood. The Levites, with the Nathinites, carried it into the temple, and the priests laid it upon the altars; all being regulated by lots. (Lyranus) --- Hence the feast called Xylophoria, was instituted about the month of August, as we may gather from Josephus. The Rabbins say that the priests cut the wood, from March till the 15th of July.
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