“Hebrew” was also sometimes applied to the Chaldee because it had
become the language of the Hebrews (John 5:2; 19:20).
- CHALDEES or Chaldeans, the inhabitants of the country of which
Babylon was the capital. They were so called till the time of the Captivity
(2 Kings 25; Isaiah 13:19; 23:13), when, particularly in the Book of Daniel
(5:30; 9:1), the name began to be used with special reference to a class of
learned men ranked with the magicians and astronomers. These men
cultivated the ancient Cushite language of the original inhabitants of the
land, for they had a “learning” and a “tongue” (1:4) of their own. The
common language of the country at that time had become assimilated to the
Semitic dialect, especially through the influence of the Assyrians, and was
the language that was used for all civil purposes. The Chaldeans were the
learned class, interesting themselves in science and religion, which
consisted, like that of the ancient Arabians and Syrians, in the worship of
the heavenly bodies. There are representations of this priestly class, of
magi and diviners, on the walls of the Assyrian palaces. - CHAMBER “on the wall,” which the Shunammite prepared for the
prophet Elisha (2 Kings 4:10), was an upper chamber over the porch
through the hall toward the street. This was the “guest chamber” where
entertainments were prepared (Mark 14:14). There were also “chambers
within chambers” (1 Kings 22:25; 2 Kings 9:2). To enter into a chamber is
used metaphorically of prayer and communion with God (Isaiah 26:20).
The “chambers of the south” (Job 9:9) are probably the constelations of
the southern hemisphere. The “chambers of imagery”, i.e., chambers
painted with images, as used by Ezekiel (8:12), is an expression denoting
the vision the prophet had of the abominations practised by the Jews in
Jerusalem. - CHAMBERING (Romans 13:13), wantonness, impurity.
- CHAMBERLAIN a confidential servant of the king (Genesis 37:36; 39:1).
In Romans 16:23 mention is made of “Erastus the chamberlain.” Here the
word denotes the treasurer of the city, or the quaestor, as the Romans
styled him. He is almost the only convert from the higher ranks of whom
mention is made (comp. Acts 17:34). Blastus, Herod’s “chamberlain”
(Acts 12:20), was his personal attendant or valet-de-chambre. The Hebrew
word saris, thus translated in Esther 1:10, 15; 2:3, 14, 21, etc., properly
means an eunuch (as in the marg.), as it is rendered in Isaiah 39:7; 56:3.