the husk of corn or wheat which was separated from the grain by being thrown into the air, the
wind blowing away the chaff, while the grain was saved. The carrying away of chaff by the wind
is an ordinary scriptural image of the destruction of the wicked and of their powerlessness to resist
God’s judgments. (Psalms 1:4; Isaiah 17:13; Hosea 13:3; Zephaniah 2:2)
Chain
Chains were used,
•As badges of office;
•For ornament;
•For confining prisoners.
•the gold chain placed about Joseph’s neck, (Genesis 41:42) and that promised to Daniel, (Daniel
5:7) are instances of the first use. In (Ezekiel 16:11) the chain is mentioned as the symbol of
sovereignty.
•Chains for ornamental purposes were worn by men as well as women. (Proverbs 1:9) Judith 10:4.
The Midianites adorned the necks of their camels with chains. (Judges 8:21,26) Step-chains were
attached to the ankle-rings. (Isaiah 3:16,18)
•The means adopted for confining prisoners among the Jews were fetters similar to our handcuffs.
(Judges 16:21; 2 Samuel 3:34; 2 Kings 25:7; Jeremiah 39:7) Among the Romans the prisoner was
handcuffed to his guard, and occasionally to two guards. (Acts 12:6,7; 21:33)
Chalcedony
only in (Revelation 21:19) The name is applied in modern mineralogy to one of the varieties
of agate. It is generally translucent and exhibits a great variety of colors. So named because it was
found near the ancient Chalcedon, near Constantinople.
Chalcol
(1 Kings 4:31) [Calcol]
Chaldea
more correctly Chaldae’a, the ancient name of a country of Asia bordering on the Persian Gulf.
Chaldea proper was the southern part of Babylonia, and is used in Scripture to signify that vast
alluvial plain which has been formed by the deposits of the Euphrates and the Tigris. This
extraordinary flat, unbroken except by the works of man, extends a distance of 400 miles along the
course of the rivers, and is on an average about 100 miles in width. In addition to natural advantages
these plains were nourished by a complicated system of canals, and vegetation flourished bountifully.
It is said to be the only country in the world where wheat grows wild. Herodotus declared (i. 193)
that grain commonly returned two hundred fold to the sower, and occasionally three hundred fold.
Cities.—Babylonia has long been celebrated for the number and antiquity of its cities. The most
important of those which have been identified are Borsippa (Birs-Nimrun), Sippara or Sepharvaim
(Mosaib), Cutha (Ibrahim), Calneh (Niffer), Erech (Warka), Ur (Mugheir), Chilmad (Kalwadha),
Larancha (Senkereh), Is (Hit), Durabe (Akkerkuf); but besides these there were a multitude of
others, the sites of which have not been determined. Present condition—This land, once so rich in
corn and wine, is to-day but a mass of mounds, “an arid waste; the dense population of former
times is vanished, and no man dwells there.” The Hebrew prophets applied the term “land of the
Chaldeans” to all Babylonia and “Chaldeans” to all the subjects of the Babylonian empire.
Chaldeans, Or Chaldees
It appears that the Chaldeans (Kaldai or Kaldi) were in the earliest times merely one out of
many Cushite tribes inhabiting the great alluvial plain known afterwards as Chaldea or Babylonia.
frankie
(Frankie)
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