An Athenian came to Jerusalem and encountered a certain priest. He said to him: ‘How much smoke does a bundle of wood produce? He said to him: ‘When it is wet, it all becomes smoke. When it is dry, one-third becomes smoke, one-third ashes, and one-third is consumed by the fire.’ From where did he learn this? From the wood of the arrangement [on the Temple altar].
An Athenian came to Jerusalem and encountered a certain priest
Eikhah Rabbah 1:10