Bethlehem

+ One of the oldest towns in Palestine, already in existence at the time of Jacob's return to the country. Its earliest name was [295]Ephratah, Or Ephrath or EPHRATAH. See (Genesis 35:16,19; 48:7) After the conquest Bethlehem appears under its own name, BETHLEHEM-JUDAH. (Judges 17:7; 1 Samuel 17:12; Ruth 1:1,2) The book of Ruth is a page from the domestic history of Bethlehem. It was the home of Ruth, (Ruth 1:19) and of David. (1 Samuel 17:12) It was fortified by Rehoboam. (2 Chronicles 11:6) It was here that our Lord was born, (Matthew 2:1) and here that he was visited by the shepherds, (Luke 2:15-17) and the Magi. Matt 2. The modern town of Beit-lahm lies to the east of the main road from Jerusalem to Hebron, six miles from the former. It covers the east and northeast parts of the ridge of a long gray hill of Jura limestone, which stands nearly due east and west, and is about a mile in length. The hill has a deep valley on the north and another on the south. On the top lies the village in a kind of irregular triangle. The population is about 3000 souls, entirely Christians. The Church of the Nativity, built by the empress Helena A.D. 330, is the oldest Christian church in existence. It is built over the grotto where Christ is supposed to have been born. + A town in the portion of Zebulun, named nowhere but in (Joshua 19:15) Now known as Beit-lahm .


Bethmaachah

(house of oppression), a place named only in (2 Samuel 20:14,15) In the absence of more information we can only conclude that it is identical with Maachah or Aram-maachah, one of the petty Syrian kingdoms in the north of Palestine. (Comp. (2 Kings 15:29)


Bethmarcaboth

(house of the chariots), one of the towns of Simeon, situated to the extreme south of Judah. (Joshua 19:5; 1 Chronicles 4:31) In the parallel list, (Joshua 15:31) [297]Madmannah occurs in place of Beth-marcaboth.


Bethmeon

(Jeremiah 48:23) A contracted form of Beth-baal-meon.


Bethnimrah

(house of leopards) one of the fenced cities on the east of Jordan taken and built by the tribe of Gad (Numbers 32:36) and described as being in the valley beside Beth-haran. (Joshua 13:27) In (Numbers 32:3) it is called simply [298]Nimrah. The name still survives in the modern Nahr Nimrim, above Jericho on the Jordan.


Bethpalet

(house of flight), a town among those in the extreme south of Judah, named in (Joshua 15:27)


Bethpazzez

(house of the dispersion), a town of Issachar named with En-haddah (Joshua 19:21) and of which nothing is known.


Bethpeor

(house of Peor), a place on the east of Jordan, opposite Jericho and six miles above Libias or Beth-haran. (Joshua 13:20; 3:29; 4:46)


Bethphage

(g hard) (house of figs) the name of a place on the Mount of Olives on the road between Jericho and Jerusalem. It was apparently close to Bethany. (Matthew 21:1; Mark 11:1; Luke 19:29)


Bethrapha

a name which occurs in the genealogy of Judah as the son of Eshton. (1 Chronicles 4:12)


Bethrehob

(house of Rehob), place mentioned as having near it the valley in which lay the town of Laish or Dan. (Judges 18:28) It was one of the little kingdoms of Aram or Syria. (2 Samuel 10:6) Robinson conjectures that this ancient place is represented by the modern Hunin .


Bethsaida

(house of fish) of Galilee, (John 12:21) a city which was the native place of Andrew, Peter and Philip, (John 1:44; 12:21) in the land of Gennesareth, (Mark 6:46) comp. Mark 6:53 And therefore on the west side of the lake. By comparing the narratives in (Mark 6:31-53) and Luke 9:10-17 It appears certain that the Bethsaida at which the five thousand were fed must have been a second place of the same name on the east of the lake. (But in reality "there is but one Bethsaida, that known on our maps at Bethsaida Julias." L. Abbot in Biblical and Oriental Journal . The fact is that Bethsaida was a village on both sides of the Jordan as it enters the sea of Galilee on the north, so that the western part of the village was in Galilee and the eastern portion in Gaulonitis, part of the tetrarchy of Philip. This eastern portion was built up into a beautiful city by Herod Philip, and named by him Bethsaida Julias, after Julia the daughter of the Roman emperor Tiberius Caesar. On the plain of Butaiha, a mile or two to the east, the five thousand were fed. The western part of the town remained a small village.--ED.)


Bethshean

(house of rest), or in Samuel, BETHSHAN, a city which belonged to Manasseh, (1 Chronicles 7:29) though within the limits of Issachar (Joshua 17:11) and therefore on the west of Jordan. Comp. 1 Macc. 5:62. In later times it was called Scythopolis. 2 Macc. 12:29. The place is still known as Beisan . It lies in the Ghor or Jordan valley, about twelve miles south of the Sea of Galilee and four miles west of the Jordan.


Bethshemesh

+ One of the towns which marked the north boundary of Judah. (Joshua 15:10) It is now 'Ainshems, about two miles from the great Philistine plain, and seven from Ekron. + A city on the border of Issachar. (Joshua 19:22) + One of the "fenced cities" of Naphtali. (Joshua 19:38; Judges 1:33) + An idolatrous temple, or place in Egypt. (Jeremiah 43:13) In the middle ages Heliopolis was still called by the Arabs Ain Shems .


Bethshittah

(home of the acacia), one of the spots to which the flight of the host of the Midianites extended after their discomfiture by Gideon. (Judges 7:22)


Bethtappuah

(house of apples), one of the towns of Judah in the mountainous district, and near Hebron. (Joshua 15:53) comp. 1Chr 2:43 Here it has actually been discovered by Robinson under the modern name of Teffuh, five miles west of Hebron, on a ridge of high table-land.


Bethuel

(dweller in God), the son of Nahor by Milcah; nephew of Abraham, and father of Rebekah, (Genesis 22:22,23; 24:15,24,47; 28:2) In (Genesis 25:20) and (Genesis 28:5) he is called "Bethuel the Syrian."


Bethul

(dweller in God) a town of Simeon in the south named with Eltolad and Hormah, (Joshua 19:4) called also Chesil and Bethuel. (Joshua 15:30; 1 Chronicles 4:30)


Bethzur

(house of rock) a town in the mountains of Judah, built by Jeroboam, (Joshua 15:58; 2 Chronicles 11:7) now Beit-zur . It commands the road from Beersheba and Hebron, which has always been the main approach to Jerusalem from the south.


Betonim

a town of Gad, apparently on the northern boundary. (Joshua 13:26)


Beulah

(married), the name which the land of Israel is to bear when "the land shall be married." (Isaiah 62:4)


Bezai

(conqueror). "Children of Bezai," to the number of 328, returned from captivity with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:17; Nehemiah 7:23; 10:18)


Bezaleel

+ The son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah and one of the architects of the tabernacle. (Exodus 31:1-6) His charge was chiefly in all works of metal, wood and stone. (B.C. 1490.) + One of the sons of Pahath-moab who had taken a foreign wife. (Ezra 10:30) (B.C. 458.)


Bezek

+ The residence of Adonibezek, (Judges 1:6) in the lot of Judah. ver. (Judges 1:3) + Where Saul numbered the forces of Israel and Judah before going to the relief of Jabesh-gilead. (1 Samuel 11:8) This was doubtless somewhere in the centre of the country, near the Jordan valley. No identification of either place has been made in modern times.


Bezer

(gold ore), son of Zophah, one of the heads of the houses of Asher. (1 Chronicles 7:37)


Bezer In The Wilderness

a city of refuge in the downs on the east of the Jordan. (4:43; Joshua 20:8; 21:36; 1 Chronicles 6:78)


Bible

The Bible is the name given to the revelation of God to man contained in sixty-six books or pamphlets, bound together and forming one book and only one, for it has in reality one author and one purpose and plan, and is the development of one scheme of the redemption of man. I. ITS [301]Names.-- (1) The Bible, i.e. The Book, from the Greek "ta biblia," the books. The word is derived from a root designating the inner bark of the linden tree, on which the ancients wrote their books. It is the book as being superior to all other books. But the application of the word BIBLE to the collected books of the Old and New Testaments is not to be traced farther back than the fifth century of our era. (2) The Scriptures, i.e. the writings, as recording what was spoken by God. (3) The Oracles, i.e. the things spoken, because the Bible is what God spoke to man, and hence also called (4) The Word. (5) The Testaments or Covenants, because it is the testimony of God to man, the truths to which God bears witness; and is also the covenant or agreement of God with man for his salvation. (6) The Law, to express that it contains God's commands to men. II. COMPOSITION.--The Bible consists of two great parts, called the Old and New Testaments, separated by an interval of nearly four hundred years. These Testaments are further divided into sixty-six books, thirty-nine in the Old Testament and twenty-seven in the New. These books are a library in themselves being written in every known form old literature. Twenty-two of them are historical, five are poetical, eighteen are prophetical, twenty-one are epistolary. They contain logical arguments, poetry, songs and hymns, history, biography, stories, parables, fables, eloquence, law, letters and philosophy. There are at least thirty-six different authors, who wrote in three continents, in many countries, in three languages, and from every possible human standpoint. Among these authors were kings, farmers, mechanics, scientific men, lawyers, generals, fishermen, ministers and priests, a tax-collector, a doctor, some rich, some poor, some city bred, some country born--thus touching all the experiences of men extending over 1500 years. III. UNITY.--And yet the Bible is but one book, because God was its real author, and therefore, though he added new revelations as men could receive them, he never had to change what was once revealed. The Bible is a unit, because (1) It has but one purpose, the salvation of men. (2) The character of God is the same. (3) The moral law is the same. (4) It contains the development of one great scheme of salvation. IV. ORIGINAL LANGUAGES.--The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, a Shemitic language, except that parts of the books of Ezra (Ezra 5:8; 6:12; 7:12-26) and of Daniel (Daniel 2:4-7,28) and one verse in Jeremiah (Jeremiah 10:11) were written in the Chaldee language. The New Testament is written wholly in Greek. V. ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS OF THE ORIGINAL.--There are no ancient Hebrew manuscripts older than the tenth century, but we know that these are in the main correct, because we have a translation of the Hebrew into Greek, called the Septuagint, made nearly three hundred years before Christ. Our Hebrew Bibles are a reprint from what is called the Masoretic text. The ancient Hebrew had only the consonant printed, and the vowels were vocalized in pronunciation, but were not written. Some Jewish scholars living at Tiberias, and at Sora by the Euphrates, from the sixth to the twelfth century, punctuated the Hebrew text, and wrote is the vowel points and other tone-marks to aid in the reading of the Hebrew; and these, together with notes of various kinds, they called Masora (tradition), hence the name Masoretic text. 0F the Greek of the New Testament there are a number of ancient manuscripts They are divided into two kinds, the Uncials, written wholly in capitals, and the Cursives, written in a running hand . The chief of these are-- (1) the Alexandrian (codex Alexandrinus, marked A), so named because it was found in Aiexandria in Egypt, in 1628. It date back to A.D. 350, and is now in the British Museum. (2) The Vatican (codex Vaticanus, B), named from the Vatican library at Rome, where it is kept. Its date is A.D. 300 to 325. (3) The Sinaitic (codex Sinaiticus) so called from the convent of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai, there it was discovered by or Tichendorf in 1844. It is now at St. Petersburg Russia. This is one of the earliest best of all the manuscripts. VI. TRANSLATIONS.--The Old Testament was translated into Greek by a company of learned Jews at Alexandria, who began their labor about the year B.C. 286. It is called the Septuagint, i.e. the seventy, from the tradition that it was translated by seventy (more exactly seventy-two) translators. The Vulgate, or translation of the Bible into Latin by Jerome, A.D. 385-405, is the authorized version of the Roman Catholic Church. The first English translation of the whole Bible was by John Deuteronomy Wickliffe (1324-1384). Then followed that of William Tyndale (1525) and several others. As the sum and fruit of all these appeared our present Authorized Version, or King James Version, in 1611. It was made by forty-seven learned men, in two years and nine months, with a second revision which took nine months longer. These forty-seven formed themselves into six companies, two of whom met at Westminster, two at Oxford and two at Cambridge. The present English edition is an improvement, in typographical and grammatical correctness, upon this revision, and in these respects is nearly perfect. [See [302]Versions, Authorized] A REVISED VERSION of this authorized edition was made by a group of American and English scholars, and in 1881 the Revised New Testament was published simultaneously in the United States and England. Then followed the Revised Old Testament in 1885, and the Apocrypha in 1894. The American revision committee was permitted to publish its own revision, which appeared in 1901 as the American Standard Version. Modern-speech translations have been made from time to time between 1898-1945. Among these were Moulton's Modern Reader's Bible, the Twentieth century New Testament, Weymouth's, Moffatt's, and the American translation. As a result of the modern-speech translations that have appeared and been widely received, the American Revision Committee set to work again, and in 1946 the Revised Standard Version of the New Testament was published. VII. DIVISIONS INTO CHAPTERS AND VERSES.--The present division of the whole Bible into chapters was made by Cardinal Hugo Deuteronomy St. Gher about 1250. The present division into verses was introduced by Robert Stephens in his Greek Testament, published in 1551, in his edition of the Vulgate, in 1555. The first English Bible printed with these chapters and verses was the Geneva Bible, in 1560. VIII. CIRCULATION OF THE BIBLE.--The first book ever printed was the Bible; and more Bibles have been printed than any other book. It has been translated, in its entirety or in part, into more than a thousand languages and dialects and various systems for the blind. The American Bible Society (founded in 1816) alone has published over 356 million volumes of Scripture.


Bichri

(first-born), (2 Samuel 20:1) an ancestor of Sheba.


Bidkar

(son of stabbing, i.e, one who stabs), Jehu's "captain," originally his fellow officer, (2 Kings 9:25) who completed the sentence on Jehoram, son of Ahab.


Bigtha

(gift of God), one of the seven chamberlains or eunuchs of the harem of King Ahasuerus. (Esther 1:10) (B.C. 483.)


Bigthan, Or Bigthana

(gift of God), a eunuch (chamberlain, Authorized Version) in the court of Ahasuerus, one of those "who kept the door," and conspired with Teresh against the king's life. (Esther 2:21) (B.C. 479.)


Bigvai

+ "Children of Bigvai," 2056 (Neh. 2067) in number, returned from the captivity with Zerubbabel, (Ezra 2:14; Nehemiah 7:19) and 72 of them at a later date with Ezra. (Ezra 8:14) (B.C. 536.) + Apparently one of the chiefs of Zerubbabel's expedition, (Ezra 2:2; Nehemiah 7:7) whose family afterwards signed the covenant. (Nehemiah 10:16) (B.C. 410.)


Bildad

(son of contention), the second of Job's three friends. He is called "the Shuhite," which implies both his family and nation. (Job 2:11) (B.C. about 2000.)


Bileam

(foreigners), a town in the western half of the tribe of Manasseh, named only in (1 Chronicles 6:70) same as Ibleam and Gath-rimmon. (Joshua 17:11) and Josh 21:24


Bilgah

+ A priest in the time of David; the head of the fifteenth course for the temple service. (1 Chronicles 24:14) (B.C. 1015.) + A priest or priestly family who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel and Jeshua. (Nehemiah 12:5,18) (B.C. 536.)


Bilhah

(timid, bashful), handmaid of Rachel, (Genesis 29:29) and concubine of Jacob, to whom she bore Dan and Naphtali. (Genesis 30:3-8; 35:25; 46:25; 1 Chronicles 7:13) (B.C 53.)


Bilhan

+ A Horite chief dwelling in Mount Seir. (Genesis 36:27; 1 Chronicles 1:42) + A Benjamite, son of Jediael. (1 Chronicles 7:10)


Bilshan

(eloquent), one of Zerubbabel's companions on his expedition from Babylon. (Ezra 2:2; Nehemiah 7:7) (B.C. 536).


Bimhal

(circumcised), one of the sons of Japhlet in the line of Asher. (1 Chronicles 7:33)


Binea

(fountain), one of the descendants of Saul. (1 Chronicles 8:37; 7:43) (B.C. 850.)


Binnui

+ A Levite, father of Noadiah. (Ezra 8:33) + One who had taken a foreign wife. (Ezra 10:30) + Another Israelite who had also taken a foreign wife. (Ezra 10:38) + Altered from [305]Bani in the corresponding list in Ezra. (Nehemiah 7:15) + A Levite, son of Henadad, who assisted at the reparation of the wall of Jerusalem, under Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 3:24; 10:9)


Birsha

(son of godlessness), a king of Gomorrah. (Genesis 14:2)


Birthday

The custom of observing birthdays is very ancient, (Genesis 40:20; Jeremiah 20:15) and in (Job 1:4) etc., we read that Job's sons "feasted every one his day." In Persia birthdays were celebrated with peculiar honors and banquets, and in Egypt those of the king were kept with great pomp. It is very probable that in (Matthew 14:6) the feast to commemorate Herod's accession is intended, for we know that such feasts were common, and were called "the day of the king." (Hosea 7:5)


Birthright

the advantages accruing to the eldest son. These were not definitely fixed in patriarchal times. Great respect was paid to him in the household, and, as the family widened into a tribe, this grew into a sustained authority, undefined save by custom, in all matters of common interest. Thus the "princes" of the congregation had probably rights of primogeniture. (Numbers 7:2; 21:18; 25:14) (Gradually the rights of the eldest son came to be more definite: (1) The functions of the priesthood in the family with the paternal blessing. (2) A "double portion" of the paternal property was allotted by the Mosaic law. (21:16-17) (3) The eldest son succeeded to the official authority of the father. The first-born of the king was his successor by law. (2 Chronicles 21:3) In all these Jesus was the first-born of the father.


Birzavith

a name occurring in the genealogies of Asher. (1 Chronicles 7:31)


Bishop

The word originally signified an "overseer" or spiritual superintendent. The titles bishop and elder, or presbyter, were essentially equivalent. Bishop is from the Greek, and denotes one who exercises the function of overseeing. Presbyter was derived from the office in the synagogue. Of the order in which the first elders or bishops were appointed, as of the occasion which led to the institution of the office, we have no record. The duties of the bishop-elders appear to have been as follows:

+ General superintendence over the spiritual well-being of the flock. (1 Peter 5:2) + The work of teaching, both publicly and privately. (1 Thessalonians 5:12; Titus 1:9; 1 Timothy 5:17) + The work of visiting the sick, (James 5:14) + Among other acts of charity, that of receiving strangers occupied a conspicuous place. (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8) Peter calls Christ "the shepherd and bishop of your souls." (1 Peter 2:25)


Bishopric

the district over which the jurisdiction of a bishop extended. (Acts 1:20; 1 Timothy 3:1)


Bithiah

(daughter of the Lord), daughter of a Pharaoh, and wife of Mered. (1 Chronicles 4:18) (B.C. about 1491.)


Bithron

more accurately the Bithron (a craggy gorge or ravine), a place, doubtless a district, in the Jordan valley on the east side of the river. (2 Samuel 2:29)


Bithynia

a Roman province of Asia Minor. Mentioned only in (Acts 16:7) and in 1Pet 1:1 The chief town of Bithynia was Nicaea, celebrated for the general Council of the Church held there in A.D. 325 against the Arian heresy.


Bitter Herbs

The Israelites were commanded to eat the Paschal lamb "with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs." (Exodus 12:8) These "bitter herbs" consisted of such plants as chicory, bitter cresses, hawkweeds, sow-thistles and wild lettuces, which grow abundantly in the peninsula of Sinai, in Palestine and in Egypt. The purpose of this observance was to recall to the minds of the Israelites their deliverance from the bitter bondage of the Egyptians.


Bittern

The word occurs in (Isaiah 14:23; 34:11; Zephaniah 2:14) and we are inclined to believe that the Authorized Version is correct. The bittern (Botaurus stellaris) belongs to the Ardeidae, the heron family of birds, and is famous for the peculiar nocturnal booming sound which it emits.


Bizjothjah

(contempt of Jehovah), a town in the south of Judah. (Joshua 15:28)


Biztha

(eunuch), the second of the seven eunuchs of King Ahasuerus' harem. (Esther 1:10) (B.C. 483.)


Blains

violent ulcerous inflammations, the sixth plague of Egypt, (Exodus 9:9,10) and hence called in (28:27,35) "the botch of Egypt." It seems to have been the black leprosy, a fearful kind of elephantiasis.


Blasphemy

in its technical English sense, signifies the speaking evil of God and in this sense it is found (Psalms 74:18; Isaiah 52:5; Romans 2:24) etc. But according to its derivation it may mean any species of calumny and abuse: see (1 Kings 21:10; Acts 18:6; Jude 1:9) etc. Blasphemy was punished by stoning, which was inflicted on the son of Shelomith. (Leviticus 24:11) On this charge both our Lord and St. Stephen were condemned to death by the Jews. The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, (Matthew 12:32; Mark 3:28) consisted in attributing to the power of Satan those unquestionable miracles which Jesus performed by "the finger of God" and the power of the Holy Spirit. It is plainly such a state of wilful, determined opposition to God and the Holy Spirit that no efforts will avail to lead to repentance. Among the Jews it was a sin against God answering to treason in our times.


Blastus

(sprout), the chamberlain of Herod Agrippa I. (Acts 12:20)


Blindness

is extremely common in the East from many causes. Blind beggars figure repeatedly in the New Testament (Matthew 12:22) and "opening the eyes of the blind" is mentioned in prophecy as a peculiar attribute of the Messiah. (Isaiah 29:18; 42:7) etc. The Jews were specially charged to treat the blind with compassion and care. (Leviticus 19:14; 27:18) Blindness willfully inflicted for political or other purposes is alluded to in Scripture. (1 Samuel 11:2; Jeremiah 39:7)


Blood

To blood is ascribed in Scripture the mysterious sacredness which belongs to life, and God reserved it to himself when allowing man the dominion over and the use of the lower animals for food. Thus reserved, it acquires a double power: (1) that of sacrificial atonement; and (2) that of becoming a curse when wantonly shed, unless duly expiated. (Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 7:26; 17:11-13)


Blood, Revenger Of

He who avenged the blood of one who had been killed. The nearest relative of the deceased became the authorized avenger of blood. (Numbers 35:19) The law of retaliation was not to extend beyond the immediate offender. (24:16; 2 Kings 14:6; 2 Chronicles 25:4; Jeremiah 31:29,30; Ezekiel 18:20)


Boanerges

a name signifying sons of thunder, given by our Lord to the two sons of Zebedee, James and John, probably on account of their fiery earnestly. (Mark 3:17) See (Luke 9:54; Mark 9:38) comp. Matt 20:20 etc.


Boaz

+ A wealthy Bethlehemite kinsman to Elimelech the husband of Naomi. He married Ruth, and redeemed the estates of her deceased husband Mahlon. (Ruth 4:1) Boaz is mentioned in the genealogy of Christ, (Matthew 1:5) (B.C. 1250, but there is great difficulty in assigning his date.) + The name of one of Solomon's brazen pillars erected in the temple porch. [[308]Jachin] It stood on the left, and was eighteen cubits high. (1 Kings 7:15; 21; 2 Chronicles 3:15; Jeremiah 52:21)


Bocheru

(youth), son of Azel, according to the present Hebrew text of (1 Chronicles 8:38)


Bochim

(the weepers) a place on the west of Jordan, above Gilgal; so named from the weeping of Israel. (Judges 2:1,6)


Bohan

(thumb), a Reubenite. (Joshua 15:6; 18:17)


Bohan, Stone Of

a stone erected in honor of Bohan on the boundary between Judah and Benjamin, in the valley of Achor, along the eastern side of the present Wady Dahr, running into the Dead Sea.


Booths

[[312]Succoth; [313]Tabernacles, The Feast Of, FEAST OF]


Booty

consisted of captives of both sexes, cattle, and whatever a captured city might contain, especially metallic treasures. Within the limits of Canaan no captives were to be made, (20:14,16) beyond these limits, in case of warlike resistance, all the women and children were to be made captives, and the men put to death. The law of booty is given in (Numbers 31:26-47) As regarded the army, David added a regulation that the baggage guard should share equally with the troops engaged. (1 Samuel 30:24; 25)


Bottle

The Arabs keep their water, milk and other liquids in leathern bottles. These are made of goatskins. When the animal is killed they cut off its feet and its head, and draw it in this manner out of the skin without opening its belly. The great leathern bottles are made of the skin of a he-goat, and the small ones, that serve instead of a bottle of water on the road, are made of a kid's skin. The effect of external heat upon a skin bottle is indicated in (Psalms 119:83) "a bottle in the smoke," and of expansion produced by fermentation in (Matthew 9:17) "new wine in old bottles." Vessels of metal, earthen or glassware for liquids were in use among the Greeks, Egyptians, Etruscans and Assyrians, and also no doubt among the Jews, especially in later times. Thus (Jeremiah 19:1) "a potter's earthen bottle." (Bottles were made by the ancient Egyptians of alabaster, gold, ivory and stone. They were of most exquisite workmanship and elegant forms. Tear-bottles were small urns of glass or pottery, made to contain the tears of mourners at funerals, and placed in the sepulchres at Rome and in Palestine. In some ancient tombs they are found in great numbers. (Psalms 56:8) refers to this custom.--ED.)


Bow

(Genesis 37:10) The eastern mode of salutation, by kneeling upon one knee and bending the head forward till it touched the ground.


Boxtree

(Isaiah 41:19; 60:13) A beautiful evergreen growing in many parts of Europe and Asia. Its hard wood is much prized by engravers. The reference in (Isaiah 60:13) is supposed by some to mean a species of cedar.


Bozes

(the height), one of the two sharp rocks between the passages which Jonathan entered the Philistine garrison. It seems to have been that on the north. (1 Samuel 14:4,5)


Bozkath

(rocky height), a city of Judah in the lowlands (Joshua 15:39; 2 Kings 22:1)


Bozrah

+ In Edom, the city of Jobab the son of Zerah, one of the early king of that nation. (Genesis 36:33; 1 Chronicles 1:44) Mentioned by Isaiah, (Isaiah 34:6; 63:1) in connection with Edom, and by Jeremiah, (Jeremiah 49:13,22; Amos 1:12) and (Micah 2:12) Its modern representative is el-Busaireh, which lies on the mountain district to the southeast of the Dead Sea. + In his catalogue of the cities of the land of Moab, Jeremiah, (Jeremiah 48:24) mentions a Bozrah as in "the plain country" (ver 21), i.e. the high level downs on the east of the Dead Sea.


Bracelet

[See [317]Armlet] Bracelets of fine twisted Venetian gold are still common in Egypt. In (Genesis 38:18,25) the word rendered "bracelet" means probably a string by which a seal-ring was suspended. Men as well as women wore bracelets, as we see from (Song of Solomon 5:14) Layard says of the Assyrian kings, "The arms were encircled by armlets, and the wrists by bracelets."


Brass

The word nechosheth is improperly translated by "brass." In most places of the Old Testament the correct translation would be copper, although it may sometimes possibly mean bronze a compound of copper and tin. Indeed a simple metal was obviously intended, as we see from (8:9; 33:25; Job 28) Copper was known at a very early period. (Genesis 4:22)


Bread

The preparation of bread as an article of food dates from a very early period. (Genesis 18:6) The corn or grain employed was of various sorts. The best bread was made of wheat, but "barley" and spelt were also used. (John 6:9,13; Isaiah 28:25) The process of making bread was as follows: the flour was first mixed with water or milk; it was then kneaded with the hands (in Egypt with the feet also) in a small wooden bowl or "kneading-trough" until it became dough. (Exodus 12:34,39; 2 Samuel 13:3; Jeremiah 7:18) When the kneading was completed, leaven was generally added [[320]Leaven]; but when the time for preparation was short, it was omitted, and unleavened cakes, hastily baked, were eaten as is still the prevalent custom among the Bedouins. ((Genesis 18:6; 19:3; Exodus 12:39; Judges 6:19; 1 Samuel 28:24) The leavened mass was allowed to stand for some time, (Matthew 13:33; Luke 13:21) the dough was then divided into round cakes, (Exodus 29:23; Judges 7:13; 8:5; 1 Samuel 10:3; Proverbs 6:26) not unlike flat stones in shape and appearance, (Matthew 7:9) comp. Matt 4:8 About a span in diameter and a finger's breadth in thickness. In the towns where professional bakers resided, there were no doubt fixed ovens, in shape and size resembling those in use among ourselves; but more usually each household poured a portable oven, consisting of a stone or metal jar, about three feet high which was heated inwardly with wood, (1 Kings 17:12; Isaiah 44:15; Jeremiah 7:18) or dried grass and flower-stalks. (Matthew 6:30)


Brick

(Genesis 11:3) The brick in use among the Jews were much larger than with us, being usually from 12 to 13 inches square and 3 1/2 inches thick; they thus possess more of the character of tiles. (Ezekiel 4:1) The Israelites, in common with other captives, were employed by the Egyptian monarchs in making bricks and in building. (Exodus 1:14; 5:7) Egyptian bricks were not generally dried in kilns, but in the sun. That brick-kilns were known is evident from (2 Samuel 12:31; Jeremiah 43:9) When made of the Nile mud they required straw to prevent cracking. [See [323]Straw]


Brigandine

(Jeremiah 46:4) elsewhere "habergeon," or "coat of mail."


Brimstone

Brimstone, or sulphur, is found in considerable quantities on the shores of the Dead Sea. (Genesis 19:24) It is a well-known simple mineral substance, crystalline, easily melted, very inflammable, and when burning emits a peculiar suffocating odor. It is found in great abundance near volcanoes. The soil around Sodom and Gomorrah abounded in sulphur and bitumen.


Brother

The Hebrew word is used in various senses in the Old Testament, as,

+ Any kinsman, and not a mere brother; e.g. nephew, (Genesis 13:8; 14:16) husband, (Song of Solomon 4:9) + One of the same tribe. (2 Samuel 19:13) + Of the same people, (Exodus 2:11) or even of a cognate people. (Numbers 20:14) + An ally. (Amos 1:9) + Any friend, (Job 5:15) + One of the same office. (1 Kings 9:13) + A fellow man. (Leviticus 19:17) + Metaphorically of any similarity, as in (Job 30:19) The word adelphos has a similar range of meanings in the New Testament.


Bukki

+ Son of Abishua and father of Uzzi fifth from Aaron in the line of the high priests in (1 Chronicles 6:5; 6:5,51) (Authorized Version), and in the genealogy of Ezra. (Ezra 7:4) + Son of Jogli, prince of the tribe of Dan, one of the ten men chosen to apportion the land of Canaan between the tribes. (Numbers 34:22)


Bukkiah

(wasting from Jehovah), a Kohathite Levite, of the sons of Heman, one of the musicians in the temple. (1 Chronicles 25:4,13)


Bull, Bullock

terms used synonymously with ox, oxen, and properly a generic name for horned cattle when a full age and fit for the plough. It is variously rendered "bullock," (Isaiah 65:25) "cow," (Ezekiel 4:15) "oxen," (Genesis 12:16) Kine is used in the Bible as the plural of cow. In (Isaiah 51:20) the "wild bull" ("wild ox" in (14:5)) was possibly one of the larger species of antelope, and took its name from its swiftness. Dr. Robinson mentions larger herds of black and almost harmless buffaloes as still existing in Palestine, and these may be the animal indicated.


Bulrush

(or papyrus), a red growing in the shallow water on the banks of the Nile. It grows to the height of 12 or 15 feet, with a stalk two or three inches in diameter. The stalks are very pliable and can be very closely interwoven, as is evident from their having been used in the construction of arks. (Exodus 2:3,5) Paper was made from this plant, from which it derives its name.


Bunah

(understanding), a son of Jerahmeel, of the family of Pharez in Judah. (1 Chronicles 2:25)


Bunni

+ One of the Levites in the time of Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 9:4) + Another Levite, but of earlier date than the preceding. (Nehemiah 11:15)


Burial, Sepulchres

[TOMBS] On this subject we have to notice--

+ The place of burial, its site and shape; + The mode of burial; + The prevalent notions regarding this duty. + A natural cave enlarged and adapted by excavation, or an artificial imitation of one was the standard type of sepulchre. Sepulchres, when the owner's means permitted it, were commonly prepared beforehand, and stood often in gardens, by roadsides, or even adjoining houses. Kings and prophets alone were probably buried within towns. (1 Kings 2:10; 16:6,28) Cities soon became populous and demanded cemeteries, (Ezekiel 39:15) which were placed without the walls. Sepulchres were marked sometimes by pillars or by pyramids. Such as were not otherwise noticeable were scrupulously "whited," (Matthew 23:27) once a year, after the rains before the passover, to warn passers-by of defilement. + "The manner of the Jews" included the use of spices, where they could command the means. (2 Chronicles 16:10) A portion of these was burnt in honor of the deceased, and to this use was probably destined part of the one hundred pounds weight of "myrrh and aloes" in our Lord's case. In no instance, save that of Saul and his sons, were the bodies burned; and even then the bones were interred, and re-exhumed for solemn entombment. It was the office of the next of kin to perform and preside over the whole funeral office; though public buriers were not unknown in New Testament times. (Acts 5:6,10) The body was borne by the nearest relatives. The grave-clothes were probably of the fashion worn in life, but swathed and fastened with bandages, and the head covered separately. + The precedent of Jacob's and Joseph's remains being returned to the land of Canaan was followed, in wish at least, by every pious Jew.


Burnt Offering

The word is applied to the offering which was wholly consumed by fire on the altar, and the whole of which, except the refuse ashes "ascended" in the smoke to God. The meaning of the whole burnt offering was that which is the original idea of all sacrifice, the offering by the sacrificer of himself, soul and body, to God--the submission of his will to the will of the Lord. The ceremonies of the burnt offering are given in detail in the book of Leviticus. [[326]Sacrifice]


Bush

The Hebrew word seneh occurs only in those passages which refer to Jehovah's appearance to Moses "in the flame of fire in the bush." (Exodus 3:2,3,4; 33:16) It is quite impossible to say what kind of thorn bush is intended; but it was probably the acacia a small variety of the shittim tree found in the Sinai region.


Bushel

[[327]Weights And Measures AND [328]Measures]


Butler

One of the officers of the king's household, (Nehemiah 1:11) who had charge of the wine and poured it out for the king. The chief butler, as the title signifies, was in charge of the butlers. (Genesis 40:1-13)


Butter

Curdled milk. (Genesis 18:8; 32:14; Judges 5:25; Job 20:17) Milk is generally offered to travellers in Palestine in a curdled or sour state, leben, thick, almost like butter. Hasselquist describes the method of making butter employed by the Arab women: "they made butter in a leather bag, hung on three poles erected for the purpose, in the form of a cone, and drawn to and fro by two women."


Buz

+ The second son of Milcah and Nahor. (Genesis 22:21) Elihu "the Buzite" was probably a descendant of Buz. + A name occurring in the genealogies of the tribe of Gad. (1 Chronicles 5:14)


Buzi

(contempt), father of Ezekiel the prophet. (Ezekiel 1:3)


Cabbon

a town in the low country of Judah. (Joshua 15:40)


Cabul

+ One of the landmarks on the boundary of Asher, (Joshua 19:27) now Kabul, 9 or 10 miles east of Accho . + Name of the land given to Hiram by Solomon. (1 Kings 9:10-13)


Caesar

always in the New Testament the Roman emperor, the sovereign of Judea. (John 19:12,15; Acts 17:7)


Caesarea

(Acts 8:40; 9:30; 10:1,24; 11:11; 12:19; 18:22; 21:8,16; 23:23,33; 25:1,4,6,13) was situated on the coast of Palestine, on the line of the great road from Tyre to Egypt, and about halfway between Joppa and Dora. The distance from Jerusalem was about 70 miles; Josephus states it in round numbers as 600 stadia. In Strabo's time there was on this point of the coast merely a town called "Strato's Tower," with a landing-place, whereas in the time of Tacitus Caesarea is spoken of as being the head of Judea. It was in this interval that the city was built by Herod the Great. It was the official residence of the Herodian kings, and of Festus, Felix and the other Roman procurators of Judea. Here also lived Philip the deacon and his four prophesying daughters. Caesarea continued to be a city of some importance even in the time of the Crusades, and the name still lingers on the site (Kaisariyeh), which is a complete desolation, many of the building-stones having been carried to other towns.


Caesarea Philippi

is mentioned only in the first two Gospels, (Matthew 16:13; Mark 8:27) and in accounts of the same transactions. It was at the easternmost and most important of the two recognized sources of the Jordan, the other being at Tel-el-Kadi . The spring rises from and the city was built on a limestone terrace in a valley at the base of Mount Hermon 20 miles north of the Sea of Galilee. It was enlarged by Herod Philip, and named after Caesar, with his own name added to distinguish it from Caesarea. Its present name is Banias, a village of some 50 houses, with many interesting ruins. Caesarea Philippi has no Old Testament history, though it has been not unreasonably identified with Baal-gad . It was visited by Christ shortly before his transfiguration, (Matthew 16:13-28) and was the northern limit of his journeys. (Mark 8:27)


Cage

The term so rendered in (Jeremiah 5:27) is more properly a trap in which decoy birds were placed. In (Revelation 18:2) the (Greek term means a prison.


Caiaphas, Or Caiaphas

(depression), in full [330]Joseph CAIAPHAS, high priest of the Jews under Tiberius. (Matthew 26:3,57; John 11:49; 18:13,14,24,28; Acts 4:6) The procurator Valerius Gratus appointed him to the dignity, He was son-in-law of Annas. [[331]Annas]


Cain

one of the cities in the low country of Judah, named with Zanoah and Gibeah. (Joshua 15:57)

(possession). Gen. 4. He was the eldest son of Adam and Eve; he followed the business of agriculture. In a fit of jealousy, roused by the rejection of his own sacrifice and the acceptance of Abel's, he committed the crime of murder, for which he was expelled from Eden, and led the life of an exile. He settled in the land of Nod, and built a city, which he named after his son Enoch. His descendants are enumerated together with the inventions for which they were remarkable. (B.C. 4000.)


Cainan

+ Son of Enos, aged 70 years when he begat Mahalaleel his son. He lived 840 years afterwards, and died aged 910. (Genesis 6:9-14) + Son of Arphaxad, and father of Sala, according to (Luke 3:36,37) and usually called the second Cainan. The is nowhere named in the Hebrew MSS. It seems certain that his name was introduced into the genealogies of the Greek Old Testament in order to bring them into harmony with the genealogy of Christ in St. Luke's Gospel.


Calah

(completion, old age), one of the most ancient cities of Assyria. (Genesis 10:11) The site of Calah is probably market by the Nimrud ruins. If this be regarded as ascertained, Calah must be considered to have been at one time (about B.C. 930-720) the capital of the empire.


Calcol

(sustenance), a man of Judah, son or descendant of Zerah. (1 Chronicles 2:6) Probably identical with [333]Chalcol.


Caldron

a vessel for boiling flesh, for either ceremonial or domestic use. (1 Samuel 2:14; 2 Chronicles 35:13; Job 41:20; Micah 3:3)


Caleb

+ According to (1 Chronicles 2:9,18,19,42,50) the son of Hezron the son of Pharez the son of Judah, and the father of Hur, and consequently grandfather of Caleb the spy. (B.C. about 1600.) + Son of Jephunneh, one of the twelve spies sent by Moses to Canaan. (Numbers 13:6) (B.C. 1490.) He and Oshea or Joshua the son of Nun were the only two of the whole number who encouraged the people to enter in boldly to the land and take possession of it. Fortyfive years afterwards Caleb came to Joshua and claimed possession of the land of the Anakim, Kirjath-arba or Hebron, and the neighboring hill country. Josh 14. This was immediately granted to him, and the following chapter relates how he took possession of Hebron, driving out the three sons of Anak; and how he offered Achsah his daughter in marriage to whoever would take Kirjath-sepher, i.e. Debir; and how when Othniel, his younger brother, had performed the feat, he not only gave him his daughter to wife, but with her the upper and nether springs of water which she asked for. It is probable that Caleb was a foreigner by birth,--a proselyte, incorporated into the tribe of Judah.


Calf

The calf was held in high esteem by the Jews as food. (1 Samuel 28:24; Luke 15:23) The molten calf prepared by Aaron for the people to worship, (Exodus 32:4) was probably a wooden figure laminated with gold, a process which is known to have existed in Egypt. [[334]Aaron]


Camel

The species of camel which was in common use among the Jews and the heathen nations of Palestine was the Arabian or one-humped camel, Camelus arabicus . The dromedary is a swifter animal than the baggage-camel, and is used chiefly for riding purposes; it is merely a finer breed than the other. The Arabs call it the heirie . The speed, of the dromedary has been greatly exaggerated, the Arabs asserting that it is swifter than the horse. Eight or nine miles an hour is the utmost it is able to perform; this pace, however, it is able to keep up for hours together. The Arabian camel carries about 500 pounds. "The hump on the camel's back is chiefly a store of fat, from which the animal draws as the wants of his system require; and the Arab is careful to see that the hump is in good condition before a long journey. Another interesting adaptation is the thick sole which protects the foot of the camel from the burning sand. The nostrils may be closed by valves against blasts of sand. Most interesting is the provision for drought made by providing the second stomach with great cells in which water is long retained. Sight and smell is exceedingly acute in the camel."--Johnson's Encyc. It is clear from (Genesis 12:16) that camels were early known to the Egyptians. The importance of the camel is shown by (Genesis 24:64; 37:25; Judges 7:12; 1 Samuel 27:9; 1 Kings 19:2; 2 Chronicles 14:15; Job 1:3; Jeremiah 49:29,32) and many other texts. John the Baptist wore a garment made of camel hair, (Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6) the coarser hairs of the camel; and some have supposed that Elijah was clad in a dress of the same stuff.


Camon

(full of grain), the place in which Jair the judge was buried. (Judges 10:5)


Camphire

There can be no doubt that "camphire" is the Lawsonia alba of botanists, the henna of Arabian naturalists. The henna plant grows in Egypt, Syria, Arabia and northern India. The flowers are white and grow in clusters, and are very fragrant. The whole shrub is from four to six feet high, (Song of Solomon 4:13)


Cana

(place of reeds) of Galilee, once Cana in Galilee, a village or town not far from Capernaum, memorable as the scene of Christ's first miracle, (John 2:1,11; 4:46) as well as of a subsequent one, (John 4:46,54) and also as the native place of the apostle Nathanael. (John 21:2) The traditional site is at Kefr-Kenna, a small village about 4 1/2 miles northwest of Nazareth. The rival site is a village situated farther north, about five miles north of Seffurieh (Sepphoris) and nine north of Nazareth.


Canaan

+ The fourth son of Ham, (Genesis 10:6; 1 Chronicles 1:8) the progenitor of the Phoenicians [[337]Zidon, Or Sidon], and of the various nations who before the Israelite conquest people the seacoast of Palestine, and generally the while of the country westward of the Jordan. (Genesis 10:13; 1 Chronicles 1:13) (B.C. 2347.) + The name "Canaan" is sometimes employed for the country itself.


Canaan, The Land Of

(lit. lowland), a name denoting the country west of the Jordan and the Dead Sea, and between those waters and the Mediterranean; given by God to Abraham's posterity, the children of Israel. (Exodus 6:4; Leviticus 25:38) [[338]Palestina And Palestine]


Canaanite, The

the designation of the apostle Simon, otherwise known as "Simon Zelotes." It occurs in (Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:18) and is derived from a Chaldee or Syriac word by which the Jewish sect or faction of the "Zealots" was designated--a turbulent and seditious sect, especially conspicuous at the siege of Jerusalem. They taught that all foreign rule over Jews was unscriptural, and opposed that rule in every way.


Canaanites, The

+ A tribe which inhabited a particular locality of the land west of the Jordan before the conquest; and + The people who inhabited generally the whole of that country. + In (Genesis 10:18-20) the seats of the Canaanite tribe are given as on the seashore and in the Jordan valley; comp. (Joshua 11:3) + Applied as a general name to the non-Israelite inhabitants of the land, as we have already seen was the case with "Canaan." Instances of this are, (Genesis 12:6; Numbers 21:3) The Canaanites were descendants of Canaan. Their language was very similar to the Hebrew. The Canaanites were probably given to commerce; and thus the name became probably in later times an occasional synonym for a merchant.


Cananaean

(Matthew 10:4) Used in the Revised Version in place of "Canaanite." [See [339]Canaanite, The]


Candace, Or Candace

(prince of servants), a queen of Ethiopia (Meroe), mentioned (Acts 8:27) (A.D. 38.) The name was not a proper name of an individual, but that of a dynasty of Ethiopian queens.


Candlestick

in (Matthew 5:15; Mark 4:21) is merely a lamp-stand, made in various forms, to hold up the simple Oriental hand-lamps.

which Moses was commanded to make for the tabernacle, is described (Exodus 25:31-37; 37:17-24) It was not strictly a "candlestick," as it held seven richly-adorned lamps. With its various appurtenances it required a talent of "pure gold;" and it was not moulded, but "of beaten work," and has been estimated to have been worth in our money over,000. From the Arch of Titus, where the sculptured the spoils taken from Jerusalem, we learn that it consisted of a central stem, with six branches, three on each side. It was about five feet high. [See [340]Arch Of Titus OF TITUS] The candlestick was placed on the south side of the first apartment of the tabernacle, opposite the table of shewbread, (Exodus 25:37) and was lighted every evening and dressed every morning. (Exodus 27:20,21; 30:8) comp. 1Sam 3:2 Each lamp was supplied with cotton and about two wineglasses of the purest olive oil, which was sufficient to keep it burning during a long night. In Solomon's temple, instead of or in addition to this candlestick there were ten golden candlesticks similarly embossed, five in the right and five on the left. (1 Kings 7:49; 2 Chronicles 4:7) They were taken to Babylon. (Jeremiah 52:19) In the temple of Zerubbabel there was again a single candlestick. 1Macc 1:21: 4:49.


Canon Of Scripture, The

may be generally described as the "collection of books which form the original and authoritative written rule of the faith and practice of the Christian Church," i.e. the Old and New Testaments. The word canon, in classical Greek, is properly a straight rod, "a rule" in the widest sense, and especially in the phrases "the rule of the Church," "the rule of faith," "the rule of truth," The first direct application of the term canon to the Scriptures seems to be in the verses of Amphilochius (cir. 380 A.D.), where the word indicates the rule by which the contents of the Bible must be determined, and thus secondarily an index of the constituent books. The uncanonical books were described simply as "those without" or "those uncanonized." The canonical books were also called "books of the testament," and Jerome styled the whole collection by the striking name of "the holy library," which happily expresses the unity and variety of the Bible. After the Maccabean persecution the history of the formation of the Canon is merged in the history of its contents. The Old Testament appears from that time as a whole. The complete Canon of the New Testament, as commonly received at present, was ratified at the third Council of Carthage (A.D. 397), and from that time was accepted throughout the Latin Church. Respecting the books of which the Canon is composed, see the article [343]Bible. (The books of Scripture were not made canonical by act of any council, but the council gave its sanction to the results of long and careful investigations as to what books were really of divine authority and expressed the universally-accepted decisions of the church. The Old Testament Canon is ratified by the fact that the present Old Testament books were those accepted in the time of Christ and endorsed by him, and that of 275 quotations of the Old Testament in the New, no book out of the Canon is quoted from except perhaps the word of Enoch in Jude.--ED.)


Canopy

Judith 10:21; 13:9; 16:19. The canopy of Holofernes is the only one mentioned.


Canticles

(Song of Songs), entitled in the Authorized Version THE SONG OF [344]Solomon. It was probably written by Solomon about B.C. 1012. It may be called a drama, as it contains the dramatic evolution of a simple love-story. Meaning.-- The schools of interpretation may be divided into three: the mystical or typical, the allegorical, and the literal .

+ The mystical interpretation owes its origin to the desire to find a literal basis of fact for the allegorical. This basis is either the marriage of Solomon with Pharoah's daughter or his marriage with an Israelitish woman, the Shulamite. + The allegorical. According to the Talmud the beloved is taken to be God; the loved one, or bride, is the congregation of Israel . In the Christian Church the Talmudical interpretation, imported by Origen, was all but universally received. + The literal interpretation. According to the most generally-received interpretation of the modern literalists, the Song is intended to display the victory of humble and constant love over the temptations of wealth and royalty. Canonicity.-- The book has been rejected from the Canon by some critics; but in no case has its rejection been defended on external grounds. It is found in the LXX. and in the translations of Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion. It is contained in the catalog given in the Talmud, and in the catalogue of Melito; and in short we have the same evidence for its canonicity as that which is commonly adduced for the canonicity of any book of the Old Testament.


Capernaum

(village of Nahum) was on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. (Matthew 4:13) comp. John 6:24 It was in the "land of Gennesaret," [ (Matthew 14:34) comp. John 6:17,21,24 ] It was of sufficient size to be always called a "city," (Matthew 9:1; Mark 1:33) had its own synagogue, in which our Lord frequently taught, (Mark 1:21; Luke 4:33,38; John 6:59) and there was also a customs station, where the dues were gathered both by stationary and by itinerant officers. (Matthew 9:9; 17:24; Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27) The only interest attaching to Capernaum is as the residence of our Lord and his apostles, the scene of so many miracles and "gracious words." It was when he returned thither that he is said to have been "in the house." (Mark 2:1) The spots which lay claim to its site are,

+ Kahn Minyeh, a mound of ruins which takes its name from an old khan hard by. This mound is situated close upon the seashore at the northwestern extremity of the plain (now El Ghuweir). + Three miles north of Khan Minyeh is the other claimant, Tell Hum,--ruins of walls and foundations covering a space of half a mile long by a quarter wide, on a point of the shore projecting into the lake and backed by a very gently-rising ground. It is impossible to locate it with certainty, but the probability is in favor of Tell Hum .


Caphar

one of the numerous words employed in the Bible to denote a village or collection of dwellings smaller than a city (Ir). Mr Stanley proposes to render it by "hamlet." In names of places it occurs in Chephar-he-Ammonai, Chephirah, Caphar-salama. To us its chief interest arises from its forming a part of the name of Capernaum, i.e. Capharnahum.


Caphtor, Caphtorim

(a crown), thrice mentioned as the primitive seat of the Philistines, (2:23; Jeremiah 47:4; Amos 9:7) who are once called Caphtorim . (2:23) Supposed to be in Egypt, or near to it in Africa.


Cappadocia, Cappadocians

(province of good horses), (Acts 2:3; 1 Peter 1:1) the largest province in ancient Asia Minor. Cappadocia is an elevated table-land intersected by mountain chains. It seems always to have been deficient in wood, but it was a good grain country, and particularly famous for grazing. Its Roman metropolis was Caesarea. The native Cappadocians seem to have originally belonged to the Syrian stock.


Captain

+ As a purely military title, "captain" answers to sar in the Hebrew army and tribune in the Roman. The captain of the guard in (Acts 28:16) was probably the prefectus pratorio . + Katsin, occasionally rendered captain, applies Sometimes to a military, (Joshua 10:24; Judges 11:6,11; Isaiah 22:3; Daniel 11:18) sometimes to a civil command, e.g. (Isaiah 1:10; 3:6) + The captain of the temple, mentioned (Luke 22:4; Acts 4:1; 5:24) superintended the guard of priests and Levites who kept watch by night in the temple.


Captive

A prisoner of war. Such were usually treated with great cruelty by the heathen nations. They were kept for slaves, and often sold; but this was a modification of the ancient cruelty, and a substitute for putting them to death Although the treatment of captives by the Jews seems sometimes to be cruel, it was very much milder than that of the heathen, and was mitigated, as far as possible in the circumstances, by their civil code.


Captivities Of The Jews

The present article is confined to the forcible deportation of the Jew; from their native land, and their forcible detention, under the Assyrian or Babylonian kings. Captives of Israel.--The kingdom of Israel was invaded by three or four successive kings of Assyria. Pul or Surdanapalus, according to Rawlinson, imposed a tribute (B.C. 771 or 712), Rawl.) upon Menahem. (2 Kings 15:19) and 1Chr 5:26 Tiglath-pileser carried away (B.C. 740) the trans-Jordanic tribes, (1 Chronicles 5:26) and the inhabitants of Galilee, (2 Kings 15:29) comp. Isai 9:1 To Assyria. Shalmaneser twice invaded, (2 Kings 17:3,5) the kingdom which remained to Hoshea, took Samaria (B.C. 721) after a siege of three years, and carried Israel away into Assyria. This was the end of the kingdom of the ten tribes of Israel. Captivities of Judah .--Sennacherib (B.C. 713) is stated to have carried into Assyria 200,000 captives from the Jewish cities which he took. (2 Kings 18:13) Nebuchadnezzar, in the first half of his reign (B.C. 606-562), repeatedly invaded Judea, besieged Jerusalem, carried away the inhabitants to Babylon, and destroyed the temple. The 70 years of captivity predicted by Jeremiah, (Jeremiah 25:12) are dated by Prideaux from B.C. 606. The captivity of Ezekiel dates from B.C. 598, when that prophet, like Mordecai the uncle of Esther (Esther 2:6) accompanied Jehoiachin. The captives were treated not as slaves but as colonists. The Babylonian captivity was brought to a close by the decree, (Ezra 1:2) of Cyrus (B.C. 536), and the return of a portion of the nation under Sheshbazzar or Zerubbabel (B.C. 535), Ezra (B.C. 458) and Nehemiah (B.C. 445). Those who were left in Assyria, (Esther 8:9,11) and kept up their national distinctions, were known as The Dispersion. (John 7:35; 1:1; James 1:1) The lost tribes.--Many attempts have been made to discover the ten tribes existing as a distinct community; but though history bears no witness of the present distinct existence, it enables us to track the footsteps of the departing race in four directions after the time of the Captivity.

+ Some returned and mixed with the Jews. (Luke 2:36; Philemon 3:5) etc. + Some were left in Samaria, mingled with the Samaritans, (Ezra 6:21; John 4:12) and became bitter enemies of the Jews. + Many remained in Assyria, and were recognized as an integral part of the Dispersion; see (Acts 2:1; 26:7) + Most, probably, apostatized in Assyria, adopted the usages and idolatry of the nations among whom they were planted, and became wholly swallowed up in them.


Carbuncle

This word represents two Hebrew words. The first may he a general term to denote any bright, sparkling gem, (Isaiah 54:12) the second, (Exodus 28:17; 39:10; Ezekiel 28:13) is supposed to be and smaragdus or emerald.


Carcas

(severe), the seventh of the seven "chamberlains," i.e. eunuchs, of King Ahasuerus. (Esther 1:10) (B.C. 483.).


Carchemish

(fortress of Chemosh) occupied nearly the site of the later Mabug or Hierapolis. It seems to have commanded the ordinary passage of the Euphrates at Bir or Birekjik . Carchemish appears to have been taken by Pharoah Necho shortly after the battle of Megiddo (cir. B.C. 608), and retaken by Nebuchadnezzar after a battle three years later, B.C. 605. (Jeremiah 46:2)


Careah

(bald head), father of Johanan, (2 Kings 25:23) elsewhere spelt [345]Kareah.


Caria

the southern part of the region which int he New Testament is called [346]Asia, and the southwestern part of the peninsula of Asia Minor. (Acts 20:15; 27:7)


Carmel

+ A mountain which forms one of the most striking and characteristic features of the country of Palestine. It is a noble ridge, the only headland of lower and central Palestine, and forms its southern boundary, running out with a bold bluff promontory, nearly 600 feet high, almost into the very waves of the Mediterranean, then extending southeast for a little more than twelve miles, when it terminates suddenly in a bluff somewhat corresponding to its western end. In form Carmel is a tolerably continuous ridge, its highest point, about four miles from the eastern end, being 1740 feet above the sea. That which has made the name of Carmel most familiar to the modern world is its intimate connection with the history of the two great prophets of Israel, Elijah and Elisha. (2 Kings 2:25; 4:25; 1 Kings 18:20-42) It is now commonly called Mar Elyas; Kurmel being occasionally, but only seldom, hear. + A town in the mountainous country of Judah, (Joshua 15:55) familiar to us as the residence of Nabal. (1 Samuel 25:2,5,7,40)


Carmi

+ The fourth son of Reuben, the progenitor of the family of the Carmites. (Genesis 46:9; Exodus 6:14; Numbers 26:6; 1 Chronicles 5:3) + A man of the tribe of Judah, father of Achan, the "troubler of Israel." (Joshua 7:1,18; 1 Chronicles 2:7; 4:1)


Carriage

This word signifies what we now call "baggage." In the margin of (1 Samuel 17:20) and 1Sam 26:5-7 And there only, "carriage" is employed int he sense of a wagon or cart.


Carshena

(illustrious), one of the seven princes of Persia and Media. (Esther 1:14)


Cart

(Genesis 45:19,27; Numbers 7:3,7,8) a vehicle drawn by cattle, (2 Samuel 6:6) to be distinguished from the chariot drawn by horses. Carts and wagons were either open or covered, (Numbers 7:3) and were used for conveyance of person, (Genesis 45:19) burdens, (1 Samuel 6:7,8) or produce. (Amos 2:13) The only cart used in western Asia has two wheels of solid wood.


Carving

The arts of carving and engraving were much in request in the construction of both the tabernacle and the temple. (Exodus 31:5; 35:33; 1 Kings 6:18,35; Psalms 74:6) as well as in the ornamentation of the priestly dresses. (Exodus 28:9-36; 2 Chronicles 2:7,14; Zechariah 3:9)


Casiphia

(silvery, white), a place of uncertain site on the road between Babylon and Jerusalem. (Ezra 8:17)


Casluhim

(fortified), a Mizraite people or tribe. (Genesis 10:14; 1 Chronicles 1:12)


Cassia

(Exodus 30:24; Ezekiel 27:19) The cassia bark of commerce is yielded by various kinds of Cinnamomum, which grow in different parts of India. The Hebrew word in (Psalms 45:8) is generally supposed to be another term for cassia.


Castor And Pollux

(Acts 28:11) the twin sons of Jupiter and Leda, were regarded as the tutelary divinities of sailors; hence their image was often used as a figure-head for ships. They appeared in heaven as the constellation Gemini . In art they were sometimes represented simply as stars hovering over a ship.


Caterpillar

The representative in the Authorized Version of the Hebrew word chasil and yelek .

+ Chasil occurs in (1 Kings 8:37; 2 Chronicles 6:28; Psalms 78:46; Isaiah 33:4; Joel 1:4) and seems to be applied to a locust, perhaps in its larva state. + Yelek. [[349]Locust].


Cauda

(Acts 27:16) The form given in the Revised Version to Clauda, an island south of Crete. It bears a closer relation to the modern name Gaudonesi of the Greek, the Gauda of P. Mela. (Clauda .--ED.)


Caul

a sort of ornamental head-dress, (Isaiah 3:18) with a net for its base. The name is derived from the caul, the membranous bag which encloses the heart--the pericardium.--ED.


Cave

The most remarkable caves noticed in Scripture are, that in which Lot dwelt after the destruction of Sodom, (Genesis 19:30) the cave of Machpelah, (Genesis 23:17) cave of Makkedah, (Joshua 10:10) cave of Adullam, (1 Samuel 22:1) cave od Engedi, (1 Samuel 24:3) Obadiah's cave, (1 Kings 18:4) Elijah's cave in Horeb, (1 Kings 19:9) the rock sepulchres of Lazarus and of our Lord. (Matthew 27:60; John 11:38) Caves were used for temporary dwelling-places and for tombs.


Cedar

The Hebrew word erez, invariably rendered "cedar" by the Authorized Version, stands for that tree in most of the passages where the word occurs. While the word is sometimes used in a wider sense, (Leviticus 14:6) for evergreen cone-bearing trees, generally the cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) is intended. (1 Kings 7:2; 10:27; Psalms 92:12; Song of Solomon 5:15; Isaiah 2:13; Ezekiel 31:3-6) The wood is of a reddish color, of bitter taste and aromatic odor, offensive to insects, and very durable. The cedar is a type of the Christian, being evergreen, beautiful, aromatic, wide spreading, slow growing, long lived, and having many uses. As far as is at present known, the cedar of Lebanon is confined in Syria to one valley of the Lebanon range, viz., that of the Kedisha river, which flows from near the highest point of the range westward to the Mediterranean, and enters the sea at the port of Tripoli. The grove is at the very upper part of the valley, about 15 miles from the sea, 6500 feet above that level, and its position is moreover above that of all other arboreous vegetation. ("Of the celebrated cedars on Mount Lebanon, eleven groves still remain. The famous B'Sherreh grove is three-quarters of a mile in circumference, and contains about 400 trees, young and old. Perhaps a dozen of these are very old; the largest, 63 feet in girth and 70 feet high, is thought by some to have attained the age of 2000 years."--Johnson's Encycl.)


Cedron

(John 18:1) [SEE [351]Kidron, Or Kedron]


Ceiling

The descriptions of Scripture, (1 Kings 6:9,15; 7:3; 2 Chronicles 3:5,9; Jeremiah 22:14; Haggai 1:4) and of Josephus, show that the ceilings of the temple and the palaces of the Jewish kings were formed of cedar planks applied to the beams or joists crossing from wall to wall. "Oriental houses seem to have been the reverse of ours, the ceiling being of wood, richly ornamented, and the floor of plaster or tiles."


Cenchrea, Or Cenchrea

(accurately Cenchre'ae) (millet), the eastern harbor of Corinth (i.e. its harbor on the Saronic Gulf) and the emporium of its trade with the Asiatic shores of the Mediterranean, as Lechaeum on the Crointhian Gulf connected it with Italy and the west. St. Paul sailed from Cenchrae, (Acts 18:18) on his return to Syria from his second missionary journey. An organized church seems to have been formed here. (Romans 16:1)


Censer

A small portable vessel of metal fitted to receive burning coals from the altar, and on which the incense for burning was sprinkled. (2 Chronicles 26:19; Luke 1:9) The only distinct precepts regarding the use of the censer are found in (Leviticus 16:12) and in (Numbers 4:14) Solomon prepared "censers of pure gold" as part of the temple furniture. (1 Kings 7:50; 2 Chronicles 4:22) The word rendered "censer" in (Hebrews 9:4) probably means the "altar of incense."


Chaff

the husk of corn or wheat which was separated from the grain by being thrown into the air, the wind blowing away the chaff, while the grain was saved. The carrying away of chaff by the wind is an ordinary scriptural image of the destruction of the wicked and of their powerlessness to resist God's judgments. (Psalms 1:4; Isaiah 17:13; Hosea 13:3; Zephaniah 2:2)


Chain

+ As badges of office; + For ornament; + For confining prisoners. + the gold chain placed about Joseph's neck, (Genesis 41:42) and that promised to Daniel, (Daniel 5:7) are instances of the first use. In (Ezekiel 16:11) the chain is mentioned as the symbol of sovereignty. + Chains for ornamental purposes were worn by men as well as women. (Proverbs 1:9) Judith 10:4. The Midianites adorned the necks of their camels with chains. (Judges 8:21,26) Step-chains were attached to the ankle-rings. (Isaiah 3:16,18) + The means adopted for confining prisoners among the Jews were fetters similar to our handcuffs. (Judges 16:21; 2 Samuel 3:34; 2 Kings 25:7; Jeremiah 39:7) Among the Romans the prisoner was handcuffed to his guard, and occasionally to two guards. (Acts 12:6,7; 21:33)


Chalcedony

only in (Revelation 21:19) The name is applied in modern mineralogy to one of the varieties of agate. It is generally translucent and exhibits a great variety of colors. So named because it was found near the ancient Chalcedon, near Constantinople.


Chaldea

more correctly Chaldae'a, the ancient name of a country of Asia bordering on the Persian Gulf. Chaldea proper was the southern part of Babylonia, and is used in Scripture to signify that vast alluvial plain which has been formed by the deposits of the Euphrates and the Tigris. This extraordinary flat, unbroken except by the works of man, extends a distance of 400 miles along the course of the rivers, and is on an average about 100 miles in width. In addition to natural advantages these plains were nourished by a complicated system of canals, and vegetation flourished bountifully. It is said to be the only country in the world where wheat grows wild. Herodotus declared (i. 193) that grain commonly returned two hundred fold to the sower, and occasionally three hundred fold. Cities.--Babylonia has long been celebrated for the number and antiquity of its cities. The most important of those which have been identified are Borsippa (Birs-Nimrun), Sippara or Sepharvaim (Mosaib), Cutha (Ibrahim), Calneh (Niffer), Erech (Warka), Ur (Mugheir), Chilmad (Kalwadha), Larancha (Senkereh), Is (Hit), Durabe (Akkerkuf); but besides these there were a multitude of others, the sites of which have not been determined. Present condition--This land, once so rich in corn and wine, is to-day but a mass of mounds, "an arid waste; the dense population of former times is vanished, and no man dwells there." The Hebrew prophets applied the term "land of the Chaldeans" to all Babylonia and "Chaldeans" to all the subjects of the Babylonian empire.


Chaldeans, Or Chaldees

It appears that the Chaldeans (Kaldai or Kaldi) were in the earliest times merely one out of many Cushite tribes inhabiting the great alluvial plain known afterwards as Chaldea or Babylonia. Their special seat was probably that southern portion of the country which is found to have so late retained the name of Chaldea. In process of time, as the Kaldi grew in power, their name gradually prevailed over those of the other tribes inhabiting the country; and by the era of the Jewish captivity it had begun to be used generally for all the inhabitants of Babylonia. It appears that while, both in Assyria and in later Babylonia, the Shemitic type of speech prevailed for civil purposes, the ancient Cushite dialect was retained, as a learned language for scientific and religious literature. This is no doubt the "learning" and the "tongue" to which reference it made in the book of Daniel, (Daniel 1:4) The Chaldeans were really the learned class; they were priests, magicians or astronomers, and in the last of the three capacities they probably effected discoveries of great importance. In later times they seem to have degenerated into mere fortune-tellers.


Chamber

(Genesis 43:30; 2 Samuel 18:33; Psalms 19:5; Daniel 6:10) The word chamber in these passages has much the same significance as with us, meaning the private rooms of the house--the guest chamber, as with us, meaning a room set apart for the accommodation of the visiting friend. (Mark 14:14,15; Luke 22:12) The upper chamber was used more particularly for the lodgment of strangers. (Acts 9:37)


Chamberlain

an officer attached to the court of a king, who formerly had charge of the private apartments or chambers of the palace. He kept the accounts of the public revenues. The office held by Blastus, "the king's chamberlain," was entirely different from this. (Acts 12:20) It was a post of honor which involved great intimacy and influence with the king. For chamberlain as used in the Old Testament, see [[359]Eunuch]


Chameleon

a species of lizard. The reference in (Leviticus 11:30) is to some kind of an unclean animal, supposed to be the lizard, known by the name of the "monitor of the Nile," a large, strong reptile common in Egypt and other parts of Africa.


Chamois

(pronounced often shame), the translation of the Hebrew zemer in (14:5) But the translation is incorrect; for there is no evidence that the chamois have ever been seen in Palestine or the Lebanon. It is probable that some mountain sheep is intended.


Chapiter

the capital of a pillar; i.e. the upper part, as the term is used in modern architecture.


Charashim, The Valley Of

(ravine of craftsmen), a place near Lydda, a few miles east of Joppa. (1 Chronicles 4:14)


Charger

a shallow vessel for receiving water or blood, also for presenting offerings of fine flour with oil. (Numbers 7:79) The daughter of Herodias brought the head of St. John the Baptist in a charger, (Matthew 14:8) probably a trencher or platter. [[363]Basin]


Chariot

a vehicle used either for warlike or peaceful purposes, but most commonly the former. The Jewish chariots were patterned after the Egyptian, and consisted of a single pair of wheels on an axle, upon which was a car with high front and sides, but open at the back. The earliest mention of chariots in Scripture is in Egypt, where Joseph, as a mark of distinction, was placed in Pharaoh's second chariot. (Genesis 41:43) Later on we find mention of Egyptian chariots for a warlike purpose. (Exodus 14:7) In this point of view chariots among some nations of antiquity, as elephants among others, may be regarded as filling the place of heavy artillery in modern times, so that the military power of a nation might be estimated by the number of its chariots. Thus Pharaoh in pursuing Israel took with him 600 chariots. The Philistines in Saul's time had 30,000. (1 Samuel 13:5) David took from Hadadezer, king of Zobah, 1000 chariots, (2 Samuel 8:4) and from the Syrians a little later 700, (2 Samuel 10:18) who in order to recover their ground, collected 32,000 chariots. (1 Chronicles 19:7) Up to this time the Israelites possessed few or no chariots. They were first introduced by David, (2 Samuel 8:4) who raised and maintained a force of 1400 chariots, (1 Kings 10:25) by taxation on certain cities agreeably to eastern custom in such matters. (1 Kings 9:19; 10:25) From this time chariots were regarded as among the most important arms of war. (1 Kings 22:34; 2 Kings 9:16,21; 13:7,14; 18:24; 23:30; Isaiah 31:1) Most commonly two persons, and sometimes three, rode in the chariot, of whom the third was employed to carry the state umbrella. (1 Kings 22:34; 2 Kings 9:20,24; Acts 8:38) The prophets allude frequently to chariots as typical of power. (Psalms 20:7; 104:3; Jeremiah 51:21; Zechariah 6:1)


Cheani

(a contraction of Chenaniah), one of the Levites who assisted at the solemn purification of the people under Ezra. (Nehemiah 9:4)


Chebar

(length), a river in the "land of the Chaldeans." (Ezekiel 1:3; 3:15,23) etc. It is commonly regarded as identical with the Habor, (2 Kings 17:6) and perhaps the Royal Canal of Nebuchadnezzar,--the greatest of all the cuttings in Mesopotamia.


Chebel

(cord), one of the singular topographical terms in which the ancient Hebrew language abounded. We find it always attached to the region of Argob. (3:4,13,14; 1 Kings 4:13)


Chedorlaomer, Or Chedorlaomer

(handful of sheaves), a king of Elam, in the time of Abraham, who with three other chiefs made war upon the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim and Zoar, and reduced them to servitude. (Genesis 14:17)


Cheese

is mentioned only three times in the Bible, and on each occasion under a different name in the Hebrew. (1 Samuel 17:18; 2 Samuel 17:29; Job 10:10) It is difficult to decide how far these terms correspond with our notion of cheese, for they simply express various degrees of coagulation. Cheese is not at the present day common among the Bedouin Arabs, butter being decidedly preferred; but there is a substance closely corresponding to those mentioned in 1Sam 17, 2Sam 17, consisting of coagulated buttermilk, which is dried until it become quite hard, and is then ground; the Arabs eat it mixed with butter.


Chelal

(perfection), (Ezra 10:30) one who had a strange wife.


Chelluh

(completed), (Ezra 10:35) another like the above.


Chelub

+ A man among the descendants of Judah. + Ezri the son of Chelub, one of David's officers. (1 Chronicles 27:26)


Chelubai

(capable), the son of Hezron. Same as Caleb. (1 Chronicles 2:9,18,42)


Chemarim, The

(those who go about in black, i.e. ascetics). In the Hebrew applied to the priests of the worship of false gods. (2 Kings 23:5; Hosea 10:5) in margin; (Zephaniah 1:4)


Chemosh

(subduer), the national deity of the Moabites. (Numbers 21:29; Jeremiah 48:7,13,46) In (Judges 11:24) he also appears as the god of the Ammonites. Solomon introduced, and Josiah abolished, the worship of Chemosh at Jerusalem. (1 Kings 11:7; 2 Kings 23:13) Also identified with Baal-peor, Baalzebub, Mars and Saturn.


Chenaanah

+ Son of Bilhan, son of Jediael, son of Benjamin, head of a Benjamite house, (1 Chronicles 7:10) probably of the family of the Belaites. [[366]Bela] + Father or ancestor of Zedekiah the false prophet. (1 Kings 22:11,24; 2 Chronicles 18:10,23)


Chenaniah

(established by the Lord), chief of the Levites when David carried the ark to Jerusalem. (1 Chronicles 15:22; 26:29)


Chepharhaammonai

(hamlet of the Ammonites), a place mentioned among the town of Benjamin. (Joshua 18:24)


Chephirah

(the hamlet), one of the four cities of the Gibeonites, (Joshua 9:17) named afterwards among the towns of Benjamin. (Ezra 2:25; Nehemiah 7:29)


Cheran

(lyre), one of the sons of Dishon the Horite "duke." (Genesis 36:26; 1 Chronicles 1:41)


Cherethim

(axe-men), (Ezekiel 25:16) same as [367]Cherethites.


Cherethites

(executioners) and of King David. (2 Samuel 8:18; 15:18; 20:7,23; 1 Kings 1:38,44; 1 Chronicles 18:17) It is plain that these royal guards were employed as executioners., (2 Kings 11:4) and as couriers, (1 Kings 14:27) But it has been conjectured that they may have been foreign mercenaries, and therefore probably Philistines, of which name Pelethites may be only another form.


Cherith, The Brook

(cutting, ravine), the torrent-bed or wady in which Elijah hid himself during the early part of the three-years drought. (1 Kings 17:3,5) The position of the Cherith has been much disputed. The argument from probability is in favor of the Cherith being on the east of Jordan, and the name may possibly be discovered there.


Cherub

apparently a place in Babylonia from which some persons of doubtful extraction returned to Judea with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:59; Nehemiah 7:61)


Cherub, Cherubim

The symbolical figure so called was a composite creature-form which finds a parallel in the religious insignia of Assyria, Egypt and Persia, e.g. the sphinx, the winged bulls and lions of Nineveh, etc. A cherub guarded paradise. (Genesis 3:24) Figures of Cherubim were placed on the mercy-seat of the ark. (Exodus 25:18) A pair of colossal size overshadowed it in Solomon's temple with the canopy of their contiguously extended wings. (1 Kings 6:27) Those on the ark were to be placed with wings stretched forth, one at each end of the mercy-seat." Their wings were to be stretched upwards, and their faces "towards each other and towards the mercy-seat." It is remarkable that with such precise directions as to their position, attitude and material, nothing, save that they were winged, is said concerning their shape. On the whole it seems likely that the word "cherub" meant not only the composite creature-form, of which the man, lion, ox and eagle were the elements, but, further, some peculiar and mystical form. (Some suppose that the cherubim represented God's providence among men, the four faces expressing the characters of that providence: its wisdom and intelligence (man), its strength (ox), its kingly authority (lion), its swiftness, far-sighted (eagle). Others, combining all the other references with the description of the living creatures in Revelation, make the cherubim to represent God's redeemed people. The qualities of the four faces are those which belong to God's people. Their facing four ways, towards all quarters of the globe, represents their duty of extending the truth. The wings show swiftness of obedience; and only the redeemed can sing the song put in their mouths in (Revelation 5:8-14)--ED).


Chesalon

(hopes), a place named as one of the landmarks on the west part of the north boundary of Judah, (Joshua 15:10) probably Kesla, about six miles to the northeast of Ainshems, on the western mountains of Judah.


Chesed

(increase), fourth son of Nahor. (Genesis 22:22)


Chesil

(idolatrous), a town in the extreme south of Palestine, (Joshua 15:30) 15 Miles southwest of Beersheba. In (Joshua 19:4) the name is [368]Bethul.


Chest

By this word are translated in the Authorized Version two distinct Hebrew terms:

+ Aron ; this is invariably used for the ark of the covenant, and, with two exceptions, for that only. The two exceptions alluded to are (a) the "coffin" in which the bones of Joseph were carried from Egypt, (Genesis 50:26) and (b) the "chest" in which Jehoiada the priest collected the alms for the repairs of the temple. (2 Kings 12:9,10; 2 Chronicles 24:8-11) + Genazim, "chests." (Ezekiel 27:24) only.


Chestnut Tree

(Heb. 'armon .) (Genesis 30:37; Ezekiel 31:8) Probably the "palm tree" (Platanus orientalis) is intended. This tree thrives best in low and rather moist situations in the north of Palestine, and resembles our sycamore or buttonwood (Platanus occidentalis).


Chesulloth

(the loins), one of the towns of Issachar. (Joshua 19:18) From its position int he lists it appears to be between Jezreel and Shunem (Salam).


Chezib

(lying), a name which occurs but once, (Genesis 38:5) probably the same as [369]Achzib.


Chidon

(a javelin), the name which in (1 Chronicles 13:9) is given to the threshing-floor at which the accident to the ark took place. In the parallel account in 2Sam 6 the name is given as NACHON.


Children

The blessing of offspring, but especially of the male sex, is highly valued among all eastern nations, while a the absence is regarded as one of the severest punishments. (Genesis 16:2; 7:14; 1 Samuel 1:6; 2 Samuel 6:23; 2 Kings 4:14; Isaiah 47:9; Jeremiah 20:15; Psalms 127:3,5) As soon as the child was born it was washed in a bath, rubbed with salt and wrapped in swaddling clothes. (Ezekiel 16:4; Job 38:9; Luke 2:7) On the 8th day the rite of circumcision, in the case of a boy, was performed and a name given. At the end of a certain time (forty days if a son and twice as long if a daughter) the mother offered sacrifice for her cleansing. (Leviticus 12:1-8; Luke 2:22) The period of nursing appears to have been sometimes prolonged to three years. (Isaiah 49:15) 2 Macc. 7:27. The time of weaning was an occasion of rejoicing. (Genesis 21:8) Both boys and girls in their early years were under the care of the women. (Proverbs 31:1) Afterwards the boys were taken by the father under his charge. Daughters usually remained in the women's apartments till marriage. (Leviticus 21:9; Numbers 12:14; 1 Samuel 9:11) The authority of parents, especially of the father, over children was very great, as was also the reverence enjoined by the law to be paid to parents. The inheritance was divided equally between all the sons except the eldest, who received a double portion. (Genesis 25:31; 49:3; 21:17; Judges 11:2,7; 1 Chronicles 5:1,2) Daughters had by right no portion in the inheritance; but if a man had no son, his inheritance passed to his daughters, who were forbidden to marry out of the father's tribe. (Numbers 27:1,8; 36:2,8)


Chileab

(like his father), a son of David by Abigail. [[370]Abigail]


Chillon

(pining, sickly), the son of Naomi and husband of Ruth. (Ruth 1:2-5; 4:9) (B.C. 1250.)


Chilmad

(enclosure), a place or country mentioned in conjunction with Sheba and Asshur. (Ezekiel 27:23)


Chimham

(longing), a follower and probably a son, of Barzillai the Gileadite, who returned from beyond Jordan with David. (2 Samuel 19:37,38,40) (B C 1023.) David appears to have bestowed on him a possession at Bethlehem, on which, in later times, an inn or khan was standing. (Jeremiah 41:17)


Chinnereth

(circuit), accurately Cinnareth, a fortified city in the tribe of Naphtali, (Joshua 19:35) only, of which no trace is found in later writers, and no remains by travellers.


Chinnereth, Sea Of

(Numbers 34:11; Joshua 13:27) the inland sea, which is most similarly known to us as the "Lake of Gennesareth" or "Sea of Galilee."


Chinneroth

[[372]Chinnereth, [373]Chinnereth, Sea Of]


Chios

(snowy), an island of the Aegean Sea, 12 miles from Smyrna. It is separated from the mainland by a strait of only 5 miles. Its length is about 12 miles, and in breadth it varies from 8 to 18. Paul passed it on his return voyage from Troas to Caesarea. Acts 20:15 it is now called Scio.


Chislon

(confidence), father of Elidad, the prince of the tribe of Benjamin chosen to assist in the division of the land of Canaan among the tribes. (Numbers 34:21) (B.C. 1450.)


Chislothtabor

(loins of Tabor) a place to the border of which reached the border of Zebulun. (Joshua 19:12) It may be the village Iksal, which is now standing about 2 1/2 miles to the west of Mount Tabor.


Chittim, Kittim

(bruisers), a family or race descended from Javan. (Genesis 10:4; 1 Chronicles 1:7) Authorized Version [375]Kittim. Chittim is frequently noticed in Scripture. (Numbers 24:24; Isaiah 23:1,12; Jeremiah 2:10; Ezekiel 27:6; Daniel 11:30) In the above passages, the "isles of Chittim," the "ships of Chittim, the "coasts of Chittim," are supposed to refer to the island of Cyprus. Josephus considered Cyprus the original seat of the Chittim. The name Chittim, which in the first instance had implied to Phoenicians only, passed over to the islands which they had occupied, and thence to the people who succeeded the Phoenicians in the occupation of them.


Chiun

(a statue, perhaps of Saturn), an idol made by the Israelites in the wilderness. [[376]Remphan]


Chloe

(green herb), a woman mentioned in (1 Corinthians 1:11)


Chorashan

(1 Samuel 30:30) It may perhaps, be identified with [377]Ashan of Simeon.


Chorazin

one of the cities in which our Lord's mighty works were done, but named only in his denunciation. Matt. 11:21; Luke 10:13 St. Jerome describes it as on the shore of the lake, two miles from Capernaum, but its modern site is uncertain.


Chozeba

(1 Chronicles 4:22) Perhaps the same as [378]Achzib.


Christian

The disciples, we are told, (Acts 11:26) were first called Christians at Antioch on the Orontes, somewhere about A.D. 43. They were known to each other as, and were among themselves called, brethren, (Acts 15:1,23; 1 Corinthians 7:12) disciples, (Acts 9:26; 11:29) believers, (Acts 5:14) saints, (Romans 8:27; 15:25) The name "Christian," which, in the only other cases where it appears in the New Testament, (Acts 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16) is used contemptuously, could not have been applied by the early disciples to themselves, but was imposed upon them by the Gentile world. There is no reason to suppose that the name "Christian" of itself was intended as a term of scurrility or abuse, though it would naturally be used with contempt.


Chronicles, First And Second Books Of

the name originally given to the record made by the appointed historiographers in the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. In the LXX. these books are called Paralipomena (i.e. things omitted), which is understood as meaning that they are supplementary to the books of Kings. The constant tradition of the Jews is that these books were for the most part compiled by Ezra. One of the greatest difficulties connected with the captivity and return must have been the maintenance of that genealogical distribution of the land which yet was a vital point of the Jewish economy. To supply this want and that each tribe might secure the inheritance of its fathers on its return was one object of the author of these books. Another difficulty intimately connected with the former was the maintenance of the temple services at Jerusalem. Zerubbabel, and after him Ezra and Nehemiah, labored most earnestly to restore the worship of God among the people, and to reinfuse something of national life and spirit into their hearts. Nothing could more effectually aid these designs than setting before the people a compendious history of the kingdom of David, its prosperity under God; the sins that led to its overthrow; the captivity and return. These considerations explain the plan and scope of that historical work which consists of the two books of Chronicles. The first book contains the sacred history by genealogies from the Creation to David, including an account of David's reign. In the second book he continues the story, giving the history of the kings of Judah, without those of Israel, down to the return from the captivity. As regards the materials used by Ezra, they are not difficult to discover. The genealogies are obviously transcribed from some register in which were preserved the genealogies of the tribes and families drawn up at different times; while the history is mainly drawn from the same document as those used in the books of King. [[379]Kings, First And Second Books Of, BOOKS OF]


Chronology

By this term we understand the technical and historical chronology of the Jews and their ancestors from the earliest time to the close of the New Testament Canon.

+ TECHNICAL CHRONOLOGY.--The technical part of Hebrew chronology presents great difficulties. + HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGY.--The historical part of Hebrew chronology is not less difficult than the technical. The information in the Bible is indeed direct rather than inferential although there is very important evidence of the latter kind, but the present state of the numbers make absolute certainty in many cases impossible. Three principal systems of biblical chronology have been founded, which may be termed (the Long System, the short, and the Rabbinical. There is a fourth, which although an off shoot in part of the last, can scarcely be termed biblical, in as much as it depends for the most part upon theories, not only independent of but repugnant to the Bible: this last is at present peculiar to Baron Bunsen. The principal advocates of the Long chronology are Jackson. Hales and Des-Vignoles. Of the Short chronology Ussher may be considered as the most able advocate The Rabbinical chronology accept the biblical numbers, but makes the most arbitrary corrections. For the date of the Exodus it has been virtually accepted by Bunsen, Lepsius and Lord A. Hervey. The numbers given by the LXX. for the antediluvian patriarchs would place the creation of Adam 2262 years before the end of the flood or B.C. cir. 5361 or 5421.


Chryoprase

occurs only in (Revelation 21:20) The true chrysoprase is sometimes found in antique Egyptian jewelry set alternately with bits of lapis-lazuli. It is problem therefore, that this is the stone named as the tenth in the walls of the heavenly Jerusalem.


Chrysolite

one of the precious stones in the foundation of the heavenly Jerusalem. (Revelation 21:20) It has been already stated [[380]Beryl] that the chrysolite of the ancients is identical with the modern oriental topaz the tarhish of the Hebrew Bible.


Chub

the name of a people in alliance with Egypt in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, (Ezekiel 30:5) and probably of northern Africa.


Chun

(1 Chronicles 18:8) called Berothai in (2 Samuel 8:8)


Church

+ The derivation of the word is generally said to be from the Greek kuriakon (kuriakon) "belonging to the Lord." But the derivation has been too hastily assumed. It is probably connected with kirk, the Latin circus, circulus, the Greek kuklos (kuklos) because the congregations were gathered in circles. + Ecclesia (ekklesia) the Greek word for church, originally meant an assembly called out by the magistrate, or by legitimate authority. It was in this last sense that the word was adapted and applied by the writers of the New Testament to the Christian congregation. In the one Gospel of St. Matthew the church is spoken of no less than thirty-six times as "the kingdom." Other descriptions or titles are hardly found in the evangelists. It is Christ's household, (Matthew 10:25) the salt and light of the world, (Matthew 5:13,15) Christ's flock, (Matthew 26:31; John 10:15) its members are the branches growing on Christ the Vine, John 15; but the general description of it, not metaphorical but direct, is that it is a kingdom, (Matthew 16:19) From the Gospel then we learn that Christ was about to establish his heavenly kingdom on earth, which was to be the substitute for the Jewish Church and kingdom, now doomed to destruction (Matthew 21:43) The day of Pentecost is the birthday of the Christian church. Before they had been individual followers Jesus; now they became his mystical body, animated by his spirit. On the evening of the day of Pentecost, the 3140 members of which the Church consisted were-- (1) Apostles; (2) previous Disciples; (3) Converts. In (Acts 2:41) we have indirectly exhibited the essential conditions of church communion. They are (1) Baptism, baptism implying on the part of the recipient repentance and faith; (2) Apostolic Doctrine; (3) Fellowship with the Apostles; (4) The Lord's Supper; (5) Public Worship. The real Church consists of all who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ as his disciples, and are one in love, in character, in hope, in Christ as the head of all, though as the body of Christ it consists of many parts.


Chushanrishathaim

(chief of two governments), the king of Mesopotamia who oppressed Israel during eight years in the generation immediately following Joshua. (Judges 3:8) (B.C. after 1420.) His yoke was broken from the neck of the people of Israel by Othniel, Caleb's nephew. (Judges 3:10)


Chuza

properly Chu'zas (the seer), the house-steward of Herod Antipas. (Luke 8:3)


Cilicia

(the land of Celix), a maritime province int he southeast of Asia Minor, bordering on Pamphylia in the west, Lycaonia and Cappadocia in the north, and Syria in the east. (Acts 6:9) Cilicia was from its geographical position the high road between Syria and the west; it was also the native country of St. Paul, hence it was visited by him, firstly, soon after his conversion, (Acts 9:30; Galatians 1:21) and again in his second apostolical journey. (Acts 15:41)


Cinnamon

a well-known aromatic substance, the rind of the Laurus cinnamomum, called Korunda-gauhah in Ceylon. It is mentioned in (Exodus 30:23) as one of the component parts of the holy anointing oil. In (Revelation 18:13) it is enumerated among the merchandise of the great Babylon.


Cinneroth

(1 Kings 15:20) This was possibly the small enclosed district north of Tiberias, and by the side of the lake, afterwards known as "the plain of Gennesareth."


Circumcision

was peculiarly, though not exclusively, a Jewish rite. It was enjoined upon Abraham, the father of the nation, by God, at the institution and as the token of the covenant, which assured to him and his descendants the promise of the Messiah. Gen. 17. It was thus made a necessary condition of Jewish nationality. Every male child was to be circumcised when eight days old, (Leviticus 12:3) on pain of death. The biblical notice of the rite describes it as distinctively Jewish; so that in the New Testament "the circumcision" and "the uncircumcision" are frequently used as synonyms for the Jews and the Gentiles. The rite has been found to prevail extensively in both ancient and modern times. Though Mohammed did not enjoin circumcision in the Koran, he was circumcised himself, according to the custom of his country; and circumcision is now as common among the Mohammedans as among the Jews. The process of restoring a circumcised person to his natural condition by a surgical operation was sometimes undergone. Some of the Jews in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, wishing to assimilate themselves to the heathen around them, "made themselves uncircumcised." Against having recourse to this practice, from an excessive anti-Judaistic tendency, St. Paul cautions the Corinthians. (1 Corinthians 7:18)


Cis

the father of Saul, (Acts 13:21) usually called [382]Kish.


Cistern

a receptacle for water, either conducted from an external spring or proceeding from rain-fall. The dryness of the summer months and the scarcity of springs in Judea made cisterns a necessity, and they are frequent throughout the whole of Syria and Palestine. On the long-forgotten way from Jericho to Bethel, "broken cisterns" of high antiquity are found at regular intervals. Jerusalem depends mainly for water upon its cisterns, of which almost every private house possesses one or more, excavated in the rock on which the city is built. The cisterns have usually a round opening at the top, sometimes built up with stonework above and furnished with a curb and a wheel for a bucket. (Ecclesiastes 12:6) Empty cisterns were sometimes used as prisons and places of confinement. Joseph was cast into a "pit," (Genesis 37:22) as was Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 38:6)


Cities

The earliest notice in Scripture of city-building is of Enoch by Cain, in the land of his exile. (Genesis 4:17) After the confusion of tongues the descendants of Nimrod founded Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar, and Asshur, a branch from the same stock, built Nineveh, Rehoboth-by-the-river, Calah and Resen, the last being "a great city." The earliest description of a city, properly so called, is that of Sodom, (Genesis 19:1-22) Even before the time of Abraham there were cities in Egypt, (Genesis 12:14,15; Numbers 13:22) and the Israelites, during their sojourn there, were employed in building or fortifying the "treasure cities" of Pithom and Raamses. (Exodus 1:11) Fenced cities, fortified with high walls, (3:5) were occupied and perhaps partly rebuilt after the conquest, by the settled inhabitants of Syria on both sides of the Jordan.


Cities Of Refuge

six Levitical cities specially chosen for refuge to the involuntary homicide until released from banishment by the death of the high priest. (Numbers 35:6,13,15; Joshua 20:2,7,9) There were three on each side of Jordan.

+ [383]Kedesh, in Naphtali. (1 Chronicles 6:76) + [384]Shechem, in Mount Ephraim. (Joshua 21:21; 1 Chronicles 6:67; 2 Chronicles 10:1) + [385]Hebron, in Judah. (Joshua 21:13; 2 Samuel 5:5; 1 Chronicles 6:55; 29:27; 2 Chronicles 11:10) + On the east side of Jordan - [386]Bezer In The Wilderness, in the tribe of Reuben, in the plains of Moab. (4:43; Joshua 20:8; 21:36) 1Macc. 5:26. + RAMOTH-GILEAD, in the tribe of Gad. (4:43; Joshua 21:38; 1 Kings 22:3) + [387]Golan, in Bashan, in the half-tribe of Manasseh. (4:43; Joshua 21:27; 1 Chronicles 6:71)


Citizenship

The use of this term in Scripture has exclusive reference to the usages of the Roman empire. The privilege of Roman citizenship was originally acquired in various ways, as by purchase, (Acts 22:28) by military services, by favor or by manumission. The right once obtained descended to a man's children. (Acts 22:28) Among the privileges attached to citizenship we may note that a man could not be bound or imprisoned without a formal trial, (Acts 22:29) still less be scourged. (Acts 16:37) Cic. in Verr. v. 63,66. Another privilege attaching to citizenship was the appeal from a provincial tribunal to the emperor at Rome. (Acts 25:11)


Clauda

(lame), (Acts 27:16) a small island nearly due west of Cape Matala on the south coast of Crete, and nearly due south of Phoenice; now Gozzo .


Claudia

(lame), a Christian woman mentioned in (2 Timothy 4:21) as saluting Timotheus.


Claudius

(lame), fourth Roman emperor, reigned from 41 to 54 A.D. He was nominated to the supreme power mainly through the influence of Herod Agrippa the First. In the reign of Claudius there were several famines, arising from unfavorable harvests, and one such occurred in Palestine and Syria. (Acts 11:28-30) Claudius was induced by a tumult of the Jews in Rome to expel them from the city. cf. (Acts 18:2) The date of this event is uncertain. After a weak and foolish reign he was poisoned by his fourth wife, Agrippina, the mother of Nero, October 13, A.D. 54.