1 Chronicles 24:13

The twenty-four lots run through both priestly houses mixed together rather than kept apart, so a name's place in the list carries no rank of honor. The eighth lot falls to Abijah, and Luke 1:5 introduces Zacharias the father of John the Baptist as a priest of the course of Abia, the same rotation set here centuries before Christ. This administrative roster is the machine that dates the New Testament's opening scene, since Zacharias was serving his division's turn in the temple when Gabriel met him at the altar.