carrying away of chaff by the wind (Isaiah 17:13; Hos. 13:3; Zephaniah
2:2).
- CHAIN (1.) A part of the insignia of office. A chain of gold was placed
about Joseph’s neck (Genesis 41:42); and one was promised to Daniel
(5:7). It is used as a symbol of sovereignty (Ezekiel 16:11). The
breast-plate of the high-priest was fastened to the ephod by golden chains
(Exodus 39:17, 21).
(2.) It was used as an ornament (Proverbs 1:9; Cant. 1:10). The Midianites
adorned the necks of their camels with chains (Judges 8:21, 26).
(3.) Chains were also used as fetters wherewith prisoners were bound
(Judges 16:21; 2 Samuel 3:34; 2 Kings 25:7; Jeremiah 39:7). Paul was in
this manner bound to a Roman soldier (Acts 28:20; Ephesians 6:20; 2
Timothy 1:16). Sometimes, for the sake of greater security, the prisoner
was attached by two chains to two soldiers, as in the case of Peter (Acts
12:6).
- CHALCEDONY Mentioned only in Revelation 21:19, as one of the
precious stones in the foundation of the New Jerusalem. The name of this
stone is derived from Chalcedon, where it is said to have been first
discovered. In modern mineralogy this is the name of an agate-like quartz
of a bluish colour. Pliny so names the Indian ruby. The mineral intended in
Revelation is probably the Hebrew nophekh, translated “emerald” (Exodus
28:18; 39:11; Ezekiel 27:16; 28:13). It is rendered “anthrax” in the LXX.,
and “carbunculus” in the Vulgate. (See CARBUNCLE.) - CHALDEA The southern portion of Babylonia, Lower Mesopotamia,
lying chiefly on the right bank of the Euphrates, but commonly used of the
whole of the Mesopotamian plain. The Hebrew name is Kasdim, which is
usually rendered “Chaldeans” (Jeremiah 50:10; 51:24,35).
The country so named is a vast plain formed by the deposits of the
Euphrates and the Tigris, extending to about 400 miles along the course of
these rivers, and about 100 miles in average breadth. “In former days the
vast plains of Babylon were nourished by a complicated system of canals
and water-courses, which spread over the surface of the country like a
network. The wants of a teeming population were supplied by a rich soil,
not less bountiful than that on the banks of the Egyptian Nile. Like islands
rising from a golden sea of waving corn stood frequent groves of palm-trees