Shareware Overload Trio 2/Shareware Overload Trio Volume 2 (Chestnut CD-ROM).ISO/dir32/easton-3.zip/T0000750

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$$T0000750
\Censer\
the vessel in which incense was presented on "the golden altar"
before the Lord in the temple (Ex. 30:1-9). The priest filled
the censer with live coal from the sacred fire on the altar of
burnt-offering, and having carried it into the sanctuary, there
threw upon the burning coals the sweet incense (Lev. 16:12, 13),
which sent up a cloud of smoke, filling the apartment with
fragrance. The censers in daily use were of brass (Num. 16:39),
and were designated by a different Hebrew name, _miktereth_ (2
Chr. 26:19; Ezek. 8:11): while those used on the day of
Atonement were of gold, and were denoted by a word (mahtah)
meaning "something to take fire with;" LXX. pureion = a
fire-pan. Solomon prepared for the temple censers of pure gold
(1 Kings 7:50; 2 Chr. 4:22). The angel in the Apocalypse is
represented with a golden censer (Rev. 8:3, 5). Paul speaks of
the golden censer as belonging to the tabernacle (Heb. 9:4). The
Greek word thumiaterion, here rendered "censer," may more
appropriately denote, as in the margin of Revised Version, "the
altar of incense." Paul does not here say that the thumiaterion
was in the holiest, for it was in the holy place, but that the
holiest had it, i.e., that it belonged to the holiest (1 Kings
6:22). It was intimately connected with the high priest's
service in the holiest.

  The manner in which the censer is to be used is described in
Num. 4:14; Lev. 16:12.

$$T0000751
\Census\
There are five instances of a census of the Jewish people having
been taken. (1.) In the fourth month after the Exodus, when the
people were encamped at Sinai. The number of men from twenty
years old and upward was then 603,550 (Ex. 38:26). (2.) Another
census was made just before the entrance into Canaan, when the
number was found to be 601,730, showing thus a small decrease
(Num. 26:51). (3.) The next census was in the time of David,
when the number, exclusive of the tribes of Levi and Benjamin,
was found to be 1,300,000 (2 Sam. 24:9; 1 Chr. 21:5). (4.)
Solomon made a census of the foreigners in the land, and found
153,600 able-bodied workmen (2 Chr. 2:17, 18). (5.) After the
return from Exile the whole congregation of Israel was numbered,
and found to amount to 42,360 (Ezra 2:64). A census was made by
the Roman government in the time of our Lord (Luke 2:1). (See
TAXING »T0003595.)

$$T0000752
\Centurion\
a Roman officer in command of a hundred men (Mark 15:39, 44,
45). Cornelius, the first Gentile convert, was a centurion (Acts
10:1, 22). Other centurions are mentioned in Matt. 8:5, 8, 13;
Luke 7:2, 6; Acts 21:32; 22:25, 26; 23:17, 23; 24:23; 27:1, 6,
11, 31, 43; 28:16. A centurion watched the crucifixion of our
Lord (Matt. 27:54; Luke 23:47), and when he saw the wonders
attending it, exclaimed, "Truly this man was the Son of God."
"The centurions mentioned in the New Testament are uniformly
spoken of in terms of praise, whether in the Gospels or in the
Acts. It is interesting to compare this with the statement of
Polybius (vi. 24), that the centurions were chosen by merit, and
so were men remarkable not so much for their daring courage as
for their deliberation, constancy, and strength of mind.", Dr.
Maclear's N. T. Hist.

$$T0000753
\Cephas\
a Syriac surname given by Christ to Simon (John 1:42), meaning
"rock." The Greeks translated it by Petros, and the Latins by
Petrus.

$$T0000754
\Cesarea\
See CAESAREA »T0000682.

$$T0000755
\Chaff\
the refuse of winnowed corn. It was usually burned (Ex. 15:7;
Isa. 5:24; Matt. 3:12). This word sometimes, however, means
dried grass or hay (Isa. 5:24; 33:11). Chaff is used as a figure
of abortive wickedness (Ps. 1:4; Matt. 3:12). False doctrines
are also called chaff (Jer. 23:28), or more correctly rendered
"chopped straw." The destruction of the wicked, and their
powerlessness, are likened to the carrying away of chaff by the
wind (Isa. 17:13; Hos. 13:3; Zeph. 2:2).

$$T0000756
\Chain\
(1.) A part of the insignia of office. A chain of gold was
placed about Joseph's neck (Gen. 41:42); and one was promised to
Daniel (5:7). It is used as a symbol of sovereignty (Ezek.
16:11). The breast-plate of the high-priest was fastened to the
ephod by golden chains (Ex. 39:17, 21).

  (2.) It was used as an ornament (Prov. 1:9; Cant. 1:10). The
Midianites adorned the necks of their camels with chains (Judg.
8:21, 26).

  (3.) Chains were also used as fetters wherewith prisoners were
bound (Judg. 16:21; 2 Sam. 3:34; 2 Kings 25:7; Jer. 39:7). Paul
was in this manner bound to a Roman soldier (Acts 28:20; Eph.
6:20; 2 Tim. 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).

$$T0000757
\Chalcedony\
Mentioned only in Rev. 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" (Ex. 28:18; 39:11; Ezek. 27:16;
28:13). It is rendered "anthrax" in the LXX., and "carbunculus"
in the Vulgate. (See CARBUNCLE »T0000721.)

$$T0000758
\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" (Jer. 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 and pleasant gardens, affording to the
idler or traveller their grateful and highly-valued shade.
Crowds of passengers hurried along the dusty roads to and from
the busy city. The land was rich in corn and wine."

  Recent discoveries, more especially in Babylonia, have thrown
much light on the history of the Hebrew patriarchs, and have
illustrated or confirmed the Biblical narrative in many points.
The ancestor of the Hebrew people, Abram, was, we are told, born
at "Ur of the Chaldees." "Chaldees" is a mistranslation of the
Hebrew _Kasdim_, Kasdim being the Old Testament name of the
Babylonians, while the Chaldees were a tribe who lived on the
shores of the Persian Gulf, and did not become a part of the
Babylonian population till the time of Hezekiah. Ur was one of
the oldest and most famous of the Babylonian cities. Its site is
now called Mugheir, or Mugayyar, on the western bank of the
Euphrates, in Southern Babylonia. About a century before the
birth of Abram it was ruled by a powerful dynasty of kings.
Their conquests extended to Elam on the one side, and to the
Lebanon on the other. They were followed by a dynasty of princes
whose capital was Babylon, and who seem to have been of South
Arabian origin. The founder of the dynasty was Sumu-abi ("Shem
is my father"). But soon afterwards Babylonia fell under Elamite
dominion. The kings of Babylon were compelled to acknowledge the
supremacy of Elam, and a rival kingdom to that of Babylon, and
governed by Elamites, sprang up at Larsa, not far from Ur, but
on the opposite bank of the river. In the time of Abram the king
of Larsa was Eri-Aku, the son of an Elamite prince, and Eri-Aku,
as has long been recognized, is the Biblical "Arioch king of
Ellasar" (Gen. 14:1). The contemporaneous king of Babylon in the
north, in the country termed Shinar in Scripture, was
Khammu-rabi. (See BABYLON »T0000409; ABRAHAM »T0000054; AMRAPHEL
»T0000221.)

$$T0000759
\Chaldee language\
employed by the sacred writers in certain portions of the Old
Testament, viz., Dan. 2:4-7, 28; Ezra 4:8-6:18; 7:12-26; Gen.
31:46; Jer. 10:11. It is the Aramaic dialect, as it is sometimes
called, as distinguished from the Hebrew dialect. It was the
language of commerce and of social intercourse in Western Asia,
and after the Exile gradually came to be the popular language of
Palestine. It is called "Syrian" in 2 Kings 18:26. Some isolated
words in this language are preserved in the New Testament (Matt.
5:22; 6:24; 16:17; 27:46; Mark 3:17; 5:41; 7:34; 14:36; Acts
1:19; 1 Cor. 16:22). These are specimens of the vernacular
language of Palestine at that period. The term "Hebrew" was also
sometimes applied to the Chaldee because it had become the
language of the Hebrews (John 5:2; 19:20).

$$T0000760
\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; Isa. 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.

$$T0000761
\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 (Isa. 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.

$$T0000762
\Chambering\
(Rom. 13:13), wantonness, impurity.

$$T0000763
\Chamberlain\
a confidential servant of the king (Gen. 37:36; 39:1). In Rom.
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 Isa. 39:7; 56:3.

$$T0000764
\Chameleon\
a species of lizard which has the faculty of changing the colour
of its skin. It is ranked among the unclean animals in Lev.
11:30, where the Hebrew word so translated is _coah_ (R.V.,
"land crocodile"). In the same verse the Hebrew _tanshemeth_,
rendered in Authorized Version "mole," is in Revised Version
"chameleon," which is the correct rendering. This animal is very
common in Egypt and in the Holy Land, especially in the Jordan
valley.

$$T0000765
\Chamois\
only in Deut. 14:5 (Heb. zemer), an animal of the deer or
gazelle species. It bears this Hebrew name from its leaping or
springing. The animal intended is probably the wild sheep (Ovis
tragelephus), which is still found in Sinai and in the broken
ridges of Stony Arabia. The LXX. and Vulgate render the word by
camelopardus, i.e., the giraffe; but this is an animal of
Central Africa, and is not at all known in Syria.

$$T0000766
\Champion\
(1 Sam. 17:4, 23), properly "the man between the two," denoting
the position of Goliath between the two camps. Single combats of
this kind at the head of armies were common in ancient times. In
ver. 51 this word is the rendering of a different Hebrew word,
and properly denotes "a mighty man."

$$T0000767
\Chance\
(Luke 10:31). "It was not by chance that the priest came down by
that road at that time, but by a specific arrangement and in
exact fulfilment of a plan; not the plan of the priest, nor the
plan of the wounded traveller, but the plan of God. By
coincidence (Gr. sungkuria) the priest came down, that is, by
the conjunction of two things, in fact, which were previously
constituted a pair in the providence of God. In the result they
fell together according to the omniscient Designer's plan. This
is the true theory of the divine government." Compare the
meeting of Philip with the Ethiopian (Acts 8:26, 27). There is
no "chance" in God's empire. "Chance" is only another word for
our want of knowledge as to the way in which one event falls in
with another (1 Sam. 6:9; Eccl. 9:11).

$$T0000768
\Chancellor\
one who has judicial authority, literally, a "lord of
judgement;" a title given to the Persian governor of Samaria
(Ezra 4:8, 9, 17).

$$T0000769
\Changes of raiment\
were reckoned among the treasures of rich men (Gen. 45:22; Judg.
14:12, 13; 2 Kings 5:22, 23).

$$T0000770
\Channel\
(1.) The bed of the sea or of a river (Ps. 18:15; Isa. 8:7).

  (2.) The "chanelbone" (Job 31:22 marg.), properly "tube" or
"shaft," an old term for the collar-bone.

$$T0000771
\Chapel\
a holy place or sanctuary, occurs only in Amos 7:13, where one
of the idol priests calls Bethel "the king's chapel."

$$T0000772
\Chapiter\
the ornamental head or capital of a pillar. Three Hebrew words
are so rendered. (1.) _Cothereth_ (1 Kings 7:16; 2 Kings 25:17;
2 Chr. 4:12), meaning a "diadem" or "crown." (2.) _Tzepheth_ (2
Chr. 3:15). (3.) _Rosh_ (Ex. 36:38; 38:17, 19, 28), properly a
"head" or "top."

$$T0000773
\Chapter\
The several books of the Old and New Testaments were from an
early time divided into chapters. The Pentateuch was divided by
the ancient Hebrews into 54 _parshioth_ or sections, one of
which was read in the synagogue every Sabbath day (Acts. 13:15).
These sections were afterwards divided into 669 _sidrim_ or
orders of unequal length. The Prophets were divided in somewhat
the same manner into _haphtaroth_ or passages.

  In the early Latin and Greek versions of the Bible, similar
divisions of the several books were made. The New Testament
books were also divided into portions of various lengths under
different names, such as titles and heads or chapters.

  In modern times this ancient example was imitated, and many
attempts of the kind were made before the existing division into
chapters was fixed. The Latin Bible published by Cardinal Hugo
of St. Cher in A.D. 1240 is generally regarded as the first
Bible that was divided into our present chapters, although it
appears that some of the chapters were fixed as early as A.D.
1059. This division into chapters came gradually to be adopted
in the published editions of the Hebrew, with some few
variations, and of the Greek Scriptures, and hence of other
versions.

$$T0000774
\Charashim\
craftsmen, a valley named in 1 Chr. 4:14. In Neh. 11:35 the
Hebrew word is rendered "valley of craftsmen" (R.V. marg.,
Geha-rashim). Nothing is known of it.

$$T0000775
\Charger\
a bowl or deep dish. The silver vessels given by the heads of
the tribes for the services of the tabernacle are so named (Num.
7:13, etc.). The "charger" in which the Baptist's head was
presented was a platter or flat wooden trencher (Matt. 14:8, 11;
Mark 6:25, 28). The chargers of gold and silver of Ezra 1:9 were
probably basins for receiving the blood of sacrifices.

$$T0000776
\Chariot\
a vehicle generally used for warlike purposes. Sometimes, though
but rarely, it is spoken of as used for peaceful purposes.

  The first mention of the chariot is when Joseph, as a mark of
distinction, was placed in Pharaoh's second state chariot (Gen.
41:43); and the next, when he went out in his own chariot to
meet his father Jacob (46:29). Chariots formed part of the
funeral procession of Jacob (50:9). When Pharaoh pursued the
Israelites he took 600 war-chariots with him (Ex. 14:7). The
Canaanites in the valleys of Palestine had chariots of iron
(Josh. 17:18; Judg. 1:19). Jabin, the king of Canaan, had 900
chariots (Judg. 4:3); and in Saul's time the Philistines had
30,000. In his wars with the king of Zobah and with the Syrians,
David took many chariots among the spoils (2 Sam. 8:4; 10:18).
Solomon maintained as part of his army 1,400 chariots (1 Kings
10:26), which were chiefly imported from Egypt (29). From this
time forward they formed part of the armies of Israel (1 Kings
22:34; 2 Kings 9:16, 21; 13:7, 14; 18:24; 23:30).

  In the New Testament we have only one historical reference to
the use of chariots, in the case of the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts.
8:28, 29, 38).

  This word is sometimes used figuratively for hosts (Ps. 68:17;
2 Kings 6:17). Elijah, by his prayers and his counsel, was "the
chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof." The rapid agency
of God in the phenomena of nature is also spoken of under the
similitude of a chariot (Ps. 104:3; Isa. 66:15; Hab. 3:8).

  Chariot of the cherubim (1 Chr. 28:18), the chariot formed by
the two cherubs on the mercy-seat on which the Lord rides.

  Chariot cities were set apart for storing the war-chariots in
time of peace (2 Chr. 1:14).

  Chariot horses were such as were peculiarly fitted for service
in chariots (2 Kings 7:14).

  Chariots of war are described in Ex. 14:7; 1 Sam. 13:5; 2 Sam.
8:4; 1 Chr. 18:4; Josh. 11:4; Judg. 4:3, 13. They were not used
by the Israelites till the time of David. Elijah was translated
in a "chariot of fire" (2 Kings 2:11). Comp. 2 Kings 6:17. This
vision would be to Elisha a source of strength and
encouragement, for now he could say, "They that be with us are
more than they that be with them."

$$T0000777
\Charity\
(1 Cor. 13), the rendering in the Authorized Version of the word
which properly denotes love, and is frequently so rendered
(always so in the Revised Version). It is spoken of as the
greatest of the three Christian graces (1 Cor. 12:31-13:13).

$$T0000778
\Charmer\
one who practises serpent-charming (Ps. 58:5; Jer. 8:17; Eccl.
10:11). It was an early and universal opinion that the most
venomous reptiles could be made harmless by certain charms or by
sweet sounds. It is well known that there are jugglers in India
and in other Eastern lands who practise this art at the present
day.

  In Isa. 19:3 the word "charmers" is the rendering of the
Hebrew _'ittim_, meaning, properly, necromancers (R.V. marg.,
"whisperers"). In Deut. 18:11 the word "charmer" means a dealer
in spells, especially one who, by binding certain knots, was
supposed thereby to bind a curse or a blessing on its object. In
Isa. 3:3 the words "eloquent orator" should be, as in the
Revised Version, "skilful enchanter."

$$T0000779
\Charran\
another form (Acts 7:2, 4) of Haran (q.v.).

$$T0000780
\Chebar\
length, a river in the "land of the Chaldeans" (Ezek. 1:3), on
the banks of which were located some of the Jews of the
Captivity (Ezek. 1:1; 3:15, 23; 10:15, 20, 22). It has been
supposed to be identical with the river Habor, the Chaboras, or
modern Khabour, which falls into the Euphrates at Circesium. To
the banks of this river some of the Israelites were removed by
the Assyrians (2 Kings 17:6). An opinion that has much to
support it is that the "Chebar" was the royal canal of
Nebuchadnezzar, the Nahr Malcha, the greatest in Mesopotamia,
which connected the Tigris with the Euphrates, in the excavation
of which the Jewish captives were probably employed.

$$T0000781
\Chedorlaomer\
(= Khudur-Lagamar of the inscriptions), king of Elam. Many
centuries before the age of Abraham, Canaan and even the
Sinaitic peninsula had been conquered by Babylonian kings, and
in the time of Abraham himself Babylonia was ruled by a dynasty
which claimed sovereignity over Syria and Palestine. The kings
of the dynasty bore names which were not Babylonian, but at once
South Arabic and Hebrew. The most famous king of the dynasty was
Khammu-rabi, who united Babylonia under one rule, and made
Babylon its capital. When he ascended the throne, the country
was under the suzerainty of the Elamites, and was divided into
two kingdoms, that of Babylon (the Biblical Shinar) and that of
Larsa (the Biblical Ellasar). The king of Larsa was Eri-Aku
("the servant of the moon-god"), the son of an Elamite prince,
Kudur-Mabug, who is entitled "the father of the land of the
Amorites." A recently discovered tablet enumerates among the
enemies of Khammu-rabi, Kudur-Lagamar ("the servant of the
goddess Lagamar") or Chedorlaomer, Eri-Aku or Arioch, and
Tudkhula or Tidal. Khammu-rabi, whose name is also read
Ammi-rapaltu or Amraphel by some scholars, succeeded in
overcoming Eri-Aku and driving the Elamites out of Babylonia.
Assur-bani-pal, the last of the Assyrian conquerors, mentions in
two inscriptions that he took Susa 1635 years after
Kedor-nakhunta, king of Elam, had conquered Babylonia. It was in
the year B.C. 660 that Assur-bani-pal took Susa.

$$T0000782
\Cheek\
Smiting on the cheek was accounted a grievous injury and insult
(Job 16:10; Lam. 3:30; Micah 5:1). The admonition (Luke 6:29),
"Unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the
other," means simply, "Resist not evil" (Matt. 5:39; 1 Pet.
2:19-23). Ps. 3:7 = that God had deprived his enemies of the
power of doing him injury.

$$T0000783
\Cheese\
(A.S. cese). This word occurs three times in the Authorized
Version as the translation of three different Hebrew words: (1.)
1 Sam. 17:18, "ten cheeses;" i.e., ten sections of curd. (2.) 2
Sam. 17:29, "cheese of kine" = perhaps curdled milk of kine. The
Vulgate version reads "fat calves." (3.) Job 10:10, curdled milk
is meant by the word.

$$T0000784
\Chemarim\
black, (Zeph. 1:4; rendered "idolatrous priests" in 2 Kings
23:5, and "priests" in Hos. 10:5). Some derive this word from
the Assyrian Kamaru, meaning "to throw down," and interpret it
as describing the idolatrous priests who prostrate themselves
before the idols. Others regard it as meaning "those who go
about in black," or "ascetics."

$$T0000785
\Chemosh\
the destroyer, subduer, or fish-god, the god of the Moabites
(Num. 21:29; Jer. 48:7, 13, 46). The worship of this god, "the
abomination of Moab," was introduced at Jerusalem by Solomon (1
Kings 11:7), but was abolished by Josiah (2 Kings 23:13). On the
"Moabite Stone" (q.v.), Mesha (2 Kings 3:5) ascribes his
victories over the king of Israel to this god, "And Chemosh
drove him before my sight."

$$T0000786
\Chenaanah\
merchant. (1.) A Benjamite (1 Chr. 7:10). (2.) The father of
Zedekiah (1 Kings 22:11, 24).

$$T0000787
\Chenaiah\
whom Jehovah hath made. "Chief of the Levites," probably a
Kohathite (1 Chr. 15:22), and therefore not the same as
mentioned in 26:29.

$$T0000788
\Chephirah\
village, one of the four cities of the Gibeonitish Hivites with
whom Joshua made a league (9:17). It belonged to Benjamin. It
has been identified with the modern Kefireh, on the west
confines of Benjamin, about 2 miles west of Ajalon and 11 from
Jerusalem.

$$T0000789
\Cherethim\
(Ezek. 25:16), more frequently Cherethites, the inhabitants of
Southern Philistia, the Philistines (Zeph. 2:5). The Cherethites
and the Pelethites were David's life-guards (1 Sam. 30:14; 2
Sam. 8:18; 20:7, 23; 23:23). This name is by some interpreted as
meaning "Cretans," and by others "executioners," who were ready
to execute the king's sentence of death (Gen. 37:36, marg.; 1
Kings 2:25).

$$T0000790
\Cherith\
a cutting; separation; a gorge, a torrent-bed or winter-stream,
a "brook," in whose banks the prophet Elijah hid himself during
the early part of the three years' drought (1 Kings 17:3, 5). It
has by some been identified as the Wady el-Kelt behind Jericho,
which is formed by the junction of many streams flowing from the
mountains west of Jericho. It is dry in summer. Travellers have
described it as one of the wildest ravines of this wild region,
and peculiarly fitted to afford a secure asylum to the
persecuted. But if the prophet's interview with Ahab was in
Samaria, and he thence journeyed toward the east, it is probable
that he crossed Jordan and found refuge in some of the ravines
of Gilead. The "brook" is said to have been "before Jordan,"
which probably means that it opened toward that river, into
which it flowed. This description would apply to the east as
well as to the west of Jordan. Thus Elijah's hiding-place may
have been the Jermuk, in the territory of the half-tribe of
Manasseh.

$$T0000791
\Cherub\
plural cherubim, the name of certain symbolical figures
frequently mentioned in Scripture. They are first mentioned in
connection with the expulsion of our first parents from Eden
(Gen. 3:24). There is no intimation given of their shape or
form. They are next mentioned when Moses was commanded to
provide furniture for the tabernacle (Ex. 25:17-20; 26:1, 31).
God promised to commune with Moses "from between the cherubim"
(25:22). This expression was afterwards used to denote the
Divine abode and presence (Num. 7:89; 1 Sam. 4:4; Isa. 37:16;
Ps. 80:1; 99:1). In Ezekiel's vision (10:1-20) they appear as
living creatures supporting the throne of God. From Ezekiel's
description of them (1;10; 41:18, 19), they appear to have been
compound figures, unlike any real object in nature; artificial
images possessing the features and properties of several
animals. Two cherubim were placed on the mercy-seat of the ark;
two of colossal size overshadowed it in Solomon's temple.
Ezekiel (1:4-14) speaks of four; and this number of "living
creatures" is mentioned in Rev. 4:6. Those on the ark are called
the "cherubim of glory" (Heb. 9:5), i.e., of the Shechinah, or
cloud of glory, for on them the visible glory of God rested.
They were placed one at each end of the mercy-seat, with wings
stretched upward, and their faces "toward each other and toward
the mercy-seat." They were anointed with holy oil, like the ark
itself and the other sacred furniture.

  The cherubim were symbolical. They were intended to represent
spiritual existences in immediate contact with Jehovah. Some
have regarded them as symbolical of the chief ruling power by
which God carries on his operations in providence (Ps. 18:10).
Others interpret them as having reference to the redemption of
men, and as symbolizing the great rulers or ministers of the
church. Many other opinions have been held regarding them which
need not be referred to here. On the whole, it seems to be most
satisfactory to regard the interpretation of the symbol to be
variable, as is the symbol itself.

  Their office was, (1) on the expulsion of our first parents
from Eden, to prevent all access to the tree of life; and (2) to
form the throne and chariot of Jehovah in his manifestation of
himself on earth. He dwelleth between and sitteth on the
cherubim (1 Sam. 4:4; Ps. 80:1; Ezek. 1:26, 28).

$$T0000792
\Chesalon\
strength; confidence, a place on the border of Judah, on the
side of Mount Jearim (Josh. 15:10); probably identified with the
modern village of Kesla, on the western mountains of Judah.

$$T0000793
\Chesed\
gain, the son of Nahor (Gen. 22:22).

$$T0000794
\Chesil\
ungodly, a town in the south of Judah (Josh. 15:30); probably
the same as Bethul (19:4) and Bethuel (1 Chr. 4:30); now
Khelasa.

$$T0000795
\Chest\
(Heb. _'aron_, generally rendered "ark"), the coffer into which
the contributions for the repair of the temple were put (2 Kings
12:9, 10; 2 Chr. 24:8, 10, 11). In Gen. 50:26 it is rendered
"coffin." In Ezek. 27:24 a different Hebrew word, _genazim_
(plur.), is used. It there means "treasure-chests."

$$T0000796
\Chestnut tree\
(Heb. _'armon_; i.e., "naked"), mentioned in connection with
Jacob's artifice regarding the cattle (Gen. 30:37). It is one of
the trees of which, because of its strength and beauty, the
Assyrian empire is likened (Ezek. 31:8; R.V., "plane trees"). It
is probably the Oriental plane tree (Platanus orientalis) that
is intended. It is a characteristic of this tree that it
annually sheds its outer bark, becomes "naked." The chestnut
tree proper is not a native of Palestine.

$$T0000797
\Chesulloth\
fertile places; the loins, a town of Issachar, on the slopes of
some mountain between Jezreel and Shunem (Josh. 19:18). It has
been identified with Chisloth-tabor, 2 1/2 miles to the west of
Mount Tabor, and north of Jezreel; now Iksal.

$$T0000798
\Chezib\
deceitful, a town where Shelah, the son of Judah, was born (Gen.
38:5). Probably the same as Achzib (q.v.).

$$T0000799
\Chidon\
dart, the name of the threshing-floor at which the death of
Uzzah took place (1 Chr. 13:9). In the parallel passage in
Samuel (2 Sam. 6:6) it is called "Nachon's threshing-floor." It
was a place not far north-west from Jerusalem.