Chapter 5 of 25

CAP

CAP

The capture of Judsea by the Romans, A. D. 70, was commemorated by coins which are shown in the following cut:

Coins to Coniniemorate the Capture of Judsea. (Farrar's "Life of Christ.")

On the left-hand coin Is seen the emperor Titus; Judaea is weeping at the foot of a palm tree. On the right hand, a Jewish captive with hands tied behind his back looks upon a Jewess seated at the foot of a palm tree.

CAPTIV^ITY. Num. 21:29. A term usually employed to denote an important era in the history of the Jewish people. To punish their rebellions and idolatries, God suffered them to come into frequent bondage to surrounding nations. Six of their partial and transient captivities took place at an early period of their history, of which a particular account is given in Judges.

Soon after the close of Solomon's reign the kingdom was divided. Ten of the tribes took the name of " the kingdom of Israel," leaving the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to constitute the kingdom of Judah. Each of these two kingdoms suffered a distinct captivity. The Jews reckon four national captivities— the Babylonian, the Median, the Grecian, and the Roman.

Pul, B. c. 762, and then Tiglath-pileser, B. c. 740, kings of Assyria, made war upon

CAP

CAP

the kingdom of Israel and carried a large number of the peo])le (chiefly those of the tribes of Reuben, (Jad, and Manas-seh)into captivity, 2 Kgs. 15 : 29 ; 1 Chr. 5 : 2(3, and the residue remained under their own king, but paid tribute to the

Piisouerd before Saigoii. {Nineveh Marbles.)

Assyrian government. After the lapse of 20 years this tribute was refused, and therefore Shalmaneser besieged and (after three years) Sargon captured Samaria, the capital of the kingdom, and the great mass of the people were transported to provinces beyond the Euphrates, B. c. 721. Their fate is a frequent subject of speculation, but nothing definite can be determined. Nor was the kingdom of Judah long left un-

Jewish Captives before Darius. (From Ancient Bas-relief at Fersepolis. )

molested. In Hezekiah's reign Sennacherib, king of Assyria, took the fenced cities of Judah, b. c. 713, and would have taken Jerusalem had Hezekiah not sent him a heavy tribute. 2 Kgs. 18 : ^'^. His next attempt on the city, which oc-

curred some little time after, was defeated by a miracle. 2 Kgs. 19 : 35.

Nebuchadnezzar repeatedly overran the kingdom of Judah, the first time in the third year of Jehoiakim. lie carried a few captives to Babylon, among whom were Daniel and his companions, b. c. 606. 2 Kgs. 24 :1; Dan. 1:1-4. In the tenth or eleventh year of Jehoiakim he came again, b. c. 698, 2 Chr. 36: 6, and a third time in the eighth year of the reign of Jehoiachin. This invasion resulted in the carrying away of 10,000 Jews. 2 Kgs. 24:10-16. The 70 years' captivity began when Nebuchadnezzar, for the fourth time, invaded Judaja, B. c. 588. 2 Kgs. 25 :1. The king, Zed-ekiah, was taken, his sons slain, the temple burnt and the city despoiled, and the greater part of the population carried into Babylonia. Jer. 52: 8-13. During this long captivity the rite of circumcision was observed, the genealogical tables filled, distinctions of rank maintained, and thus the Jews retained their nationality intact.

In B. c. 536 the Jews Avere allowed to return from Babylon by Cyrus, as a portion of them did under Zerubbabel, Ezr. 2 :2, and some time afterward under Ezra, Ezr. 7 : 7, b. c. 468, and Nehe-miah, Neh. 7 : 66, B. c. 445. Those who remained in Assyria or scattered over the Roman empire, but kept up their national distinctions, were known as " The Dispersion," John 7 : 36 ; 1 Pet. 1:1; Jas. 1:1, and afterward were starting-points for Christianity.

Children of the Captivity, Ezr. 4 : 1, a common figure of speech, denoting those who were in captivity, or perhaps sometimes literally their posterity. Turn ayuin, Ps. 126 : 1, turn mcay, Jer. 29 : 14, turn back, Zepli. 3 : 20, or bring again, Eze. 16: 63, the vajjtivity, are figurative phrases, all referring to the Jewish nation in bondage and their return to Canaan. A similar expression is used in relation to individuals, as in Job 42:10: The Lord turned the captiv-itij of Job —that is, he released him from the unusual sufferings and perplexities to Avhich he had been in bondage, and caused him to rejoice again in the favor

CAR

CAR

of God. He led captivity captive, Eph. 4 : 8, or " he led those as his captives who had made captives of others/' is a figurative allusion to the victory which our blessed Redeemer achieved over sin and death, by whom our ruined race are brought into bondage. Rom. 8 : 21 ; Gal. 4:24; Ileb. 2:15; 2 Pet. 2:19.

CAR'BUNCLE. This term represents two Hebrew words. The first, Ex. 28 : 17 ,- 39 : 10 : Eze. 28 : 13, meaning Jlashing like Utjhtmng, is supposed to be either the emerald or beryl, both of which are precious stones of a green color. " Thy gates of carbuncles," Isa. 64: 12, has reference to a stone shining like fire —possibly a brilliant species of ruby.

CARCHEMIISH, or CHAR'-

CHEMISH {citadel of Chemoah), a chief city of northern Syria, on the Euphrates, where a great and decisive battle was fought, in which Nebuchadnezzar defeated Pharaoh-necho, 2 Chr. 35 : 20 ; 2 Kgs. 23 : 29 ; Jer. 46 : 2, in B. c. 605. It was formerly identified with Circesium. Rawlinson placed it at Bir, near Hierapolis, on the Euphrates; a later writer at K<(laat, below lievedjil.

CARE'AH {bald-head), the father of Johanau. 2 Kgs. 25:23. Elsewhere spelt Kareah.

CA'RIA, a small Roman province in the south-western part of Asia Minor. Its cities, Cnidus and Miletus, are mentioned in Acts 20 : 15 ; 27 : 7.

CAR'MEL {fruitful, or wooded). 1. One of the most noted mountains in

Mount Caiinel, from the Bay of Aci Palestine, a range or ridge about 12 miles long, one end jutting into the Mediterranean Sea in a bold bluff over 500 feet high, extending thence southeast until it abruptly breaks off in an inland bluff over 500 feet above the sea-level. Its highest elevation, about 4 miles from the east end, is nearly 1740 feet. It is specially noted as being the scene of remarkable events in the history of Elijah and Elisha. 2 Kgs. 2:25; 4:25. The scene of the famous contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, 1 Kgs. 18 : 20-42, was near the east end of the ridge, at el-Mahrakah (/. e. " burnt-offering "); a well is near, and a slippery path leads down to the Kishon, several hundred feet below. This stream is now call-164

re. {After Views of G. M. Powell.) ed Xahr el-Miikafta," river of slaughter," in memory of this event. It is a sacred mountain alike to Jews, Christians, and Moslems, and formerly swarmed with monks and hermits. One tract, known as the Monk's Cavern, has hundreds of caves, and a little below is the traditional cave of Elijah. On the mountain is the large monastery of the Carmelites, which affords hospitable accommodation and a magnificent view. It is now occupied by eighteen monks. The German colony of Haifa has recently planted vineyards on Mount Carmel.

Present Aj^pearance. —Carmel is covered with a profusion of vegetation, illustrating " the excellency of Carmel." Isa, 35 : 2. It is still known as Kurmul

CAR

CAS

and MarElijas (Mount St. Elias). The rugged sides of the ridge are of hard, dark stone, always steej), often precipitous, covered with shrubs of dark, rich green. These shrubs are chiefly a kind of pistachio with no berries, the sponge-laurel, the hawthorn, and the arbutus. The bare spots are covered with flowers, as rock-roses, striped asphodel, the daisy, and the red and purple anemone. The horse of the traveller often presses out a sweet fragrance from the thyme and mint. Herds of goats are frequently seen climbing its steep sides, and occasionally a gazelle bounds through the shrubs, while the fox, jackal, wolf, and a stray wild boar and a panther (chetoh) add to the animal life of the mountains. The partridge and woodcock also abound. Huge valleys upward of 1000 feet deep wind tortuously from the main ridge to the sea, requiring hours to cross to the opposite summits. The rock is a compact, sandy limestone.

2. A town in the mountains of Judah, where Saul set a monument, 1 Sam. 15: 12 ; 25 : 2, 5, 7, 40 ; 27 : 3, and Uzziah had vineyards, 2 Chr. 26 : 10 ; now A";;?--mnl, 10 miles south-east of Hebron, where are ruins of a strong castle.

CAR'MI (vhie-dresser). 1. The fourth son of Reuben, progenitor of the Carmites. Gen. 46 : 9 : Ex. 6 : 14 ; Num. 26:6; 1 Chr. 5:3.

2. The father of Achan, the " troubler of Israel." .Jos. 7:1, 18.

CAR'PENTER. The first allusion to the carpenter's trade in the Scriptures occurs in the command to Noah to build the ark. Gen. 6: 14-16, and the directions here given presuppose quite a considerable skill. The second time the trade is mentioned is in the description of the setting up of the tabernacle in the wilderness, Ex. 25:23; 27:1-15, where various kinds of wood-work—the ark, the table, the iiltar, the acacia boards, etc.—are spoken of. From this point and throughout the holy writings frequent mention is made of this trade; and though it appears that both David, 2 Sam. 5:11, and Solomon, 1 Kgs. 5 : 6, employed foreign artisans, the numerous allusions, in the historical, prophetical, and poetical books of the 0. T., to the tools, implements, and methods of this trade, show that the native craftsmen must have been possessed

of great skill, and the trade itself held in high esteem among the people.

Joseph, the husband of Mary, was a carpenter, Matt. 13 : 55, and our L«rd himself worked at the trade, Mark 6 :3. " Is not this the carpenter's son ?" yea, "Is not this the carpenter?" asked the people, not in contempt, but in wonder. They implied, however, that they regarded him as one of themselves, as no better than they. But we may be thankful that our Lord is thus called, for the very word " is full of meaning, and has exercised a very noble and blessed influence over the fortunes of mankind. It has tended to console and sanctify the estate of poverty, to ennoble the duty of labor, to elevate the entire conception of manhood as of a condition which in itself alone, and apart from every adventitious circumstance, has its own grandeur and dignity in the sight of God."— Farrar : Life of Christ, ch. vii.

CAR'PUS (fruit), a friend of Paul at Troas. 2 Tim. 4 : 13.

C AR'RI AGE (from carro, " a car "), old English for " baggage," luggage requiring to be carried. Jud. 18 : 21 ; 1 Sam. 17 : 20, 22 ; Isa. 10 : 28 ; 46 : 1 ; Acts 21 : 15. They "took up their carriages"— i. e. they packed up their things and commenced their journey.

CARSHE'NA (illustrious?), one of the seven highest princes of Persia and Media. Esth. 1 : 14.

CART. See Wagon.

CASE'MENT. See Window.

CASIPH'IA. Ezr.8:17. Probably near Ahava.

CAS'LUHIM (fortified), a Mizra-ite people or tribe. Gen. 10 : 14; 1 Chr. 1:12.

CAS'SIA. Ex. 30 : 24. The bark of a tree (Cinnamomum cassia) like the cinnamon, and one of the ingredients of the holy anointing oil. It was brought from India by the Tyriane. The lie-brew refers, in Ps. 45:8, to another kind of spice, remarkable for its fragrance, and not yet identified with much probability.

CAS'TLE, in Acts 21: 34, 37 ; 22 : 24 ; 23 : 10, 16, 32, means "the fortress at the north-west corner of the temple in Jerusalem. It was called by Herod the Tower of Antonia, in honor of his patron, Mark Antony. The temple was

CAS

CED

a kind of citadel that guarded Jerusalem, and so the Tower of Antonia was a fortress that commanded the temple." — Ayre.

CASTOR AND POLLUX. Acts 28 : 11. In heathen mythology/' Castor" and " Pollux " were the names of twin sons of Jupiter who presided over the

Castor and Pollux. (From a Coin of Bruttii.)

destinies of sailors. Hence an image representing them was often seen on the prow of ancient ships, like the figureheads of modern days. In the case of Paul's ship, the name was Castor and Pollux.

CAST OUT, comp. John 9 : 22 and U, OR EXCOMMUNICATE, was to cut off from the privileges of the Jewish Church.

CAT'ERPILLAR {tJie consumer), probably another word for locusts in their immature or wingless state, appearing in vast numbers and of most destructive voracity. 1 Kgs. 8 : 37. Hence they were often employed as the agents in the execution of God's judgments, Ps. 78 : 46 and 105 : 34, and figuratively represent a great multitude. Isa. 33 : 4; Jer. 51 : 14, 27. They were regarded as among the most desolating visitations of God's hand.

CAT^TLE. Gen. 1 : 25. In the common scriptural use of this term it embraces the tame quadrupeds employed by mankind, as oxen, horses, sheep, camels, goats, etc. Gen.l3:2; Ex. 12 : 29 and 34 : 19 ; Num. 20 : 19 ; 32 : 16, and Ps. 50 : 10, and .Job 1 : 3, where the word translated ''substance" would be more properly rendered "cattle."

The allusion in Job 36 : 33 is explained by the well-known fact that certain animals of this class are peculiarly sensitive to the change of air which precedes rain.

CAUL. Isa. 3 : 18. The attire of the head, made of net-work and ornamented. In Hos. 13 : 8 the word " caul" 166

denotes the pericardium, or membranous bag which encloses the heart. This word in the Pentateuch denotes one of the viscera, probably the great lobe of the liver.

CAVE. Caves are very common in Palestine, and the names of sections of country Avere derived from this fact, as the Hauran, Eze. 47 : 16, is caveland, and the Horites are dwellers in caves. They were made use of a3 temporary dwelling-places. Gen. 19:."l(i; as places of concealment, Josh. 10 : 1 6 ; Jud. 6:2; I Sam. 13 : 6 : 22 : 1, 2; 24 : 3; 2 Sam. 23 : 13 : 1 Kgs. 18 : 4; 19 : 9; Heb. 11 : 38; and as bnrial-jilaces. Gen. 23 : 17, 19 and 49 : 29; John 11 : 38. Some noted ones are named in the Bible, such as Adullam, the Mach-pelah, Makkedah, etc. The manger in which our Lord was born may have been a cave. See Tombs and Burial.

CE ' DAR. Undoubtedly several cone-bearing, evergreen trees are included under this title. But ordinarily, and especially when the full form is given—cedar of Lebanon—the still famous tree of that name [Cedrus Libanl) is meant. The Scrij^tures correctly give its charaeteristics. Comp. Ps. 92 : 12 ; Eze. 31: 3-6 ; 1 Kgs. 7 : 2 ; 10 : 27 ; Song Sol. 4:11; Hos. 14 : 6; Isa. 2 : 13 ; 10 : 19. It is one of the most valuable and majestic evergreen trees of Eastern forests, and is found upon Mounts Amanus and Taurus, in Asia Minor, and other parts of the Levant, but in its greatest perfection on Mount Lebanon. It grows to the height of 70 or 80 feet. The branches are thick and long, spreading out almost horizontally from the trunk, which is sometimes 30 or 40 feet in circumference. Eze. 31 : 3, 6, 8. Maundrell measured one which was 36 feet and 6 inches in the girth, and 111 feet in the spread of its boughs. The wood is of a red color and bitter taste, which is offensive to insects, and hence it is very durable and admirably adapted for building. A specimen of this wood in the British Museum is labelled " Cedar of Lebanon, from Palace of Nimrod ; 3000 years old." Cedar was used for the most noble and costly edifices, as the palace of Persepolis, the palace of Solomon, and the temple at Jerusalem. This timber served not only for beams for the frame and boards for

CED

CED

covering buildings, but was also wrought into the walls. 2 Sam. 7 : 2 ; 1 Kgs. 6 : 36 and 7 : 12. The gum which exudes from the trunk and the cones is as soft and fragrant as the balsam of Mecca.

This tree, there is reason to believe, once quite covered the mountains of Lebanon between the heights of 3000 and 7000 feet. Rev. H. H. Jessup has visited and described eleven distinct groves of cedars on those mountains, including, altogether, several thousand trees.

The principal forest visited by travellers is 8 hours' ride from Baalbec, on Cedar Mountain (Jebel el-Arz), about

6300 feet above the sea-level, a little below the summit. Baedeker [Palestine and Syria, p. 505) thus describes it: " The group occupies the top of a hill with five culminating points of various sizes, on the eastern and western sides of which runs a water-course. It consists of about 350 trees, the tallest of which does not exceed 78 feet in height. The rock on which they grow is white limestone, and the decaying spines, cones, and other matter have formed a dark-colored soil. The oldest trees, about 9 in number, are on the southeastern height. In the midst of the north-western group stands a Maronite

Cedars of Lebanon.

chapel. Unfortunately, no care whatever is taken of these noble trees. The goats eat all the young shoots, and cedar branches are even used for fuel, particularly on the occasion of an annual festival in August. Countless names are cut on the trunks of the trees. ... In gloomy weather the sombre group and its black surroundings form a weird and wild picture."

In most of the botanic gardens and arboretums of Europe and America growing specimens of this monarch of Eastern forests may now be seen. It thrives especially well in England. In the general appearance of its bark and foliage it is much like the larch, but it

{After Photographs.)

is a far more widely-branching and massive tree.

Dr. G. E. Post, of Beirfit, Syria, who is a good botanist, supplies the following interesting information concerning this tree : " The first mention of the cedar in the Bible is in Lev. 14: 4, 6, 49, 51, 52, with the parallel passage. Num. 19 : 6. The children of Israel were then in the peninsula of Mount Sinai. Did the cedar grow in that region ? or is the cedar there alluded to a different tree from the cedar of Lebanon ?

" There are other trees known now in Syria as cedars. The Aleppo pine is one, and it is quite probable that this tree may have grown in that region,

CED

CEN

although not more so than that the cedar itself was there. The juniper {Jimiperiis oxycedrus) still grows in the peninsula of Sinai; and being of the same family as the cedar, it is allowable to regard it as the plant here intended. A species of juniper is known in English by the name of 'cedar.' In view, however, of admitted changes in climate in all the countries bordering the eastern end of the Mediterranean, there is nothing to forbid the possibility of the cedar of Lebanon having once existed on Sinai. It grows on the Atlas chain and the mountains connecting Taurus with the Himalayas, as well as in the latter groups. May it not have found in Sinai a connecting station between its distant homes in the Atlas and the Lebanon and Himalayas ?

*' Some very foolish things have been said about the durability of the cedar. It has been pronounced, perhaps from trials on specimens taken from European or American trees, a crooked, inferior, perishable wood. In point of fact, it is notable for toughness, durability, and adaptedness to the climate and circumstances of Syria. There is no such thing as a rotten cedar. Branches broken off by the tempests lie unrotten on the ground. The trunks, where barked by travellers or peeled by the lightning, remain dead, but un-oorrupted. The name of Lamartine, carved on one of the giant trees 109 years ago, is fresh and legible to-day. All other woods indigenous to Syria are liable to the attacks of insects or a kind of dry rot. Cedar beams are unchangeable. No greater injury has been done to Lebanon than denuding it of its kingly tree. The cedar is a desirable wood for carving. Isa. 44 : 14. It is hard, fragrant, takes a high polish, which develops a beautiful grain, and it grows darker and richer by time.

'"The trees of the Lord are full of sap ; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted.' Ps. 104:16. The aromatic sap of this tree exudes from the slightest scratch, and distills in copal drops down the bark. If two branches rub together, they soon unite. Several trees are often joined in this way through the superabundance of their vitality.

" ' The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree ; he shall grow like a cedar 168

in Lebanon.' A palm tree attains its height in a hundred years or less; a cedar grows for thousands of years. A palm tree soon bears fruit and flourishes ; a cedar grows slowly and tarries long before it bears fruit, but it continues to bear fruit long centuries after the palm tree has decayed. It continues fat and flourishing (green). The cedar is ever green. Its vitality is equally apparent in the heat of summer and the snows of winter. How apt a likeness of the righteous, who grows in grace as he lengthens out his years ! The cedar still bears multitudes of cones when it has been riven by lightning, torn and almost uprooted by the wind. So affliction but develops the graces of the righteous, and the green branches bear abundance of fruit when the blighted ones have been severed and for ever lost." See Lebanon.

CE'DRON. John 18:1. See Ke-

DRON.

CEIL'ING. We have a description of the ceiling of Solomon's temple and palace in 1 Kgs. 6:9,10,15; 7:3; 2 Chr, 3:5. It was made of planks of cedar or fir "laid on beams or rests in the wall." Eastern floors and ceilings were just the reverse of ours. Their ceilings were of wood, painted, Jer. 22 : 14, ours are of plaster ; their floors were of plaster or some sort of tiles, ours are of wood.

CEL^LARS. 1 Chr. 27 : 27. Of cellars such as are common among us nothing was known in the East, if we except the chambers which are used in Persia for the storing of earthen jars or other vessels of wine. Among the Hebrews and Greeks these jars were buried up to the neck in the ground. The word "wine-cellars" in the passage cited probably denotes the patches of ground used to bury wine. See Wine.

CEL'O-SYR'IA. See Ccelo-Syria.

CEN'CHREA (accurately CEN'-CHRE^-E), the eastern harbor of Corinth, on the Saronic Gulf, and the emporium of its trade with the Asiatic shores of the Mediterranean, about 9 miles east of that city; the western harbor was Lechaeum. A church was formed at Cenchrea. of which Phebe was a deaconess. Rom. 16 : 1. Paul sailed from thence to Ephesus. Acts

CEN

CEN

18 : 18. The town was full of idolatrous monuments and shrines. It is now called Kikn'eii.

CEN'SER. Lev. 10:1. A vessel used in the temple-service for the purpose of carrying the fire in which the incense was burned, taken from the perpetual supply on the altar of burnt-oflfering. It was sometimes made of pure gold. 1 Kgs. 7 : 50; 2 Chr. 26 : 16, 19. The censer was held in one

/^Oj^S*)

Egyptian Censers. ( Wilkinson.) hand, and the incense was carried in the other hand. The priest strewed the pulverized incense upon the fire, and the cloud of smoke ascended up in a dark volume and filled the apartment with its fragrance. The word rendered "censer" in Heb. 9 : 4 means a golden altar of incense.

CEN'SUS. In the 0. T. there is mention made of twelve censuses.

1. The earliest was under Moses, in the third or fourth month after the Exodus. Its object was to raise money for building the tabernacle, each person numbered—;'. e. every male from 20 years and upward — being obliged to pay half a shekel. The census showed there were 60?,,550 men. Ex. 38 : 26.

2. In Num. 1 : 2 there is the order for a second numbering, in the second month of the second year after the

Exodus. The result showed the same figures. Num. 1: 46. This fact has led some to suppose that these two number-ings were in fact one, but applied to different purposes.

3. The next census was made immediately before the entrance of the Hebrews into Canaan. Num. 26. The total number of males fit for military service was 601,730, while the Levite males from a month old were 23,000.

4. For a long time after that there was no reckoning made. But David, instigated by Satan, out of mere curiosity and ambition to know how large a people he governed, ordered a count, which showed that the men of Israel over 20 years of age were 800,000, and of Judah 500,000. 2Sam.~24:9; 1 Chr. 21: 1. These are' round figures, and do not quite agree with those of 1 Chr. 21: 5.

6. Solomon completed the census by causing the foreigners and remnants of the conquered nations resident within Palestine to be numbered. 2 Chr. 2 : 17, 18.

We read of much more frequent censuses after this: 6. Rehoboam, 1 Kgs. 12 : 21; 7. Abijam, 2 Chr. 13 : 3, 17 ; 8. Asa, 2 Chr. 14 : 8, 9 ; 9. Jehoshaphat. 2 Chr. 17 : 14-19 ; 10. Amaziah, 2 Chr. 25 : 6,6; 11. Uzziah, 2 Chr. 26 : 13. All these must have kept at least an account of how many could bear arms, since we find in the passages cited the number of their troops. Besides, the numbers referred to are those of the separate tribes and companies— e. g. Jud. 7:3; 1 Kgs. 20:15: Jer. 52:30.

12. The last general census was that made at the time of the Return. Ezr. 2 : 64 and 8 : 1-14 give the numbers of males in the first and second caravan.

These figures indicate the importance attached to the census, though no scientific use was made of it, as by us. It would appear that the kingdom of Judah was most populous under Jehoshaphat. The numbers, in proportion to the area of the country, have been quoted as an objection to the narrative. But while it must be freely granted that the population was dense, still the density has been paralleled, and even exceeded, in modern times. Palestine, it should be remembered, was a very fertile land. On the census of Cyrenius, Luke 2 : 2, see Taxkvg, Days op the.

CEN

CHA

CENTU'RION. Matt. 8: 5. The title of an officer of the Roman army who had command of 100 soldiers. See Captain.

CE'PHAS {rock), a Syriac surname given to Simon, which in the Greek is rendered Petros, and in the Latin Petrus, both signifying " a rock." John 1 : 42. See Peter.

CESARE'A. See C^sarea.

CESARE'A-PHILIP'PI. See C^sarea-Philippi.

CHAFF. The Hebrew farmer separated the corn from the husk by throwing the mixed mass up against the wind. On account of their weight, the grains were thrown quite a distance, while the light chaflf fell immediately to the ground if not blown entirely .away. Hence the exceedingly forcible image of the wicked being swept off by the breath of God. Ps. 1 : 4 ; 35 : 5. In the figurative language of John the Baptist, the winnowing-shovel—called in our version a " fan " —is said to be in the hand of God, and with it he will thoroughly purge his floor. Matt. 3 : 12; Luke 3 : 17.

CHAINS. A distinction must be made het^veen fetters, which were for the feet, and chains, which were for any part of the body. Chains were worn for ornament, dignity, or restraint. They were made of gold for the first two purposes, and of iron for the last. In the ancient Orient both sexes wore them ostentatiously. They were put on Joseph and Daniel as a symbol of sovereignty. Gen. 41: 42 ; Dan. 6 : 29. So to-day kings wear the chain of the order of the Golden Fleece. Chains were put by the Mid-ianites upon their camels. Jud. 8:21. They were also worn by women as a fastening between the anklets. Isa. 3:19. The chains used on prisoners, Jud. 16 : 21 :2 Sam. 3 : 34 ; 2 Kgs. 25 : 7 ; Jer. 39: 7 ; 52 : 11, were fetters. HandcuflFs were also used. The Roman practice was to bind the prisoner's hand to the hand of a soldier, or to a soldier by either hand. Acts 12 : 6, 7; 21 : 33; 28 : 16, 20; 2 Tim. 1:16.

The " chains " which bound the madman of Gadara, Mark 5 : 3, 4, were probably not of iron, but were ropes. The iron " fetters " he shivered.

" Chain " is used in Lam. 3 : 7 in a metaphorical sense to denote tribulation. CHALCEDONY. Rev. 21 : 19. 170

A variety of quartz much like the agate, of pearly, wax-like lustre, and of great translucency ; sometimes called white carnelian. Its name is from Chalcedon, near Constantinople.

CHALU^E'A, a country anciently situated on both sides of the river Euphrates, and bordering on the Persian Gulf. It had an estimated area of 23,000 square miles, about the same as the modern kingdom of Denmark, or half that of Louisiana in the Mississippi Delta. In later times, and in a more extended sense, it included a territory about 450 miles long by 100 to 130 miles wide. It occupied the southern portion of the great Mesopotamian plain, the most fertile part of that country. It was rendered still more productive by numerous canals, which were used for defence, for commerce, and for navigation. The country was naturally divided into two portions, the larger part lying between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, and the smaller portion lying on the southwestern side of the latter river. It was also divided into Northern and Southern Chaldtea, each having four important cities. In later times the " land of the Chaldseans" was applied to all Babylonia, and to the whole of the empire over which the Chalda;ans ruled.

Physical Features and Products. —The chief features of the country were the rivers, for on all sides it was a dead level, broken now only by solitary mounds, old ruins, marshes, and streams. The summers are hot, the winters rainy, and seldom colder than 30° F. Wheat, millet, barley, dates, and fruits of all kinds were abundant. Its fertility and productions were proverbial in ancient times. For sketch-map of Cbaldjea, see Assyria.

History. —It is noticed in Scripture as the native country of Abram, Gen. 11: 31 ; its people attacked Job, Job 1: 17, and it was the term by which the empire of Nebuchadnezzar was sometimes called. Originally it was the district in the south of the " land of Shinar " where Nimrod built four cities. Gen. 10 : 10. Chaldaea soon extended its influence and sway, until in the time of Abraham its conquests reached nearly to the sources of the Euphrates, and westward into Canaan and Syria. Among the four great kingdoms or empires on the Euphrates,

CHA

CHA

secular historians usually place the Chaldaean as the first in order or earliest, lasting for about ten centuries, from B. c. 2300 to about b. c. 1300; the Assyrian empire next, lasting about six and a half centuries, from b. c. 1270 to b. c. 625; the Babylonian empire third in order, continuing from about B.C. 625 to B.C. 538 ; and the Medo-Persian fourth. Some of these kingdoms in their earlier history no doubt existed contemporaneously for a time. Chaldsea and Assyria were at times independent of each other; hence the order given above applies chiefly to them as empires. The great cities of the Chaldaean empire were Ur, Ellasar, Babylon, Erech, Accad, Calneh, Sephar-vaim, Ahava, and Cutha. Its great rulers were Nimrod, Urukh, and Chedorlaomer. The latter marched an army for 1200 miles on a conquering tour to the Dead Sea, and held Canaanitish nations in subjection for 12 years. Gen. 10 : 9; 14 : 1-4, The Chalda?ans, according to Rawlinson and others, were chiefly of Cushite origin, while their more northern neighbors were Semitic. After the lapse of centuries the former lost their Cushite character, and became a people scarcely distinguishable from the Assyrians. After their subjugation, in B.C. 1300, they held an insignificant place in history for over six centuries, but recovered themselves in b. c. 625, and established a new kingdom, known as the Babylonian empire. For the later history see Babylox, Assyria, and Nineveh.

CHALKS-STONES. Isa.27:9. A soft mineral substance resembling what we call limestone. To make the stones of the Jewish altars like chalkstones is to crumble and destroy them.

CHAM'BER. Gen. 43:30. Usually, the private apartments of a house are called chambers. 2 Sam. 18 : 33 ; Ps. 19 : 5 ; Dan. 6 : 10. Particular rooms of this class in Eastern houses were designated by significant terms.

Guest-chamber. Mark 14 : 14, This we may suppose to have been a spacious unoccupied room, usually in the upper part of the house, and furnished suitably for the reception and entertainment of guests and for social meetings. The proverbial hospitality of the Jews would make such provision necessary, and especially at Jerusalem, in festival sea-

sons, when every house in the city was the stranger's home. Mark 14 : 15 ; Luke 22 : 12 ; Acts 1: 13. See Hospitality.

Inner Chamber. 2 Kgs. 9:2. A chamber within another chamber.

Little Chamber. 2 Kgs. 4 : 10. An apartment built upon and projecting from the walls of the main house, and communicating by a private door with the house, and by a private stairway with the street.

Upper Chamber, or Loft, Acts 9 : 37. occupied the front part of the building, over the gate or outer entrance, and was used to lodge strangers. Comp. 1 Kgs, 17 : 19 and 23 with 2 Kgs. 4 : 10. See Dwellings.

CHAM'BERING, licentiousness, wantonness. Rom. 13 : 13.

CHAM'BERLAIIV. 2 Kgs. 23: 11. An officer who has charge of the royal chambers, or the king's lodgings, wardrobes, etc. In Eastern courts eunuchs were commonly employed for this service. Esth. 1: 10, 12, 15. The word occurs twice in A. V. of N. T., but entirely different offices are meant in the Greek. Blastus, " the king's chamberlain," mentioned in Acts 12 : 20, " held a post of honor which involved great intimacy and influence with the king." Eras-tus, " the chamberlain of the city of Corinth," who sent salutations to the Roman Christians, Rom. 16 : 23, was probably the treasurer of the city.

CHAME'LEON. Lev. 11: 30. A species of lizard of very singular anatomy, appearance, and habits. "It remains exclusively on trees (and bushes), often suspended by its tail to the extremity of a branch, whence it darts forth its long tongue, covered with a viscous fluid, to entrap passing insects. Each foot is a grasping hand, by which it clings with great force to a branch, but it is almost helpless on the ground. The chief peculiarity of this lizard is the enormous size of the lungs (whence arose the fable that it lived on air), and these, when filled, render the animal semi-transparent. It has the faculty of changing color more developed than in any other lizard, and this change is influenced, not by the bodies on which it happens to rest, but by the wants and passions of the animal. The structure of the eyes is very wonderful. They are so prominent that one-half of the ball

CHA

CHA

projects out of the head, and not only can they be moved in any direction, but each has an independent action: one eye may be looking forward, while with the other the animal examines an

Chameleon. (After Tristram.) object behind it. The chameleon is very common in Egypt and the Holy Land, especially in the Jordan valley." — Tristram.

CHAM'OIS (pronounced sham'my). Deut. 14: 5. The true chamois is believed never to have lived in Arabia or Palestine. It is now thought that this animal of the Bible was a species of wild sheep {Ovis tragelephus) formerly abundant among the mountains of Sinai, but now apparently confined to Africa.

CHA'NAAN, Greek form of Canaan. Acts 7 : 1. See Canaan.

CHAN'CELLOR. The word occurs in Ezr. 4: 8, 17 as the translation, of the Hebrew lord of counsel — i. e. counsellor, royal prefect—the oflBce held by Rehum, who was the Persian governor in Samaria at the time.

CHANGEABLE SUITS OF AP'PAREL. See Clothbs.

CHANGERS OF MONEY, or MONEY-CHANGERS. Matt. 21: 12 ; John 2 : 14. When Judaea became a pi'ovince of Rome the Jews were required to pay taxes in Roman currency, while the annual tribute for the service of the sanctuary was the half-shekel of Jewish currency. To exchange the 172

one for the other was the business of the money-changers, like the business of modern brokers. They stationed themselves in the courts of the temple, the place of general resort for strangers from every part of the land, and their oppressive and fraudulent practices probably justified the allusion of our Saviour to a den of thieves.

CHANGES OF RAIMENT. See Clothes.

CHANT. See Viol.

CHAP'EL. The word occurs. Am. 7: 13, as a mistranslation for SANCTUARY, a place of worship. Bethel is called the king's sanctuary by one of the idol-jjriests, because there the king of Israel paid idolatrous worship to the golden calves. See Bethel.

CHAP'ITERS (French chajntre), Ex. 36 : 38, OR CAPITALS (as they are called in modern architecture), are the upper or ornamental part of a column.

CHAP'MAN (from the same root as cheap, cho})), merchant. 2 Chr. 9 : 14. In the corresponding passage, 1 Kgs. 10 : 15, spice-merchants.

CHA'RAN. See Haran.

CHAR'ASHIM, VALLEY OF {ravine of craftsmen), near by Lydda. 1 Chr. 4: 14; now Hirsha.

CHAR'CHEMISH. 2 Chr. 35 : 20. See Carchemish.

CHAR'GER (old English, from the French charger), that on which a thing is laid, a dish. Num. 7 : 13 ; Ezr. 1:9; Matt. 14: S, 11. A shallow bowl or basin used for receiving the blood at the preparation of the sacrifices. The charger in which Herod's daughter brought the head of John Baptist was probably a trencher or platter.

CHAR'IOT. Chariots were not exclusively used for warlike purposes. In the Bible, instances of a peaceful use occur, as in the account of Joseph's exaltation, Gen. 41:43, and meeting with his father, 46 : 29 ; Ahab's fleeing before the coming storm at the command of Elijah, 1 Kgs. 18 : 44 ; Naaman's coming to Elisha, 2 Kgs. 5:9; and the Ethiopian eunuch's journey homeward. Acts 8 : 28. But the commoner use was for war. They are first mentioned in the Bible in connection with Joseph in Egypt. Later on they formed part of Pharaoh's pursuing army at the Exodus.

CHA

CHA

And they were pai*t of the offensive weapons among all nations which figure in Bible history. The use of war-chariots was introduced by David. 2 Sam. 8 : 4. This change was obedient to the altered condition of the people, from a democracy, which relies upon volunteers for its defence, to a monarchy, which employs a regular army. Solomon had 1400 chariots, and cities fortified for their safe-keeping. 1 Kgs. 10 : 2() ; 9 : 19. After his day they formed a regular branch of the military service, and are frequently mentioned. 1 Kgs. 22: 34; 2 Kgs. 9:16,21 ; 13 : 7, 14 ; 18 : 24; 23 : 30 ; Isa. 31 : 1. The texts just

Egyptian Chariot. (After Wilfcinson.)

quoted also prove that Egypt was the source whence both the chariot-horses and the chariots themselves were principally drawn. A description of an Egyptian chariot will therefore be a description of a Jewish one. The Egyptian chariot was an '" almost semicircular wooden frame with straightened sides, resting posteriorly on the axle of a pair of wheels, a rail of wood or ivory being attached to the frame by leathern thongs, and a wooden upright in front. The back of the car was open, and the sides were strengthened and embellished with leather and metal binding ; the floor was of rope net-work, to give a springy footing to the occu-

pants. On the off-side were the bow-case, sometimes the quiver, and spear-case, crossing diagonally ; the last named inclined backward. If two warriors were in the chariot, there was a second bow-case. The wheels had usually six spokes, fastened to the axle by a linchpin, secured by a thong. The horses had a breast-band and girths attached to the saddle, but were without traces. They wore head-furniture, often ornamented, with a bearing-rein. The driving-reins passed through rings on each side of both horses. Two persons generally were in a chariot, but there was sometimes a third, holding the umbrella of state." — Wilkinson : Anc. Egypt., 1879, vol. i. pp.222-241: vol.ii. pp. 201-203. The Assyrian war-chariots were nearly similar. Sometimes a third horse was attached, but in later times this was laid aside; the chariot was made higher, and the quiver placed in front instead of on the side. — Lay-ARD: Nineveh, vol. ii. pp. 348-354; Ayre : Tr ea 8 . of Bib. Knowledge.

Chariots armed with scythes were used in later times. Warriors sometimes fought standing up in them, or else used them to carry them into the battle, and leaping from them fought on foot.

The word "chariot" is sometimes used figuratively ; e. g. in Ps. 68 : 17 it means the angelic host. Elisha called Elijah ''the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof." 2 Kgs. 2:12. The imagery was borrowed from the phenomena of the miraculous ascent. The phrase means that Elijah, by his prayers and his counsels, was the true defence of Israel, and better than either chariots or horsemen.

Captains op Chariots. The phrase occurs in Ex. 14 : 7 ; 15 : 4 ; 1 Kgs.

CHA

CHE

22: 33. In the first two passages it means "commanders of the highest rank, chosen specially to attend on the person of Pharaoh ; probably commanders of the 2000 Calasirians, who, alternately with the Hermotybians, formed his body-guard. They may have been, for the most part, known to Moses." — Bible (Speaker's) Comtnen-tary, in loco.

Chariots op the Sun. It was a Persian practice to dedicate a chariot and horses to the sun. These chariots were white, and drawn probably by white horses in sacred processions. This idolatrous practice found favor in Judah, for it is recorded, to the honor of Josiah and as a proof of his zeal, that he took away the horses which previous kings had given to the sun, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 2 Kgs. 23:11.

CHAR'ITY (from Lat. caritas, Fr. charite). In 1 Cor. 13 :1 and parallel passages the Saxon word love (to God as well as to man) would better express the sentiment intended. See Love. Charity, in the popular acceptation of the word, is confined to love to suffering men, or almsgiving. See Alms.

CHARM, CHARMER. See Adder, Asp, Divination.

CHAR'RAN. Acts 7 : 2, 4. The Greek form of Haran, which see.

CHAT'TER. See Crane, Swallow.

CHE'BAR, a river in Chald^a, Eze. 1:1, 3; 3 : 15, etc.; probably the same as Habor, and perhaps the royal canal which connected the Tigris with the Euphrates, 30 miles above Babylon.

CHE'BEL {6ord),a. Hebrew topographical term, Josh. 2:15; 1 Sam. 10 : 5; Ps. 16 : 6 ; usually applied to the Ar-gob. Deut. 3:4, 13, 14; 1 Kgs. 4:13. See under Bashan.

CHEDORLA'OMER [handful of sheaves), the king of Elam, and one of the four allied kings who subjected the kings of the five cities of the plain. These remained in the service of Che-dorlaomer for twelve years, but in the thirteenth rebelled. Chedorlaomer summoned the allies, met the five kings, completely routed them, carried off much spoil, part of which belonged to Lot. whom they likewise captured. Abrani started in pursuit with his own ser-174

vants, defeated them, was able to recover all the spoil and his nephew Lot. In the battle Chedorlaomer appears to have perished. The narrative is given in Gen. 14.

CHEEK. To be struck upon the cheek was, among the Hebrews, to be grossly insulted. In proof see 1 Kgs. 22:24; Job 16:10; Matt. 5 : 39.

CHEESE was a common article of food among the Hebrews. The word occurs but three times in the Bible, and in each case the original word is different. 1 Sam. 17 : 18 ; 2 Sam. 17 : 29 ; Job 10 : 10. It is difficult to decide how far these terms correspond with our notion of cheese. In the original the first word means " a cutting," " ten sections of curds," soft cheese; the root of the second word means " to scrape," implying that the cheese was grated; while the third word means " curdled milk." The modern Bedouins use a kind of coagulated butter-milk, which is ground when dried hard, and eaten mixed with butter.

CHE'LAL (perfection), one who had a strange Avife. Ezr. 10 : 30.

CHEL'LUH (completed), one whO' had a strange wife. Ezr. 10 : 35.

CHE'LUB (fruit-basket, or birdcage). 1. One of Judah's posterity. 1 Chr. 4:11.

2. The father of one of David's oflB-cers. 1 Chr. 27 : 26.

CHELU'BAI (capable), Hezron's son ; same with Caleb. 1 Chr. 2:9, 18, 42.

CHEM'ARIMS (those who go about in black : i. e. asce^?'cs), priests of false gods. Zeph. 1:4; 2 Kgs. 23 : 5, margin ; Hos. 10 : 5, margin.

CHE'MOSH (subduer), the national deity of the Moabites, who were his people, as the Israelites are the people of Jehovah. Num. 21:29; Jer. 48: 7, 46 ; called " the abomination of Moab." 1 Kgs. 11 : 7. Solomon introduced, 1 Kgs. 11: 7, and Josiah suppressed, 2 Kgs. 23 : 13, his worship in Jerusalem. Upon the recently discovered Moabite Stone, King Mesha, 2 Kgs. 3 : 4, attributes to his god Chemosh his victories. See DiBON. The same traits of cruelty and lust prove him to have been identical with Molech, the god of the Ammonites. Jud. 11 : 24. It was to Chemosh that Mesha offered his son. 2 Kgs. 3 ;

CHE

CHE

27. The god is also identified with Baal-Peor, Saturn, or Mars.

CHENA'ANAH( wc-chnnt). 1. The father of the false prophet Zedeki-ah. 1 Kgs. 22 : 11, 24; 2 Chr. 18 : 10, 23.

2. A Benjamite. 1 Chr. 7:10; perhaps same as the preceding.

CHEN'ANI (contracted from next name), a Levite who took part in the purification of the ])eople under Ezra. Neh. 9:4.

CHENANVAH {irhom Jehovah hath made), a Levite chief in David's reign.

1 Chr. 15:22. 27: 26:29.

CHE ' PHAR - HAAM'MONAI {village of Ainiiionites), a village of Benjamin. Josh. 18 : 24.

CHEPHI'RAIl [village), one of four towns of the Gibeonites, belonging to Benjamin, Josh. 9:17; 18 : 26 j Ezr.

2 : 25 ; probably now Kefir, 8 miles west of Gibeon. Conder gives it as Kejireh.

CHE'RAN {lyre), a Horite chief's son. Gen. 36:26; 1 Chr. 1:41.

CHER'ETHIMS, identical with Cherethites.

CHER'ETHITESandPEL'E-THITES (executioners and couriers) formed the bodj'^-guard of King David. 2 Sam. 8 : 18; 15 : 18; 20: 7. It is probable they were mercenaries, originally Philistines, for Cherethite is connected with Pelethite, which was, it is likely, only another form of the word Philistine.

CHE'RITH (gorge), THE BROOK, a brook or torrent "before Jordan" where the prophet Elijah was hid. 1 Kgs. 17 : 5. Its location is much disputed. Robinson and several others identify it with Wadij Kelt, a swift, b-awling stream, 20 yards wide and 3 )jet deep, running into the Jordan from the west, a little south of Jericho. Some identify it with Wady Fusail, a little farther north, and yet others think it was some stream on the other, or eastern, side of the Jordan.

CHER'UB. Ezr. 2:59; Neh. 7: 61. A place in Babylonia; perhaps Cheripha of Ptolemv.

CHERUB, CHER'UBIM. Man.y derivations have been proposed. The best are from roots signifying either " strong " or " to plough ;" hence, terrible. The cherubim were not angels, since altogether different occupations are given to them in the Bible. Thus

angels are sent out upon messages, but the cherubim always are in the presence of God. They are winged, and are in appearance like combinations of parts of diflerent aniinals. The word first occurs in Gen. 3 : 24, and is applied to the guard which was placed over Eden after the expulsion of fallen man.

" It is remarkable that while there are precise directions as to their position, attitude, and material, Ex. 26 : 18, etc., and descriptions, 2 Chr. 3:10-13, nothing is said about their shajje, except that they were winged. On the whole, it seems likely that the word 'cherub' meant not only the com})osite creature

Egyptian Winged Figures.

form, of which the man, lion, ox, and eagle were the elements, but, further, some peculiar and mystical form."— Smith : Dictionary of the Bible.

According to the primitive conception, the cherubim were the bearers of God when he appeared in his glory upon the earth, Ps. 18 : 10 ; so, in Ezekiel's vision, they carry the throne of God. Eze. 11 : 22 ; cf. 1: 19 ; 10 : 16 flf. They are the " wings of the wind," by which God in the thunder-cloud is borne to the world. Isa. 19 :1; Ps. 104 : 3. Hence they are the witnesses of his presence: wherever they are, God is. How appropriately, therefore, were representations of them placed in the tabernacle and temple! In the former, two golden cherubim stood in the holy of holies, upon the mercy-seat. Ex. 37 : 8. They were likewise pictured upon the curtains. 26 : 1, 31; 36:8, 35. In Solomon's temple two colossal figures of the cherubim, overlaid with gold, stood upon the floor

CHE

CHI

and overshadowed the ark, which was between them, in the holy of holies. 1 Kgs. 6 : 27. They were also carved upon the doors, upon all the '* walls of the house," and put between representations of palm trees. 1 Kgs. 6: 29, 32, 35 ; 2 Chr. 3 : 7. Indeed, in all parts did they constitute, with lions, oxen, and palm trees, the ornamentation of the temple. 1 Kgs. 7 : 29, 36. The cherubim, therefore, testified that God was in the midst of his people.

A second idea which they represent is that they were the watchers of the places where God is. They cover his glory from vulgar gaze; they stand in the service of the invisible and the unapproachable God. Comp. Ex. 19 : 9, 16 ; 24 : 15.

Similar winged creatures are met with in great variety in the legends and symbols of other peoples of antiquity, but the originality of the Hebrew cherubim is not to be disputed. Still, the forms which they assumed may have been in part derived from these nations. Very interesting is the comparison of the Hebrew cherubim with figures in the Egyptian and Assyrian temples.

CHES'ALON {strength), a place on the north-west of Judah, Josh. 15:10; probably. A^es^a, 8 miles west of Jerusalem.

CHE'SED {gain), Nahor's son. Gen. 22:22.

CHE'SIL {fool, or idolatrous), in the south of Judah, Josh. 15 : 30 ; probably the same as Bethul and Bethuel; if so, it may be at Beit Aula, 7 miles northwest of Hebron.

CHEST. There are two Hebrew words so translated. The first is applied,

Egyptian Chest or Box.

in 2 Kgs. 12 : 9, 10 ; 2 Chr. 24 : 8, 10, 11, to the coffer into which the people threw 176

their voluntary contributions for the repair of the temple under Joash. But the original word in every other place except Gen. 50: 26, where it is applied to Jacob's coffin, means the ark of the covenant. A different word altogether is used for Noah's and Moses's " ark." The second word occurs only in Eze. 27 : 24, and means a treasure-chest where valuables are stored.

CHESTNUT TREE. Gen. 30: 37. Doubtless the translation here should be *'plane tree" {Flatanns orientalis). This tree closely resembles the well-known American species which we call sycamore or buttonwood {Platanus oc-cidentalis). The Oriental tree grows along streams in the north of Palestine, and when long spared attains great size. Eze. 31 : 8.

CHESUL'LOTH {loins, or y?anA-), a town of Issachar; possibly the same as Chisloth-tabor. Josh. 19 : 12, 18; now Iksdl, 4 miles west of Tabor.

CHE'ZIB {lying), probably identical with Achdb, 2. Gen. 38 : 5. Con-der places it at 'Aia Kezhch.

CHI'DON. 1 Chr. 13 : 9. Called also the threshing-floor of Nachon, 2 Sam. 6 : 6 ; it was near Jerusalem.

CHIEF OF A'SIA. Acts 19 : 31. Certain wealthy persons were appointed annually in the Asiatic provinces of Rome to preside over the religious rites, public games, etc., which they maintained in honor of the gods, and at their own expense. They received their title from the name of the province; as, the chief of Caria was called cariarch, or of Lycia, lyciarch, etc. The title is properly " asi-arch," and was borne, it would seem, after the duties of the office had been discharged. This explains the reference in the Acts. These asiarchs, who advised Paul not to expose himself needlessly to the fury of the populace in Ephesus, may well have been friendly to the apostle, without being Christians.

CHIEF PRIEST. See Priest.

CHIL'DREN. The term is used in A. V. where " sons " would better represent the Hebrew or Greek ; as, " the children of Abraham," ''the children of Israel," "the children of God." It was regarded among the Jews as not only a misfortune, but even a disgrace, if a married woman was barren. The more sons a man had, the more was he es-

CHI

CHO

teemed. The inheritance of the father was divided equally among all the sons, except the eldest, who received a double portion. The daughters got nothing unless there was no son, in which case they shared equally the property, and were forbidden to marry out of their father's tribe. Num. 27 : V-12 ; 35 : 2, 8. Wills were needless, and therefore unknown. The authority of the parent was very great, and children are commanded to reverence their parents. The law allowed children to be sold into bondage in payment of the parents' debts. Lev. 25 : 39-41. We find allusions to the practical working of this law in 2 Kgs. 4:1 and Matt. 18: 25.

Child-birth in Eastern countries is usually, although not always, comparatively easy. Gen. 35:17; 38:27; Ex. 1:19; 1 Sam. 4:19,20. The newborn Hebrew child was washed, rubbed with salt, and wrapped in swaddling-clothes, Luke 2:7; circumcised on the eighth day, when the name was given. Child-birth rendered the woman ceremonially unclean for 40 days in the case of a son, and 80 in the case of a daughter. At the conclusion of the period she offered for her cleansing the sacrifices the Law prescribed. Lev. 12. Women nursed their own children in most cases, and did not wean them until the lapse of 30 months, or even 3 years. The weaning was made a festive occasion. This custom was very old. Gen. 21: 8. Daughters remained under the care of the mother until the period of marriage, but boys passed in their fifth year under the training of the father. See Education.

CHIL'EAB {like to Ids father?), a son of Abigail by David, 2 Sam. 3:3; called Daniel in 1 Chr. 3 :1.

CHILI'ON [sickly), son of Naomi, and husband of Euth. Kuth 1 : 2-5 ; 4 : 9, 10.

CHIL'MAD, a place or country, Eze. 27 : 23 ; perhaps identical with Kalwadha, near Bagdad.

CHIM'HAM. 2 Sam. 19 : 37. It is possible he was a son of Barzillai, but it cannot be certainly inferred from 1 Kgs. 2: 7, which is sometimes cited to prove it. Some have supposed that David gave Chimham a parcel of land which was afterward known by his name. Jer. 41 : 17. 12

CHIM'NEY. See Dwellings. CHIN'NERETH, ou CHIN'-

NEROTH. Josh. 11:2. A fenced city of Naphtali, on the lake, or sea, of the same name; afterward called Gennesar, and about 3 miles north-west of Tiberias, according to Fiirst.

CHIN'NERETH, SEA OF. See Galilee, Sea of.

CHI'OS, an island of the iEgean Sea, 5 miles from the coast of Ionia, in Asia Minor. It is 32 miles long and from 8 to 18 miles wide, and noted for its wines. Paul passed by it. Acts 20 : 14, 15. Its modern name is Scio or Kliio.

CHIS'LEU. See Months.

CHIS'LON {covfidence), the father of Elidad the Benjamite, who was chosen to represent his tribe in the division of the land. Num. 34:21.

CHIS'LOTH-TA'BOR, eithera mountain or a place. Josh. 19 : 12. If the former, it is probably identical with Tabor; if the latter, it is perhaps to be found at Iksal, 2^ miles west of Tabor.

CHIT'TIM,orKIT'TIM. Num. 24: 24 ; Isa. 23 :1, 12 ; Jer. 2:10; Eze. 27 : 6 ; Dan. 11:30. In these passages the *'isles," "ships," "products," and "people" of Chittim are mentioned or alluded to ; hence the name has generally been supposed to mean the island of Cj'prus, though Kitto thinks it a general term applied to islands and coasts west of Palestine. See Cyprus.

CHI'UN. Am. 6 : 26. An idol which the Israelites made and worshipped in the wilderness. See Rem-

PHAN.

CHLO'E [green herb), a Christian woman, some of whose family told Paul of the dissensions in the Corinthian church. 1 Cor. 1 : 11.

CHORA'SHAN. 1 Sam. 30:30. Probably the same as Ashan ['Aseileh).

CHORA'ZIN, a city named with Capernaum and Bethsaida in the woes pronounced by Christ. Matt. 11: 20-23 ; Luke 10 : 13. The identification of Chorazin depends largely, though not wholly, upon that of Capernaum. Robinson places it at Tell Hum, but others, with greater probability, fix its site at Kerdzeh, 2h miles west of Tell Hum, and west of the valley of the Jordan. The ruins cover a large area, and consist of a synagogue, the ornaments be-

CHO

CHR

ing cut in black basalt rock, walls of dwellings, columns which supported the roofs and doorvvajs, some of them in a tolerably perfect condition, and a paved roadway leading to the great caravan-route to Damascus. See Ca-

PERNAXIM.

CHOZE'BA. 1 Chr. 4 : 22. It lias generally been regarded as identical with Chezib and Achzib, but Con-der places Chozeba at a ruin of importance in Wady Arnib, or valley of Bera-choth, and called Kueiztbah, a name which is almost the exact equivalent for the Hebrew Chozeba.

CHRIST, JE'SUS. Matt. 1:1. Christ is the official, Jesus the personal, name of our Lord. It is from the Greek word Christos, which signifies "anointed," corresponding to the word Messiah in the Hebrew. He is called the Anointed in allusion to the custom of anointing with oil such as were set apart to a sacred or regal office, because by the Spirit he was anointed to the threefold office of prophet, priest, and king.

The word "Jesus" is derived from a Hebrew word signifying "to save," or "sent to save." Matt. 1:21; Luke 2: 11,21. The word "Joshua" has the same meaning, and is a very common name among the Hebrews, and should have been used in Acts 7: 45 and Heb. 4: 8 instead of " Jesus."

Jesus the Christ is a descriptive phrase, like John the Baptist. Matt. 26:63; Mark 8:29; 14:61; John 1: 20, 25, 41; 6:69; 7:41; 10:24; 11: 27; 20:31. The word "Jesus" is almost always used alone in the Gospels, while, in the Acts and Epistles, " Jesus Christ " or "Lord Jesus Christ" is the prevailing expression.

The first promise of the Messiah was given in Gen. 3 : 16. The Son of God and all true believers are "the seed of the woman." Comp. Acts 13 : 23 ; Gal. 4 : 4, and Heb. 2:16 with John 17 : 21-23. The devil and all his servants represent the serpent and his seed. John 8 : 44 ; 1 John 3 : 8. The temptations, sufferings, and ignominious death of Christ, and the fierce opposition and persecution which his followers have endured, are significantly described by the bruising of the heel; while the complete victory which our Redeemer has himself achieved over sin and 178

death, and which his grace enables the believer also to obtain, and the still more perfect and universal triumph which he will finally accomplish, are all strikingly illustrated by the bruising or crushing of the serpent's head.

The books of heathen mythology furnish curious allusions to this passage of the Bible. In one of them Thor is represented as the eldest son of Odin, a middle divinity, a mediator between God and man, who bruised the head of the serpent and slew him. And in one of the oldest pagodas of India are found two sculptured figures, representing two incarnations of one of their supreme divinities, the first to be bitten by a serpent and the second to crush him.

The promise thus given when man fell was supplemented by so many particulars in the course of the centuries that the coming Messiah was the great hope of Israel. In type and symbol, in poetry and prose, in prophecy and history, the Jews had set before them in increasing prominence and clearness the character and life and death of the promised Messiah, and yet, as a nation, they grossly misapprehended his character and the purpose of his mission. They were accustomed to regard his coming as the grand era in the annals of the world, for they spoke of the two great ages of history, the one as preceding and the other as following this wonderful event ; but they perverted the spiritual character of the Messiah and his kingdom into that of a temporal deliverer and ruler.

AVe find that about the time of the Messiah's appearance Simeon, Anna, and others of like faith, were eagerly expecting the promised salvation. Luke 2:25-38.

At the appointed time the Redeemer of the world appeared. He was born in the year of the city of Rome 749— i. e. 4 years before the beginning of our era—at Bethlehem, in Judasa, of the Virgin Mary, who was espoused to Joseph; and through them he derived his descent from David, according to prophecy. Ps. 89 : 3, 4 and 110:1. Comp. Acts 2: 25, 36; Isa. 11:1-10; Jer. 23 : 5, 6 ; Eze. 34 : 23, 24; 37 : 24, 25 ; John 7 : 42.

The story of Christ's life is told with so much simplicity, completeness, and

CHE

CHR

sweetness in the Gospels, and is at the same time so familiar to every Bible-reader, that it is not necessary here to repeat it. In one sentence, Jesus Christ was the incarnate God, whose coming was the fulfilment of prophecy; whose life was the exemplification of absolute sinlessness ; whose death was the result of man's malice, and yet the execution of God's design and the atonement for the sins of the world; whose resurrection was the crowning proof of his divinity ; whose ascension was a return to his abode, where he ever liveth to make intercession for us. To prove his character we have the unanimous testimony of eighteen centuries. " The person of Christ is the miracle of history." We claim for him perfect humanity and perfect divinity. He was not only the Son of man, but the Son of God in one undivided person. The term "Son of man," which Christ applies to himself about eighty times in the Gospels, places him on a common level with other men as partaking of their nature and constitution, and at the same time above all other men as the absolute and perfect Man, the representative Head of the race, the second Adam. Comp, Rom. 5 : 12 ff.; 1 Cor. 15 : 27 ; Heb. 1 : 8. While other great men are limited by national prejudice, Christ is the King of men, who draws all to him ; he is the universal, absolute Man, elevated above the limitations of race and nationality. And yet he is most intensely human. The joys and sorrows of our common life are met by his deep and tender sympathy. All love him who know him. His foes are the cruel, the licentious, and the malicious. The records of the evangelists are not elaborate, artistic pages with many erasures, as if the writers had toiled after consistency. They are simple, straight - forward, guileless testimonies; and yet the impression they leave upon the attentive reader is that in Jesus Christ the plant of Humanity bore its rarest flower, the tree of Life its most precious fruit. It will be granted that the question of the justice of this claim turns upon his perfect sinlessness. Some have dared to say that while in the Gospels no sinful acts are recorded, there may have been sins which are unrecorded. But without fear he challenged his foes to con-

vict him of sin. John 8: 46. He was the only man who has made any such demand. Christ's sinlessness is confirmed by his own solemn testimony, the whole course of his life, and the very purpose for which he appeared. Self-deception in this case would border on madness, falsehood would overthrow the whole moral foundation of Christ's character. Hypocrites do not maintain themselves under such a strain. But besides being sinless, he was perfectly holy. He did not simply resist sin : he blended and exercised actively all virtues. The grandeur of his character removes him at once from all the sor-didness, pettiness, and sinfulness of our every-day life. His memory comes to us with the refreshment of the cooling breeze on a summer's day. We can supplicate his help because we have seen him tried and triumphant, and we know his strength is great. All human goodness loses on closer inspe»tion, but Christ's character grows more pure, sacred, and lovely the better we know him.

But Jesus was likewise the Son of God, and so he is usually called by the apostles. The perfection of his humanity if matched by the perfection of his divinity. His Godhead comes out in many ways. He exercises a supernatural control over Nature. The waves sink at hit command, the fig tree withers away, the water turns into wine. By his touch or word, without a prayer or any recognition of superior power, the lepers are cleansed, the blind see, and the lame walk. Higher yet does Christ go : he forgives sins—not with the ostentation of a presuming charlatan, but simply, decidedly, gently. He takes from the sinner his damning load by the same action which brings back health. He likewise intercedes with the Father for men. He claims equality and eternity with God. Twice God proclaims him as his Son. Accompanied by legions of angels, sustained by divine strength, Jesus of Nazareth lives as the express image of the Father, conquers the grave, rises from the dead, and ascends to take his place as God, blessed for ever.

The Church has the daily experience of her Lord, who is present always in the hearts of all true believers. When souls yearn for cheer, when mourners cry out for comfort, when men need

CttR

CHit

counsel, they seek Jesus; and they are supplied from the inexhaustible fount of his humanity. When the sinner feels the burden of his sin pressing heavily and groans for release, when the insolvent debtor falls at the feet of his Lord, crying, " Have mercy !" when the saint is set amid the perplexities of life, when he enters the valley of the shadow of death, when he comes to the brink of the river,—these are times when the perfect divinity of Jesus is proven to the satisfaction of the soul.

" Behold the God-Man!" cries the Church; and this is the exultant exclamation of the soul left to its deepest instincts and noblest aspirations, the soul which was originally made for Christ, and finds in him the solution of all moral problems, the satisfaction of all its wants, the unfailing fountain of everlasting life and peace.

Personal Appearance of Jesus Christ. —None of the evangelists—not even the beloved disciple and bosom-friend of Jesus—has given us the least hint of his countenance and stature. This was wise. We ought to cling to the Christ in the spirit rather than to the Christ in the flesh. Yet there must have been spiritual beauty in his face. He won the hearts of his disciples by a word. We are indeed left to conjecture merely, but we cannot read in the hints of his personal power any necessity for taking Isaiah's description of the suffering Messiah in all its literal baldness. There was nothing repulsive about Jesus. He had not the physiognomy of a sinner; a supernatural purity and dignity must have shone through the veil of his flesh.

The first formal description of his looks dates from the fourth century— is, indeed,unauthentic, probably a monkish fabrication, and yet, because it is curious and has had a great influence upon the pictorial representations of Jesus, we insert it here. It is ascribed to Publius Lentulus. a heathen, supposed contemporary and friend of Pilate, in an apocryphal letter to the Roman Senate : "In this time appeared a man, who lives till now—a man endowed with great powers. Men call him a great prophet; his own disciples term him the Son of God. His name is Jesus Christ. He restores the dead to life and cures the sick of all manner of dis-180

eases. This man is of noble and well-proportioned stature, with a face full of kindness, and yet firmness, so that beholders both love him and fear him. His hair is the color of wine, and golden at the root, straight and without lustre, but from the level of the ears curling and glossy, and divided down the centre, after the fashion of the Nazarenes, His forehead is even and smooth, his face without blemish, and enhanced by a tempered bloom, his countenance ingenuous and kind. Nose and mouth are in no way faulty. His beard is full, of the same color as his hair, and forked in form ; his eyes blue and extremely brilliant. In reproof and rebuke he is formidable; in exhortation and teaching, gentle and amiable of tongue. None have seen him to laugh, but many, on the contrary, to weep. His person is tall, his hands beautiful and straight. In speaking be is deliberate and grave and little given to loquacity; in beauty, surpassing most men."

It may be proper to suggest the leading points and principal references respecting the divinity of our Lord.

I. The names and titles of the supreme Being are applied to him, John 1:1; Rom. 9 : 5 ; 1 John 5:20; Rev. 1: 11; comp. Isa. 6 :1-10 with John 12 : 41.

II. The principal attributes of God are ascribed to Christ; as, eternity, John 1:1; 8 : 58 ; Rev. 23 : 13 ; superhuman knowledge, Matt. 9:4; John 16 : 30; 21:17; omnipotence, Phil. 3 : 21; Col. 2 : 9, 10 ; omnipresence. Matt. 18 : 20 ; 28 : 20 ; John 3: 13 ; and unchange-ableness. Heb. 13 : 8.

III. The works and prerogatives of God are ascribed to him, such as the creation of all things, John 1:1,3; Col. 1: 16, 17, and their preservation, Heb. 1:3; forgiveness of sins, Dan. 8:9; comp. with Ps. 30 ; Matt. 9 : 2, 6; Col. 3:13; power to raise the dead and to judge the world. Matt. 25 : 31-33; John 5 : 2-29 : Rom. 14 : 10 ; 2 Cor. 5 : 10.

IV. He is the object of religious worship. Phil. 2 : 10, 11; Heb. 1:6; Rev. 5:11-13.

We insert here, as a help in studying the harmony of the four Gospels, the chronological table of the life of Christ, from Schaff"'s Popular Commentary on the New Testament (New York, 1879), vol. i. p. 18.

CHR

CHR

Outline of the Gospel History.

181

CHR

CHR

The life of Christ has been of late studied with an eagerness, a keenness, and a wealth of illustration that argue well for the future. The question, "What think ye of Christ?" is asked to-day with peculiar emphasis. This new-born interest in the earthly life of the Founder of the Christian religion will bear fruit in the increased reverence of bekevers and the increased respect of his foes.

Christs, False. Matt. 24 : 24. Our Lord warned his disciples that false Christs should arise. Not less than 24 different persons of such pretensions have appeared, and the defence of their claims to the Messiahship has cost the Jews a great expense of life and treasure. One of them, Coziba, or Barcho-cheba, lived early in the second century. He put himself at the head of the Jewish nation as their Messiah; they adhered to him. The Romans made war upon him, and the Jews themselves allow that in their defence of this false Messiah they lost between 500,000 and 600,000 souls ! In the twelfth century not less than 8 or 10 impostors appeared under the same name, and were followed by great numbers of the Jews. Most of them were punished for their imposture with death, and usually involved a multitude of their deluded followers in persecution and death. The last that gained any considerable number of converts was Mordecai, a Jew of Germany, who lived in 1682. He fled for bis life, and his end is not known.

CHRIS'TIAN. Acts26:28. This was a name given to the followers of our Saviour, and its proper beautiful meaning is " a follower of Christ." The Christians called themselves first " disciples," '' believers," " brethren," "saints." The name " Christian " originated at Anti-och. Acts 11: 26, about the year 42 or 43, and probably (like the names " Naza-renes " and "Galilgeans ") as a term of reproach or contempt. The word occurs in only three places in the New Testament—viz. in the two passages before cited and in 1 Pet. 4 : 16, where it is implied that the very name was associated with reproach and suffering. Tacitus (b. about a. d. 54), a profane historian, tells us of the low or vulgar people called the followers of Christ, or Christians. 182

The term Christian is now employed (1) in contradistinction to pagans, Jews, and Mohammedans, and (2) to denote the open professors of religion, in contradistinction from those who are not professors. In some countries it is still a term of bitter reproach, and the assumption of it is attended with persecution, cruelty, and death.

The Christian religion is received at the present day (as it is supposed) by nearly one-third of the inhabitants of the world— i. e. over 400,000,000 among 1,460,000,000. But in point of intelligence, civilization, and influence on the world the Christian nations far surpass all other nations combined. One of the most recent estimates is the following :

Jews 7,000,000

Mohammedans 230,000,000

Pagans 793,000,000

Eoman Catholics 216,000,000

Protestants 130,000,000

Eastern Christians 84,000,000

1,460,000,000

CHRON'ICLES. In its general signification, this term denotes a chronological history, or an account of facts and events in the order of time. The thirteenth and fourteenth books of the Old Testament, which among the ancient Jews formed only one book, are called the First and Second Book of Chronicles, and are in some sense supplemental to the two books of Kings, which precede them, with this difference—that the Chronicles are written from the sacerdotal point of view and present chiefly the fortunes of Jewish worship, while, the Kings are written from the prophetic view of the history of the theocracy. They appear to have been compiled from the national diaries or journals, and the constant Jewish tradition, which internal evidence supports, is that they were written by Ezra. These voluminous diaries are referred to frequently under different names, 1 Kgs. 14 : 19; 1 Chr. 27 : 24; Esth. 2 : 23, but are not to be confounded with the abstract which constitutes the books to which this article refers.

The principal object of the author of these books was to point out, from the public records, the state of the different families before the Captivity and the

CHR

CHR

distribution of the lands among them, that each tribe might, as far as possible, obtain the ancient inheritance of its fathers at its return. So that this portion of the Old Testament may be considered as an epitome of all the sacred history, but more especially of that from the origin of the Jewish nation to their return from the first captivity, embracing a period of nearly 3500 years. The first book traces the rise and propagation of the children of Israel from Adam, together with a circumstantial account of the reign and transactions of David; the second continues the narrative, and relates the progress and dissolution of the kingdom of Judaea (apart from Israel) to the year of the return of the people from Babylon. Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles should be read and compared together, as they relate substantially the same histories, though with different degrees of particularity and with difl'erent means of information, so that the whole contains but one history : and what is obscure or defective in one part may be explained or supplied in another.

CHRONOLOGY. We present here a condensation of the article of R. S. Poole on this subject in Smith's Dictionary of the Bible.

We must seek a via media between putting absolute reliance upon the biblical chronological data and declaring them altogether vague and uncertain. The truth is, the Bible does not give a complete history of the times to which it refers ; in its historical portions it deals with special and detached periods. This accounts for its scantiness and occasional want of continuity. Hence there is great value in independent evidence in the N. T. and in incidental evidence in the 0. T.

Scientific observation of the natural changes of the weather and the seasons was probably unknown to the Jews until the Captivity. But still these changes must have been noted, and from these observations we are safe in deducing their divisions of time. An hoxir was the smallest division the Jews recognized. The "sun-dial of Ahaz "—whatever instrument, fixed or movable, it may have been—implies a division of the kind. The civil day was reckoned from sunset, the natural

day from sunrise. The night was divided into three watches, though the first must be inferred. The "middle watch " occurs in Jud. 7:19; the " morning watch " is mentioned in Ex. 14 : 24 and 1 Sam. 11 : 11. In the N. T. four watches are mentioned—the Roman system; all four are mentioned together in Mark 13 : 35—the late watch, midnight, the cock-crowing, and the early watch. The Hebrew week was a period of seven days, ending with the Sabbath, which word indeed is often used for " week." As the Egyptians divided their month of 30 days into decades, the Hebrews could not have borrowed their week from them ; probably both it and the Sabbath were used and observed by the patriarchs. The month was lunar. The first day of it is called the " new moon," and was observed as a sacred festival. In the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, and Ruth we find but' one month, the first, the month Abib, mentioned with a special name, the rest being called according to their order. In 1 Kgs. three other names appear— Zif, the second, Ethanim, the seventh, and Bui, the eighth. No other names are found in any book prior to the Captivity. The year was made up of 12 lunar months, beginning with the first part of our April. The method of intercalation can only have been that which obtained after the Captivity—the addition of a thirteenth month whenever the twelfth ended too long before the equinox for the first-fruits of the barley-harvest to be offered in the middle of the month following, and the similar ofi'erings at the time appointed. The later Jews had two beginnings to the year, the seventh month of the civil reckoning being Abib, the first of the sacred. The sabbatical and jubilee years began in the seventh month. Agricultural considerations probably led to this anomaly. The seasons do not appear to have been fixed among the ancient Hebrews. We find mention of the merely natural divisions of "summer and winter," " seed-time and harvest." Anciently, their festivals and holy-days were noticeably few ; for besides the Sabbaths and new moons, there were but four great festivals and one fast —the feasts of the Passover, of weeks, trumpets, tabernacles, and the fast on the

CHR

CHR

day of atonement. But after the Captivity many holy days were added, such as the feast of Purim, of the dedication— recording the cleansing and rededication of the temple by Judas Maccabseus— and fasts on the anniversaries of great national misfortunes connected with the Babylonish captivity. The sabbatical year was a year of rest. It commenced at the civil beginning of the year, with the seventh month, at the feast of tabernacles. Deut. 31 : 10. The jubilee year began on the day of atonement, after the lapse of seven sabbatical periods, or 49 years. It was similar to the sabbatical year in its character, although doubtless yet more important. Eras seem to have been used by the ancient Hebrews, but our information is scanty. The Exodus is used as an era in 1 Kgs. 6:1, in giving the date of Solomon's temple. The era of Jehoi-achin's captivity is constantly used by Ezekiel. The earliest date is the fifth year, 1: 2, and the latest the twenty-seventh. 29:17. The era of the Seleu-oidae is used in the First and Second Maccabees, and the liberation of the Jews from the Syrian yoke, in the first year of Simon the Maccabee, is stated to have been commemorated by an era used in contracts and agreements. 1 Mace. 13 :41, 42. Rerjiml years seem to have been counted from the beginning of the year, not from the day of the king's accession.

We may distinguish different periods in Jewish history, although we are not able with accuracy to assign them dates. 1. From Adam to Abram's departure from Haran. This period is the most indefinite of all. We have indeed two genealogical lists—from Adam to Noah and his sons, Gen. 5 : 3-32, and again from ShemtoAbram. 11: 10-26. But the Ma-soretic Hebrew text, the Septuagint, and the Samaritan Pentateuch greatly differ. The Septuagint makes this period 1000 years longer than the Hebrew. The question to which list the preference should be given is still unsettled. 2. The second period is from Abram's departure from Haran to the Exodus. The length of this period is stated by Paul in Gal. 3 : 17 to be 430 years, and there is no difficulty in the way of accepting his figures which cannot be solved. 3. The third period is 184

from the Exodus to the foundation of Solomon's temple. We may consider this period about 638 years, but others reduce it to one-half. 4. The fourth period is from the foundation of Solomon's temple to its destruction. We come now upon tolerably sure ground; from B. c. 1000 on we have contemporary evidence. Two interregnums have been supposed—one of 11 years, between Jeroboam II. and Zachariah, and the other of 9 years, between Pekah and Hoshea. We prefer, in both cases, to suppose a longer reign of the earlier of the two kings between whom the interregnums are conjectured. The whole period may be held to be of about 425 years; that of the undivided kingdom, 120 years; that of the kingdom of Judah, about 388 years; and that of the kingdom of Israel, about 255 years. 5. The fifth period is from the destruction of Solomon's temple to the return from the Babylonish captivity. The difficulty in calculating this period springs from the prophesied number—the 70 years. Two numbers, held by some to be identical, must here be considered. One is the period of 70 years, during which the tyranny of Babylon over Palestine and the East generally was to last, Jer. 25; and the other the 70 years of the Babylonish captivity. The commencement of the first is the first year of Nebuchadnezzar and the fourth of Jehoi-akim, Jer. 25 : 1, when the successes of the king of Babylon began, Jer. 46: 2, and the conclusion is the fall of Babylon. The famous 70 years of captivity would seem to be the same period, since it was to terminate with the return of the captives, Jer. 29 : 10 ; and the order for this was published by Cyrus, who took Babylon, in the first year of his reign.

Principal Systems of Biblical ChrO' nology. —There are three, long, short, and Rabbinical. The long chronology takes the Septuagint for the patriarchal generations, and adopts the long interval from the Exodus to the foundation of Solomon's temple. The short chronology—that in the margin of the A. V., and derived from Archbishop Ussher (1580-1656)—takes the Hebrew for the patriarchal generations, and makes the second period to be 480 years. The Rabbinical chronology accepts the bib-

CHR

CHU

lical numbers, but makes the most arbitrary corrections.

We subjoin a table in which the

results of some of the more important of the various chronological schools are contrasted:

Creation

Flood

Abram leaves Haran

Exodus

Foundation of Solomon's Temple. Destruction of Solomon's Temple,

CHRYS'OLITE. Rev. 21 : 20. The word means " golden stone," and we thus learn its color. It is quite agreed that it was the yellow topaz or the beryl of the 0. T.

CHRYSOP'RASUS. Rev. 21 : 20. A stone of a "golden leek" or green color, as its name imports. It is of a most agreeable hue, opaque, and extremely hard.

CHUB, a people, probably in north Africa, and of a land near Egypt. Eze. 30:5.

CHUN. 1 Chr. 18 : 8. Same as Ber-othai. 2 Sam. 8 : 8.

CHURCH. The English word (like the similar terms in the Teutonic, Celtic, and Slavonic languages) is derived from a Greek word (KvpiaKov) meaning " belonging to the Lord" (Christ), "the Lord's house." Some derive it from a Celtic root meaning " round," because the temples in which the first Christian congregations gathered were circular. In the N. T. the original word is ecclesia, which means an assembly, either secular, Acts 19 : 32, or religious. Acts 2 : 47, etc. It is applied either to the whole body of believers in Christ, the Church universal. Matt. 16 : 18 Eph. 1 : 22, or to a particular congregation in a local sense, as "the church at Jerusalem," Acts 15 : 4 ; "at Antioch," 13 :1, " of the Thessalonians," 2 Thess, 1:1, " at Corinth," 1 Cor. 1:2. The original word is used only twice in the Gospels, each time by Matthew, 16 : 18, where it means the Church universal, and 18 : 17, where it means a local congregation. The evangelists usually employ the term " the kingdom of God " or "the kingdom of heaven" for the

spiritual substance of the Church universal.

The day of Pentecost is the birthday of the Christian Church. From small beginnings it has spread over all the earth and been the one permanent fact amid all temporal changes. To-day it is the foundation of true civilization, virtue, and religion. What the Christian Church condemns the world must eventually give up, for darkness cannot abide the entrance of light.

A distinction must be made between the real Church of Christ, the genuine believers, and the outward organization, which comprises both true and false friends of Christ. To the former only do the promises belong.

In the outward sense the Church is divided into various denominations, as the Baptist, the Congregational, the English, the Episcopal, the Greek, the Lutheran, the Methodist, the Moravian, the Presbyterian, the Reformed, the Roman, and other churches. But in the Bible the word is never used in a denominational or confessional sense, or in the sense of a church-building.

CHURCHES, ROB BERS OF, is the translation in Acts 19 : 37, instead of "robbers of temples" or "sacrilegious" persons.

CHURN. See Butter.

CHU SHAN-RISHATHA'IM. Jud. 3 : 8-10. A king of Mesopotamia, and an oppressor of the Israelites. 0th-niel, Caleb's nephew, delivered them from his dominion.

CHU'ZA {a seer ?), the steward of Herod Antipas. His wife, Joanna, was one of the women who ministered to

CIL

CIS

Jesus in life and in death. Luke 8:3; 24:10.

CILI'^CIA, the south-easterly province of Asia Minor, having Cappadocia on the noi'th, Syria on the east, the Mediterranean Sea on the south, and Pamphjiia and Pisidia (?) on the west. Eastern Cilicia was a rich plain ; western Cilicia was rough and mountainous, lying on the Taurus range. Its capital was Tarsus, and many of its people were Jews. It is frequently mentioned in the book of Acts. 6:9; 15 : 23, 41; 21 : 39 ; 22 : 3 ; 23 : 34 ; 27 : 5 ; and Gal. 1: 21. See Tarsus.

CIN'IVAMON. Song Sol. 4:14. A well-known aromatic, produced from the

Cinnamon. (C. zeylanecum. After Br. Birdwood inner bark of a tree which grows chiefly in Ceylon, and being peeled off and cut into strips curls up in the form in which it is usually seen. The cinnamon tree belongs to the laurel family, and attains the height of 30 feet. Cinnamon was one of the ingredients of the holy oil, Ex. 30:23, and was probably an article of commerce in ancient Babylon. Rev. 18:13.

CIN'NEROTH. 1 Kgs. 15 : 20. Same as Chinnereth. 186

CIRCUMCIS'ION (cutting round), a rite or ceremony of the Jewish religion, which consisted in cutting oflf the foreskin of all males on the eighth day after their birth. It was established as the token of God's covenant with Abraham, Gen. 17: 9-14, who immediately subjected himself and all his family to its observance. The precept of circumcision was renewed to Moses, Ex. 12: 44; Lev. 12 : 3 ; John 7 : 22, 23, requiring that all should submit to it who would partake of the paschal sacrifice. The Jews have always been very scrupulous in its observance, though it was omitted in their journey through the wilderness for some reason. Many other nations have the rite. It existed among the Egyptians, the Ethiopians, the Mexicans, and the West Indians, and to-day among the Caffres of South Africa, the Abyssinians, the islanders of the Pacific Ocean, and the South American tribes. It is the chief ceremony of initiation into the religion of Mohammed, though it is regarded only as a traditionary precept, and is not performed till the child is 13 years old. The instrument used for this purpose was a knife, a razor, or even a sharp stone. Ex. 4:25; Josh. 5:3.

The design of this requirement obviously Avas to fix upon the persons of all the natural male descendants of Abraham a distinguishing mark, separating them from all the rest of the world. As this rite was peculiar to the Jews, they are called " the circumcision," and the Gentiles "the uncii-cumcision." Horn. 4:9.

The terms " uncircumcised " and " un-circumeision " are also used to denote impurity or wickedness generally, and '' to circumcise the heart" was to become tractable and docile. Ex. 6 : 12, 30 ; Jer. 4:4; 6: 10; 9:26; Eze. 44:7; Acts 7: 51. Jews who renounced Judaism sometimes endeavored to erase the mark of circumcision by a surgical operation, and probably Paul alludes to this. 1 Cor. 7 : 18. See Covenant, Concision.

CIS'TERN. The face of the country and the rarity of rain between May and September made cisterns indispensable in Judgea. They were mostly private property. Num. 21: 22. Some were formed by merely excavating the earth; others were covered reservoirs, into

CIT

CIT

which the water was conducted; and others still were lined with wood or cement, or hewn out of the rock with great labor and ornamented with much skill. When the pits were empty there was a tenacious mire at the bottom, and they were used as the places of the most cruel punishments. It was into such a pit, probably, that Joseph and Jeremiah were cast. Gen. 37 : 22 ; Jer. 38 : 6. Large cisterns are now found in Palestine at intervals of 15 or 20 miles. One of them is described by a modern traveller to be 660 feet long by 270 broad. These cisterns were the chief dependence of the people for water ; hence the force of the allusion. Jer. 2:13. The city of Jerusalem was remarkably well supplied with water, so that during her many sieges her inhabitants never suffered from thirst. See Conduit.

Various illustrations from the cistern are given in Scripture. A wheel was used to draw up the bucket, and " the wheel broken at the cistern," in Eccl. 12 : 6, denotes the breaking up of the vital powers of the human body. An exhortation to due restraint in pleasure is indicated by •' Drink waters out of thine own cistern." Prov. 5 : 15.

CIT'IZENSHIP. The Jew had no earthly citizenship in the Roman sense : his commonwealth was a congregation of believers, governed by the Lord himself. But Roman citizenship is referred to in the N. T. This was the term for the privileges enjoyed by certain subjects of the Roman empire. The right was obtained by inheritance or by purchase, Acts 22: 28, or by military service, by favor, or by manumission. Among the privileges of this position was, the possessor could not be imprisoned without trial. Acts 22 : 29, still less be scourged, Acts 16 : 37, or crucified. Since to inflict either of these was a great indignity and severely punished, the assertion that one was a Roman citizen was a deterrent. But Jews who escaped on this account were still liable to their own law. 2 Cor. 11 : 24. The right of appeal unto Ciesar was one of the privileges of Roman citizenship. Acts 25 : 11. Paul was a Roman citizen, and repeatedly availed himself of his privileges against the violence of the mob. The words " I am a Roman citizen" had a magic

power all over the civilized world, and even among barbarians.

CIT'Y. It is not very easy to determine by what the Jews distinguished villages from towns, and towns from cities. Probably, at first, a number of tents and cottages formed a village. They were brought together by family relationship, by local attraction, and for mutual defence against more powerful clans or tribes. When their situation became insecure, they began to protect themselves by a ditch or hedge or a wall. The advancement from this rude state to the fortified towns and cities of ancient days was easy and rapid. The first city was built by Cain. Gen. 4 : 17. It may be presumed that cities were always walled. Num. 13 : 28. They were often (if not always) fortified, and many of them were very populous. The streets were crooked and narrow, so that in some of them loaded camels could not pass each other, as is the case to-day in Alexandria, Cairo, Jerusalem, and Damascus. Sometimes, in Asiatic cities, a broad street, or a section of it, is covered for the accommodation of merchants or tradesmen, and such places are called bazaars ; and the prominent branch of business transacted there gives the name to the street; as, the woollen-drapers', coppersmiths', etc. Around the gates of cities was the principal concourse of people, Neh, 8:1; Job 29: 7 ; and therefore these stations were desirable for booths or stalls for the sale of merchandise. 2 Kgs. 7:1. These square or open places are probably intended in 2 Chr. 32:6 and Neh. 3:16; 8: 1, 3. Some cities were adorned with open squares and large gardens. One-third of the city of Babylon was occupied with gardens. Csesarea, Jerusalem, Antioch, and other of the largest cities, were paved.

Fenced City, 2 Kgs, 10:2, or De-fenced Cities, Isa, 36: 1, a fortified city. To build a city and to fortify or fence it, in the Oriental idiom, mean the same thing. The fencing or fortification was usually with high walls, and watch-towers upon them. Deut. 3 : 5. The walls of fortified cities were formed, in part at least, of combustible materials, Am. 1: 7, 10, 14, the gates being covered with thick plates of iron or brass, Ps, 107:16; Isa. 45 : 2 ; Acts

CIT

CIT

12 : 10. There was also within the city a citadel or tower, to which the inhabitants fled when the city itself could not be defended. Jud. 9: 46-52. These were often upon elevated ground, and were entered by a flight of steps. See Gate.

At the time when Abraham came into the land of Canaan there were already in existence numerous towns, which are mentioned in the book of Genesis— Sodom, Gomorrah, Zeboim, Admah, Bela, Hebron, and Damascus. This last is probably the oldest city in the world. The spies who were sent to Canaan brought back an account of well-fortified cities. In the book of Joshua we read of no less than 600 towns of which the Israelites took possession. When the city of Ai was taken, its inhabitants, who were put to the sword, amounted to 12,000, Josh. 8 : 16-25, and we are told that Gibeon was a still greater city. 10 : 2. It is commonly calculated that in Europe one-third or one-fourth of a nation is comprised in its cities and towns. Reckoning the Hebrews, then, at 3,000,000, it would give about 1250 for the average population of the towns, and it is probable that half the inhabitants dwelt in towns for greater safety. Now, in Gibeah, Jud. 20 : 15, there were 700 men who bore arms, and of course not less than 3000 inhabitants. By a similar calculation, we conclude that the 48 cities of the Levites contained each about 1000 souls. In the time of David the population of Palestine was between 5,000,000 and 6,000,000, and we may suppose that the towns and cities were proportionately increased. On the great annual festivals Jerusalem presented a sublime spectacle of countless multitudes, when all the males of the nation were required to be there assembled. At such times the city itself was insufficient to contain the host of Israel, and thousands encamped around on its outskirts. After the return from the Babylonish captivity, the population of the towns may have been inconsiderable, but the subsequent increase was most rapid; so that in the time of Josephus the small villages of Galilee contained 15,000 inhabitants, and the larger towns 50,000. At the same period Jerusalem was 4 miles in circuit and had a population of 150,000. 188

The same author tells us that under Cestius the number of paschal lambs was 256,500, which would give about 2,700,000 persons attending the Passover. At the time of the fatal siege of Jerusalem more than 1.000,000 of persons were shut in by the Romans; so that the space included by the 4 miles must have been remarkably economized. But the number may be exaggerated.

City op David, 1 Chr. 11:5, a section in the southern part of Jerusalem, embracing Mount Zion, where a fortress of the Jebusites stood. David reduced the fortress and built a new palace and city, to which he gave his own name. Bethlehem, the native town of David, is also called, from that circumstance, the city of David. Luke 2 : 11.

City op God, Ps. 46:4, was one of the names of ancient Jerusalem, and its appropriateness is evident from Deut. 12 : 5.

Holy City. Neh. 11:1. The sacred-ness of the temple extended itself in some measure over the city, and hence Jerusalem itself was called the "Holy City," and is so distinguished in the East at the present day.

CiTiBS OP the Plain. See Sobow.

Cities op Repuge, Deut. 19:7, 9; Josh. 20 : 2, 7, 8, were six of the Leviti-cal cities divinely appointed by the Jewish law as asylums, to which those who had been undesignedly accessory to the death of a fellow-creature were commanded to flee for safety and protection. The kinsmen of the deceased, or other persons who might pursue to kill him, could not molest him in one of these cities until his offence was investigated and the judgment of the congregation passed. If he were not within the provisions of the law, he was delivered to the avenger and slain. If he was, then his life was safe so long as he lived within the city or in the circuit of 1000 yards beyond. There he must remain until the death of the high priest during whose term of office the homicide was committed. The custom of blood-revenge was deeply rooted among the Israelites, and continues among the Arabs to this day, and the institution of cities of refuge was wisely designed to check the violence of human passion. Several sections of the Jewish law have relation to this subject. For the size and situa-

CLA

CLE;

tion of the cities, see Num. 35 : 4, 5, 14; the description of persons and the manner of killing in cases which entitled the slaj'er to protection, Num. 35: 15-25; Deiit. 19 :4-i;?. For the mode of ascertaining whether the offence was worthy of death and the consequences of the judgment, see Num. 35 : 24-33 ; and for the rules to be observed by the manslayer in order to avail himself of the benefit of the city of refuge, see Num. 35 : 25-28. It is doubtful whether the trial of the manslayer was had at the city of refuge or in the vicinity of the place where the offence occurred. Perhaps there were two processes, one introductory to the other, as we have a preliminary xamination to determine if the party accused shall be held to answer for his offence. This first process might have been at the city of refuge. Jewish writers say that signs were erected in some conspicuous place, pointing to the cities of refuge, at every crossroad, on which was inscribed, " Refuge, Refuge," which, with many other similar provisions, were designed to direct and facilitate the flight of the unhapjjy man Avho was pursued by the avenger of blood. There were other sacred places of refuge, particularly the temple and the altar of burnt-offerings. Ex. 21: 14.

Cities with Suburbs. Josh. 21:41, 42. This expression is explained by reference to Num. 35 :1-5. See Treasure-cities, Walls.

CLAU'DA, a small island, 7 miles long by 3 miles wide, in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Crete, Acts 27 :16 : now Gozzo.

CLAU'DIAj a Christian woman in Rome who joins Paul in saluting Timothy. 2 Tim. 4:21.

CLAU'DIUS {lame), the fourth Roman emperor, successor of Caius

Coiu of Claudius. {BritUh Muaeuni.)

Caligula, A. d. 41-54. Acts 11: 28. Herod Agrippa I. was mainly instrument-

al in securing him the throne. Several different famines took place during his reign, one of which, predicted by Aga-bus, was very severe, and lasted three years. In the ninth or twelfth year of his reign he banished the Jews, probably including the Christian converts, from Rome. Acts 18 : 2,

CLAIJ'DIUS LY'SIAS, the chief captain or commander of a band of soldiers stationed as a public guard over the temple, who interposed his authority, and thus saved Paul from violence at the hands of a temple-mob, and afterward sent him with a strong guard to the procurator Felix at Cassarea. Acts 21, 22, and 23.

CLAY, The Hebrew word is used in the 0. T. in the sense of ordinary mire in the streets, Ps. 18 : 42; at the bottom of the sea, Isa. 57 : 20 ; in a cistern or subterranean prison. Jer. 38 : 6. It is also translated "clay"—i. e. potter's clay—Isa. 41: 25 ; Nah. 3 : 14. In the N. T. the word " clay " is applied to a mixture of spittle with dust. John 9 : 6, 11, 15. For the use of clay in brick-making, see Brick ; and in pottery, see Potter. Clay was also used for sealing. Job 38 : 14. Wine-jars, tombs, and doors were, and are, sealed with clay. See Seal.

CLEAN, and UNCLEAN'. Lev. 10 : 10. These words are applied in the Jewish law to persons, animals, and things.

In order to partake of the privileges of the Jewish Church, the individual must not only be circumcised, but be ceremonially clean. How the various kinds of uncleanness were contracted, what time it continued, and what was the process of purification, are particularly described in Lev. 11-15 ; Num. 19.

The division of animals into clean and unclean existed before the Flood, Gen. 7 : 2, and was probably founded upon the practice of animal sacrifice. Those animals only which divide the hoof and chew the cud were regarded as clean. Lev. 11: 3, 4. The same chapter enumerates a variety of beasts, birds, reptiles, fishes, and things which are unclean. See also Ex. 22 : 31 ; 34:15, 26; Deut. 14:21. One object of these distinctions was to guard the Jews against heathen idolatry. Eating with the Gentiles was regarded as a peculiar aggra-

CLE

CLO

vation of the offence of associating with them. Matt. 9:11; Acts 11: 3. Some of the prohibited animals were unwholesome. The Hebrews were taught by these strict regulations to habitually regard their relation to God, and to abstain from everything that should offend his infinite holiness or involve the least appearance of pollution. The distinction between clean and unclean animals and nations was annulled by a special revelation to Peter. Acts 10 : 9-16.

CLEM'ENT, a fellow-laborer of Paul, Phil. 4:3; probably the same who was afterward bishop of Rome and wrote two epistles to the Corinthians, which are still extant, and were once read in some churches,

CLE'OPAS {i^ery renowned), one of the two disciples who were met by Christ on the way to Emmaus. Luke 24 : 18. Some regai'd him as the same with Cleophas.

CLE'OPHAS. John 19:25. See Alpheus.

CLERK. See Towx-clerk.

CLOAK. See Clothes.

CLOS'ET. See Dwelling.

CLOTH. The art of making cloth was known very early. The skins of animals supplied the place of cloth at first, but we may suppose that spinning and needle-work were so far perfected as to furnish cloth, of a coarse kind at least, at an early period. Ex. 35: 25; Jud. 5 : 30. The beauty of dress consisted in the fineness and color of the cloth. See Sackcloth.

CLOTHES, CLOTH'ING. The immobility of the East is evinced in nothing more than in the absence of any change in dress from generation to generation. The clothing of the ancient Hebrews may be known from that of the modern Orientals. The ordinary dress consisted of the inner garment, the outer garment, a girdle, and sandals.

1. The inner garment originally was a sort of shirt, sleeveless, and reaching only to the knees. Afterward it was larger and lunger, and with sleeves. A girdle confined it around the waist. Jud. 14: 13. A person with only it on was said to be naked. 1 Sam. 19:24; Isa. 20 : 2-4 ; John 21: 7. Its material was wool, cotton, or linen, varying in quality according to the taste and wealth of 190

the owner. This inner garment is commonly translated in the Bible "coat," but "shirt" would be more correct.

2. llie girdle. —When the garments came to be made long and flowing they were confined around the loins with girdles, which served not only to bind

A Modern Arab.

A Modern Greek.

them to the body, but also to hold them' when tucked up. This increased the gracefulness of their appearance and prevented them from interfering with labor or motion. Hence " to gird up the loins" became a significant figurative expression, denoting readiness for service, activity, and watchfulness, and "to loose the girdle" was to give way to repose and indolence. 2 Kgs. 4 : 29 ; Job 38 : 3 ; Isa. 5:27; Jer. 1:17; Luke 12: 35 ; John 21: 7 ; Acts 12 : 8 ; 1 Pet. 1: 13. This girdle was a belt or band of cord, cloth, or leather, 6 inches or more in breadth, with a clasp affixed to loosen or draw it closer. Sometimes the girdle was made of linen, Eze. 16: 10, and was often adorned with rich and beautiful ornaments of metal, precious stones, and embroidery.

The girdle was used to carry weapons, 2 Sam. 20: 8, money, and other things usually carried by us in the pocket. The Arabs carry their daggers in it, pointing to the right side, and through all the East it is the place for the handkerchief, smoking-materials, and the implements of one's profession. See Ink-HOKN. The word translated "purses," Matt. 10 :9, is in other places translated " girdle." The girdle not only protected the body, but braced it with strength and firmness. The girdle is

CLO

CLO

supposed by some to have been a chief article or appendage of the armor; hence to have it continually fastened upon the person is emblematical of great fidelity and vigilance. And because it encircled the body very closely, the

Girded for Walking.

perfect adherence of the people of God to his service is figuratively illustrated by the cleaving of the girdle to a man's loins. Jer. 13 : 11. In the same view, righteousness and faithfulness are called by the prophet, Isa. 11: 6, " the girdle" of the promised Messiah.

3. The outer or iipjjer garment, Matt. 21: 8, or cloak, Matt. 5 : 40, was a square or oblong strip of cloth, 2 or 3 yards long and 2 yards wide. Such a garment is now worn by the Arabs. It was simply wrapped around the body as a protection from the weather; and when occasion required, it might be thrown over the shoulder and under the arm, somewhat like an Indian blanket, and be fastened with clasps or buckles, two corners being in front, which were called skirts, and were often used as aprons sometimes are among us. Ex. 12 : 34 ; 2 Kgs. 4 : 29 ; Luke 6 : 38. The Arabs throw this garment over the left shoulder and under the right arm, and thus cover the whole body, leaving only the right arm exposed. This garment was the poor man's bed-clothing. Ex. 22 : 26, 27 ; Job 22 : 6 ; 24 : 7. This was probably the cloak and the coat or linen garment to which reference is had in Matt. 5 : 40, and, in a more ample form, was called a robe, Luke 23:11, or a mantle. 2 Kgs. 2:8. It is supposed that the fringes, with the blue ribbon. Num. 15: 38, were placed on the corners or borders of this garment.

Matt. 23 : 5. They are seen still on ancient monuments.

In winter fur dresses or skins were worn, as at the present day, in Eastern countries. A dress of sheep- or goatskins is, perhaps, meant in 2 Kgs. 1 : 8 and Zech. 13:4. The common skins of this kind were worn by the poorest and meanest people, Heb. 11: 37, but the fur dresses were sometimes very costly, and constituted a part of the royal apparel. The word translated " robe," Jou. 3 : 6, is supposed to mean a fur garment. The sheep's clothing, Matt. 7 : 15, was considered emblematical of innocence and gentleness, and was the disguise of the false prophets, who were, in truth, fierce and ravenous as wolves for the blood of souls. The word translated ''sheets," Jud. 14:12, 13, is supposed to denote some kind of garment worn next to the skin, and probably the same which is spoken of under the general name of "fine linen" in Prov. 31 : 24 ; Isa. 3 : 23 ; and Mark 15 : 46. See Sheets.

The linen cloth mentioned in Mark 14 :51 was probably an article of bed-clothing caught up in haste and thrown around the body—" a wrapper of fine linen, which might be used in various ways, but especially as a night-shirt." The Arabs use for a complete dress by day the same garment which serves them for a bed and covering by night. Deut. 24:13. Such also is the use of the Highlander's plaid.

The dress of the women differed from the men's only in the outer garments. A veil further distinguished them. It was considered a token of modesty in unmarried women. Gen. 24:65, and of subjection and reverence in those that were married. 1 Cor. 11:3-10. The robe was often made full, and when tucked up the front of it would answer the purpose of a large apron, which is one meaning of the word translated "veil." Ruth 3:15. The Arabs put their hykes or cloaks to a like use.

Handkerchiefs. Acts 19:12.—These were common among the Hebrews. The people of Eastern nsitions at this day carry them in their hands, and they are often wrought beautifully with the needle.

Aprons, mentioned in Acts 19 : 12,

CLO

CLO

were sweat-cloths from the apostle's body.

4. Sandals and shoes. Deut. 25 : 9 ; Mark 6 : 9.—The sandal was at first a flat piece of wood or leather suited to the sole of the foot, and bound upon it by straps or strings. The fastening was called a latchet. Gen. 14 : 23.

The common sandal is made of a piece of hide from the neck of a camel, and sometimes of several thicknesses sewed together. It is fastened by two straps, one of which passes between the great and second toe, and the other around the heel and over the instep. Hence it appears that the shoe was easily slipped off, and that it afforded no protection from the dust and dirt. Sandals were never worn in the house. The taking off of the shoes was a mark

of reverence shown to exalted persons and sacred places. At the doors of Hindoo pagodas and Mohammedan mosques sandals are collected in great numbers for the use of strangers.

The necessity of washing the feet after every walk is obvious, and it was the first token of hospitality to supply water for this purpose. Gen. 24:32; Luke 7 : 44. To unloose the straps or latchets was the business of a menial, Mark 1: 7, as was also the washing of the feet. John 13 :1-16.

The wooden sandal is much worn in Arabia, Judaea, and Egypt. Though often expensive and neat, it was usually a cheap, coarse, and very clumsy article.

The following represent various forms of sandals which are still in common use in many countries of the East.

Sandals. (From Farrar's "Life of Christ.")

Mitre, Ex. 39 : 28, or bonnet, Ex. 28 : 40, was a part of the sacred dress only, worn on the head. The Arab women wear a cap of folded cloth not unlike the modern turban, and the Hebrew women wore head-dresses of various shapes. Isa. 3: 20.

Blue//-i/ir/e« were attached to the four corners of the outer garment to remind the wearer of God's commandments. Num. 15 : 37-39. It was one of the fringes of Jesus's garment which is called the " hem " touched by the woman. Matt. 9:20; Luke 8 : 44. For enlarging these fringes to attract notice Jesus rebukes the Pharisees. Matt. 23 : 5.

Change of raiment or i/arments. 2 Kgs. 5 : 5, 22.—It is customary in the East at this day to make presents of garments; and the Asiatic princes keep changes of raiment ready made for 192

presents to persons of distinction whom they wish particularly to honor. The simple and unifoi-m shape of the garments makes this custom practicable, and accounts also for the change of one person's dress for another's which is mentioned in sacred history. Gen. 27:15; 1 Sam. 18:4. See also Deut. 22 : 5 ; Luke 15 : 22.

Changeable suits of ajjparel, or festal robes, Isa. 3 : 22, are supposed to have been made of some thin fabric ornamented with embroidery and worn over garments of various colors; of which beautiful representations are to be seen in Indian paintings.

Coat of many colors. —This was, properly speaking, a " shirt of extremities"—• a " shirt" which reached to the feet—probably made of fine material. Gen. 37 : 3.

Among the appendages to Jewish

CLO

COA

dress were jewels of gold and silver, bracelets, necklaces, ear-rings, etc. Nose- and ear-rings arc very common in the East. The thread, G*en. 14 : 23, is supposed by some to mean the thread

Eastern Fringed Garment. {From Fanar's "Life of Christ.' )

on which precious stones were hung for neck-chains. Eze. 16 : 11. Bracelets were worn on the arms by both sexes, 2 Sam. 1:10, and by females upon the leg also. Isa. 3:19, 20. See Bracelets. Women in Persia and Arabia wear rings full of little bells about the ankle. Isa. 3 : 16. Hanfl-mirrors, made of molten brass and finely polished, were also a common accompaniment of female dress, Ex. 38 : 8; Isa. 3 : 2?>, and were either carried in the hand or suspended from the girdle or neck. In later times these mirrors were made of polished steel.

All the Grecian and Roman women, without distinction, wore their hair long. On this they lavished all their art, disposing it in various forms and embellishing it with many ornaments. In ancient medals and statues we see the plaited tresses interwoven with expen-13

sive and fantastic decorations so pointedly condemned by the apostle as proofs of a vain mind, and as inconsistent with the modesty and decorum of Christian women. 1 Tim. 2 : 9, 10; 1 Pet. 3 : 1, 3, 4. See Phylactekies.

Rending Clothes. See Rend.

CLOTH, LIN'EN. See Clothes.

CLOUD. The Hebrew words thus translated bring out the ideas of a "covering" for the sk}^ a " darkness," or simply a " vapor." The references to clouds in the Bible will be better understood when the fact is known that from the beginning of May to the end of September not a cloud is usually seen, 1 Sam. 12:17, 18; hence their appearance would be phenomenal. The oncoming of clouds marked the approach of rain. 1 Kgs. 18:44; Luke 12:54. "A cloud without rain" was indeed a proverb for a man whose performance belied his promise. Prov. 25 : 14. Clouds shield the divine Presence, Ex. 16 : 10 ; 33 : 9 ; Num. 11 : 25 ; 1 Kgs. 8 : 10 ; Job 22 : 14 ; Ps. 18 : 11; and in evidence of the divinity of Christ is the fact that clouds play a part in his recorded life and in his future glory. Matt. 17:5; 24:30; Acts 1:9; Rev. 14 : 14. Clouds symbolize transitori-ness. Job 30 : 15; IIos. 6:4; armies and multitudes of people, Isa, 60:8; Jer. 4 : 13; Ileb. 12 : 1. ''A cloudy day " is a day of calamity. Eze. 30 : 3; 34:12. Peter likens false teachers to "clouds that are carried with a tempest." 2 Pet. 2:17.

CLOUD, PILLAR OF. When the people of Israel commenced their march through the wilderness, God caused a cloud resembling a pillar to pass before the camp. In the day-time it was like a cloud, dark and heavy, and in the night bright and shining like fire. It also served as a signal for rest or motion. Num. 9 : 17-23.

CLOUT'ED. Josh. 9 : 5. Worn out and patched.

CNI'DUS, a Greek city at the extreme south-western corner of Asia Minor, now in ruins, on Caj^e Crio.

COAL. There is no evidence that the Hebrews were acquainted with coal. They used charcoal for their fires. The Hebrew words which are translated "coal" etymologically refer to heat in general, usually to fuel of wood, and in

COA

COL

I Kgs. 19 : 0 and Isa. 6 : 6 to hot stones. In the N. T. the Greek words, Rora. 12: 20 and John 18:18; 21: 9, refer likewise to charcoal.

COAST (from the Latin costa, "a rib") is often used in the English Bible for " border," and has no reference to the sea. Jud. 11 : 20 ; 1 Sam. 5:6; Matt. 8 : U.

COAT. See Clothes.

COCK. See Cock-crowing.

COCKATRICE. Jer. 8:17; Isa.

II : 8 ; 14 : 29 ; 69 : 5. The word, in the Scriptures, evidently denotes a very venomous reptile. The original signifies a creature that hisses, douhtless some species of serpent. Tristram proposes the great yellow viper, the largest of its kind found in Palestine, and one of the most dangerous. On one occasion he saw one of these vipers spring on a quail which was feeding : "It missed its prey, and the bird fluttered on a few yards, and then fell in the agonies of death. On taking it up I found that the viper had made the slightest possible puncture in the flesh of one of the wings as it snapped at it, and this had caused death in the course of a few seconds." In the passage from Jeremiah above cited allusion is made to the unyielding cruelty of the Chaldasan armies under Nebuchadnezzar, who were appointed ministers of divine vengeance on the Jewish nation for their manifold and aggravated sins.

COCK'- CROWI^fG. Mark 13 : 35. A name given to the third watch of the night, from midnight to daybreak. Some perplexity has been occasioned by the difference between the expressions in Matt. 26 : 34,''before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice," and Mark 14 : 30, '' before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice." To reconcile this seeming variance, it is stated that there were two cock-crow-ings—one soon after midnight, and the other about three o'clock—and that the last, which was the signal of approaching day, was spoken of as the cock-croivlng. To this it has been answered that only one hour elapsed between the denials. Luke 22 : 59. This is true of the second and third, but there seems to be no authority for saying it is of the first and second. It seems most natural to suppose that the phraseology in both cases 194

was substantially the same, and that the Jews understood by the phrase " before the cock crow" the same time which was denoted by the phrase " before the cock crow twice." Both referred to that cock-crowing which especially and most distinctly marked a watch or division of the night. There is no reference to poultry in the 0. T., and only an incidental one in the New. Matt. 23 : 37 ; Luke 13 : 34. Some suppose that poultry were introduced into Judaea by the Romans.

COCK'LiE {stinking like carrion). This word may denote troublesome or oflfensive weeds in general. Job 31 : 40. But the arums, which abound in Galilee and other Eastern regions, have precisely the odor indicated by the original, and may be the jjlants meant. The proximity of these offensive growths is sometimes scarcely endurable.

CCE'LE-SYR'IA {hollow St/ria), the great valley between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon ranges of mountains. See Lebanon and Syria.

COF'FER, "a movable box hanging from the side of a cart." 1 Sam. 6 : 8, 11. 15.

COF'FIN. See Bury.

COHORT. See War.

COL-HO'ZEH {all-seeing), a man of Judah. Neh. 3 : 15: 11:5.

COL'LEGE. 2 Kgs. 22 : 14. This word is the translation of what was probably the name of one of the divisions of Jerusalem—viz. "the lower city." built upon the hill Akra.

COL'LOPS. Job 15 : 27. Thick pieces of flesh.

COL'ONY. Acts 16 : 12. A city or province planted or occupied by Roman citizens, as Philippi. Roman laws and manners naturally prevailed, but the colony had an independent internal government. The colonists were in the beginning all Roman citizens, and therefore entitled to vote at Rome.

COL'ORS. Gen. 37:3. The art of coloring cloth seems to have attained to great perfection among the Jews, though it did not originate with them, but with their idolatrous neighbors, the Phoenicians and Egyptians, the former supplying the dyes, the latter the mode of applying them. Four artificial colors are spoken of in the Bible.

1. Purple, which was derived from a shell-fish native to the Mediterranean

COL

COM

Sea. The coloring-matter was found in a small vessel in the lish, and the rest of the fish was useless. Purple was the royal and noble color, indicative of wealth and station. Jud. 8 : 26 j Esth. 8:15; Luke 16:19; Rev. 17:4.

2. Blue, produced from a similar source, used in the same way, and for the same purposes. Ex. 25 : 4 ; Esth. 1: 6.

3. Scarlet, and cn'vison appear to express the same color. " The dye was produced from an insect somewhat resembling the cochineal, which is found in considerable quantities in Armenia and other Eastern countries "— Smith. The three colors above mentioned, together with white, were employed in the tabernacle curtains and in the vestments of the priests.

4. Vermilion was used in fresco-painting, Eze. 23 : 14, for coloring the idols (themselves, and for decorating the walls ;and beams of houses. Jer. 22; 14.

The natural colors noticed in the Bi-ible are white, black, red, yellow, and ■green, yet only three colors are sharply defined, v)hite, black, and red. To show -the vagueness of the use of the others, ■the tint green (translated "yellow" in ithe A. V.) is applied in the Hebrew to gold, Ps. 68 : 13, and to the leprous ^spot. Lev. 13 : 49.

COLOS'SE, OR COLOS'S^., a city of Phrygia, on the Lycus. a branch of the Mfeander, and 12 miles above Laodicea. Paul wrote to the church there, Col. 1 : 2, and possibly visited it on his third missionary journey. See Acts 18: 23; 19:10. The "town is now in ruins; there is a little village called Chronos 3 miles south of the site of Colosse.

COLOSSIANS, EPIS'TLE TO THE, was written by Paul while he was a prisoner at Rome, A. D. 62. It is probable that Epaphras, who is spoken of as the minister of Christ in that place. Col. 1: 7, came to Rome to consult Paul respecting the semi-Judaistic and semi-Oriental opinions that had been preached among the Colossians by Jews who had been tainted by Essenic Cnosticism. See Essenks. These notions would tend not only to mar the simplicitv of their belief, but to obscure the glory of Christ. Col. 2 : 8-23. To these damaging errors Paul writes a refutation. " The occasion, then, of

the Epistle being the existence and influence of false teachers in the Colos-sian church, the object of the apostle was to set before them their real standing in Christ, the majesty of his person, and the completeness of his redemption, and to exhort them to conformity with their risen Lord, following this out into all subordinate duties and occasions of common life."

The Epistle to the Ephesians. written at a little later date, is very similar to it, but more full on the doctrine of the church. Both were sent from Rome by the same bearers,Tychicus andOnesimus.

COLT. The young of camels and asses are so called. Gen. 32 : 15 ; 49 : 11 ; Jud. 10 : 4 ; Job 11: 12 ; Matt. 21 : 2, 5, 7, and elsewhere.

COME BY. In Acts 27:16 this phrase means " to secure the boat, so as to hoist it into the ship."

COMTORTER. John 14:16. This word is the English rendering for Paraclete, and occurs only in the Gospel of John. In four out of the five passages in which it is used it is applied to the Holy Ghost, and should be translated ''advocate " or''helper." For the Paraclete does not simply comfort, but defends our cause and inspires our courage. See AnvocATE.

COMMANDMENTS. See Law.

COM'MERCE. In some form this must have existed from the time when men formed separate communities, and when the dwellers in cities became dependent upon farmers and foreign nations for food. We find notices of trade in this way in the time of Abraham, and particularly in the history of Joseph and of the Egyptian famine. But foreign trade was not much cultivated by the Jews. Indeed, they do not seem to have been in the least a sea-faring people, for the commercial enterprises of Solomon and of Jehoshaphat both ultimately failed. 1 Kgs. 22:48, 49. But we know that the Jews consumed foreign articles, Neh. 13:16; Ezr. 3:7, and also supplied foreign coun-ti'ies, as Phoenicia. 1 Kgs. 5:11; Eze. 27:17; Acts 12:20. Joppa, the modern Jaffa, the port of Jerusalem, carried on a busy trade. From it went vessels to various ports. Isa. 2:16; Jon. 1 : 3. The internal trade was largely increased by the festivals. The sale of

COM

CON

animals for sacrifice and the exchanging of money were carried on even in the temple-enclosure, and led to our Lord's indignant rebuke. John 2:14; Matt. 21 : 12.

COMMUN'ION. 1 Cor. 10 : 16. Intimate fellowship and communication, such as is expressed in John 15 : 1-r and 17 : 10, 21-26 : Rom. 12 : 4, 5 ; 2 Cor. 13 : 14 ; 1 John 1: 3. As the ordinance of the Lord's Supper furnishes both the opportunity for and the motive to this mutual love and confidence, John 13 : 34; 15 : 12, it is called, by Avay of distinction, " the holy communion."

COMPASS, TO FETCH A, means " to go around." 2 Sam. 5 : 23 ; 2 Kgs. 3:9; Acts 28 : 13.

CONANI'AH {whom Jehovah hath made), a Levite chief. 2 Chr. 35 : 9.

CONCIS'ION, a term used sarcastically to denominate the Judaizers who insisted on circumcision as necessary for Gentile converts. Phil. 3:2. They thus perverted the rite, and therefore, instead of calling them by the honorable name of the "circumcision," Paul calls them the " concision," the " mutilation."

COX'CUBIXE, by the Jewish law, a lawful wife of a secondary or inferior rank, and consequently neither regarded nor treated as the matron or mistress of the house. Concubines were either Hebrew girls bought of their fathers, or Gentile captives taken in war. Foreign slaves or Canaanitish women were also illegally concubines. Concubines were not betrothed or wedded with the usual solemnities and ceremonies which attended marriage. They had no share in the family government, and the children of the wife were preferred to the child of the concubine in the distribution of the inheritance. Yet the children of the latter were not counted as illegitimate, but stood upon the same footing as those of the wife in the family, as their names occur in the genealogical lists. Gen. 22: 24; 1 Chr. 1: 32. The custom among the Jews originated in the great desire for children, and therefore it was that barren wives gave their maid-servants to their husbands that they might have children by them. Gen. 16 : 3 ; 30 : 4. The law of Moses did not stop the practice, but modified it. Ex. 21: 7-9 ; 196

Deut. 21: 10-17. There was no stigma upon the position. The concubine was a recognized member of the family; when she had been a slave previous to becoming such a one, she still remained in slavery. Her distinction fi-om the wife was in her lower social position, and in her far looser hold upon her husband. She might be dismissed without any formal divorce. Her unfaithfulness was criminal, but not looked at as, strictly speaking, adultery, and hence was not so severely punished. Jud. 19 : 2. In the days of the monarchy the kings imitated their heathen neighbors in the establishment of harems, and multiplied the number of wives and concubines. To seize on the royal concubines for his own use was thus a usurper's first act. Such was probably the intent of Abner's act, 2 Sam. 3: 7, and similarly the request on behalf of Adon-ijah was construed. 1 Kgs. 2 : 21-24.— Smith : Dictionary of the Bible.

AVhere polygamy was tolerated—as it was among the Jews—the permission of concubinage would not seem so much at war with the interests and preservation of society as we know it to be. The gospel restores the saci*ed institution of marriage to its original character, Gen. 2 : 24 ; Matt. 19 : 5 ; 1 Cor. 7 : 2, and concubinage is ranked with fornication and adulterv.

CONDEMx\A'TIOi\. The term refers to the sentence pronounced upon an adjudged criminal. In the sight of God the race lies under condemnation because of Adam's inherited sin and their actual transgressions. Rom. 5 : 16, 18. The law which convicts men of sin is called the "ministration of condemnation." 2 Cor. 3:7, 9. But the gospel announces deliverance from sin. John 3 : IS. Therefore it is truly "good tidings of great joy." Luke 2: 10. By faith in Christ are we delivered from condemnation, and are brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Rom. 8:21.

CON'DUIT {te'alah in Hebrew). 2 Kgs. 18 : 17 ; 20 : 20 ; Isa. 7:3; 36 : 2. Used to signify something for conveying water, as a " water-course," Job 38 : 25, or a " trench." It probably included an aqueduct, such as must have been used to convey the water from the Pool of Solomon to Jerusalem. Pilate

CON

CON

built a new aqueduct or tepaired that of Solomon, which still remains.

CO'NEY {the hider), a small animal {Hyrux Sijriacus) found in Syria and Arabia, and much resembling the rabbit in size, general appearance, and habits. Ps. 104 : 18 ,• Prov. 30 : 26. Its Hebrew name is appropriate, from its dwelling in the rocks. The coney, however, does not burrow, but, like the rhinoceros and hippopotamus (with which naturalists class it), has hoofs rather than nails upon its toes. It is almost tailless, has short ears, is clothed

in tawny fur, and is a very timid and harmless creature.

Solomon justly pronounced the coneys " exceeding wise." So great is their wariness that they have never been trapped and can but rarely be shot. They are accustomed to feed in small companies upon the herbage near their fastnesses, but it is said they always first post a sentinel, and at a squeak of alarm, on the least indication of danger, they all plunge into their retreats.

The references to this animal in the

Coney. {Hyrax Syriacus. After Houghton.)

Law (Lev. 11 : 5 ; Deut. 14 : 7) are to be

understood in a popular sense. Though not strictly a ruminant animal, the coney, like the hare and rabbit, has a habit of moving its jaws a« {/'chewing, while it does not completely divide the hoof, as does the ox or deer.

The coney '' is an exceedingly active creature, leajiing from rock to rock with wonderful rapidity, its little sharp hoofs giving it a firm hold of the hard and irregular surface of the stony ground. Even in captivity it retains much of its activity, and flies about its cage with a rapidity that seems more suitable to a squirrel than to an animal allied to the

rhinoceros and hippopotamus. ... It is a tolerably prolific animal, rearing four or five young at a birth, and keeping them in a soft bed of hay and fur, in which they are almost hidden. If surprised in its hole and seized, the Hyrnx will bite very sharply, its long, chisel-edged teeth inflicting severe wounds on the hand that attempts to grasp it. But it is of a tolerably docile disposition, and in a short time learns to know its owner, and to delight in receiving his caresses."—./. G. 11 ood.

CONGREGA TION, an assembly ; a gathering of people for either political or religious purposes.

CON

CON

1. In the 0. T. (kahal) it denotes the Hebrew people in its collective capacity, under its peculiar aspect as a holy community, held together by religious rather than political bonds. Deut. 31: 30 ; Josh. 8 : 35 ; 1 Chr. 29 : 1, etc. '' Sometimes it is used in a broad sense, as inclusive of foreign settlers, Ex. 12 : 19, but more properly as exclusively appropriate to the Hebrew element of the population. Num. 15: 15." The congregation was governed by the chief of the tribes and families, but from these was selected a council of 70 elders. Num. 16 : 2 ; 11: 16. This was a permanent institution, for these representatives of the people—who at first met at the door of the tabernacle at the call of one silver trumpet, while the congregation came at sound of the two, Num. 10 : 3, 4, 7—became in post-exilic days the Sanhedrin. Doubtless these meetings of the elders are often meant when the term *' congregation" is used. Thus they meet to elect a king. 1 Sam. 10 : 17. Their decisions bound the nation. Josh. 9 : 15, 18.

2. In the N. T. it means the Christian Church at large or a local congregation, but in King James's Version the corresponding Greek word {ecdesia), when used of a religious assembly, is always rendered " church," even in Acts 7 : 38, where it means the Jewish congregation in the wilderness. King James expressly commanded the revisers to do this, in opposition to the Geneva Version, which uses the more literal rendering " congregation." In Acts 19 : 32, 39, 40 it means simply a popular assembly. See Church.

'CONI'AH. See Jehoiachin.

CONONI'AH {whom Jehovah hath set), a chief among the Levites. 2 Chr. 31 : 12, 13.

CON'SCIENCE is the inborn sense of right and wrong, the moral law written on our hearts which judges of the moral character of our motives and actions, and approves or censures, condemns or justifies us accordingly. Rom. 2:15. This universal tribunal is established in the breast of every man, even the heathen. It may be weakened, perverted, stupefied, defiled, and hardened in various ways, and its decisions are more or less clear, just, and imperative according to the degree of moral culture, John 198

8:9; Acts 23 : 1 ; 24 : 16 ; Rom. 9:1; and 1 Tim. 1:5.

CON'SECRATE, CONSE-CRA'TION. Ex. 32 : 29 ; Lev. 7 :

37. The word means " to set apart for holy uses." It is applied in the Bible to both persons and things. The tribe of Levi was consecrated to the priesthood with the most solemn and imposing ceremonies. Vessels, Josh. 6:19, profits, Mic. 4: 13, fields, Lev. 27 : 28, cattle, 2 Chr. 29 : 33, individuals. Num. 6 : 9-13; 1 Sam. 1 : 11, 28, and nations, Ex. 19 : 6, were anciently consecrated or set apart to sacred purposes. See Priest.

CONVEN'IENT signifies "becoming," " fitting," " appropriate," in several passages ; e. if. Prov. 30 : 8 ; Jer. 40 : 4 : Rom. 1 : 28 ; Eph. 5:4; Phile. 8. This is the old Latin sense of the word.

CONVERSA'TION is never used in the A. V. in its ordinary sense, but always denotes ''course of life," ''conduct." Phil. 3 : 20 reads *' our conversation is in heaven," but the Greek is properly translated by "citizenship." What is now called " conversation " is expressed in the A. V. by " communication." 2 Kgs. 9:11; Matt. 5 : 37 ; Eph. 4 : 29 etc.

COIVVER'SION, or turning from one state, pursuit, inclination, or direction to another. Acts 15 : 3. The corresponding Greek term in the N. T. denotes a change of mind or heart which takes place in the sinner Avhen the Holy Spirit convinces him of his sinfulness, persuades him to hate sin and to forsake it, and to lead a life of holy obedience to Christ. Matt. 3:8; Luke 3 : 3 ; 15 : 7 ; 24 : 47 ; Acts 5 : 31 ; 11 : 18; 20: 21 : 2 Cor. 7 : 9, 10 ; 2 Tim. 2 : 25 ; Heb. 6 : 16 ; 12 : 17 ; 2 Pet. 3 : 9. Conversion is an act of man, while regeneration, or the new birth, is an act of God, but both are produced by the agency of the Holy Spirit, and usually coincide, though not always ; for very young children may be regenerated, but cannot, strictly speaking, be said to be converted. TheScriptures describemankindas alienated from God, as having the understanding darkened, and as dead in trespasses and sins. Hence the corresponding force and pertinency of the terms by which the change is described ; such as created, re-

CON

COR

newed, Eph. 4 : 23, 24, restored to sight, Eph, 1:18; Rev. 3 : 18, and raised from the dead. John 5 : 21, 24 ; Eph. 2: 1.

CONVOCA'TION, sometimes used with the adjective "holy," denotes a meeting of a i-eligious character. Ex. 12 : 16; Lev. 23 : 2 ; Num. 28 : 18.

COOK'ING was not carried by the Jews to any perfection, because meat did not form part of their ordinary diet. It was done in early times exclusively, and in all periods of their history usually, by the matron of the family, apparently irrespective of her social condition, Gen. 18 : 6 ,• although professional cooks were sometimes employed in later times. 1 Sam. 8:13; 9 : 23. As is evident from the expeditious way in which meals were gotten up, the animal, usually a kid, a lamb, or a calf, was cooked immediately after killing. For roasting, a fire of wood or else an oven, which was merely a hole dug in the ground, heated by ashes, and then covered up, was employed. When the animal was boiled, which was the usual way, both in the case of sacrifice other than the paschal lamb. Lev. 8 : 31, and for domestic use, it was cut up, the flesh separated from the bones and minced, and the bones themselves broken up, and the whole mass thrown into a caldron filled with water, Eze. 24: 4, 5, and boiled over a wood-fire, and the salt or spices thrown in to season it. The meat and broth were served up separately, the latter being used as a sauce to dip bread into. Gen. 18 : 8 ; Jud. 6 : 19. Vegetables were usually boiled and served as pottage. Gen. 25 : 29 ; 2 Kgs. 4 : 38. Fish was probably boiled. Luke 24 : 42.— Smith : Diet, of the Bible.

CO'OS, OR COS, a small island north-west of Rhodes, Acts 21 : 1, in the ^Egean Sea ; now called Stanclrio.

COPING. 1 Kgs. 7:9. The top course or finish of a wall. It is usually of flat or semi-circular bricks or hewn stone, projecting beyond the face of the wall, and forming an ornament similar in effect to the capital of a column.

COPTER, a well-known metal, once as " precious as gold.'-' Ezr. 8 : 27; 2 Tim. 4 : 14. The word translated "copper" in Ezra is elsewhere improperly rendered Brass, which see.

COR, See MEASURES.

COR'AL, E/A'. 27:16, was an

article of Tyrian merchandise, and is well known as a marine production, found in almost every variety of shape and size, and sometimes increasing to such an extent as to form the basis of islands, or to stretch out in dangerous reefs for many miles. It is capable of being worked up into beads and other ornaments ; for which use the red species is the most valuable. Job mentions it in connection with pearls. Job 28 : 18.

COR'BAN {offering) signifies a gift or thing consecrated to God or his service, particularly in fulfilment of a vow. Mark 7 : 11. The Jews permitted such an abuse to be made of this consecration that a child was sufi"ered to deny the request of his parents, or withhold assistance from them in their distress, merely on the pretence that what they asked or needed was consecrated to God.

CORDS. See Ropes.

CO'RE, the Greek form of Korah ; used in Jude 11.

CORIANDER SEED. Ex. 16 : 31, The coriander plant ( Coriandnnu sativvm) grows wild in Palestine and neighboring countries, and is often cultivated in the United States. The seeds are globular, and when dry are pleasant to the taste and smell, and, incrusted with sugar, are often sold by confectioners. We are told that the particles of manna were shaped like coriander seed.

COR'INTH, the capital of Achaia, and a renowned and voluptuous city of Greece, about 40 miles west of Athens, on an isthmus about 10 miles wide at that point. It had two sea-ports, Cenchrea, on the east, about 9 miles distant, and Lecluieum, on the west, only about 2 miles away. Corinth was about 5 miles in circuit, and on the south an immense rocky mountain called Acrocorinthus rises abruptly to the height of 2000 feet, upon the summit of which was a temple of Venus. It had an extensive commerce, like all the large towns on the Mediterranean Sea, and became celebrated for its wealth, magnificence, and learning. It was esteemed as the light and ornament of all Greece. It was, however, no less remarkable for its corruption and licentiousness. " To live as at Corinth " was a proverb meaning profligate indul-

COE

COR

gence, and the name " Corinthian " applied to a woman was infamous.

Paul preached at Corinth, about A. D. 53, a year and six months, Acts 18 : 11 ; paid it, A. D. 64-57, a short second visit (" by the way "), not mentioned in the Acts, but implied in 1 Cor. 16 : 7: 2 Cor, 12:13, 14; 13:1, where he sj)eaks of

Coiiiith and Acuicuinithu^

an intended third journey to Corinth, which coincides with that in Acts 20: 2; and spent there the three winter months, from 57 to 58, during which he wrote the Epistle to the Romans, Acts 20 : 2, 3 ; comp, 1 Cor. 16 : 6; Rom. 16 : 1. lie wrote two letters to the Christians in that city, rebuking their sins, and refers to the Isthmian games celebrated at Corinth every Olympiad. The city is now desolate, the little miserable village of Oortho occupying its site,

Corinthians; paul's

EPISTLES TO THE. They exhibit the trials and temptations, the virtues and vices, of a Greek congregation in apostolic times, and the wisdom and love, the trials and patience, of Paul in dealing with some of the most difficult practical and doctrinal questions which arise again and again in the history of every church. They are so full of individuality and local adaptation that their Pauline origin has never been disputed,

1. The First Epistle was written at Ephesus, toward the close of the apostle's three years' residence there, in the spring of a. d, 57. It was sent to the church by Stephanas, Fortunatus, Achaicus, and Timotheus, according to the superscription. Its immediate cause was the painful news which had reached Paul that there were 201)

dissensions in the church between the different elements — converted Jews, proselytes, and Gentiles—which composed it. Some of the members declared themselves Pauline, while others were Petrine ; others were of Apollos, and others of Christ—Christians in a sectarian and exclusive sense, chs. 1-4. This state of things is explicable. The Corinthian church was founded by the apostle while upon his second missionary journey. Acts 18 : 1, sq., during his eighteen months' residence in Corinth. Not long after he left, Apollos came. Acts 19 :1, who by his eloquence won followers. Judaizers also from Jerusalem came to the city, who misrepresented Paul as a dan-^S gerous radical, denied his ^^=^= apostolic authority, and obliged him to defend himself. Thus the church was sadly rent. Those who styled themselves " of Christ" may have at first attempted reconciliation by going back of all human authority to Christ, but would seem finally to have added a fourth to the existing factions. Another trouble which demanded decisive action was a lax state of sexual morals. This gives Paul opportunity to express his views upon marriage and the relation of the sexes generally, chs. 5-7. From these specific cases of overt act he passes to the consideration of several matters of Christian practice—eating meats offered to idols, chs. 8, 9 : the proper observance of the Lord's Supper and its true nature, ch. 10 : the proprieties of worship, eh. 11; the gifts of the Spirit, chs. 12, 13, 14, In ch. 15 he treats of the resurrection in a strain of marvellous eloquence.

2. The Second Epistle was written from Macedonia, 7:5; 8:1; 9: 2, in the same year, a few months later than the First—('. e. in the summer or autumn of A, D. 57. The contents seem to have been determined by the accounts the apostle had received from Titus, and perhaps, also, from Timothy, of the effect of his previous Epistle. This was upon the whole favorable; still, many denied Paul's right to the apostleship. Accordingly, in this Epistle he first of

COR

COR

all gives an account of his ministry and opens his heart toward his converts, chs. 1-7; next, exhorts them to give liberally to the support of the church in Jerusalem, probably because this proof of Christian brotherhood would cure their local jealousies, chs. 8, 9 ; and lastly, he defends his apostolical character, chs. 10-13.

It has been generally supposed, from 1 Cor. 5 : y, that there were more epistles to this church than these two, but how many cannot be determined. The two Epistles are singularly affectionate, although this church was sadly removed from the ideal.

CORIN'THUS, the Latin form of Corinth, which see. It occurs in the subscription to the Epistle to the Romans.

COR'MORANT {the phmgey), a bird mentioned as unclean in Lev. 11 : 17 ; Deut. 14:17. In two other passages a word meaning the Pelican, which see, is translated '^ cormorant." The true cormorant is found along the salt and fresh waters of Syria, and is certainly a "plunger," so that there is no reason for a change in the passages of the Pentateuch, as some have suggested. These birds are as large as the raven, of a dark color, with long necks, webbed feet, feed upon fish, and are proverbial for their voracity. See cut on p. 203.

CORN. Mark 4: 28. This word is generally applied in the United States to maize or Indian-corn, which it never means in the Bible, for that grain, like the Western continent, was, in scriptural times, as yet undiscovered. The English Bible uses the word as the general name for all sorts of cereals, such as wheat, barley, millet, and fitches, and of such cortijields only n;ust we think. Oats are not known in Palestine, and rye is rarely, if ever, grown.

A " corn of wheat" is a kernel of wheat. The figurative use of the word '' corn," usually in connection with wine and oil, is vei-y frequent, as grain and wine and olives were the leading productions of the country. Deut. 11 : 14 ; 18:4; 28:51; 2 Chr. 32:28; Hos. 2 : 22; Joel 2:19.

It is probable that grain was commonly used in its crude state in the early ages of the world. It was sometimes done in later times, Matt. 12:1; and even now

it is no uncommon thing, in passing a field of wheat, to pluck an ear, and, after rubbing the husk or beard off by rolling it between the hands, to eat the grain, which is very palatable, even in that state. The Jewish law permitted standing corn to be j)lucked by any one passing through it, Deut. 23 : 25 ; and this custom, or right, is still respected in some parts of the East. See Mills.

↑ Back to top

↑