Nehemiah 10:34

10:32-39 Having covenanted against the sins of which they had been guilty, they obliged themselves to observe the duties they had neglected. We must not only cease to do evil, but learn to do well. Let not any people expect the blessing of God, unless they keep up public worship. It is likely to go well with our houses, when care is taken that the work of God's house goes on well. When every one helps, and every one gives, though but little, toward a good work, the whole will come to be a large sum. We must do what we can in works of piety and charity; and whatever state we are placed in, cheerfully perform our duty to God, which will be the surest way to ease and liberty. As the ordinances of God are the appointed means of support to our souls, the believer will not grudge the expense; yet most people leave their souls to starve.

And we cast the lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people,.... The priests and Levites were in one lot, and the people in another, as Aben Ezra: for the wood offering; for providing wood to burn upon the altar continually, concerning which Maimonides (c) thus writes:"what is the wood offering?

Nehemiah 10:34 . And we cast lots among the priests, &c. They now determined, by casting lots, how much wood every one should bring in, for his share, to maintain the fire continually upon the altar to burn the sacrifices; and in what order it should be brought; and at what times of the year.

(34) As it is written in the law. — Leviticus 6:12 prescribes that the fire on the altar should be kept burning by wood. But here we have the origin of the “feast of the wood-offering”—a special day, subsequently substituted for the “times appointed year by year.” The lot determined the order in which the various classes should supply the wood.

Verse 34. - We cast the lots for the wood offering . The "wood offering" is now first heard cf. Fuel had probably been more plentiful in the times of the monarchy than it had now become, and the temple treasury had been rich enough to provide what was needed in order to keep the altar fire perpetually burning ( Leviticus 6:13 ). But times had changed. The hill-country of Judaea had gradually been stripped of its forests. The temple was, comparatively speaking, poor, and some permanent arrangement for the supply of the required fuel had become necessary. It would seem, from the present passage, that the arrangement actually made was one by which different families or districts undertook the duty of furnishing the wood in turn, and lots were cast to determine the order in which they should discharge the office. According to Josephus ('Bell. Jud.,' it. 17, § 6), the wood needed for a year was brought in on a particular day - the fourteenth day of the fifth month - which was kept as a festival, and known as the "Xylophoria." At times appointed year by year . It may be gathered from this that, originally, no single day was selected for bringing in all the wood; much less one and the same day appointed for every year. The original system was variable and elastic; but in course of time a rigid uniformity was introduced and established. As it is written in the law . See Leviticus 6:12 . Nehemiah 10:34

We cast the lots, to determine the time and order in which each of them should take the care of the business. For the wood-offering ; for the wood, which was to be spent in great quantity, being used in every sacrifice, and formerly had been supplied out of the temple’s treasures, or by the king; which could not now be done. Into the house of our God, i.e. into the place appointed to receive it in the buildings adjoining or belonging to the temple. After the houses of our fathers, i. e. according to our several families, which were to take the charge of it by course.

No special provision was made by the Law, by David, or by Solomon, for the supply of wood necessary to keep fire ever burning upon the altar. Nehemiah established a system by which the duty of supplying the wood was laid as a burden in turn on the various clans or families, which were regarded as constituting the nation. The lot was used to determine the order in which the several families should perform the duty. A special day (the 14th of the fifth month, according to Josephus) was appointed for the bringing in of the supply; and this day was after a time regarded as a high festival, and called "the feast of the wood-offering."

34 . And we cast the lots ] R.V. And we cast lots. The use of the article in the Heb. does not here call attention to the use of any peculiarly sacred ‘lots,’ but generally to the means employed for ascertaining the Divine will. For decision by the casting of lots, cf. the choosing of the goat on the day of Atonement ( Leviticus 16:8-10 ), the distribution of the Promised Land ( Joshua 14:2 ; Joshua 18:10 ), the selection of the first king ( 1 Samuel 10:19 ), the distribution of offices among the 24 priestly houses ( 1 Chronicles 24:5 ; 1 Chronicles 25:8 ; 1 Chronicles 26:13 ), and of the priestly duties among the individual members ( Luke 1:9 ). Here the lot was to decide the succession of the houses, which took it in turn to supply the wood for the sacrifices of the Temple. for the wood offering ] Cf. Nehemiah 13:31 . The supply of wood for the enormous number of sacrifices offered at the Temple of Jerusalem must have represented a large annual sum. The difficulty of procuring wood must have been very great: (1) the area of territory occupied by the Jewish community was small, (2) the trees in the neighbourhood must have suffered during the Chaldean invasion and siege. after the houses of our fathers ] R.V. according to our fathers’ houses.

Another translation, ‘even into the house of our fathers,’ i.e. ‘into the Temple’ would certainly be possible according to the Hebrew, but is not to be accepted, as its use occurs nowhere else, and after the mention of ‘the house of our God’ there would be no special appropriateness for the employment of another name. at times appointed ] Cf. Nehemiah 13:31 ; Ezra 10:14 . According to the Talmud on nine days in the year. as it is written in the law ] There is no statute in the Levitical code regulating the supply of firewood for the sacrifices. The only reference to the wood of the offering in ‘the Law’ is contained in Leviticus 6:12-13 , ‘And the fire upon the altar shall be kept burning thereon, it shall not go out; and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning; and he shall lay the burnt offering in order upon it, and shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. Fire shall be kept burning upon the altar continually; it shall not go out.’ If the words ‘as it is written in the law’ contain a reference to a passage in the Pentateuch, it must be looked for in connexion with ‘the burning on the altar’ (e.g. Leviticus 6:12-13 ), not with ‘the wood-offering.’ Against this it may fairly be urged that ‘the wood offering,’ being the principal subject of the verse, is also the most probable subject for this quotation from Scripture.

34. we cast the lots … for the wood offering—The carrying of the wood had formerly been the work of the Nethinims. But few of them having returned, the duty was assigned as stated in the text. The practice afterwards rose into great importance, and Josephus speaks [The Wars of the Jews, 2.17, sect. 6] of the Xylophoria, or certain stated and solemn times at which the people brought up wood to the temple.