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CABBON (כבון, wrap around, surround)  A village of Judah in the Shephelah, east of

        Lachish, identified with either Hebra or Machbenah.

CABIN (חגות (khaw nooth), prison) The King James Version's translation of the He-         

        brew word (See Dungeon).          

CABUL (כבול, district)  1.  A border town in Asher's territory, most likely located   14.4 km 

         east-southeast of Acre, overlooking one of the routes which descend from the Gali-

         lean hills to the maritime plain.

                   2.  A district in Galilee, twenty towns that were most likely given  by Solomon

         to Hiram.  The village of Cabul mentioned above was most likely the administrative

         center of this district.  The location of this district is uncertain, but it has been plausi-

         bly suggested that the towns are in the hill country east of Acre.

CAESAR (Kaisar (kay sar))  The family name of Julius Caesar, taken by his adopted son

         Augustus, the first Roman emperor, and in turn by each of his successors so that it 

         became a title.  The name Caesar Augustus appears in Luke 2.  Tiberius Caesar is 

         specified in Luke 3 as reigning when Jesus began his ministry, and is the Caesar men-

         tioned in other gospels.   In the book of Acts, Claudius is mentioned in chapters 11 and 

         18, and is the Caesar of chapter 17.  The later references to Caesar in Acts 25-28 is pro-

          bly Nero.  In Phillipians, it could be either Claudius or Nero, depending on the date of 

         the letter.

CAESAR, JULIUS (See the entry in the Old Testament Apocrypha /  Influences Outside the

         Bible section of the Appendix.).

CAESAREA  (kaisareia (kay sah ree ah))  A city on the coast of Palestine about 37 km

         south of Mount Carmel.  It first appears as a Phoenician city or fortification called    

         Straton or Stratos Tower.  (See also entry in the Old Testament (OT) Apocrypha/     

         Influences Outside the OT section of the Appendix.)

                   Under the procurators Caesarea became their official seat and the capital of

         Palestine.  This predominantly pagan city had a substantial Jewish minority.  Riots 

         between Jews and Gentiles in 66 A.D. marked the beginning of the Jewish War 

         against Rome.  In the later Roman Empire, Caesarea continued to be important as

         a seat of bishop and a center of learning under Origen, Pamphilius, and Eusebius 

         (185-340).

                   Since there was no natural harbor, Herod constructed a mole 66 m. wide. The 

         huge stones can still be seen extending 145 m. from the shore.  Partial excavations     

         have revealed a synagogue dating from the 4th or 5th century A.D.  In the New Tes-

         tament Caesarea first appears as a place where Philip preached.  Peter converted the 

         centurion who was stationed there.  Herod Agrippa I had his residence there.  Paul 

         passed through the city on his way to Tarsus and when he returned from his missio-

         nary journeys.  After his arrest, Paul was taken to Caesarea where he was held pri-

         soner.  Paul sailed from Caesarea for Rome.

CAESAREA  PHILIPPI  (kaisareia h filippou (kay sah ree  ah  fil ip poo))  A city on the 

        southwest lower slope of Mount Hermon.   It was here that Jesus questioned  his disci-

        ples about his messiahship and here that Peter replied that Jesus was the Christ, the 

        Son of God. 

                   Its setting is one of the most beautiful and luxuriant in Palestine, on a terrace 370

        meters above sea level, overlooking the fertile north end of the Jordan Valley.  The ter-

        race is well-watered by one of Jordan's sources, which springs from a cave. This location

         has both strategic and spiritual importance.  There is a shrine in the cave, which was pro-

        bably dedicated to various Semitic deities and was possibly the location of Baal-gad or 

        Baal-hermon of the Old Testament.  When the Greeks arrived, they dedicated it “to Pan

        and the Nymphs.”  In Old Testament times the cave and fountain's name was Paneion;

        the city or district was called Paneas.

                   Paneas appears as the scene of an important battle around 200 B.C., when Anti-    

        ochus the Great defeated Egypt.  In the 100s B.C. it formed part of Zenodorus' terri- 

        tory, but on his death in 20 B.C., it was given by Augustus to Herod the Great, who erec-       

        ted a white marble temple dedicated to Augustus.  After Herod's death in 4 B.C., it was

         included in the tetrarchy of his son Philip, who ruled until 34 A.D.  Phillip enlarged, beau-

         tified the city, and named it Caesarea Philippi in honor of Tiberius Caesar and himself.  In

         New Testament times it was an important city and a center of Greco-Roman civilization;  

         the people were largely pagan.  The city continued to be important in the Roman and By-

         zantine periods and during  the Crusades.

CAESAR'S HOUSEHOLD (kaisaroV oikia (kay sah ros  oy key ah)) A collective term refer-

        ring primarily to the imperial servants in Rome, the rest of Italy, and the provinces.    

        Paul mentions “Caesar's household” in Phillipians 4, because some of the Christians sen-

        ding greetings with him belong to it.  The use of this phrase doesn't prove that Phillipians 

        was written from Rome itself.

CAGE  (סוגר (soo gar))  An enclosure, usually barred for confining birds and other  animals.  In 

        Ezekiel 19, a young lion that clearly symbolizes King Jehoiachin is taken and put in a cage, 

        and brought to the King of Babylon.  This kind of barbarous treatment of prisoners was com-

        mon practice in the ancient world.     

CAIAPHAS  (kaiafaV (kay eh fas))  The high priest in the Trial of Jesus. The historian Jose-

        phus mentions him twice: first to mention his appointment as high priest, and second

        to say that he was removed from office by the Procurator Vitellius. 

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                    The gospels bring Annas and Caiaphas into relation with Jesus in a way which is hard to

         reconcile with historical facts.  Mark does not name him.  Matthew names the high priest as 

         Caiaphas.  Luke omits the name of the high priest in the trial, but suggests in Luke 3 that both 

         Annas and Caiaphas were the high priest at the same time.  John refers to Caiaphas as high-

         priest, but states that Annas is the father-in-law of Caiaphas, and elsewhere implies that 

        Annas is high priest.   Acts speaks of a gathering of Jewish leaders “with Annas the high priest

        and Caiaphas and John and Alexander.”

                   Some of the key questions posed by  these passages are:   Did Annas precede Caiaphas?  

        When did Annas cease to be high priest and when did Caiaphas begin?  Does the suggestion in

        Luke 3 that both were high priest at the same time conform to what is known about Jewish prac-

        tice?  Considerable ingenuity has been expended in solving the problem, but a solution which 

        covers all facets of the problem isn't available.  Having Annas and Caiaphas as dual high priests 

        is quite against Jewish practice.   And the interpretation that Annas remained influential in high-

        priestly matters long after his deposition is not supported by any evidence; it is a conclusion

        meant to escape, rather than confront the inherent problems in interpretation.

                   In the usual growth of tradition, a character who is nameless at an early stage acquires a 

        name at a later stage.  What we encounter in the present problem is that the initial naming of

        the man proved to be erroneous, so that a corrective name was added.  Once there were the two 

        names, they needed to be brought into the same time frame.   It is unlikely that the evangelists

        spent much time worrying about the high priest's name, or that they thought that almost 2,000

        years later scholars would be debating such minor details.

CAIN  (קין, lance, spear, blacksmith)  Eldest son of Adam and Eve.  Cain and Abel brought to Yahweh

        an offering of their produce; but for Cain and his offering Yahweh had no  regard. Cain became 

        angry and murdered his brother.  Cain's punishment alienated him from his land, his family, and

         his God. When Cain protested that he would die from such a  sentence, Yahweh graciously sof-

         tened it by placing his mark on Cain.  The reasons why Yahweh preferred Abel's sacrifice and

         how God showed God's preference are not mentioned in Genesis.  Cain became the prototype 

         of wicked men.  Christians are exhorted not to be like Cain, but to be like faithful Abel. 

CAINAN (kainam (kay nam)) In Luke 3, quoting from Genesis 10 and 11 in Greek,  Arphaxad's son.

        

CALAH (כלח, destruction)  One of the Assyrian capital cities.  The site, now called Nimrud, is in the

        northwest angle of the confluence of the Tigris and the upper Zab rivers.

CALAMUS (קנה (kaw neh))  A product of trade made from an aromatic reed probably imported from 

        India.

CALCOL  (כלכל, sustenance)  One of the sons of Zerah, whom Tamar bore to her father-in-law, 

        Judah.  Calcol was celebrated for his wisdom, which was only surpassed by Solomon's.

CALDRON  An English translation representing several varieties of Hebrew cooking pots, both cera-

        mic and metalware.  (See also Pottery).

CALEB  (כלב, dog)   One of the spies sent by Moses to reconnoiter the land of Canaan.  Caleb repre-

        sented the tribe of Judah.  Caleb championed the view that an immediate assault should be

        made.  This distinctly minority view was supported by Joshua but was rejected by the people.  

        Because this timidity was seen as rebellion against Yahweh, the adult  generation was excluded 

        from entering the Promised Land.  Caleb was lauded as Yahweh's servant.

                   Caleb is also associated with the region around Hebron, which was given to him as a

        divinely bestowed inheritance, but one from which he had to eject its former inhabitants, the Ana-

        kim (giants).  The conquest of nearby Debir is also connected with Caleb, although it was Oth-

        niel who actually took the town, winning Caleb's daughter Achsah as wife in the process.

                   It is evident the figure of Caleb represents the incorporation of a foreign strain into the house

        of Judah.  Newer sources of the Bible trace his ancestry back to Judah, while older sources know

        him as the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, which is an Edomite clan of  southern Palestine.  The

        list of his descendents imply varying degrees of penetration by Calebite tribes into Judah.  The trou-

        blesome reference to Caleb as the son of Hezron is probably the Chronicler's strategy for affirming

        Caleb's lineal descent from Judah.  So, possessing alien ties that were never completely con-

        cealed, Caleb nevertheless became the exponent of a fearless faith in the God who had promised 

        Israel land.

CALENDAR   The Hebrews and early Christians didn't have a calendar that was either published or

        widely accepted as are those in general use today.  There was instead a  widely accepted pattern 

        of reckoning time that was in a constant process of change and experimentation.   The present 

        Jewish calendar is a product of the first published Jewish calendar, which appeared in the 300s 

        A.D.  This first calendar was the result of centuries of calculation and controversy, which continued 

        long after it was published.  Even when far away from Palestine, Jews and Christians continued to 

        employ the official calendar of Jewish orthodoxy for observing religious festivals.

                   During the biblical period, 3 different systems were followed.  1st, there was a series of Canaa-

        nite names used during part of the pre-exilic period, only 4 of which are mentioned in the Old Testa-

        ment: 

            Abib (1st month, March-April; mentioned in Exodus 13, 23, 34); Ziv (2nd month, April-May); 

            Ethanim (7th month, Sept.-Oct.); and Bul (8th month, Oct.-Nov.).  The last 3 months are men-

            tioned in I Kings 6 and 8, in reference to the dedication of Solomon's temple.  These Canaa-

            nite names fell into disuse, probably in the early monarchical period.

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                    2nd, As commerce and the crafts grew in the monarchical period, the Hebrews came to

        prefer a system of naming the months by number (i.e. “first,” “second,” “third,” etc.) and continued

        to do so well into the post-exilic period.  By far the largest number of biblical references to the 

        various months are according to this method. The months are as follows:

                             1^st.  'Ekaud  (אחד; March-April)                7^th.  Shebeyee  (שבעי; Sept.-Oct.)

                          2^nd.  Shayney  (שני; April-May)                8^th.  Shemeaney  (שמיני; Oct.-Nov.)

                          3^rd.  Sheleashey (שלישי; May-June)       9^th.  Tishaw  (תשעה; Nov.-Dec)

                          4^th.  Rebeyee  (רבעי; June-July)             10^th.  'Asearey  (עשירי; Dec.-Jan.)

                          5^th.  Khamishey (חמשי; July-Aug.)         11^th. 'Ashtay asar (עשתי עשר; Jan.-Feb.) 

                          6^th. Shishshee (ששי; Aug.-Sept.)           12^th. Sheenayim asar (שנים עשר; Feb-Mar)

                   The 3rd system of names did not arise until after the Exile, and did not find complete ac-

        ceptance until rabbinical times.  The Hebrews took these Babylonian names over using He-

        brew letters to represent Babylonian pronunciation, and did so without a full understanding of the

        mythology behind the names.  The Hebrew names for the months as adopted from the Babylonian

        calendar are as follows:

                             1. Nisan (ניסן; Mar.-April)                          7. Tishri (תשרי; Sept.-Oct.)

                          2. Iyyar (איר; April-May)                             8. Marcheshvan (מרחשון; Oct.-Nov.)

                          3. Sivan (סיון; May-June)                           9. Chislev ( חסלו; Nov.-Dec.)

                          4. Tammuz (תמוז; June-July)                   10. Tebeth (טבת; Dec.-Jan.)

                             5. Ab (אב; July-Aug.)                                11. Shebat (שבט; Jan.-Feb.)

                          6. Elul (אלול; Aug.-Sept.)                         12. Adar (אדר; Feb.-Mar.)

         Of these months, Iyyar, Tammuz, Ab, Tishri, and Marcheshvan are not mentioned in the Bible. 

                   The primitive Hebrew word for month (yerah) was related to the word for “moon.”   It was 

         replaced by the word hodesh (new).  These Hebrew words are associated with the moon and

         particularly the “new moon,” which was an occasion requiring solemn religious observances even in

         early periods.  The early Israelites most likely followed a Canaanite calendar, which may have 

         once been a solar one.  Elsewhere, calendars combining both solar and lunar reckoning were widely

         used throughout the ancient Near East.

                   But while we are fairly certain of the calendar's main features, the further we go back in 

         Hebrew history, the greater our uncertainty becomes.  The need for a uniform schedule of time-

         reckoning grew along with the increasing complexities of their political and economic intercourse, 

         as they emerged from a tribal to a monarchical organization.  While the motivations for calendar-

         making were there, the means to accurately determine a calendar were not. 

                   Thus, the agricultural year fluctuated according to the weather and the region, and the months 

        and their names were closely associated with the seasons.  It was difficult to  determine the annual  

        course of the sun and the stars, because methods of observing them were inadequate.  Also, the 

        solar year (365 1/4 days) did not tally with 12 lunar cycles of 29 1/2 days (354 1/2 days).  Because 

        lunar years are 11 days shorter than solar years, an extra month had to be added occasionally.          

                   A lunar-solar calendar was adopted by the first Babylonian dynasty around 1830-1550 B.C.

           The Babylonians gave Semitic names to the months, and reckoned the year from one vernal

        (spring) equinox to the next.  The months were counted from new moon to  new moon and were 

        most often 30 days long.  They were shortened to 29 if the new moon was on the next day, which

        became the first day of a new month.  The Babylonians inserted their extra month every two or 3 

         years.  This was also the method the Hebrews eventually used.  At first, an extra month was inser-

        ted after Nisan, but eventually it was Adar, the twelfth month that was duplicated.

                   The one Hebrews used was most likely a lunar-solar calendar.  It is fairly certain that the 

        Israelites determined their year by observing the annual circuit of the stars and the sun, rather than

        by fluctuating agricultural and pastoral cycles.  At different times in their history Hebrews observed 

        either the spring or the autumnal equinox as the start of the new year.  At times both new year dates

        would be used at the same time, the spring date in one part  of Israel, and the autumn date in another.

        It is still not clear when each of these was used or how they related to one another. 

                   There is a hint of a primitive spring new year among Hebrews in Exodus.  The Passover month

        is solemnly established as the beginning of the year, and as the month to remember.  It is striking that 

        wherever the Hebrew months are mentioned by number, they are always counted from a first month

        in spring, perhaps because in  patriarchal times, the Hebrews observed a spring new year. 

                   At any rate, there is abundant indication that both civil and religious years were begun at the

        fall equinox during the monarchical period.  The fall new year may have been used for a long while be-

        fore then.  The sabbatical year and the year of Jubilee were agricultural years beginning in the fall

        and progressing through the cycle of sowing, pruning, reaping, and vintage.  Further evidence that a 

        fall new year persisted at least until the time of Josiah and perhaps even after the Exile may be found

        in: I Kings 6; II Kings  22;  and Nehemiah 1.   It is likely, however, that a spring new year continued to 

        be used in certain areas and for special purposes (e.g. It was used in the Northern half of the Divi-

        ded Kingdom for counting reigns). 

                   Shortly before the Exile the Babylonian spring new year began to be used in the Judean

        (southern) half of the Divided Kingdom.  References to time in Jeremiah (25 and 46) depend upon

        a reckoning of the reigns of Judean as well as Babylonian kings from a new year in the spring.   

        Ezekiel also uses a spring new year.  The books of Kings generally maintain the fall reckoning, and

         long after the Exile we find Nehemiah reckoning the reign of his Persian monarch using a  fall new  

        year, even though for other Hebrews the spring new year became more prominent.  The exact

         methods of observation developed by the Babylonians, together with their system of mathema-

        tical prediction, enabled the Hebrews to define more exactly a schedule of compensating for the

        differences between the lunar and solar years. 

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                   It must be noted that the entire Hebrew calendar was constructed upon the pattern of religious

        feasts, which after the Exile came to assume a fairly rigid form; the year began in the middle of our  

        March.  After the Exile, the important feasts were:  

            (a) Passover and Mazzoth (Unleavened Bread) festivals on 14-21 Nisan (1st month); 

            (b) the Feast of Weeks or First-Fruits in Sivan (3rd month);     

            (c) the Feast of Trumpets or the ancient New's Years Day on the first of Tishri (7th month);     

            (d) the Day of Atonement on the 10th of Tishri;  

            (e) the Feast of Booths on 15-22 of Tishri.  

                    It was very important to the pious leaders of the Jews to maintain these festivals on a regu-

        lar and accurate basis throughout the successive years. This was their primary motive for seeking

        more and more accurate calculations of each year.

CALF  (עגל (‘ay ghel); moscoV (mos khos))  A calf is referred to in:  I Sam. 6, 14, and 28; Pss. 29, 

         68;  and Jer. 31 to name a few.  Its peaceful co-existence with other tame and wild animals in the

         future age is mentioned in Is. 11. A replica of a calf's head decorated the back of Solomon's throne.

         Calves, sometimes fattened in the stall, supplied veal for special occasions.  The calf is much less 

         frequently referred to as a sacrificial animal than a bull. In a covenant-making rite the Israelites 

         passed between the parts of a slaughtered calf.

                    In the New Testament, there is the fattened calf in Luke's Prodigal son story (15), and in

        Revelation 4, the 2nd of 4 living creatures who surround the heavenly throne is said to be like a calf.

CALF, GOLDEN  (עגל מסכה (ay ghel  mas say kaw))  A representation of a young bull, perhaps made of 

        wood and overlaid with gold.  Living bulls had a prominent place in the cultic practices of various re-

        gions of ancient Egypt.  In the Old Testament, the golden calf appears primarily in connection with

        the calf made by Aaron in the wilderness period.

                    This account presents complex literary and historical problems.  The people, having waited

        for days for Moses to return, summon Aaron to make a god who will go before them.  As soon as

        the bull has been fashioned, the people worship the gods represented by the bull.  When Moses 

        returns, he breaks the stone tablets, destroys the bull, and causes the people to submit to an ordeal,

        after which Yahweh sends a plague.

                  The connection of the bull with Yahweh is unmistakable: “These are your gods, O Israel, 

        who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”  Aaron also proclaims a feast to Yahweh.  The diffi-

        culty is solved if Exodus 32 is brought into relationship with I Kings 12.  Jeroboam  I (King of

        Israel (Northern Kingdom) from 922-901 B.C.) made two golden calves; one was placed in Be-

        thel, the other in Dan. 

                   The entire undertaking of Jeroboam appears to have been motivated by the desire to restore 

         certain ancient and traditional features of Israelite life which had been suppressed under Solomon

         and Rehoboam (Southern Kingdom, Judah).  Among these were: tribal integrity; concern for the 

         poor and the oppressed; and perhaps the reform of Israelite worship.  Jeroboam's efforts could

         hardly have succeeded if the bulls at Bethel and Dan had been understood to be images of Yahweh,  

         or even some foreign god.

                   If, however, the bulls of Bethel and Dan represented pedestals or thrones upon which the in-

        visible Yahweh was believed to be enthroned, then these bulls had virtually the same meaning as did 

         the Ark of the Covenant.  The young bull may have been a portable throne-seat for the invisible 

         Yahweh to represent his power and presence, especially in time of battle.  This tradition may have

         rivaled the ark tradition, and may have originally been associated with particular tribes or tribal groups.

                   But the bull was entirely too apt a symbol of fertility for it to remain unrelated to Canaanite cult 

        practices and religious understandings.  It was almost inevitable, therefore, that the Bethel and Dan

        bulls should quickly have become marks of Israel’s apostasy to foreign gods.  And eventually, popu-

        lar religious understanding would have taken the bull as the image of  Yahweh, rather than just the 

        seat for Yahweh's presence.

                 The “golden calf” story relates simultaneously in 2 scenes that Israel is bent upon breaking 

        the covenantal stipulations at the very time in which they were being dictated to Moses by Yahweh.

        The Levites appear as zealous defenders of the faith, & Moses as one who intercedes for a sinful

        people.  Thus around a detested religious symbol, originally perhaps quite harmless, the commu-

        nity of Israel has gathered traditions of fundamental theological  significance.  Yahweh is the sove

        reign Lord, who tolerates no representations of himself or of other gods.  Yahweh only is the ordainer

         and upholder of the cult; only Yahweh decrees where and how and why Yahweh is to be worshiped. 

CALIGULA  A nickname given the young Gais Julius Caesar Germanicus, Germanicus’ son and great-

        grandson of Augustus; he was emperor at the age of 24 and reigned from 37-41 A.D.  The name 

         means “little boot” and refers to his upbringing in army camps.  During his reign, he suffered first 

        from a nearly fatal illness, and a year later from his favorite sister and heir Drusilla’s death.   

        During the next year, he discovered the extent of the intrigue against Tiberius.  His investigations

        led to executions and his own downfall.  He prepared for a British invasion, which was prevented 

         by a change in plans or by troop mutiny.

                   By the summer of 40 he became convinced of his own divinity, and gave orders that a sta-

        tue of himself be erected in the temple at Jerusalem.  At Rome, he ordered a temple built for his

         own divinity and required that oaths be taken by his Genius.  During the winter of 40-41 a conspi-

         racy was undertaken against him, and he was murdered on January 24th. It remains a question

        whether he was not quite sane or whether he merely cultivated certain unplea-sant traits in his 

        character.  Many of his contemporaries prefer the former view.

CALLING  (קרא (kaw raw); kalew (kal eh oh), call; klhsiV (klay sis), calling) A summons issued by one 

        in authority, especially God; the religious concept has become almost synonymous with election.

   

CALNEH (כלנה)  A Babylonia city classed with Erech and Accad in Genesis 10, and located in the south. 

         So far the site has not been identified.  In Amos 6, the sequence “Calneh, Hamath, Gath,” suggests

         that Calneh lies to the north.  It may be that Amos' was a colony city named after the city in the south.

                                                        C-4

CALVARY   Luke's translation of Golgotha.

CAMEL  (גמל (gaw maul), kameloV (kam el os))  Most biblical references are to the 1-humped camel.  

        Of these, there is the slow, burden-bearing camel and the swift dromedary.  The 2-humped Bactrian 

        camel of Central Asia is doubtless referred to in Isaiah 21.  The Bactrian camel has the longer hair. 

        The flat foot of the camel fits it to walk on sand without sinking, and is how Mosaic law defines it as

        an unclean animal.  The camel is chiefly used in desert or semi-desert areas, because of its ability to

         eat desert plants and to go for several days (as long as twenty days in the winter) without water.     

                   The evidence from outside the Bible for domestication of camels is mostly much later than 

        2000 B.C.  The first reference to domestic camels in Assyrian records is from around 1100 B.C.  The 

        earliest known undisputed representation of a rider on a camel is from Mesopotamia in the 900s

         B.C.  Large scale camel nomadism, as carried on by Midianites did not appear very much before

        1000 B.C.  

                   According to Genesis, the Hebrew patriarchs shortly after 2000 B.C. had camels.  Abraham is

        said to have had camels in Egypt, and in Genesis 24, he sent his servant to Paddan-aram with 10 

        camels and presents for the family of Issac's bride; the servant returned with Rebekah.  Also in this

         chapter are details about the care and feeding of camels. 

                   Jacob had camels in Paddan-aram and returned to Canaan with his family on them.  The 

        camel's saddle in which Rachel hid the idols worshiped by her family probably had 2 bags on 

        either side of it.  The Mosaic law forbade the eating of camel meat. The Midianites in the time of 

        Judges, and the Amalekites in the time of Saul and David used camels in their raids on Israel.  Israe-

        lites from different parts of Palestine brought gifts by camel to David in Hebron.   The Queen of 

        Sheba brought her gifts to Solomon by camel.  Ben-hadad, of Syria, sent 40 camels to Elisha 

        (II Kings 8).  The Judeans of the Southern kingdom used camels to carry  their gifts to Egypt to

         secure her support.  Sennacherib records that he took many camels from the cities of Judah, and

         a loaded camel is pictured among the spoils from Lachish.

                    The gospels Matthew, Mark, and Luke record Jesus' intentional exaggeration:  “It is easier

         for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”  In 

         another exaggeration, Jesus condemns the Pharisees for “straining out a gnat and swallowing a

         camel.” 

CAMEL'S HAIR  (triceV kamelou (tree kes  kam eh lou))  The material of the outer garment of John

         the Baptist.  Such a garment was suited to the austere life and message of John.  A “hairy mantle”

         was a sign of the prophetic office.  Elijah wore a mantle “of haircloth” which was possibly 

         camel's hair.

CAMEL'S THORN  (aspalaqoV (as pa la thos))  A low thorny shrub which yields a kind of manna; its

        manna was used for making a fragrant ointment.

CAMP (מחנה (makh eh neh)) A temporary protective enclosure for a tribe or army.  The Hebrew root word

         from which makheneh comes suggests that Hebrew camps were circular, with tents erected around the 

         cattle, a custom probably deriving from Israel's semi-nomadic days.

                   Israel is portrayed as a “camp” during its pre-Canaanite days though a clear picture of its orga-

         nization does not emerge.  Levites according to their families were to encamp in an inner circle about

         the tabernacle. 

                   The word “camp” usually denotes a military camp.  A camp pitched to await battle was fortified 

         against attack, but it is doubtful that Palestinian camps were ever as elaborate as the Assyrian camps, 

         with their earthen walls, towers, and moats.

CANA (Kana, from the Hebrew קנה (place of reeds)) A Galilean village of uncertain location; mentioned

        in the Bible only in the gospels.  There is little to identify the site except for studying the origins of

        the word and tradition.  The more widely accepted site is Khirbet Qana, about 14.4 km  north of

        Nazareth. 

                   Various pilgrims, beginning with the 1100s A.D., reported that they visited this site as the Cana 

         of the gospels.   Since it overlooks a plain where reeds are still plentiful, it fits the name “place of reeds.”

         The ruins are on the top of a hill and have not been excavated, but there are cisterns  and the remains

         of buildings.  Cana was the home of Nathanael, one of the 12.  It was also the setting of two gospel 

         incidents.  Jesus turned the water to wine in Cana, and an official from Capernaum asked Jesus there

         to heal his son.

CANAAN  (כנען, low, merchant)  The study of the word's origins doesn't show "Canaan" to be a Semitic

         word. The name has been considered a Hurrian or Horite word form.  The meaning of the root word

         of Canaan cannot be decided with certainty.  It may have to do with “reeds,” or with “red purple” both of 

         which are products of the region.  If, in the 1400s B.C. and earlier, the Hurrian root word was a term 

         denoting Hurrian merchants, it may have developed into an ethnic term denoting the inhabitants of the

          Phoenician coast, because the most important part of the population of that region was the class of 

          merchants.

                   The genealogies of the name of Canaan are interesting, but they must not be taken too lite-

         rally, as evidenced by the fact that Genesis has contradictory passages which have Canaan as both

         the youngest son of Noah, and the grandson of Noah through his second son, Ham.  When it is said 

         that Ham is the father of Canaan, it is perhaps meant in the sense of political domination.   

                    The sons of Canaan are: Sidon and Heth, and Canaan's descendants were:  Jebusites, 

         Amorites (one of the most important Semitic groups), Girgasites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites,

    Semarites, and the Hamathites.  This list of various subdivisions of the Canaanites seems to re
    flect a certain geographical order from the south to the north. Canaan being the father of Heth may
    imply the same kind of political domination as Ham's domination of Canaan, and may reflect tra-
    ditions of migrations of the Hittites.

                                                            C-5

                   The word “Canaan” is also used for the country occupied by the Canaanites in pre-Isra-

        elite times, consisting of Palestine West of the Jordan and part of Syria, particularly the region 

        along the Mediterranean.  In the Old Testament, “Canaan” is used as a designation of the 

        whole of the territory West of Jordan. In other passages in the Old Testament, the Canaan was

        a limited area at the coast and in the plain.

CANAANITES (כנענים (ken ah an eem)) The people occupying Palestine West of the Jordan at 

        the time of the Israelite invasion, and their descendants and successors. 

                   The conditions at Ras Shamra at the 1500s B.C. give good illustration of the popula-

        tion’s mixed character in Canaan during this period.  The Hittites—traditionally from Heth—ap-

        peared shortly after 2000 B.C. 500 years later they lived in the Judean hills, perhaps because

         they had been pressed back by later migrations.  While there is evidence of non-Semitic 

        tongues in the region, it is clear that by the 1500s the Semites were the main part of the popu-

        lation, and that they grew even more dominant as time went on.  Canaanites may thus be re-

        garded as a Semitic people, even if they were never of pure Semitic blood.

                   The countries of Syria and Palestine were inhabited since Paleolithic  times (Stone Age).

        Examples of early inhabitants in the region include:  Stone Age dwellers in the Negeb north of Dama-

        scus; Natufians of Mount Carmel in the Mesolithic period (8000-6000 B.C.); and the people of Byblos

        in the Chalcolithic period (4000-3200 B.C.). The cultural development and linguistic types of these 

        early people will never be known.  It was as early as 3000 B.C. that a Semitic speaking population

        most likely lived there.  One of the most ancient towns is Jericho; others were Beth-shean and 

        Megiddo; at the coast in southern Canaan, Byblos; and in the north, Ugarit.

                   The period of Canaanite history which is best known is the Bronze Age.  During the period

        of the Old Kingdom, (2600-2200), the Egyptians exercised political dominance in Palestine and 

        Syria, and during the 5th and 6th Dynasties they undertook military invasions into the territory.  

        During the 12th Dynasty (1990-1790 B.C.) the Egyptians dominated  Palestine and part of Syria.

         After the decline of the Egyptian power at the beginning of the 1700s B.C., the Canaanites got free

         from Egyptian domination.

                   Beginning around 2000 B.C., the Amorites from the region of Mari invaded Mesopotamia and

         created local kingdoms.  They among others continued down into Palestine. The Hyksos invaded

         Egypt, and the Hurrians and Hittites entered into the domain of the Canaanites. The Canaanites 

         tried to develop a homogenous, independent culture, but the influence of outside groups lent a 

         rather mixed character to the region.  And since the area was divided into small kingdoms, each

         with their own traditions, such a unified culture could never be created.     

                   The coastal region, which is usually called Phoenicia had a more unmixed structure.  Here 

        was probably the Canaanite civilization’s real center.  In the eastern parts of Syria, the Mesopotamian

         influence was stronger; and the Amorites adopted many cultural elements from Babylonia.  Even in

         the area around Damascus a strong Babylonian influence prevailed during the Old Babylonian period 

        with regard to cylinder seals.

                   After the expulsion of the Hyksos in the 1500s B.C., the Egyptians dominated politically. 

        Later the power of the Egyptians declined.  The king of Byblos was almost the last ruler who coope-

        rated with the Egyptians.  He asked for the help of the Pharaoh, but the Pharaoh could not help him.  

        During this period a number of local kingdoms existed in Palestine and Syria, fighting against one 

        another.  Shortly thereafter, the Canaanites merged with the Israelites, who became the political and 

        cultural heirs of the Canaanites.

                   The social structure was mainly of the same type as that prevailing in the other, Near Eastern 

        countries.  3 social groups existed:  freeman, clients, and slaves.  A large number of slaves were war 

        captives and foreign slaves, but most were natives—e.g. defaulting  debtors and unemployed men

        and women, who sold themselves into slavery to obtain their livelihood; there were state slaves,

        temple slaves, farming slaves, and slaves in the field of crafts.  Children were often sold into slavery

        or exposed.

                   Canaanite society and economy were based on agriculture. The farmers were apparently a class

        of industrious people, and their work was the real basis of the economy and the prosperity of the nation.  

        Generally the property of the farmer was not very large, and his household was, as a rule, the main help

        in his work.  The top of the agricultural organization was the king, who possessed a large property.  The

        royal lands were divided up among his subordinate supervisors, who in their turn leased pieces of land 

        to free tenant farmers.  Likewise, the temples possessed large properties.

                   For long periods, ancient Near Eastern society was organized according to the principles of the

         feudal system.  As the owner of the largest properties, the military  organization's head, and the 

        religious organization's leader, the king was the society's head.  Under him there were guilds that 

        took care of special duties.  

                   For example, the professional warrior class, called maryannu, possessed a high position in so-

        ciety.  Their rank was hereditary, and could only be granted by the king.  The maryannu had superior 

        military equipment, particularly their horse-drawn chariots. Maryannu had a special obligation to the

        king, and for services rendered they received areas of land, which provided the means of obtaining

        and maintaining their war equipment. For government expenses, taxes were imposed on the citizens, 

        and the king made the people subject to labor for his construction projects, anything from

        roads, to temples, to fortresses.

                   The Canaanite language belongs to the Northwest group of the Semitic languages.  There were 

        many local varieties and dialects, and significant linguistic differences between various branches of the 

        Canaanite language.  Nonetheless, the Canaanite language is rather homogenous.  Before 2000 B.C., 

        a Canaanite script was in use containing about 80 characters. It shows the use of mostly 3-consonants 

         in forming root words, but a number of 2-consonant and 4-consonant root words exist.  As is the case in 

         other Semitic tongues, including Hebrew, the consonants are responsible for the basic meaning of the 

        root, and through the vowels, the meaning is modified.  Canaanite and Hebrew both used ha as a prefix 

        to words that was equivalent to the English “the”; this came relatively late in the development of Canaa-

        nite language.   

                   Through the excavations at Ras Shamra, a great part of the ancient Canaanite literature has been

         found. The texts are written on clay tablets, with a script invented by the Canaanites on the basis of the

         Cuneiform system of writing.  The chief of the Ugaritic organization of gods is 'Il, a sky god.  He is father

         of the other gods and ruler over the assembly of the gods on Mount Cassius.  

                                                            C-6

                   Baal and Anat are 2 other important gods. They are husband and wife and may be roughly com-

        pared with 2 Mesopotamian deities, Tammuz, and Ishtar.  Baal and Anat are vegetation deities.  Un-

        doubtedly, Baal is a dying and reviving deity, and through the cult which is performed for him, life and

         prosperity are granted to his worshipers through the king, who represents Baal in the cult performances.

CANALS (יארים (yeh or eem), streams, canals) A word referring to the Nile's Delta arms and the network 

         of waterways in the Delta of Egypt.

CANANAEAN  (kananaioV (ka na nay ee os), zealot).  A descriptive term in Matthew 10 and Mark 3 for a 

        certain Simon, a disciple of Jesus, to distinguish him from Simon Peter.  In Luke 6 and Acts 1, the 

         same disciple has the name Simon the Zealot.

CANDACE (Kandakh (kan da keh), queen) In Acts 8, a queen of Ethiopia. “Candace” was a title, not a per-

        sonal  name.  It was used by a number of queens of the Ethiopian kingdom of Meroe on the Nile.  The 

        Candace of Acts cannot be identified with any queen mentioned outside the Bible.  The title apparently 

        applied to the reigning queen mother, and was used by queens  in Augustus’ (25 A.D.) and Nero’s 

        (61 A.D.) times. 

CANDLE. The King James Version translation of ניר (neer), and lucnoV  (luks nos).  Candles were not used

        in biblical times. “Lamp” or “light” is a better translation.

CANE (קנה (kay neh)) An aromatic reed, apparently from India, from which a  sweet-smelling oil was extracted.

CANKER. King James Version translation of gaggraina (gag gra hee na). Revised Standard Version translates 

        it as "gangrene."  

CANKERWORM. King James Version translation of yelek.  Revised Standard Version translates it as either

         “hopping locust” or “hopper.” 

CANON OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.  (See Introduction)

CANON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. (See Introduction)

CANOPY (סכה (sook kaw), booth, tent, thicket)  An overhead cover of some sort.  There is a canopy over

        a vestibule at Solomon's House (I King 7) and Ezekiel's temple (Ezekiel 41). The term is used figuratively

        as the protective canopy over the restored Jerusalem and darkness as the canopy for the presence

        of Yahweh.  The “royal canopy” is the symbol of royal power which Nebuchadnezzar will establish over 

        Egypt.

CAP (מגבעה (mig bah ‘ah))  A conical-shaped object of finely woven white linen tied on the head of the 

         priest, as a sign of his investiture.

CAPERNAUM (Kafarnaoum (kaph ar nah oom); כפרנחום (kah far nakh oom), village of Nahum (com-

        forted))  Although Capernaum was named for some person called Nahum, there is no proof of any rela-

        tion to the Old Testament prophet of that name.  It is now certain that Capernaum is Tell Hum on the 

        northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. It is along the coast on a narrow plain.  Its importance is indicated 

         by the fact that it is regularly called a “city,” in the gospels and that its ruins cover a mile-long strip.  

         Its prosperity was promoted because it was close to the East-West trade route which crossed the Jor-

         dan to the North of Capernaum. 

                    Among the ruins is an octagonal-shaped building known as Peter's house; it is more likely  the

        remains of a church, perhaps from the 400s A.D.  The most striking ruins are those of one of the best 

        preserved synagogues in Palestine.  The ruins are mostly likely from the 200s A.D., but they may well be

        on the site of the synagogue mentioned in Luke 7.  The synagogue is 20  meters long, two stories  high,

        and made of white limestone instead of the local black basalt.  The remains reveal a surprising variety of

        animal, mythological, and geometric figures.  There is a unique likeness of what looks like a small tem-

        ple on wheels, but it is probably a picture of a carriage and not of the ark.

                   Capernaum is one of the most important cities in the gospels, especi-ally in Jesus' Galilean mini-

         stry.  Capernaum is named specifically as the setting of many incidents and    is implied in others.  The 

         synagogue is the place where Jesus healed a man with an unclean spirit    (Mk. 1; Lk. 4), and it is the 

         synagogue built by the centurion whose servant Jesus healed (Mt. 8).  In Capernaum, Jesus healed the

         paralytic (Mk. 2), held discussions on true greatness (Mk. 9), and on paying  the half-shekel tax. Although

         it was Jesus' home, it was condemned along with those cities which had seen his mighty works and had   

         not repented (Mt. 11; Lk. 10).

CAPH (כ)  The 11th letter of the Hebrew Alphabet, as placed in the King James Version at the head of the 11th

         section of the acrostic Psalm 119, where each verse of this section begins with this letter.

CAPHTOR (כפתר, round knob)  The place of origin of the Philistines.  On the basis of geographical, historical, 

        and literary considerations, it is clear that the island of Crete, with which Egypt had commercial relations 

        after around 2200 B.C., is meant by this term.  Although biblical tradition has this as the Philistine's ori-

        gins, there is no evidence for a Philistine occupation of Crete, nor do the facts about the Philistines show

        any relationship between them and Crete.  It is quite possible that the Philistines adopted the traditions 

        of a colony of Cretan mercenaries.  More likely is the use of the term “Caphtor” in a broad sense for the 

         Aegean region.

CAPITAL (כתרת (koh teh reth), crown)  An ornamental carving on top of a pillar.  There were capitals on top 

         of the pillars of the tabernacle.

CAPPADOCIA (kappadokia)  In New Testament times, a large Roman province in eastern Asia Minor.  The 

        limits of Cappadocia varied greatly throughout history; in general it included the territory south of Pontus

        and upper Halys River, East of Galatia and Lycaonia, north of Cilicia, and west of Armenia.

                   Cappadocia was ruled by satraps under the Persians, who continued  under the Greeks after Ale-

         xander, and also after the Roman conquest.  The last king to rule  Cappodocia was Archelaus, who was

          accused of treason and summoned to Rome, where he died after several years there in 17 A.D.  At his 

         death, Cappadocia was made an imperial province and placed under the direct rule of a procurator.  Cap-

         padocia was a wild, mountainous country with few large cities and known for its horses.  Its position was 

         strategic because of the roads which crossed it, such as the one from the Cilician Gates across to Pontus. 

         Cappadocia possessed a significant Jewish community as early as the 100s B.C.  The new Christian 

         religion seems to have flourished there, for by the 300s A.D. Cappodocia was producing great leaders of 

         the church.

CAPTAIN  (שר (sar), head; נשיא (naw see), exalted one; רב (rab), abundant (rank), master; ciliarcoV (kil 

        ee ar kos))  The word “captain” is used by English version to render various Hebrew and Greek words 

        mainly because little is known of army ranks in biblical times.

      C-7

CAPTAIN OF THE TEMPLE  (o otrathgoV tou ierou (oh  ot ra teh gos tau eye rou))  The New Revised Stan-

         dard Version translates it as “officers of the temple”)  The officer second in authority only to the high 

         priest in the temple.  He was also a priest, having supervision over the cult and the officiating priesthood,

         as the high priest's adjutant, as well as over the group of Levites, themselves organized under “captains” 

         into corps of guards functioning as police.  The lesser “captains” would be in direct charge of the watch-

         men, the sentries, and the treasure guards.  It isn't clear in Luke 22, which captain is being referred 

         to in the scenes where Judas plots to betray Jesus and the actual betrayal.

CARAVAN (ארחה (oh rekh ah), company of travelers)  A group of people, often merchants with pack 

         animals, traveling together, especially through dangerous territory.  Local  caravans in Israel trans-

         ported goods from one district to another, using mostly the ass; the  camel, which came into use 

         around 1100 B.C. was less common. The mostly Arab camel caravans mentioned in the Old Testa-

         ment were engaged primarily in the lucrative spice and incense trade.  It takes about 65 days to

         come by camel to Gaza from southern Arabia.

CARBUNCLE  A red stone such as ruby or garnet.

CARCHEMISH  (כרכמיש, fortress of Carmosh (possibly idol))   An important Syro-Hittite capital on the 

        Upper Euphrates.  Isaiah 10 speaks of the capture of it by the Assyrians, and it was here that Nebucha-

        drezzar defeated Pharaoh Neco II in 605 B.C.  The importance of Carchemish during and  just after the

        Amarna Age is becoming clarified by the royal Hittite archives found at Ugarit.  Vassal kingdoms such 

        as Ugarit were subject to Carchemish within the Hittite imperial system.

CARE, CAREFULNESS (חרדה (khar ah dah) trembling; בטח (beh takh), (without) care; דאגה (deh ah gah), 

          anxiety; melo (me low), concern)  In the Hebrew and Greek Bible the noun “care” translates at least 10

         words, and the verb “care” translates at least 13 words with some variety of meanings.  The whole He-

         brew-Christian tradition  opens up the channels of human awareness to the call of God and the claims of 

         his law, to the risks of disobedience, and to the presence and needs of others.  Over all are the care of 

         God for God's people and God's attentiveness to their condition.

CARKAS  (כרכס, vulture, eagle)  One of the 7 eunuchs who served Ahasuerus as chamberlains and whom

         sent for Queen Vashti.

CARMEL (CITY)  (כרמל, vineyard, garden)  A village in the Maon district of Judah about 10 km south-

 southeast of Hebron.  Carmel was where Saul erected a monument after defeating the Amalekites, and

        where an incident took place between David and Nabal, after which David took Nabal's widow for a wife.

CARMEL (MOUNT) (הכרמל (ha car mel), the garden or orchard)  A prominent mountain on the coast of 

         Palestine, stretching some 21 km in a south-easterly direction.  It is 144 meters high at the headlands 

         along the coast, and 536 meters high at its peak.  It was famous for a luxuriant growth of plants in

         ancient times, which still covers its slopes today.  Mount Carmel splits the Palestinian coastal plain

         into 2 parts, the Plain of Acco stretching to the north, and the plains of Sharon and Philistia to the south.

         Between the head-land and the sea is a narrow beach road, but it was most often not used.      

                   During the Stone Age, caves in its western slopes were inhabited by early man.  The first men-

        tions of the mountain in written history are in the lists of Thut-moses III, Ramses II, and Ramses III,

         where it was probably called Rosh Qidshu (holy cape); this suggests that the mountain was an early

        holy place or sanctuary.  In I Kings 18, it is the scene of the contest between the prophets of Baal 

        and Elijah.  In II Kings, it seems to have served as Elisha's spiritual retreat.

CARMI (כרמי, vine-dresser)  1.  A son of Reuben, listed as the last of four sons, who lends his name

        as ancestor to the “family of the Carmites.”

                  2.  A Judahite, the father of Achan who violated the ban on taking spoils from Jericho.

CARNAL (שכבת זרע, (shek o beth  zeh rah) to lie down and scatter seed; sarkikoV (sar ki kos)) 

         “Carnal” is either the same as the English word “material” or describes human nature when under 

         the domination of its lower, sinful impulses.  Without sexual connotations, the adverb is used in the 

         King James Version; the phrase is translated as “to set the mind on the flesh” in the Revised 

    Standard Version. 

CARNELIAN (אדם (‘a dam), to be red; sardion (sar dee on) A variety of quartz of a clear deep-red, light 

         flesh, or reddish-white color. It is one of the few stones noted in the Bible which are found in 

    any quantity in Palestine archaeological sites.  It is a stone in the  covering of  the king of Tyre 

    (Ezekiel 28), and it is the 6th jewel in the wall of New Jerusalem (Revelation 4).         

CARPENTER (חרש (khaw rawsh), tektwn (tek ton))  A craftsman who built yokes, plows, threshing boards, 

        benches, beds, boxes, coffins, boats, and houses, and worked on temple and synagogue.  The Greek

        word tekton is used only for Joseph and Jesus.

                   The carpenter built the upper story on stone houses and made repairs.  Both dowels and nails, 

        as well as mortised, dovetail, and mitered joints, were used to join wood together. David and Solomon

         both imported Tyrian carpenters to work on the palace and temple.  In the latest Old Testament times

         there were carpenter guilds.  In Christian symbolism, the carpenter's square is used for Jude and 

        Thomas, and a saw is the symbol of James the Less.

CARPET (גנז (gen az), treasury; מדין (mid yawn), contentious, judgment.  The meaning of both these

         terms is in doubt.) “Carpet” is derived from the context in which the word is used in Ezekiel 27 and

         Esther 3 and 4. In Judges 5 it refers to something on which people sit.  Professional storytellers or bards

         might well have had such informal soapboxes.   

CARPUS (karpoV)  A resident of Troas with whom Paul had left a cloak.  In II Timothy 4, Paul asked 

        Timothy to bring him a cloak which he had left with Carpus.

CARRIAGE (כלי (kel ee); כבודה (keb ou dah), episkeuasamenoi (eh pis ke oo as ah meh noy))  In

        each instance the reference in the King James Version is to the object being carried, not to a means

        of carrying it.  The Revised Standard Version translates these words as “burden.”

CARSHENA (כרשנא)  One of the 7 princes & wise men of King Ahasuerus.

CART (עגלה (‘ag ah law), wheel)  Hebrew does not separate words for the lighter, two-wheeled

        “cart” and the heavier four-wheeled vehicle.  Such distinctions must be drawn from the context of their 

         biblical use.

                                                                C-8

CARVING  (חרשת (khar oh sheth); פסיל (pes eel))  Something cut, especially in an artistic manner.  Al-

         though carving is mentioned in Exodus 31 and 35, II Samuel 5 and I Kings 5 support the view that

          such craftsmen were trained in Israel only under the monarchy, as both David and Solomon had to

          use carpenters and masons from Tyre and Phoenicia.  References to carved figures are either

          satiric allusions to idols and their manufacture or are references to wood, stone, and metal objects

          in either the tent of meeting or the Jerusalem temple.  While the text does not use “carve” with refe-

          rence to the inner sanctuary cherubim, it is obvious that these creatures of olivewood, each 4.6 m high,

          represent a good deal of joinery and carving (I Kings 6).

CASIPHIA (כספא, place of silver)  A “place” from which Ezra obtained Levites for temple service in Jerusalem

         (Ezra 8).  It assumed to have been in Babylonia, perhaps close to the route of Ezra's trip to Judah. 

CASLUHIM  (כסלחים, perhaps from the Hebrew root meaning “foolish”)  A term of unknown origin that occurs

        in the lists of Genesis 10 and I Chronicles 1 as the name of an offspring of Mizraim (Egypt) and the source 

        of the Philistines.

CASSIA (קדה (keed dah))  Aromatic bark of an oriental tree.  It refers  to an ingredient of the holy anointing oil, 

         and it is an article of trade with Tyre.  In Psalm 45, it is mentioned along with myrrh and aloes in descri-

         bing the fragrance of the royal robes.

     

CASTLE  (ארמון (ar mone); מצודה (met soo dah); טירה (tee  rah),  parembolh (par em bo lay))   Archaeo-

         logical examples of a “castle” are the little fortress of Saul, rude but strong for its time and place, excava-

         ted at Gibeah, and the Herodian “castle of Antonia.” 

CATARACT (צנור (tsin noor))   Possibly an allusion to the waterfalls at et-Tannur on the most westerly source

        of the Jordan, or Nahr Banias, the most easterly source of the Jordan, which bursts noisily forth from a 

        cave at the foot of Mount Hermon.  It could also refer to the waters of the underworld.

CATERPILLAR (חסיל (khaw seel))  The wormlike larva of a butterfly, moth,  and sometimes other insects,

         it is use to identify destructive insects in Joel 1 and 2.

CATHOLIC LETTERS  Traditional designation of the group of documents in the New Testament which are: 

        James; I and II Peter; I, II, and III John; and Jude.

                   “Catholic” in English is derived from the Greek word kaqolikos (ka tho li kos, general).  Cyril

         of Jerusalem says: “The church is called catholic because it extends over all the world . . . and because 

         it teaches universally and completely one and all the doctrines which ought to come to men's knowledge. 

         The idea that Catholic means “universal” was generally accepted throughout the East during the first

         4 centuries.  Our letters are intended for general circulation, as opposed to Paul's letters, which have 

         a specific address.

                   In the 300s Eusebius applied “catholic” to the group of 7 non-Pauline letters in the New Testa-

         ment, noting that most of them were disputed.  The Roman  Muratorian Canon of around 200 include

          includes only Jude, I and II John of the seven.  Origen lists among the  universally accepted writings 

         I Peter and I John, although he himself regards the other five as canonical.  The Syrian Peshitta Version

         of around 425 A.D. lists James, I Peter, and I John.  The location of the Catholic letters in the New

         Testament has been in different places over the years,  because of their limited acceptance by the

         Christian community.

CATTLE (בהמה (beh hay mah); מקנה (mik neh); צאן (tseh ‘own), flock) Domesticated bovine animals; in

         biblical usage often including sheep and goats and sometimes other animals. 

                   “Cattle” may designate both wild and domesticated animals.  All of them are subject to the law

         of firstlings; like all the other animals, cattle are divided into clean and  unclean.  The possession of 

         much livestock is the mark of position and wealth.  Cattle are liable to taxation or even confiscation by a 

         foreign overlord, and may become part of the booty of war.

CAUDA  (Kauda)  A small island south of Crete; the modern Gaudos.  It was skirted by Paul's ship en 

        route to Rome.  He was driven south of Crete, and along with his companions had to jettison their cargo 

        and prepare the ship for the tempest.

CAUL (יתרת (yo theh reth); סגור (seg ore))  In Exodus 29, the King James Version translation of yothereth,

         or the fatty mass which surrounds the liver.  In Hosea 13, the King James Version translation of segore, 

         that is the pericardium or covering of the heart.

CAULKERS (מחציקי בדק (meh kha tsay kay  bah da kake), those who make strong your (Tyre's) leaks)

                   Those who drive some suitable substance (such as oakum) into the seams of a ship's planking 

        to render them watertight.  Before the Greek age, the material generally used for caulking ships ap-

        pears to have been bitumen, which was usually mixed with other substances to form a sticky mixture. 

CAVALRY  (ippikoV (ip pih kos))  A term occurring only in Revelation 9, where it refers to troops riding 

         demonic, lion-headed horses.  They appeared when the 4 angels bound at the Euphrates River 

        were released; they were part of an apocalyptic vision of destruction.

CAVE  (מערה (meh aw raw); sphlaion, (spay lah yon))  Natural and artificial caves are numerous in the

         limestone and sandstone hills of Palestine and the eastern Jordan area and are frequently mentioned

         as places of residence, refuge, and burial.

                    Caves are mentioned most frequently in the Old Testament in connection with the early settle-

         ment of the land of Canaan.  Machpelah, identified with the grotto beneath the mosque at Hebron, was 

         purchased by Abraham for use as a sepulcher for Sarah; tradition identifies the same cave as Abra-

         ham's, Issac's, Rebekah's ,and Leah's tomb.

                    The Israelites were forced to use caves as places of refuge during times of oppression by the

         Midianites.  David escaped Saul by fleeing to the cave of Adullam.  Elijah fled to a cave in Mount Horeb 

         when his life was threatened by Jezebel.   Thousands of caves have been discovered as a result of 

         archaeological exploration.  The excavation of large caves, such as those located between Bethlehem 

         and the Dead Sea, and on Mount Carmel, has demonstrated that they were occupied sometimes from 

         the Stone Age to the present.  Natural and artificial caves used as tombs have been found in Gezer, 

         Beth-shemesh, Jerusalem, Megiddo, etc. (See also the entry in the Old Testa-ment Apocrypha/ Influen-

         ces Outside the Bible section of the Appendix.). 

                                                            C-9

                    Because robbers often used caves in the mountains as their headquarters, the figure of speech 

         “den of robbers” (Jeremiah 7; Matthew 21; Mark 11; Luke 19) implies a cave where evil deeds are 

         planned.  Christian and Muslim shrines have been erected over ancient caves  in such places as Jeru-

         salem, Bethlehem, Hebron, and Nazareth.  Their actual identification with  biblical sites remains uncer

         tain because of the absence of archaeological data. 

CEDAR  (ארז ('e rez))  The mountains of Lebanon provided the major source of cedar.  In addition to pillars,

        cedar was used for roofing, supporting beams, ceilings, paneling, and even for carved work.  Cedar was 

        used as a symbol for strength.  Cedar wood together with Hyssop and “scarlet stuff,” was used in the

        leprosy purification rite.

CEILING (ספן (sip poon))  Used only in the description of Solomon's temple (1 Kings 6).

CELESTIAL BODIES (swmata epourania (so ma tah  ep oo pa nee ah)  Paul uses this term to refer to 

         the sun, moon, and stars, which he understands as beings clothed in bodies of light which are sub-

         stantially different from earthly bodies.

CELIBACY Voluntary abstention from marriage.  This concept is unknown in the Bible unless alluded to in 

         Matthew 19 or I Corinthians 7 (See also Marriage and Essenes).

CELLAR (אוצר (‘oh tsaw); krupth (krup teh))  The Hebrew word is generally translated treasury.  Only

         once in I Chronicles 27 is it translated “cellar”.  Having a room below ground level is not common

         in Palestine.

CENCHREAE (Kegcreai (keg kray eye))  A seaport about 11 km east of Corinth.  Paul stopped there on his

         way to Syria with Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18); Phoebe is a deacon from the church there (Romans 16).

CENSER (מחתה (makh taw))  A portable ladle or shovel-like device for carrying live coals, etc., and for bur-

         ning incense.  The implements used for this double function in the tabernacle and temple included shal-

         low, open-topped pans of bronze.  The right to use the censer in the temple was a zealously guarded

          prerogative of the Aaronic priesthood.  It is part of the purification ritual of the Day of Atonement.

CENSUS (פקדים (pek ood deem), census officer; מספר (mis pawr), num-bering, counting; apografh 

         (ah po gra  pha) The numbering or enrollment of a people, among Hebrews according to tribe, family, and  

         lineage.  It was also used for taxation, determining manpower for war, and allotting Levitic work in cultic 

         service. 

                    The first census was effected at Mount Sinai in the second month during the 2nd year after the 

         exodus from Egypt (Numbers 1).  Of males 20 years old and over, able to bear arms, there were 603,550. 

         The Levites one month old and over numbered 22,000.  The Levites  were then  to be the Lord's in place

         of all the first-born males of Israel, who numbered slightly over 22,000.  The males from 30 to 50 years 

         old who could serve in the tent of meeting, from the sons of Korab,  Gershom, and Merari, numbered 

         8,580.  At Shittim in Moab, another census was taken after 40 years of wandering (Numbers 26).  The 

         men 20 and over numbered 601,730. The Levite males numbered 23,000.

                   Near the end of his reign, David commanded Joab and the military commanders to number Israel 

         from Dan to Beersheba in both II Samuel 24 and I Chronicles 21 (in the Samuel passage, the Lord com-

         manded David to do so; in Chronicles, the devil enticed David to count heads).  Joab reported 800,000

         men available for the military from Israel, and 500,000 from Judah in the Samuel passage.  The same 

         census in I Chronicles was reported as 1,100,000  in Israel, and 470,000 in Judah.  In both accounts 

         Joab vainly tries to dissuade David from his intention, and the Lord sends a pestilence upon Israel as

         punishment for the sin of counting heads.   It has been suggested that the figures given in Numbers

         actually reflect the Davidic census.

                  In the New Testament the enrollment under Augustus during the governorship of Quirinius is noted

         in Luke 2 as taking place near the time of Jesus' birth.

CENTURION  (kenturiwn)  The commanding officer of a “century,” nominally 100 foot soldiers, in the Roman 

         Army.  There were 10 centurions in a cohort and 60 in a legion, regardless of whether there were actually 

         more or less than the 6,000 that a legion should have.

                    The centurions were the actual working officers, the backbone of the army.  The discipline and 

         efficiency of the legion as fighting unit depended on them.  Centurions were required not to be bold and

         adventurous so much as good leaders, steady and prudent, and able when overwhelmed to stand fast 

         and die at their post.  Career men, the centurions were often the most experienced and best-informed 

         men in the army. 

                   The office was the highest to which the ordinary soldier might aspire.  The centurion might be 

         promoted, slowly or rapidly, as the case might be, in an ascending scale of responsibility, from cohort 

         to cohort, even from legion to legion, until he became the senior centurion, the primus pilus, of the 

         first of the ten cohorts of his legion.  Even in the case of legions  recruited locally, the centurions 

         would most often be Roman.  This promotion system by transfer provided varied experience and wide

         knowledge of the Empire.

                    His duties included: discipline (scourging and the execution of capital penalties); drills, inspection

         of arms, quartermaster duties, and command in camp and field.  He might be detailed for command of the 

         auxiliaries, which would seem to have separated them temporarily from their legions.  In addition to the 

         prestige associated with the office, the high pay and generous bonus granted on discharge made the pro-

         spect of becoming primus pilus very attractive to the ambitious soldier.  Often such officers remained in 

         the army much longer than the required twenty years.

                   Centurions figure frequently in the New Testament, more than any other army officer.  In Matthew

         8 and Luke 7, the 1^st Gentile to confront Jesus is a centurion.  He is wealthy, he “loves” the Jewish “na-

         tion,” he built the synagogue, and although he has abjectly obedient  soldiers under him, yet he humbles 

         himself before Jesus.  The centurion in charge of the Crucifixion is the first Gentile to make the Chris-

         tian witness that Jesus is the son of God.  The centurion Cornelius'      conversion in Acts is important 

         enough to be called the Gentile Pentecost.  and finally, Paul  is “delivered . . . to a centurion” for safe con-

         duct to Rome.

CEREMONIAL LAW  Law concerned primarily with the festivals and cultic practices of Israel.  (See also Law

         (OT), Worship (OT), Feasts and Fasts).

CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE (כריתות ספר (sef ar  keh ree thooth); biblion apostasiou (bib lee on   

        ah pos ee as ee oo))  A document which a man under Jewish law was  obligated to give his wife if 

        he divorced her.  A woman was not permitted under any circumstances divorce her husband.  

                   Jesus said that Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to had joined in marriage the

        husband was not to be put asunder.

                                                            C-10

CHAFF (מץ (motes); acuron (ak up on))  The fine dry material blown away by the wind in the process of 

        winnowing.  All biblical references to chaff are figures of speech denoting evil about to be destroyed.

CHALDEA  A region in southern Babylonia.  “Chaldeans” refers to people of this region and also to the last

          dynasty of Babylon.

                    From the 800s B.C. onward we read about the country of Kaldu, a region of swamps, canebrakes,

         and lakes. The region was divided into tribal areas, called “houses,” of more or less definable geogra-

         phical distribution, under leadership of tribal chieftains.  In their isolation, these people kept to them-

         selves and developed a tradition of independence.

                   Chaldeans apparently spoke the Akkadian dialects of the city people, but they shifted to Aramaic 

         earlier and more easily than them.  What separated the Chaldeans from the city-dwellers is not a diffe-

         rence in cultural tradition, but a difference in the social setup.  The Chaldeans lived in loosely orga-

         nized tribal groups, shifting allegiances according to the momentary distribution of wealth and power.  

         They refused to pay taxes, to render services, or to recognize any loyalty beyond the clan, and they were

         ready to plunder the riches of the city and waylay its caravans.  In short, they were the natural enemies

         of all urbanized society.

                   When the Assyrians moved into the region, the Chaldeans became the leaders and carriers

         of the anti-Assyrian movement, and the city-dwellers became mostly pro-Assyrian.  Babylon's city

         was a power unto itself, a symbol of political aspiration and cultural power, so the fight for supremacy

    `    in the land of Chaldea was between the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the Chaldeans.

                   Chaldean rulers were perfectly prepared for the type of warfare brought about by such a situation.

         Intertribal intrigues, guerrilla warfare, sudden attacks and flights, and  complete disregard for treaties

         made these tenacious and crafty chieftains a dangerous enemy.  After nearly 2 centuries of victories

         and defeats they became the undisputed rulers of a Babylonian empire that stretched as far as Egypt 

         and Cilicia. 

                    The period’s political situation was such that Chaldean rulers made use of Elam to the east, far-

         off Assyrian vassals, and anti-Assyrian parties in the cities.  Elam was often ready to send expeditio-

         nary forces in support of the Chaldeans, & to grant asylum to a rebellion’s leaders.  Vassals such as 

         Hezekiah were often involved with intrigues requiring Assyrian attention and resources.  During the 

         700s and 600s, the Chaldeans were alternately vassals and rebels, as the ebb and surge of 

         Assyrian power dictated.

                    With the death of Ashurbanipal in 629, the Chaldean Dynasty begins with Nabopolassar.  Toge-

         ther with the Medes he conquered Assyria's Nineveh in 614.  His son Nebuchadrezzar II ruled from

          605-562, and was powerful enough to throw the Egyptians out of Syria and Palestine.  Nebuchadrez-

         zar's son and son-in-law ruled for only a short time after him.  In  the final phase of the Chaldeans, many 

         Babylonians became known as Chaldeans and went into the world as magicians, astrologers, and divi-

         ners of all sorts.    

CHALKSTONES  (גר אבני, ‘eben ay  gheer)  The Senonian chalk outcropping which is mostly

         to the east and is found to a lesser extent west and north of the Judean hills, is soft, easily eroded, and

         nearly infertile.

CHAMBER  (a.) חדר (kheh der), the word translated as “chamber” most often in the Bible.  b.) לשכה 

         (lish kaw), various rooms associated with the sanctuary. c.) עליה ('al ee yaw), upper chamber, used

         for the Lord's heavenly abode. d.) תא (taw), King James Version “little chamber,” Revised Standard

         Version uses “guard-room,” to mean recessed chambers in the gateway. e.) uperwon (oop er oh on) 

         Private or secret chamber.

CHAMBERLAIN (סרים (saw reece); koitwn (koy tone))  One of the officers in charge of the private quar-

         ters of a king or noble.  Like the cupbearer, he was able to be close to his sovereign by winning his 

         confidence.  Since they sometimes dealt with women's bedrooms, they were often eunuchs.

CHAMBERS OF THE SOUTH (תימן חדרי (kher de ray  tay mawn))  A group of stars mentioned in Job 9

          beside the Great Bear.  Identification of this phrase is uncertain; it could refer, not to stars, but to the

          vacant stretches of the southern sky.

CHAMELEON  (כח (ko akh))  A small, lizard-like animal inhabiting trees, notable for the way in which it 

         changes the color its skin.

CHAMOIS  (זמר (zeh mer))  The chamois is a small, goat-like antelope, strongly built and very surefooted, 

         but not elegant in appearance, about 60 cm high at the withers.  It is found mostly in mountainous 

         forest regions.

CHAMPAIGN  Word used in the King James Version to translate 2 different Hebrew words, in Ezekiel 37.2 and 

         Deuteronomy 11.30.  The word is from Middle English champayne, “open, unenclosed land, plain.”

CHAMPION  (הבנים איש (‘eesh  ha ben nay yeem), the man of the space between; גבור (ghib bore), mighty

         one, warrior)  A term applied to Goliath.  He stood for his army in no man's land between the camps of the 

         Israelites and the Philistines.

CHANCELLOR (בעל־טעם (bal teh ‘aim), lord of favor)  King James Version translation of the Hebrew phrase 

         used for an officer in the Persian court in Ezra 4.  The Revised Standard Version uses “commander,” the 

         New Revised Standard Version uses “royal deputy.”

CHANGE OF RAIMENT (GARMENTS)  (שמלת חלפות (khe lef ote  sim ah lote)) King James Version

         translation of phrase in Genesis 45.  The Revised Standard Version uses “festal garment."

CHANNELS OF THE SEA  (אפקי ים (aw feek yam), stream bed of the sea)  The channels which control

         and direct the flow of the sea that surrounds the earth and overlies the underworld.

CHAOS  (אפל (‘aw fail); תהו (toe hoo))  Properly, a trackless waste.  “Chaos” needs to be understood

         in the original Greek sense of “void, empty space,” rather than as a synonym for “confusion.”

CHARACTERS, COMMON (אנוש חרט (kheh ret  ‘en oshe), common writing style)  “Common characters”

         is used for letters that are shared in common by a majority of literate people.  The phrase is used in 

         Isaiah 8.1.

CHARCOAL  (פחם (peh kham); anqrakia (an thra kee ah))  Fuel made from charred wood was the com-

        mon fuel in the Bible; mineral coal was unknown in biblical times.

                                                        C-11

CHARGER (קערה (keh aw rah))  The King James Version translation of the Hebrew word meaning a

         large flat serving dish.

CHARGERS  (פרשים (par esh eem))  Spirited horses used in battle to attack enemy forces or positions.

CHARIOT  (רכב (reh keb); מרכב (mer kah bah); arma (ar ma))  Wheeled vehicles drawn by asses are at-

         tested in Mesopatamia shortly before 3000 B.C.  A model from this period shows a single rider on a cha-

         riot made of 2 disk-wheels, on which was mounted a heavy pole and a simple board.  The earliest 

         spoked wheels were in the time of Hammurabi (1792-1750 B.C.); either 4 or 6 spokes were used, mostly

         the latter.  8-spoked wheels appeared under Ashurnasirpal II.

                    The body of the chariot was probably 4-cornered made of light wickerwork, open at the back, with

         a very high dashboard, to which was attached a case for spears, battle-ax and whip.  The axle was

         usually under the rear of the chariot.  The chariot usually ran low to the ground,  although there were 

         exceptions to this.  The chariot was manned by 2 men in the Egyptian and early Assyrian forms.  The

         Hittite chariot was manned by a 3rd (a shield bearer) as well, and this form was adopted in Assyria

         shortly before 1000 B.C. 
                 It was the increasing use of the horse that revolutionized ancient warfare. The importance of the

         chariot for warfare is demonstrated in numerous inscriptions.  The Hyksos were able to conquer most

         of Syria and Egypt from around 1800 to 1600 B.C.; they were the ones who introduced chariots into 

         Canaan.  When the Israelites invaded Canaan, they  found the Canaanite iron chariots too formidable 

         to permit conquest of the plains.  Because chariots were of no use in the hill country, the Israelites were

         gradually able to conquer it.

                   David's victories over the Philistines were doubtlessly due to his use of chariots against the Phili-

         stine chariots.  Chariots were also used in the dynastic struggles of Absalom and Adonijah.  Solomon 

         later developed a chariot army in order to put his army on a par with, or on a higher level than, those

         of his neighbors.  After the division of the kingdom into Israel (North) and Judah (South), the chariot was 

         prominent in Israel's army.  In Judah, chariots were less developed, and used less, doubtlessly in large 

         part because of the hilly terrain.

                    The chariot was not only used for warfare, but in ordinary life for the pomp and pleasure of kings 

         and their principal officers as well.  Chariots are often mentioned as symbolic of royal dignity.  Also,

         the notion of chariots and charioteers of the deity was a widespread one in the Near East.  The “chariot

         of fire and horses of fire” which transported Elijah to heaven probably reflect an ancient solar legend.  In 

         Zechariah's last night vision (Zechariah 6), 4 heavenly chariots are sent out in 4 directions as messengers

         of God to the Dispersion.  In the New Testament, the chariot of the Ethiopian eunuch was most likely for

         personal transport, and not for war.

CHARIOTEER  (רכב (rak kab))  The driver of a chariot; the word is used in I Kings 22 and II Chronicles 18.

CHARISMATA  (Carismata)  Basically, favors, endowments, graces, offices, all bestowed by God's grace 

         without claim of merit whatsoever on man's part.

CHARITY.  (agaph (ah gop ay))  The King James Version translation of agape.  The Revised Standard 

         Version translates it as (unconditional) love.

CHARMER (הבר (ho bar))  A charmer who uses spells or charms to achieve magic effects. 

CHASM (Casma)  A cleft or pit which separates 2 places.  The word occurs in the New Testament only in

         Luke 16, where after death a valley separates the rich man in Hades from Lazarus in Abraham's bosom.

CHEBAR (כבר, abundance)  The exiles among whom Ezekiel lived were located at the village Tel-abib on 

         the River Chebar; it was here that Ezekiel received the prophetic vision.

CHECKER WORK (1.  שבכה (seb ah kaw); תשבץ כתנת (keth oh neth tash bates), checkered coat) 

            1.  Part of the temple pillars' ornamentation, probably a criss-crossed design.      2.  A kind of weaving

         used in making the high priest's tunic, mostly likely in a checkered design.

CHEDORLAOMER  (כדרלעמר, handful of sheaves)  King of Elam who led a punitive campaign against 5 

         kings in southern Palestine and routed them in the Valley of Siddim; he was eventually defeated by 

         Abram and his associates.  The name could also mean “servant of (the god) Lagamar.”

CHEESE (שפה (shah fah); גבנה (gheb ee naw))  Cheese appears twice in a list of provisions: those

         brought by David to his brothers; and those received by David at Nahanaim.  In Job it is used symbo-

         lically by Job to describe God's treatment of him.  In biblical times cheese was prepared by salting the 

         strained curds, shaping them into small disks, and drying them in the open air.

 CHELAL(ﬤלל, perfection)  One of Pahath-moab's sons who were forced by Ezra to give up their foreign 

         wives.

CHELUB  (כלוב, basket or cage)    1.  A descendent of Judah; possibly it is a misspelling of “Caleb.”      2.  The

        father of Ezri, one of David's officials.

CHELUHI (כלהי)  One of those whom Ezra forced to give up their foreign wives.

CHEMOSH (כמוש, subduer (possibly))  The name or title of the god of the Moabites, sometimes connec-

         ted with Ashtar.  Solomon built a sanctuary of Chemosh on the mountain east of Jerusalem; it was 

         abolished by Josiah.

CHENAANAH (כנענה, low)    1.  The father of Zedekiah the false prophet.    2. Listed as part of the tribe of

         Benjamin (probably incorrectly as the list in question is more likely that of one of the tribes of Zebulun.)

CHENANI  (כנני, protector)  A postexilic Levite who was present at Ezra's public reading of the law.

CHENANIAH  (כנניהו, Yahweh strengthens)    1.  A leader of the Levites in “lifting up” either the ark or 

         their voices in song (the object of the Hebrew word is unclear).      2.  An Isharite appointed for

         official duties outside the temple.

CHEPHAR-AMMONI  (העמוני כפר , Ammonite village) A town in Benjamin, apparently so called because

         it was settled by Ammonites.  The site is unknown.

                                                                 C-12

CHEPHIRAH  (כפירה)  A Hivvite city which followed the lead of Gibeon in making terms with the Israelites.

         It was resettled after the Babylonian exile.  Its site is southwest of Gibeon.

CHERAN  (כרן, harp)  The fourth son of clan chief Dishon; ancestor of a native Horite subclan in Edom.

CHERETHITES AND PELETHITES (פלתי כרתי)  Groups which constituted a section of David's personal

         army.  They joined him after he defeated the Philistines and were part of his bodyguard after he was 

         established in Jerusalem; Benaiah, son of Jehoiada was their leader.  Their loyalty to David was 

         absolute and was proved by their remaining loyal to him on his flight  from Jerusalem because of Ab-

         salom, and by their support of Solomon as king.

                    The name Cherethite most probably meant Cretans and alluded to the Aegean origin of  part 

         of the Sea Peoples who settled along the southern coast of Palestine with the Philistines, or to a 

         band of Cretan mercenaries. The Pelethites were most likely recruited from the ranks of the Phili-

         stines with whom David had come in close contact.

CHERITH, BROOK (נחל כרית (nakh al  ker eeth), nakhal=stream; cherith=a cutting)  A stream 

         where Elijah was told to hide; he remained there until the stream dried up because of the 

         drought.  It must have been one of the wadies in Gilead where there were many caves in the hills. 

CHERUB (ANGEL)  (כרוב)  A winged bull, or similar mythological beast, adopted by the Israelites from

         earlier Mesopotamian and Canaanite mythology.

CHERUB (TOWN)  A Babylonian place; still unidentified, from which Jewish exiles, who couldn't prove 

         their ancestry with genealogical records, returned to Palestine.

CHESALON  (כסלון, hope)  A city along the northern section of Judah's boundary, bordering on

         Dan, about 14 km west of Jerusalem, in a region once noted for its oak forests.

CHESED (כשד)  The fourth son of Nahor and Milcah, and probably the Aramean ancestor of the Chaldeans.

CHESIL (כסיל, fool) A city of Judah in the Negeb district of Hormah; its present location is unknown.

CHESNUT (ערמון (‘ar moan), plane tree)  The King James Version translation of the Hebrew

         word.  The Revised Standard Version translates it as “plane  tree.”        

 CHEST (ארון (‘ah rone)) A box, probably of considerable size, which was placed beside the altar of the

         Jerusalem temple or outside the temple gate to receive the offerings toward the repair of the temple

         under Joash.

CHESULLOTH (כסולות, hopes) A border town in Issachar, the same as Chisloth-Tabor about 5 km south-

         east of Nazareth.

CHETH (ח)  The eighth letter of the Hebrew Alphabet as placed in the King James Version at the head 

         of the eighth section of the acrostic Psalm 119, where each verse of this section of the psalm

         begins with this letter.

CHEZIB (כזיב, from the root “to lie, falsehood”) A place, perhaps the same as Achzib.

                                                            C-13

CHIDON (כידן, spear)  In I Chronicles 13, the name of the threshing floor, and or its owner, where 

        Uzzah was struck dead for touching the ark.

CHIEF (שר (sar); נשא (nah see); ראש (roshe); מנצח (meh nats tsakh); arciereuV (ar khee

         er yuce); ciliarcoV (khil ee ar khos))  A term preferred by the Revised Standard Version, which

         designates the leader of a family, clan, tribe, or group of workers in the temple.

CHIEF PRIEST (הראש הכהן, ha ko hane  ha roshe)  In addition to the actual use of the term, certain 

        references to Aaron veil a reference to the chief priest.

CHILD  (ילד (yeh led); נער (nah ‘ar); paidion (pa hee dee on))  The importance of children in the Bible is 

         attested by the numerous allusions to them. The child in relation to the family was the recipient of love 

         and care.  Only by bearing children could a woman achieve her true purpose  in life.  The day of wea-

         ning was a time of celebration; after weaning children were taught bit by bit, line upon line.

                   Children were named to express some aspect of God's relation to the father or to the entire fa-

         mily group at times. Children were the recipients of gifts; fathers know how to give good gifts to their 

        children.  The covenant community will have an abundance of children.  “Child” appears as a term of 

        address by a teacher to his pupil or pupils in the wisdom writing of the Bible.  The term “children” appears

         in “children of Israel,”  “children of the elect lady (church),” “children of  Abraham,” as an indication of the

        covenant community.  It also appears in “rebellious children,” “children of transgression,” “children of the

        devil vs. children of God.”  Jerusalem is personified as a mother and her inhabitants as children.

CHILDREN OF GOD (See also Sons of God)  There is little to be gained by pressing a distinction between 

        “children” and “sons” of God; both mean a moral or spiritual relationship to God.  The phrase is not ap-

        plied to humankind as such, as though they were actually God's children, even if they are such potentially.  

        Rather, it is in and through Christ that men are adopted or reborn into this relationship.  Thus, and not by 

        any mere automatic evolution, will come the “glorious liberty of the children of God.” 

                   In the Old Testament, “son” is the regular word used, rather than “children.”  The Greek transla-

        tion of the Old Testament (OT) uses several different words to translate the Hebrew word.  The OT makes 

        it clear that Hebrew thought had little or no use for the pagan idea of God as, in some physical sense, the 

        father and begetter of his children.  Only a few verses claim God as physical father.  In Hosea 1, it's only in 

        the future, when the punishment for apostasy and unfaithfulness is over and done with, that Israel will be 

        called “sons of the living God.”  This is the hoped-for future reversal of the doom contained in the phrase 

        “not my people.”

                   In the New Testament (NT) the moral content of the term becomes even more firmly established.

        It’s limitations to Israel in the narrower sense is abandoned, and the merely nationalistic claim is sharply

        repudiated.  In certain passages, it is natural to see the reflection of the controversies, subsequent to 

        the death and resurrection of Christ, over the  admission of Gentiles into the Christian church.  But finally, 

        it became church doctrine that the impartially good, those who are deeply concerned for their fellow hu

        mans, are by character, allied with God himself, or “sons of the Most High,” as the gospel of Luke puts

        it. Jesus' saying “whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, sister, and mother,” is a 

        pre-resurrection form of this belief.

                   The NT doesn't seem to present a doctrine of all people as such being children of God, any more

        than the OT sees anyone besides the chosen people in this status.  Thus, while all men are potentially

        the children of God, only those who have been adopted or begotten or born anew are normally described

        as actually such. The most characteristic aspect of the NT concept of the sons of God is: the status of son

        belongs to Christ, and is mediated by him to all and only in Christ can belong to all. 

                                                            C-14

                  Putting the same thing in another way, Paul uses the analogy of adoption, and says that to be able

        to utter the same cry of filial obedience which Jesus himself uttered is a gift of the “spirit of sonship.”  “Bap-

        tismal regeneration” is the sacramental expression of this  relationship; and the association of water and 

        Spirit with the theme of rebirth in John 3 makes it natural to see there an allusion to it.  It should be added

        that in I John 3 some commentators see a reference to some distinction between “adoption” and a more 

        essential relationship.

                   While Christians are already sons of God, there is yet to come some fuller manifestation of the 

        meaning of this condition.  The phrase “glorious liberty of the children of God (Romans 8:21),” in its con-

        text appears to mean the liberation of all creation.  Christ, the  absolutely obedient and perfect Son of God,

        having pioneered the way, it remains for the rest to be brought to the full realization of God's plan for them

         through Christ.  The coming age of humankind will be when “we all attain to the unity of the faith and of 

        the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature adulthood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of 

        Christ."    (Ephesian 4:13).”

CHILEAB (כלאב)  The second son of David; born at Hebron, of Abigail the widow of Nabal.

CHILIASM (ciliasmoV (kil ee as mos))  An early Christian concept, which came into disrepute, of a millen-

         nium characterized by materialistic and sensuous enjoyments.

CHILION (כליון, a pining)  One of the two sons of Elimelech and Naomi, who migrated to Moab.  He 

        married the Moabitess Orpah.

CHILMAD (כלמד)  A place name listed next to Asshur; located near modern Baghdad.

CHIMHAM (כמהם, longing) Son of Barzillai the Gileadite.  He returned with David in lieu of his father.  Chim- 

         ham appears to have received a royal pension and a land grant  near Bethlehem in appreciation for the

         generous aid that Barzillai provided King David.

CHIMNEY (ארבה (‘ah roo bah), window) The King James Version translation of the Hebrew word in Hos. 13:3.

CHINNEROTH  (כנרות, harp)    1.  Early name of the Sea of Galilee (See Biblical Entry).      2.  A district

        in Naphtali taken by Ben-hadad during during Baasha's reign  in the early 800's B.C.      3.  A for-

        tified city in Naphtali, located on a hill dominating the fertile spring-fed plain along the northwest side

        of the Sea of Galilee.  Minor excavation there has shown occupation of the  mound from 2000-900 B.C.  

CHIOS (h CioV)  A rocky and mountainous island in the east central region of the Aegean Sea.  It mea-

         sures about 51 km from north to south, and varies from 13 to 29 km from east to west.  A small strait 8 

         km or more wide separates it from the Asia Minor mainland; it was famous for wines, figs, and gum 

         mastic.  In Paul's day Chios was a free city in the Roman province of Asia.  Paul, on his final journey

         to Jerusalem, sailed south from Mitylene, and anchored “opposite Chios” near the mainland, before

         sailing to Samos the next day. 

CHISLEV (כסלו)  The 9th month in the Hebrew Calendar from late November to late December.

CHISLON (כסלון (slow)) Elidad's father, who was selected from Benjamin to help superintend the distri-

        bution of West Jordanian Canaan among the 10 tribes to occupy that territory.

CHISLOTH-TABOR (כסלת תבר, confidence of Tabor)  A town in lower Galilee on the border between

         the territories of Zebulun and Issachar, about 5 km southeast of Nazareth and 6 km west of Mount 

         Tabor at the northern edge of the Valley of Jezreel.

CHITLISH  (כתליש, wall of man)  A city of Judah in the Shephelah district of Lachish. 

CHLOE (Cloh)  A woman whose slaves or household informed Paul  in Ephesus that there were parti-

         san divisions among the Corinthian Christians.  She was well-known to Paul, though not necessarily

         a Christian.

CHORAZIN  (Corazin)  A city of Galilee reproached by Jesus.  It was most likely located about 3 km north 

       of Capernaum on the basalt hills above it.

                   The extensive ruins indicate that it was a city of some  importance.  There are the remains of a

          synagogue built out of the black volcanic rock around the 300s A.D.  Both Chorazin and Bethsaida

         were reproved by Jesus for their unbelief; both are near Capernaum, which was the center of his

         Galilean ministry.

CHRIST, CHRISTOLOGY (CristoV, the Anointed One, the Messiah. (See also the entry in the Old Tes-

         tament (OT) Apocrypha /Influences Outside the Bible section of Appendix for Christ and the Biblical 

          entry for Messiah (Jewish)) A title applied to the coming king of the Jews; in the New Testament (NT) 

         it is the most common title of Jesus.  It started as a title, but soon  became practically Jesus' name or 

         surname.  Christology is the body of doctrines relating to Jesus’ personal attributes and mission. 

                    List of Topics—1. Introduction;     2. OT Background;     Gospel Development of Chris-

        tology;     3. Paul’s Development of Christology;     4. Later  NT books;   5. Gospel of John

                   1. Introduction—One can't trace with complete certainty the development of Jewish messianism 

         into Christology.  The parables display Jesus as a prophet announcing  the kingdom of God, and to be a 

         prophet was the highest category in which Jews could place any human being.  He spoke  on his own 

         authority, and without any consciousness of personal sin or alienation from God. 

                    Jesus made his final trip to Jerusalem to arouse what can only be called a religious revolution, and 

         he went fully conscious of the danger to himself and his disciples. His entry into Jerusalem suggested

         that he had come as a peaceful messianic king.  The Romans crucified him on the charge that he was

         or claimed to be the “king of the Jews.”  During his ministry he had received unusual allegiance from 

         his disciples, and  after experiencing the risen Christ, they no doubt concluded that God had made him

         both Lord and Messiah. 

                    The growing faith was heightened and enriched by the experience of the Spirit at baptism, and the

         sense of Christ's presence at the Lord's Supper.  The word “Messiah” now meant the prophet, the new

         lawgiver, God’s Son, and the Son of man for the disciples. It meant  everything that they knew and be- 

         lieved about Jesus. 

                    2. OT Background—Christology developed on the basis of the OT and Jewish hopes of the 

         coming king and the future time of salvation.  The later parts of the OT expect an ideal ruler, descen-

         ded from David, who will establish a perfect and permanent reign on earth.  Perhaps the earliest 

         Davidic prophecy is Psalm 18.  Ezekiel includes in his picture of the future the permanent rule of a

         Davidic prince as a true shepherd of the people.  Amos 9 also contains a post-exilic oracle.

                                              C-15

                  The highest point in the Davidic concept is the oracles in Isaiah 9-11. There will be a “Prince of 

         Peace,” whose government on the throne of David will be established in justice and righteousness and

          will have no end.  A shoot will spring from Jesse’s stump.  In Isaiah’s 2^nd part, written long after the first, 

          the Davidic king retires into the background.  God will make an everlasting covenant, but there is no ex-

         plicit promise of the monarchy’s reestablishment.  The Lord’s servant, who suffers, bears the sins of 

          many, and makes intercession for the transgressors, is often described as an individual, but appears to 

         be a symbol of Israel itself. 

                    Messianic expectation remained vivid until the end of the Second Jewish Revolt in 135 A.D., 

         and in the first two centuries there were messianic speculations in Pharisaic circles.  The Messiah

          isn't particularly prominent in the rabbinic writings. The Messiah would come at a time known only to 

         God and would remain hidden until he revealed himself.  Calculating the time of his coming was dis-

         couraged by the rabbis.  The idea that a Messiah should die and have a temporary kingdom was pre-

         sent in first-century Judaism.

                    It cannot be proved that the concept of the Logos or Word of God held by the Alexandrian Jewish 

         philosopher Philo influenced NT Christology, but Philo illustrates a current trend of thought.  The Logos 

         is called the αρχη (ark eh) or world’s beginning.  God created Logos and the ideas, which in turn are the 

         archetypes of all things modeled after them.  Philo regarded the high priest as symbolizing Logos, and 

         there is also a close relationship between Logos and Moses.  Moses wasn't only a lawgiver, but also the

         prophet who saw with the soul's eye the immaterial forms of the objects about to be made for the 

         tabernacle.   

                     3. Gospel Development of Christology—In the earliest gospels, Christology has already deve-

         loped considerably.  Mark most often uses the title “Son of God.”  Jesus is also the suffering, dying, 

         rising, and returning “Son of Man,” and the Messiah.  Other titles used are “God's  beloved” and “Son

         of David,” although Jesus rejects the last as not applicable to the one who is David's Lord.  For Mark, 

         Jesus is actually greater than any of the titles applied to him.  

                    He is herald of God’s Kingdom of and the inaugurator of a new age.  He is a prophet and an

         apocalyptic teacher with supernatural knowledge and with absolute authority.  He refuses to explain 

         his authority to his enemies, but the demons, being spirits, recognize him immediately  and address

         him as the: “Holy one of God,” “Son of God,” and “Son of the Most High God.”  At the Cross even

         a Roman centurion can say:  “Truly this man was a (not “the”) son of God!”  In Mark, Jesus is human 

         as well as divine.  Behind the baptism story there may be the thought that on this occasion Jesus

         was adopted as Son of God. 

                    The non-Markan passages of Matthew and Luke, usually known by the symbol Q, exhibit some

         variations in their interpretation of Jesus' mission and purpose.  In Q,  his role as prophetic bringer of 

         the kingdom is much more prominent.  In many passages which add to the body of doctrines about 

         Jesus, there is no direct teaching about Jesus' humanity or divinity.  A whole group of passages con-

         trasts the new age, begun by Jesus' work, with the old.  The Q passage which teaches that those

         who receive the ones sent receives Jesus, and those who receive Jesus receives the one who sent

         him, shows Jesus to be God’s emissary, and to be decisive for humankind’s salvation.  Certain pas-

         sages dealing with the new age also identify Jesus as the Son of man.

                    A new element is introduced in those passages where Jesus is addressed as Son of God, such 

         as the temptation story.  Here, the Son of God has superhuman powers.  For him to possess the king-

         doms of the world is a real possibility.  Elsewhere, the idea of hidden wisdom, and that only the Son 

         knows the Father is foreign to Judaism, and so the whole passage in Matthew 11 introduces a new 

         element into messiahship. 

                   Matthew added little to the ideas of his sources in Mark and in Q. His principal contribution to

         the interpretation of Jesus as Son of God was the virgin birth story.  His contribution to interpreting

         Jesus as lawgiver was his special materials in the Sermon on the Mount, which are remarkable for the 

         formula in which Jesus' teaching is contrasted with that of the ancients:  “. . . it was said to the men of 

         old . . . but I say to you. . .  ”

                   In contrast, Luke appears to have access to traditions dominated by the idea of the Messiah as 

         son of David. The language used in chapters 1 and 2 is from Jewish messianism, except that Jesus is  

         also called Son of God.  As Son of God, the boy Jesus thinks it only natural to be in his Father's house, 

        and yet he grew in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man.  Luke's special material reflects an 

         early interpretation of Jesus as “a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all people.” Other

         passages contain a larger miraculous element, from the miraculous catch of fish, to promising Paradise 

         to the penitent thief next to him. 

                    Luke differs from other synoptists in referring to Jesus as “the Lord,” apparently in an absolute 

         sense as Lord of all his people.  Acts echoes this in the primitive idea that God raised Jesus up and 

         made him both Lord and Messiah.  In Acts, Jesus is called “savior,” a term not very frequently used in 

         the NT.  Other terms used in acts include: “servant (or child)”; “prince”; “author, (pioneer or founder) of

          life”; “Holy and Righteous One”; and “one who was to come.”

                   4. Paul’s Development of Christology—The letters of Paul show that within a few years after

         the Crucifixion a very high Christology had developed.  What Paul has to say about the nature of Christ

         is secondary to his teaching about the work of Christ.  In all of his correspondence “Christ” is used as a

         name, either as a surname for “Jesus” or prefixed to it, or as a substitute for it.  “Christ” also in a wider

         sense refers to the relationships of the risen Jesus.  To be “in Christ” or “in Christ Jesus” means to be

         a Christian, with all that this implies.  

                   Paul uses a number of metaphors to express what has happened to the followers of Jesus, such 

         as:  the indenture which held him in slavery has now been canceled (Colossian 2); though once an

         enemy of God, the followers of Jesus are now reconciled to God (II Corinthian 5.18); and they have

         been adopted as God's son, etc.  All this depends on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and is 

         made available by one's faith in Christ and identification with him.         

                    The Thessalonian letters, which are apparently the earliest, are concerned with the Second

         Coming of Christ.  The “Son of man,” slaying the antichrist (“a man of lawlessness”) with the breath

         of his mouth that Paul uses can be derived from Jewish apocalyptic writings.  In I Corinthians, Paul

         overturns the ordinary definition of messiahship; he is crucified, but nevertheless he is God's power

         and wisdom.  

                   The Christian Messiah was active in the saving events of the OT as the rock from whom the

         Israelites derived water and perhaps as the manna.  The Messiah is the heavenly man who is first

         to rise from the dead, and he will reign until he vanquishes all enemies.  But his rule ends when he 

         hands the kingdom to God the Father.  For Paul, Christ is in some sense subordinate to God.  God 

         is the head of Christ (I Corinthians 11:3).

                    In II Corinthians adds 3 principal points: The Lord Jesus Christ, who had been rich, became

         poor so that his followers might become rich; his is the new covenant, as contrasted with the Mosa-

         ic covenant of condemnation with its short-lived glory; Christ is the image of God and therefore related

         as closely as possible to God, and so closely related to the Spirit that the distinction is not clear.  

         He emphasizes Jesus' humanity by saying that he was crucified in weakness.

                    Galatians and Romans express the creatureliness of Jesus and  his subordination to God

         in another way.  God sent God's Son, made of a woman, made under the law in flesh like sinful flesh.

         With respect to his flesh, Christ descended from David; with respect to the Spirit of holiness, he was 

         declared Son of God in power by the resurrection from the dead. 

                    Philippians and Colossians, like the other letters, still teach the future coming of Christ. In Phil-

         lipians, Christ was originally in the form of God, but “emptied” himself and took the form of a man.  As 

          he had been obedient to death, God exalted him. Paul believed in the humanity of Christ, and it is like-

         wise clear that Paul believed in Christ's divine nature.  Everything  was created through him and for 

         him; he is prior to all, and all holds together in him.  Thus he is pre-eminent in creation, providence, and

         redemption.

                                                              C-16

                   It seems clear, then, that in Paul's thought the various approaches to the understanding of Jesus'

          nature—his human activity as teacher and loving friend of his disciples, and his divine roles as Messiah,

         heavenly man, Lord, founder of the new covenant, and wisdom of God—all were combined in a harmo-

         nious and intelligible synthesis.  Paul says nothing of any miraculous activity in Jesus' ministry.

                    5. Later NT books—Other literature was modeled on Paul's letters.  Ephesians adds 

         very little to Colossians' Christology, except to suggest the descent of Christ into Hades.  In Hebrews,

         written as it was when persecution was near, the writer seeks to strengthen Christian faith by pointing

         to the unique importance of Christ's person and work.  More than most books in the NT, Hebrews

         emphasizes the humanity of Jesus.  In the days of his flesh he uttered cries and prayers to God and 

         learned obedience through what he suffered, as well as compassion for human weakness.  He  was 

         also the Son of God as the agent of creation, God's unique apostle and   priest. His high priesthood

         represents a new law and a new covenant.

                    The prophecy of Revelation stands apart from the main Christological development in that its 

         view of Messiah is almost entirely that of late Jewish apocalyptic, combining as it does the thousand-year

         messianic, age the saints' resurrection, the last onslaught of Satan, the general resurrection and judg-

         ment, and the age to come.  Judaic and Davidic images are combined with the new image of the Messiah,

         not as a bull, but as the slain  lamb who has loved his people and freed them from sin by his blood.  Other 

         Christian images used include the Son of God, and the Word of God. 

                    I Peter emphasizes the gentleness and lack of revenge on the part of the lamb. In II Peter the 

         Transfiguration is regarded as a foreshadowing of the Second Coming.  The letters to Timothy and Titus

         use “Savior” as a title for Jesus most of the time.  His humanity and his role in salvation are both empha-

         sized; he is the “one mediator between God and humans, the man Christ Jesus.”

                    5. Gospel of John—This gospel marks the highest point of NT Christology.  Both “Christos” and

         “Messias” are used to describe Jesus. He is also Son of God, coming out from God and not of human 

         origin. Christ assumed full humanity, but that humanity is only a vehicle of the divine.  Christ is the

         Logos, the Son of Man, the Lamb of God. He is the bread of life, water of life, life and truth, the way 

         and the pioneer of the way. 

                   The gospel begins with a hymnic prologue on the Christ as Logos.  The Prologue carries on the 

         idea of Colossians and Hebrews that Christ was agent of creation.  John goes beyond Paul inidentifying 

         the Logos as God, though he is “with” God. The idea of the messianic secret is worked out elaborately in

         this gospel; only a few disciples believe, imperfectly at best, and Jesus’ enemies are baffled and misun

         derstand him even when he speaks clearly.  There are no parables, but only allegories; no specific 

         teachings about the law, but only the sovereignty of Christ over the law and the new law of love. The         

         fourth Gospel is a dramatic-theological representation of the meaning of Christ, a creed in gospel form.

                   Some of the ideas and words used to describe Christ like those mentioned in the preceding para-

         graph are similar to those used in Gnosticism.  The difference between John and the Gnostics is that 

         John does not separate the Creator from the revealer and the redeemer.  Another basic difference is 

         John's biblical-Christian idea of the world as God's creation.

                    The Gnostic redeemer couldn't be fully human as in John's gospel, and the whole personality

         of each follower could not be redeemed, but only the divine spark.  John differs from Paul in that 

         what Paul attributes to the risen and glorified Christ for John shines out in Jesus' earthly ministry.

         His actions and speech are those which the evangelist deemed appropriate to divinity, his knowledge

         is supernatural, and his prayers to the Father are those of complete communion and mutual under-

         standing. 

                    The Apostolic Fathers of the 100s A.D. took the older Christological ideas and developed

         them further.  The principal ones were the taught Trinitarian formula, the creed, and the 2-fold,

         human/divine nature of Christ.  Ignatius  that the church is in union with Christ as Christ is in union 

         with the Father, that Christ is God's uttered word “proceeding from silence,” and that Jesus was

         the “will of the Father.”  For him, indeed formost if not all of the church, Christ had become the re-

         presentative of all humanity.

CHRIST, BODY OF (to swma tou cristou (toe so ma too kris  too))  A phrase which embraces the many-

         faceted relations between Jesus Christ and those who belong to him, their relations to him as members.  

         The corporate life of those who are in him is embodied in both his dying and rising.  Oneness in him is in-

         separable from the work of the one Spirit which supplies power, hope, peace and love.  As the body's 

         head, Christ rules over it, loves and nourishes it, sanctifies and dies for it, and fills it with God's glory.  As 

         members of his “spiritual body,” all share in the power of the resurrection, and in the promised redemption

          of all things.  The gifts of the Spirit are apportioned in such interdependence that each gift nourishes and 

          is nourished by the whole.  Participation in this body means freedom from the body of sin and death.

CHRISTIAN (cristianoV) Originally “Chrestianoi” was also used to describe followers of Christ.   In its earliest

         usage, “Christianos” were Christ's men or party members of a person named Christ.  The term was

         coined by three possible groups: the Roman police or other officials  of Antioch; the Roman populace in

         Rome, in the 60s A.D.; or from some unknown pagan group no earlier than 79.

                    The term “Christian” occurs only 3 times in the New Testament.  It was avoided either because 

         of its pagan origins, or because it was originally used in jest or scorn.  It may well be that the disciples 

         were first called Christians in Antioch.  One possibility is they were  named after a group of youths

         called Augustiani, who rhythmically praised Nero as an act of worship.  The Christian practice of singing 

         hymns of praise to Christ might well have reminded skeptical pagans of the other group's act of worship.

         

CHRONICLES,  I AND II 

                    List of Topics—1. Introduction;    2. Religious Point of View;      3. Judah as 

        Kingdom of God; Chronicler's Part in the Clergy; His perspective on Clergy;    

        4. Purpose    5.  Sources

                     1. Introduction—A history from Adam to Cyrus king of Persia, running parallel to Genesis-II 

         Kings, concluded with Ezra-Nehemiah.  I and II Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah both were single vol-

         umes in the Masoretic Text.  They were each divided into two scrolls in the Greek Bible, because

         the Greek needed almost twice as much space as the Hebrew, which wrote no vowels.  In the Maso-

         retic Text, Chronicles is Old Testament's last book, coming after Ezra-Nehemiah because it deals

         with events narrated elsewhere. The date of the Chronicler and his writing cannot be fixed by defi-

         nite clues any closer than between 400 and 200 B.C.  It was most likely written shortly before 250 B.C.

                   I Chronicles 1-9 deals with the period from Adam to David, mostly in the form of genealogies, 

         and focusing primarily on the sons of Jacob.  Chapters 10-20 deals with  David's reign, beginning with 

         Saul's death.  The highlights are David's conquering Jerusalem and other victories, David's organization

         of the clergy and the state government, and David's final instructions to the last assembly in his reign,

         concerning Solomon's succession and the building of the temple. 

                    II Chronicles 1-9 deals with Solomon.  The highlights are the building and furnishing of the temple, 

         Solomon's rebuilding various cities, and his commerce, wisdom, and wealth.  II Chronicles 10-36 deals 

         with the kings of Judah, the southern half of the divided kingdom.  The highlights are the division of the 

         kingdom in Rehoboam's reign, and at least a chapter on each of 17 other kings, concluding with Cyrus 

         king of Persia.

                   2. Religious Point of View—The author of Chronicles, around two or three centuries after Cyrus,

         wrote a sequel to the Priestly Code in the Pentateuch and Joshua, continuing the history from the death 

         of Joshua to the edict of Cyrus in 538 B.C.  This  author adopted the legal and priestly organization of 

         Judaism outlined in the Priestly Code.  The Code's author had shown how heaven's and earth's Creator 

         had become the Jew's sovereign of the Jews, and had directed the course of events.  God made a cove-

         nant with Abraham, revealed his law to Moses on Sinai, and distributed the Holy Land to the children

         of Israel.  While the apocalypses dreamed of a kingdom of God in the age to come, the Priestly Code, 

         with more practical sense, imagined that it had already been established by God in the distant past in the

         days of Moses and Joshua.

                                                                      C-17

                   On a more modest scale, the Chronicler wrote a history of  God’s kingdom after its establishment in

         the time of Moses and Joshua.  The period before Joshua was covered only by genealogies, as was the

         time between then and David.  Judah played an insignificant role in this period of apostasy and war; the 

         time of judges didn't fit well with establishment of God's kingdom in Canaan.  The Chronicler followed 

         Priestly writing; he regarded Moses’ tabernacle as the only sanctuary of the  Israelites until Solomon built 

         the temple. 

                    Both the Priestly Writer and the Chronicler lived in times of peace and had neither knowledge of or 

         liking for battles, so what few battles re included were settled in advance by the Lord, usually in victory, 

         except when their wickedness was punished.  The fantastically large armies  of Judah, from 400,000 to 

         1,160,000, are considered useless in battle, but through divine help victory is won by singing a psalm ra-

         ther than by fighting.  Miraculous interventions of God were freely invented by the Priestly Writer and

         the Chronicler in rewriting their sources to illustrate God's omnipotence and the requirement of blind

         obedience to God's instructions and complete trust in him.  Failures on the part of kings was traced back 

         to a lack of faith.

                   The Chronicler not only teaches the proper faith in God, after the manner of the Priestly Code,

         by such graphic, fictitious stories, but also uses sermons, oracles, and prayers. The Chronicler echoes

          here the homilies and the prayers which he heard in the synagogues.  The Chronicler wasn't a very 

         original thinker, and made no contributions to the theology of the Priestly Code. His God was universal 

         and so partial to the Jews that to fight against them is to fight against God. 

                  3. Judah as Kingdom of God; Chronicler's Part in the Clergy; His perspective on Clergy—

         Thus the kingdom of God is the kingdom of Judah, but racial purity is neither necessary nor sufficient for

         citizenship in this sacred commonwealth; pious pagans may be included, and native born Judeans who 

         forsake God may be excluded.   The kingdom of God was the holy  congregation.   After Jeroboam I's 

         apostasy, the holy congregation consisted of Judah, some northern Israelites, and the proselytes; its 

         sovereign is the Lord, its law is the Pentateuch as revealed to Moses.   The Chronicler is thus the first

         author to attribute the whole Pentateuch to Moses.

                   It is in matters concerning the clergy’s status that the Chronicler differs from the Pentateuch and 

         discloses later developments.  Early in the Persian period (538-333) the high priest began to have some 

         civil authority.  II Chronicles has the high priest driving King Uzziah out of the temple for attempting to

         burn incense, which couldn't have happened before the exile; this “fact” isn't mention in the parallel  pas-

         sage in II Kings.  The high priest also presides over a supreme court in sacred matters.  Some rules 

         practiced by the priests and Levites in the time of the Chronicler and outlined in Chronicles were still un-

         known in the Pentateuch.

                    The Chronicler was probably a Levite, and is far less concerned with the priests than with the 

         Levites (In comparison, the Levites are mentioned three times in Samuel and Kings while they are men-

         tioned 35 times in I Chronicles and 64 times in II Chronicles).   The  Chronicler championed the im-

         provement of the Levites' situation against the “sons of Aaron,” who wished to retain the Levites in their 

         subordinate position.  The Chronicler goes so far as to hint that the “hewers of wood and drawers of 

         water” in the temple might go on strike, and until Ezra persuaded 38 Levites and 220 temple servants 

        to join the exiles, no Levite had appeared among the 1,500 men going back to Jerusalem. 

                   The Chronicler's picture of the Levites 'status is far superior to that fixed in the Priestly Code.  They 

         are in charge of holy objects, and eventually they became teachers and judges. They also played a deci- 

         sive role in the coronation of Joash and in the overthrow of Athaliah.  Singing in a temple choir was for 

         the Chronicler the most important function of Levites. The music in the temple services was attributed to 

          David; in II Chronicles both David and Solomon left  written records about the organization of temple 

          music.

                     The Chronicler traces the ancestry of all priests to Aaron, and of all priests and Levites back to 

         Jacob’s son Levi.  The doctrine that all clergy men are descended from Levi originated with the Priestly

          Code, but has no historical basis.  There is a bewildering  disregard for the facts in the genealogies 

         and other facts given in Chronicles.  The most probable explanation is that the Chronicler is more eager 

         to improve Levitical status than to give true facts, either in David's time and Jehoshaphat's, or his own 

          time.   For instance, it seems certain that the Levitical status of the singers and gatekeepers was not 

         recognized in his day.

                    4. Purpose—The main purpose of the Chronicler, who is writing during a period of utter political 

         and economic insignificance, is to glorify the Jews in Jerusalem and Judea.  To raise the low morale at

         such a time, the Chronicler exaggerated the splendor of the Jewish kingdom in the past.  Both Chro-

         nicles and the book of Daniel much later, describe the past and the future, not according to realities or

         even possibilities, but on the assumption that the world's Creator of the invariably intervened miracu-

         lously in behalf of the Jews.

                    To regard Chronicles as genuine history is to misunderstand the work, and fail to realize its nature 

         and significance. And unless the Chronicler quotes reliable accounts from Samuel and Kings, it is useless

         to expect from him genuine historical information.  The Chronicler set out to prove that the insignificant 

         Judean community was the glorious kingdom whose sovereign was the sole God; his only earthly abode 

         was the temple in Jerusalem.  Chronicles describes, not the epic  struggles, ending in failure of the Israe-

         lites to establish and maintain their independence,  but God's triumphant establishment of his imperish-

         able kingdom on earth.  Faith in such supreme claims could never be supported by occurrences—In fact,

         faith needs no proof and has no rational proof.  The Chronicler even transfers the institutions of his own

         day to the time of David.  

                   The Chronicler believed that the Jewish rites originated through divine revelation to Adam, Noah, 

         Abraham, and Moses.  The Chronicler also stresses the national achievements and Judah’s royal

         glories.  David not only reorganized the numerous clergy, but “the Lord brought the fear of him upon all

         nations.”  In glorifying Judaism and the Jews through the centuries beyond all reasonable possibilities, 

         the Chronicler necessarily rewrote the history from David to Cyrus.  Whatever facts cast discredit on 

         David and Solomon in ancient sources are forgotten.  According to the Chronicler, all pious monarchs 

         before Josiah removed the “high places,” and the people alternated between true and false worship. And  

         the utter exclusion from God's kingdom of northern Israel would not be conceivable before the Samaritan

         schism in either 432 or 332 B.C.

                   The rituals described in Chronicles are ordained in the Priestly Code or later.  In his writing, he as-

         sumes the current practice of 2 basic religious institutions still unknown to the Priestly Code and the Pen-

         tateuch:  temple choral and orchestral music, and the earthly, political authority of the high priest.  The

         Chronicler in glorifying Judaism and the Jews, of necessity despised the heathen, and the Samaritans.  

         He never doubted that the correct worship of the Lord as revealed in the Pentateuch, and was the true 

         religion, but he did not use sarcasm in referring to other religions and refrained from all polemic against 

         them.  The stubborn Samaritans taxed the patience of the Chronicler  beyond endurance.  On the whole,

          the Chronicler didn't express in plain words his full contempt for the misguided heathen the apostate 

         Samaritans, hoping for their future conversion.

                                                            C-18

                5.  Sources—The Chronicler drew his information from the Pentateuch and Joshua, Samuel, and

         Kings.  In general, the Chronicler modified our canonical sources, not historically, but only to suit his 

         ideas.  But in spite of his views that differed considerably from those of Samuel and Kings' authors, 

         the Chronicler preferred to reproduce his sources verbatim, although he  sometimes rewrote them in 

         order to express his own views or summarized them.  Only 1/2 of I-II Chronicles is even remotely in-

         spired by biblical sources; in the other half the Chronicler was able to display his vivid imagination by

         composing freely, without any guidance. 

                    2 opposite conclusions as to the Chronicler's use of Samuel and Kings have been drawn:  that

         all the information parallel with the accounts in Samuel and Kings, as well as that not to be found there 

         was derived by the Chronicler from the Midrash of the Kings without ever using Samuel and Kings; and 

         that he used Samuel and Kings exclusively, with the material not derived from those books being freely 

         composed by the Chronicler.  The evidence slightly favors the second opinion.

                    After the manner of Kings, the Chronicler refers the reader to other writings, which include:  the 

         Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel; the Book of the Kings  of Israel and Judah; the Royal Book of 

         Judah and Israel; the Acts of the Kings of Israel; and the Midrash of the Book of Kings.  These books 

         are actually a single work mentioned under different names.

                   Aramaic was for the Chronicler the spoken vernacular, and his Hebrew is somewhat artificial 

         and post classical. When he writes freely without quoting a source, he delights in giving details taken 

         from life and using vivid comparisons.  His imagination is picturesque and colorful, but in spite of its 

         apparent realism, it lacks connection with real facts and never reaches the level of truly great literature.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT (OT)  Many generations of Bible readers have been led by 

         computations of an Archbishop from the 

         1600s, which are printed in some editions of  the King James Version, to believe that the world was 

         created around the year 4000 B.C., according to the genealogy from Genesis.  In Table 1 on the 

         next page, a list is given of the age of each patriarch at the birth of their son.

                  

                   List of Topics—Overview: 1. Genealogies to Solomon’s Temple;      2. Genealogy of 

        the Early Patriarchs (Table);     3. Years from Abraham’s Birth to the Exodus (Table);    

         4. Years from Exodus to Solomon’s Temple (Table);     5. Non-biblical Historical Data and 

        Discrepancies;     6. Chronology of the Divided Kingdom (Table);    7. Overview: Solomon’s 

        Temple to Jehu;    8. Jehu to the Exile;     9. Chronology of Judah, 716-561 (Table); 

        10. Chronology of Post-exilic Judaism, 539-428 B.C. (Table)

                     1. Overview:  Genealogies to Solomon’s Temple—There have been 3 distinct ways of under-

         standing this genealogy. 1st is the Archbishops assumption of successive generations, father to son.

         The 2nd assumption is similar, but assumes that there are generations missing.  The 3rd assumption

          is that the names represent peoples or dynasties rather than individuals.   The second and third as

         sumptions do not allow for calculations on the estimate age of the world.

                   When the figures from the three versions are compared, there can be little doubt that the Hebrew

         text is original.  For instance, the Samaritan and Greek Bible list have been adjusted so that the lives of

          each of Abraham's ancestors, with the exception of Terah in the Greek Bible, to end before Abraham's

         departure for Canaan at the age of 75.  The long lives of the patriarchs before the Flood finds a striking 

         analogy in the long lives of the antediluvian kings in the Sumerian King List (See chart on next page).

                   For the period before Abraham, there is no event in secular history which may be 

         used as a check point for establishing absolute dates.  In the case of Abraham however, 1 of the 4 kings

          who invaded the Promised Land, namely Amraphel, has been confidently equated with the famous

          Hammurabi of the first Babylonian Dynasty by many scholars.  Scholars once believed that Hammurabi

         reigned between 2123 and 2081 B.C., but evidence discovered later pointsto his reign being between

         1728 and 1686 B.C.  In order for Abraham to have lived in the 1600s or 1700s, the sojourn in Egypt 

         would have to be a lot shorter than the traditional 430 years, and the Exodus would have to have been

          more than a century later than 1447 B.C. (See second chart on next page).  

                     There is some evidence to support the date of 1447 B.C. that is reached by calculating with 

         biblical figures. “Habirus” are mention by Egypt as invading Canaan at this time.  In order for 1447 to be

         the true date, there would have to be a large number of generations missing from the biblical records.  

         There is more evidence to support a date in the mid-or late 1200s.  The list of genealogies support a shor-

         ter time period between Exodus and Solomon, than the biblical 480 years.  An in any case, some of the 

         judges must have served at the same time as other judges, because if there was no overlap, the total

         number of years between Exodus and Solomon becomes 544 plus 2 unknown periods (See “Years from 

         Exodus to Solomon’s Temple” chart on page after next )

                   2. Genealogy of the Early Patriarchs

               Masoretic Text= MT          Samaritan Bible =Sam.         Greek  Bible=LXX (Septuagint) 

           Patriarchs          Age at Son’s Birth               Remaining Years               Total Years                                                               MT     Sam.    LXX           MT        Sam.   LXX         MT    Sam.    LXX 

              Adam                   130      130         230             800        800        700           930     930       930    

              Seth                     105      105         205             807        807        707           912      912      912     

              Enosh                   90         90         190             815        815        715           905      905      905

              Kenan                   70         70         170             840        840        740           910     910       910

              Mahalalel              65          65        165             830         830       730           895     895       895   

              Jared                   162         62        162             800        785        800             962     847       962

              Enoch                   65          65        165             300         300       200            365      365      365

              Methuselah         187          67        167             782         653       802            969      720      969

              Lamech               182          53        188             595         600       565            777      653      753

              Noah                    500        500       500             450         450       450           950      950      950     

              Shem                   100        100       100             500         500       500            650                       

                                             Total at Flood       

                                        1656       1307     2242

            Patriarchs             Age at Son’s Birth                  Remaining Years               Total Years                                                                  MT     Sam.    LXX                   MT       Sam.   LXX              MT    Sam.    LXX 

           Arpachshad             35         135       135                403       303     430               438     438     565

           Kainan                                  130                                          130

           Shelah                     30         130       130                403       303      330              433

           Eber                         34         134       134                430       270      370              404

           Peleg                       30         130        130               209       109       209              239  

           Reu                          32         132       132               207       107       207              239 

           Serug                       30          130      130               200       100       200              230 

           Nahor                       29           79         79               119          69      129              148

           Terah                        70           70         70                             205      145              215

Total years at Abraham's    

        birth                               1946       2247      3312

     Plus the 2 years of 

     Gen. 11:10                        1948      2249      3314

                                                            C-19

                                3. Years from Abraham’s Birth to the Exodus Period   

                                                            Years

                From Abraham’s birth to his entry into Canaan                               75

                     From entry into Canaan to the birth of Isaac                                   25

                     From Isaac’s birth to the birth of Jacob                                           60

                     From Jacob’s birth to his descent into Egypt                                 130   

                     From the descent into Egypt to the Exodus   

                         MT                                                                                              430

                         LXX and Samar.                                                                         215

                     Total Duration

                         MT                                                                                              720

                         LXX and Samar.                                                                         505

                                4. Years from Exodus to Solomon’s Temple 

                                                                                              Years                  Years

                          Time Taken For:                                 Masoretic Text     Greek Bible         

                  The wilderness wandering                                    40                           40

                  Period of Joshua and elders (unknown)                 x                             x

                  Opression of Cushan-rishathaim                            8                             8

                  Othniel-  Masoretic Text                                        40                           50

                  Opression of Eglon                                               18                           18

                  Ehud                                                                      80                          80

                  Oppression of Jabin                                              20                           20

                  Deborah-Barak                                                     40                           40

                  Oppression of the Midianites                                  7                             7

                  Gideon                                                                  40                          40

                  Abimelech                                                               3                            3

                  Tola                                                                       23                          23

                  Jair                                                                        22                          22

                  Oppression of the Ammonites                               18                         18

                  Jephthah                                                                 6                            6

                  Ibzan                                                                       7                            7

                  Elon                                                                       10                          10

                  Abdon                                                                      8                            8

                  Oppression of the Philistines                                 40                          40

                  Samson                                                                  20                         20

                  Eli                                                                           40                         20

                  Samuel; ark in Kirjath-jearim                                  20                         20

                  Saul’s reign (unknown)                                             y                           y

                  David at Hebron                                                       7                            7

                  David at Jerusalem                                                33                          33 

                  Solomon (to building of temple)                            4                            4

                  Solomon's reign after building Temple                   36                          36  

              

                  Total Years up to temple building                 554 + x +y        544 + x +y

                   Final Total                                                      590 + x +y         580 + x +y

                   5. Non-biblical Historical Data and Discrepancy—With the aid of the fixed chronology of the  

         Assyrian and Babylonian kings, some of their contacts with biblical kings mentioned in cuneiform re-

         cords can be given an absolute date.  The most important of these are:   the battle of Qarqar in 853

         B.C., between Shalmanesar III and the coalition of Ahab and Syrian allies; Shalmanesar III receives 

         the tribute of Jehu in 841; Tiglath-pileser III receives tribute from  Azariah and Menahem between

         743 and 738; Sargon captures Samaria in his accession year 722/21; besieges Hezekiah in 701;

         Neco at the siege of Harran, which lasted several months in 609; Battle of Carchemish in Nabopolas-

         sar's reign, 605; Nebuchadrezzar II captures Jerusalem, May 16, 597.

                    Those who chose to ignore the Assyrian-Babylonian data, which does not agree with biblical 

         data, explain discrepancies as best they can, including having several gaps between the reigns of 

         kings.  But, if one accepts the historical accuracy of the data outside of the bible, then there is some-

         thing wrong with the biblical data.  It is possible to fit almost all the biblical data, unrevised, into a per-

         fectly harmonious pattern that is in agreement with Assyrian and Babylonian records.  In order to do 

          this, one must be aware of the biblical methods used in calculating reigns.

                   1st, Judah as the Southern kingdom counted both the last partial year of a king, and the first

         partial year of his successor (i.e. one actual year counted as two).  Israel in the north did not begin 

         counting the years of a kings reign until the first full year.  2nd, Judah used Tishri, a fall month to 

         begin their years, while Israel used Nisan, a spring month to begin their years. The calculations

         were further confused by the fact that each kingdom calculated the reigns of the other kingdoms by 

         their own methods. 

                   Further examination shows that, from Jehu to Samaria’s fall, the total years of Judah (166) 

         and Israel (143+) don’t agree with each other or with the Assyria-Babylonia calculations of 120 

         years.  The only way in which a shorter total may be obtained is on the theory that co-regency exi-

         sted at certain times in this period.  By taking the firm dates of the end of Ahab's reign (853) and

         the beginning of Jehu's reign (841), we can arrive at 931 as the beginning year of Jeroboam's reign

         as the first king of Judah as the Southern Kingdom.  In the next two charts, all the reigns and co

         regencies of Israel and Judah are placed in relationship with one another.

        6. Chronology of the Divided Kingdom

             Rulers of Judah          Dates          Rulers of Israel       Dates

                (Tishri Years)            B.C.            (Nisan Years)             B.C.     Notable Events                    

              REHOBOAM-King         931            JEROBOAM-               931

                     17 years                  926              King 22 yrs                926     Shishak: invasion of Egypt

              ABIJAM-King 3 years     913            

              ASA-King  41 years        911                                                           

                                                                NADAB-King               910

                                                                            2 years 

                                                                         BAASHA-King            909     War with Asa                                                                                                    24 years

                                                     896                                                  896     Zerah’s Ethopian invasion 

                                                       C-20 

    

              6. Chronology of the Divided Kingdom

             Rulers of Judah          Dates          Rulers of Israel       Dates

                (Tishri Years)            B.C.            (Nisan Years)            B.C.     Notable Events   

                                                 886                                                886     Baasha builds Ramah      

                                                                                ELAH-King 2 years       886

                                                                        ZIMRI-King 7 days        885

                                                                        OMRI / TIBNI                885

                                                                        OMRI-Sole King 6 yrs,  880

                                                                            total reign 12 yrs

                                                                        AHAB-King 22 yrs         874            

              Jehoshaphat-Asa's           873 

                   co-regent

              JEHOSHAPHAT-              870

                  Sole King 16 years, 

                   total reign 24 years

                  Jehoram co-regent        854

                  w/ Jehoshaphat                          AHAZIAH-                         853     Battle of Qarqar                                                                                                King   2 yrs                                        

                                                                     JEHORAM-King                852 

                                                                       8 years 

               JEHORAM-Sole King       848

                   8 years, total reign

                      14 years

               AHAZIAH- King                 841      JEHU- King 28 yrs,           841     pay tribute to Shalmaneser III                     less than 1 yr 

               ATHALIAH-                        841 

                 Queen 7 years                                                                    

               J(EH)OASH-                      835

                   King 40 years

                                                                     J(EH)OAHAZ-                   814     repairs on temple                                                                                               king 17 years                                                                                                                                      J(EH)OASH-                      798

                                                                           King 16 yrs

               AMAZIAH-                          797

                     king 29 years)                           Jeroboam II                      793     Amaziah  war with               

                  Amaziah captured           792        coregent 11  years                  Jehoash;                                

                  AZARIAH (Uzziah)          792

                    He was king during                     JEROBOAM II-                 782

                Amaziah’s 25 year cap-                  Sole King 30 years,

                tivity 27 yrs as sole ruler   768        total reign 41 years

                                                                       ZECHARIAH- .                  753

                                                                           king 6 months

.                                                               SHALLUM –                     752        

                                                        king 1 mo

                                                                 MENAHEM-                   751

                                                                    king 10 yr.  

                Jotham                             750

                  co regent 10 years

                                                         742        PEKAHIAH-                       742     Menahem and Azariah pay-                                                                            king 2 years                               tribute to Tiglath-pileser III     

                JOTHAM-Sole king          740         PEKAH- Bible says           740                                                                    20 yr reign (751-32).                   at least 3 years,

                AHAZ-co-regent               735 

                    3 years

                    Rulers of Judah    Dates    Rulers of Israel         Dates

                       (Tishri Years)      B.C.       (Nisan Years)             B.C.     Notable Events   

                   Ahaz wars with        734-32                                            734-32     Tiglath-pileser                                   Israel and Syria,                                                                                  to Palestine,                                               appeals to Assyria                                                                              deposes Pekah

                      AHAZ-king for         732              HOSHEA-king for            732      

                      16 years                                        9 years                      725-22       3 yr. siege of Samaria                                                                                                                           fall of Samaria                

                  

                   The Shishak who invaded in 926/925 was Shoshenq I, founder of the 22nd Dynasty in Egypt.

          Besides using co-regencies to synchronize  biblical and historical events, scribal errors are used 

         to explain other inconsistencies.  Differences in calculating reigns during times when the

          successor to the throne was in dispute also led to confusion, such as when Omri succeeded to the 

         throne after the 7-day reign of Zimri, and the 6-year struggle against Tibni. 

C-21

                    Ahab was included among the Syrian allies who fought against Shalmaneser III of Assyria 

         at Qarqar on the Euphrates in the year 853.  Ahab was not killed at Qarqar, but lived long enough 

         to turn against his Syrian ally Ben-hadad; Ahab died at Ramoth-gilead.  The house of Ahab came to a 

         bloody end with the revolt of Jehu in 841.  Not only did Joram of Israel die, but Jehu killed Ahaziah

         of Judah as well, taking the throne of Israel for himself, and leaving the southern kingdom to Queen

          Athaliah.

                     7. Solomon’s Temple to Jehu—For the period between Solomon's temple to the Exile,

         students of biblical chronology are at first sight delighted with the wealth of data available to them. 

         There is a complete list of kings for both Judah and Israel and the lengths of their reigns, which are

         related to the reign of the king reigning in the other kingdom at the same time.  But various scholars 

         have found the chronology of the period almost beyond solution,  because many details given seem

         to contradict one another, and many of the at-tempted chronologies fail to agree with historical

         information now available from Assyrian and Babylonian documents, which scholars have found to 

         be very reliable. 

                      8. Jehu to the Exile—We may also be certain that the practice of counting a year in which a 

         reign ended and another began as two years was being used in both kingdoms when Jehoahaz 

         succeeded Jehu (814/13).  There was a war between Amaziah of Judah and Jehoash of Israel in 

         which Jehoash defeated Amaziah at Beth-shemesh, destroyed part of the wall of Jerusalem, and took 

         Amaziah captive.  It is likely that in 782 Jeroboam released Amaziah after the death of his own father. 

                   The date of Azariah's accession is extremely important for the years to follow, because no less

          than 5 kings of Israel are dated by it: Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, and  Pekah.  Pekah 

         claims 20 years as his reign, even though Assyrian records show them dealing with Menahem for 10 

         of those 20 years.  A likely explanation for this is that Pekah usurped the reigns of Menahem and his 

         son Pekahiah because he considered their reign illegitimate, nd claimed them as his own.  Hoshea,

         the last king of Israel, seized the throne in 732/31 and reigned nine years. Shalmaneser V's 3-year

         siege of Samaria is dated in Hoshea's seventh year.  Samaria actually fell in 723/22.

                9. Chronology of Judah, 716-561

                                                             Dates                                                 Dates   

                     Rulers of Judah               B.C.           Notable Events             B.C.                        

                     HEZEKIAH-king 29 yrs     716/15     Passover in 1^st year           715/14

                                                                              Sennacherib’s invasion,     701

                                                                              Jerusalem besieged  

                                                                              Manasseh coregent          697/96  

                                                                          11years        

                                                                               Sennacherib against          688

                                                                              Tirhakah of Ethiopia  

                  MANASSEH-king 44 yrs    687/86       Esharddon king of                681       

                                                                         Assyria    

                 AMON- king 2 years           643/42

                   JOSIAH-31 years                 641              

                                                                      1st reform in 12^th  year       629/28  

                                                                                Jeremiah’s call to pro-        627

                                                                           phecy                                                                                                                                                           Finding of Law scroll;        623/22

                                                                               2nd reform            

                   JEHOAHAZ- king 3 months    609      Josiah's death at               609

                                                                                   Megiddo

                  JEHOIAKIM- king 11 years      609       Battle of Carchemish,       605
                                                                           Nebuchadrezzar's             605

                                                                                accession 

                                                                                Nebuchadrezzar's first     604/03

                                                                                 official year         

                JEHOIACHIN- king 3 months      598        Jerusalem captured,         597

                                                                                Jehoiachin deported    

                                                                                 and imprisoned          

                ZEDEKIAH- king 11 years           597

                                                                                Jerusalem beseiged        Jan 588

                                                                      Jerusalem under seige       587

                                                                 Wall is breached,

                                                                city and temple                July 586 

                                                                                   are burned

                                                                               2nd deportation               Aug. 586

                                                                     Governor Gedaliah's      Sept. 586

                                                                                           murder 

                                                                      Third deportation             582/81                                                                                                                                      Vision of new temple        Apr. 573                                                                                                                                               Jehoiachin released        Mar. 561

                from prison

                   The campaign of Sennacherib against Hezekiah in the year 701 took place in Hezekiah's 14th

         year, which sets the beginning of his reign in 716/15.  Between Hezekiah's accession in 716/15 and

         Jehoiachin's captivity in the 8th year of Nebuchadrezzar, 597, there are recorded 7 reigns with a

         total of 128 years and 6 months. This is almost 11 years too long.  There are either errors or a co-

         regency involved.  By the use of Assyrian dates to narrow down the dates of later reigns, we can 

         reach the conclusion that there was a co-regency of 11 years for Manasseh during much of his father

          Hezekiah's illness. 

                   For the chronology of Judah's last years there are three important Babylonian dates.  The first          

         is the siege of the Babylonian garrison at Harran for several months in 609, or Nabopolassar's 17th 

         year; Neco of Egypt took part in the siege, and it is almost certain that he killed Josiah at Megiddo  

         shortly  before the siege.  A second date is Nebuchadrezzar's victory over Neco at Carchemish; this

          is now known to be 605, which was also the year that Nebuchadrezzar took the throne.  A third 

         date is that of Nebuchadrezzar's first capture of Jerusalem and  the deportation of Jehoiachin.

                  The important features of the period from Josiah's death are as  follows: Josiah died probably

          in June/July 609, and was succeeded by Jehoahaz who reigned for 3  months; Jehoiakim reigned for

         11 years after him, during which time his Egyptian ally Neco was defeated and killed at Carchemish.  

         Jehoiakim died and was succeeded by his son Jehoiachin, who surrendered to  Nebuchadrezzar 

         after ruling for only 3 months.  Zedekiah then took the throne for 11years.   Jerusalem was besieged again

         after he revolted; the wall was broken through and later the temple was burned.  A great deportation

         followed.  After Jehoiachin had been captive in Babylon for 37 years he was released. 

                    

C-22

 

                     10. Chronology of Post-exilic Judaism, 539-428 B.C.    

                                                       Dates                                                         Dates                                                                     Foreign Rulers                  B.C.              Notable Events                  B.C 

               Cyrus of Babylon         539-530         Edict for return of               538

                                                                                 exiles  by Cyrus              Sept. 538  

                                                                                       Altar set up in

                                                                                      Jerusalem           

                                                                                      Work begun on                 Mar/Apr

                                                                                      temple                                537

                    Cambyses                      530-522

                                                                             Elephantine colony of    525

                                                                                      Jews in Egypt

                Darius                            522-486            Work on temple resumed     520

                                                                                       Temple finished                      515

                                                                                      Opposition to Jews                ?                                                                                      Xerxes I                        486-465

                       (Ahasuerus)                                          Opposition to Jews                  ?   

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Artaxerxes I                     465-424

                     (Longimanus)     

                     Nehemiah first                    445-433

                     governorship

                     Nehemiah second                432

                      governorship             

                      Ezra's return                           428

          There is still controversy surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem, the exact dates of the deporta-

          tions, and the date of Ezra's return to Jerusalem.  Perhaps the best solution is to adopt the reading     

          that Ezra's return was in the 37th year of Artaxerxes I, or 428.  (See Table above).

CHRONOLOGY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

                   We must be content with probabilities and approximations for two

        reasons.  1st, early Christian history was beneath the notice of the secular

        historians, the only exception being Tacitus, who remarks that the Chris-

        tians derived their name from Christ, who was executed in the reign of 

        Tiberius by the procurator Pontius Pilate.  Of the gospel writers, only 

        Luke was interested in relating Christian history to world history.  His 

        references cannot always be translated into dates.

                   2nd, from Julius Caesar's time, the Romans used a solar calendar

        with the year beginning on January first, but they had no single system of

        regularly numbered years.  They identified years by the names of consuls

        or the year of an emperor's reign, but these years didn't coincide with the 

        calendar year.  3rd, the Jews used a lunar calendar, which with the combi-

        ning of their religious and civil calendar, led to two New  Year's days six 

        months apart.

                   Jesus was born during the reign of Herod the Great, and nativity 

        stories imply that he was at least 2 years old when Herod died.  Herod's 

        reign was from 37 B.C. to 4 B.C.  Jesus was born at the time of a census.

        Luke says that Augustus issued a decree that there should be regular 

        enrollments of provincials.  Some scholars think that this was an error on

        Luke's part, as no such census is recorded by Roman authorities.  There 

        was a census that took place in Egypt every 14 years, most likely initiated

        by the great organizer Augustus in either 23 B.C., 9 B.C., or 6 A.D.  It is

        likely there was a similar census throughout the whole Empire.

                   The census that the Bible is concerned with could be related to a 

        census of Roman citizens taken in 8 B.C. There is a historical problem 

        with the governorship of Quirinius, who was not governor during Herod's

        reign, according to available records.  Either Luke was wrong, or the 

        records of an earlier governorship by Quirinius are missing.  In view of 

        all these difficulties, it cannot be said that the date of the birth of Jesus is 

        securely established, but taking the combined evidence of Matthew and 

        Luke, we shall not be very far astray if we assign it to the year 7 B.C., 

        with the understanding that it may be a year earlier or later.

                           Luke tells us that Jesus was about 30 years of age when he began 

        his ministry.  But if we add 30 to the date we have proposed for the 

        Nativity, we get the years 23-25 A.D., and this falls entirely outside the 

        term of Pontius Pilate's rule as procurator of Judea (26-36).  The age of 

        30 could be approximate, but we do not know how approximate.  For 

        John the Baptist, we have one precise date, the fifteenth year of Tiberius, 

        which can be interpreted using 2 Roman methods, or 1 Jewish method, 

        resulting in the years 26/27, 27/28, or 28/29.

                   The Gospel of John provides us with the information that the 

        temple was 46 years along in the building process at the time of the 

        temple's cleansing on Passover and near the beginning of Jesus' 

        ministry.  Sources outside the Bible date the beginning of rebuilding the 

        temple as 20/19 B.C.  46 years later gives us the year 28 A.D.  The 2nd 

        possibility is the Passover in the 46th year or 27 A.D. 

                                                   C-23

 

                   In the early church the belief sprang up that the ministry of Jesus 

        occupied only one year.  Certainly, the gospels do not provide enough 

        incidents to fill one year, let alone two or three.  But the Gospel of John 

        mentions 2 Passovers in Jesus' ministry.  Because John had a theological 

        reason for mentioning that the feeding of the 5,000 was associated with a

        Passover, we have no right to assume that he invented the association.  

        Our conclusion here is that the ministry of Jesus cannot be compressed 

        into less than 2 years, & there is no compelling reason for extending it

        to 3 years. Astronomically, there are 4 possibilities for Good  Friday:

        April 11, 27 A.D.; March 18, 29 A.D.; April 7, 30; and April 3, 33 A.D.        

                   By combining the biblical, historical and astronomical data at our

        disposal, we come up with six combinations:   a ministry beginning in 

        28/29, lasting 1 year ending in 30; a ministry beginning in 28/29, lasting 

        3 or 4 years, ending in 33; a ministry beginning in 25/26, lasting 2 or 3 

        years, ending in 29; a ministry beginning in 25/26 lasting 3 or 4 years, 

        ending in 30;  a ministry beginning in 27/28, lasting 1 year, ending in 

        29; & a ministry beginning in 27/28, lasting 2 years, ending in 30. While 

        none of the 6 combination can be ruled out, there is the most support for 

        the 6th.  The evidence we have at our disposal points to the tentative 

        conclusion that Jesus was born between 8 and 6 B.C., was baptized late 

        in 27 or early in A.D. 28, and crucified on April 7, A.D. 30.

                   The few indications of time which occur in the letters serve only 

        to date events relative to other events.  Only Acts provides any absolute 

        chronology, & then only 5 events can be assigned even an approximate 

        date from Jewish or Roman sources.  Based on the writings of the Jewish

        historian Josephus, we can place Herod Agrippa I's three years as king of

        all Judea between 41 and 44 A.D., and his death in 44 A.D.  The death of

        the apostle James took place sometime during his reign over all Judea, 

        most likely in 41 A.D.

                   The famine in Jerusalem mentioned in Acts 11 happened during 

        Tiberius Alexander's term as procurator of Judea, which was most likely 

        46-47.  Claudius’ edict expelling the Jews from Rome is mentioned a few

        times, but often with no indication of date.  Only a historian from the 

        400s, Orosius, dates the edict in 49, which fits with the date of the Gal-

        lio's pro-consulship. The best interpretation of historical evidence is that 

        Gallio was proconsul of the Greek peninsula from July 51 to June 52 and

        was based out of Corinth.

                   When Festus’ procuratorship’s began depends on when his prede-

        cessor, Felix, was recalled.  By assuming a miscalculation by an ancient 

        historian we can be reasonably sure that Festus became procurator in the 

        summer of 59.  Of all the events dated in this & the preceding paragraph,

        the date of Gallio's pro-consulship in 51 is the one we can be most confi-

        dent of, and upon which we can base the dates of other events. 

                   Paul arrived in Corinth shortly before Gallio, which leads us to 50

        A.D.  In his letter to the Galatians, Paul describes only two visits to Jeru-

        salem, either 11 or 14 years apart, depending on what exact event the 14 

        years of Galatians refers to.  In Acts, Paul visits Jerusalem five times in 

        all, the third occasion being the apostolic conference, and the fifth when 

        he was arrested.  While scholars generally agree the Jerusalem visit of 

        Acts 9 corresponds to the visit of Galatians 1, there is little agreement as 

        to whether the second, third, or fourth visit in Acts corresponds to the 

        visit in Galatians 2.  5 theories are presented in Table 1 as to the timing 

        of events from the conversion of Paul to his arrival in Corinth.  

        (See Table below)

                Paul's Conversion to Arrival in Corinth

    Event Theory                   #1             #2            #3            #4           #5 

Conversion of Paul                33             33       31 or 33        33       34 or 37

1st  visit to Jerusalem            36             36       33 or 36        36       37 or 40

Famine visit                           46             —            46            46            —

First missionary journey     47-48       47-48       47-48       47-48   37-51, 40-51

Apostolic conference             49             49            49            49            51

Paul's arrival in Corinth         51             51            51            51            41
                   Paul's Journeys from 52 A.D.- 60 A.D.

                   Event                                           Date                               

                   Paul leaves Corinth                      Autumn 51, Spring 52       

                   Paul reaches Ephesus                   Autumn 53                

                   Paul leaves Ephesus                     Summer 56               

                   Paul reaches Corinth                    End of 56                    

                   Paul at Philippi                             Passover 57

                   Paul reaches Jerusalem                 Pentecost 57

                   Paul before Festus                        Summer 59

                   Paul reaches Rome                       Spring 60

                  For the events after Gallio's proconsulship, we are dependent on 

        Acts. After he left Corinth in either the autumn of 51, or the spring of 52, 

        there follows an undefined period during which he journeyed, spent

        some time in Antioch, toured Asia, and finally arrived in Ephesus.  He

        goes to Corinth & Philippi, before hurrying to Jerusalem with the money

        he had raised from the churches he had visited.  (See Table above).  The 

        only other events in this period which we can date with any confidence is

        the death of James,  the Lord's brother in 61, the victim of mob violence.  

        Not long after this the church left Jerusalem, & was therefore not involved

        in the Jewish revolt in 66, which resulted in the destruction of the city in 

        70 A.D. by Titus.

CHRYSOLITE (תרשיש, tar sheesh)  A magnesium iron silicate, usually olive-

        green. It is used in the description of wheels in the vision of Ezekiel.  It is

        a stone in the covering of the king of Tyre.

CHRYSOPRASE (crusoprasoV, crew so pra sos)  An apple-green variety 

        of chalcedony, used as a gem in Egypt.  It was the tenth jewel in the foun-

        dation of the wall of the New Jerusalem.

                                                C-24