A measure that, according to rabbinic sources, was 1⁄18 ephah (2Ki 6:25), and hence also 1⁄18 bath measure. (Eze 45:11) If the bath measure is to be viewed as having a capacity of 22 L (5.81 gal; 4.99 dry gal), as archaeological evidence seems to indicate, then the cab measure would have a capacity of 1.22 L (2.58 liquid pt; 2.2 dry pt).

(Cabʹbon).

One of the cities of Judah in the Shephelah. (Jos 15:40) The Greek Septuagint reads “Chabra” instead of Cabbon, and this has led some to relate the town to Khirbet Hibra 5 km (3 mi) ESE of Lachish. On the basis of the Hebrew name, however, others suggest an identification with Al Qubeiba (Horvat Kefar Lakhish), 5 km (3 mi) SW of Beit Jibrin (Bet Guvrin).

(Caʹbul).

1. A town assigned to the tribe of Asher as part of its inheritance. (Jos 19:24, 27) It is represented by modern Kabul, situated about 13 km (8 mi) ESE of Acco.

2. The name applied to a Galilean district of 20 cities given by Solomon to King Hiram of Tyre, the gift likely deriving from Solomon’s appreciation for Hiram’s assistance in his building program. Hiram, however, on inspecting the cities, found them “not just right in his eyes,” saying to Solomon: “What sort of cities are these that you have given me, my brother?” Thereafter they came to be called “the Land of Cabul.”​—1Ki 9:10-13.

According to Josephus, the cities “lay not far from Tyre.” (Jewish Antiquities, VIII, 142 [v, 3]) Galilee is called by Isaiah (9:1) “Galilee of the nations,” and certain scholars consider it probable that the 20 cities were inhabited by a pagan population. It does not seem likely that Solomon would turn them over to a foreign king if they were inhabited by Israelites, and they may indeed have been outside the boundaries actually inhabited by Israel, though still within the limits of the original area promised Israel by God and conquered by Solomon’s father David. (Ex 23:31; 2Sa 8:1-15) The propriety of Solomon’s action has been questioned because of God’s law at Leviticus 25:23, 24. This law may have been regarded as applying only to the region actually occupied by God’s covenant people, in which case Solomon’s gift would not have been improper. If otherwise, then it would be an additional example of his failure to adhere completely to divine counsel, as in the case of his multiplying horses and also taking many wives from the foreign nations.​—Compare De 17:16, 17 with 1Ki 4:26; 11:1-8.

The account does not give the reason for Hiram’s lack of satisfaction with the cities. Some suggest that the pagan inhabitants kept them in poor condition; others, that their geographic situation was undesirable. At any rate his displeasure with them resulted in their receiving the name “the Land of Cabul.” The meaning of Cabul in this text has been a subject of considerable discussion. Josephus (as above) says that Cabul “in the Phoenician tongue is interpreted to mean ‘not pleasing,’” but modern scholars find no other evidence to support this interpretation. Lexicographers generally advance the suggestion that a form of pun is involved, Cabul being used in the sense of the similar-sounding Hebrew phrase kevalʹ, meaning “as good as nothing.”

In the parallel account of events following the completion of Solomon’s building project, 2 Chronicles 8:2 mentions cities “that Hiram had given to Solomon,” which cities Solomon rebuilt for use by the Israelites. Whether or not these were the same cities that Solomon had first presented as a gift to Hiram is not stated. If so, then this text would indicate that Hiram rejected the gift. It is also suggested by some that an exchange of gifts of cities was involved, though this is not mentioned in the account at First Kings 9.

(Caeʹsar).

A Roman family name that became a title. In 46 B.C.E., Gaius Julius Caesar was appointed dictator of Rome for ten years, but he was murdered in 44 B.C.E. Caesar was the name of his family (Gaius being his personal name and Julius that of his clan or house). The family name passed to his adopted son and ultimate successor Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (Octavian). Octavian established his rulership over the realm in 31 B.C.E., and in 27 B.C.E. he was accorded the title of Augustus by the Roman Senate, becoming known as Caesar Augustus.​—Lu 2:1-7.

Thereafter, the next four Roman emperors (Tiberius, Gaius [Caligula], Claudius, and Nero) laid claim to the name on the basis either of actual relationship or of adoption. The family name thus became so closely associated with the position of sovereign ruler that, even after the end of the Caesarean dynasty, the name was retained as a regal title equivalent to that of emperor, producing the later forms kaiser (German) and czar (Russian).

The Caesars ruling during the period covered by the Christian Greek Scriptures, along with their reigns and the major events of the Bible taking place during these, are listed on the accompanying chart. Of these, only three are mentioned by name in the Bible itself: Augustus, Tiberius, and Claudius. For fuller discussion, see articles under their names.

God and Caesar. Jesus’ only recorded reference to Caesar is when laying down the principle: “Pay back, therefore, Caesar’s things to Caesar, but God’s things to God.” (Mt 22:17-21; Mr 12:14-17; Lu 20:22-25) The question evoking this statement was with regard to the payment of “head tax” by Jews to the Roman state. It therefore dealt with an established law or regular practice and hence neither the question nor the answer was evidently intended to be restricted to Tiberius, then ruling. (Compare Mt 17:25.) “Caesar” meant, or symbolized, the civil authority, the state, represented by its duly appointed representatives, called “the superior authorities” by Paul and expressed by Peter as “the king” and his “governors.”​—Ro 13:1-7; Tit 3:1; 1Pe 2:13-17; see SUPERIOR AUTHORITIES.

Caesar’s “things” were therefore the payment due for services rendered by the secular government and for which services the government levied taxes or tribute. Despite its imperialistic nature, the Roman state provided numerous services for its subject peoples, including the construction of highways, and a form of mail service, as well as the maintenance of civil order and protection from criminal elements. The people paid for these services by taxes. This is underscored by Jesus’ reference to Caesar’s coin, called “the head tax coin.”​—Mt 22:19.

That “Caesar’s” authority to exact payment even from Christians could not be allowed to infringe upon the Christian’s service to God was shown by Jesus’ statement that ‘God’s things should be paid back to God.’ (Mt 22:21) Jesus’ apostles showed that they understood that their duty toward human authorities was limited, or relative, and not absolute, for when later brought before the Jewish high court they firmly declared: “We must obey God as ruler rather than men,” that is, when human laws or requirements clashed with those of God.​—Ac 5:29.

Jesus’ Trial. When Jesus was brought to trial before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, he was charged by the religious leaders with grave offenses: “subverting [the Jewish] nation and forbidding the paying of taxes to Caesar and saying he himself is Christ a king.” (Lu 23:1, 2) This three-pronged charge actually meant they were accusing Jesus of high treason or, as the Romans expressed it, crimen laesae majestatis (today called lèse-majesté). Pilate recognized this because later he said, “You brought this man to me as one inciting the people to revolt.” (Lu 23:13, 14) In 48 B.C.E., the law called lex Julia majestatis had made it an offense to engage in any activity against the sovereign power of Rome. This law was given broad application so that, by Jesus’ time, virtually any insult to Caesar or any activity giving an outward appearance of sedition could be the basis for the charge of treason. Tiberius, the Caesar then reigning, was particularly sensitive to criticism or opposition, and his rule was noted for the encouragement of “informers” who would bring accusations against supposed traitors.

Throughout the Roman Empire no king could rule without Caesar’s consent. Thus, Pilate, in questioning Jesus, apparently concentrated his interrogation on the issue of Jesus’ kingship. (Mt 27:11; Mr 15:2; Lu 23:3; Joh 18:33-37) Pilate endeavored to free Jesus as guiltless, but the Jewish leaders cried out: “If you release this man, you are not a friend of Caesar. Every man making himself a king speaks against Caesar.” (Joh 19:12) The term “friend of Caesar” was a title of honor often bestowed on provincial governors; but the Jewish leaders here evidently used it in a general way, implying that Pilate was laying himself open to the charge of condoning high treason. Fear of a jealous emperor was a factor influencing Pilate in pronouncing the death sentence on an innocent man. Meanwhile the priests loudly proclaimed their loyalty to the imperial throne, saying, “We have no king but Caesar,” thereby rejecting any theocratic rule. (Joh 19:13-16; compare Isa 9:6, 7; 33:22.) They objected in vain to the title “King of the Jews” that Pilate had placed on Jesus’ stake. (Joh 19:19-22) The Romans customarily posted a sign identifying the crime for which a criminal was condemned.

Paul’s Appeal and Imprisonment. When the Jewish religious leaders of Thessalonica formed a mob to try to stop the preaching of Paul and Silas, they also trumped up a similar charge of treason against the imperial throne. (Ac 17:1-9) By now Claudius (41-54 C.E.) was ruling as Caesar.​—Ac 11:28.

The remainder of the Biblical references to Caesar apply to Nero, who ruled from 54 to 68 C.E., when he committed suicide at about the age of 31. It was to Nero that Paul referred when on trial in Caesarea before Festus, evidently about 58 C.E. Paul denied any guilt due to acts against Caesar and refused to submit to a trial in Jerusalem, saying: “I am standing before the judgment seat of Caesar, where I ought to be judged. . . . I appeal to Caesar!” (Ac 25:1, 6-11) Paul was here exercising his rights as a Roman citizen. Such appeal to Caesar could be made either after the pronouncement of judgment or at any earlier point in the trial. Since Festus gave evidence of not wanting to decide the matter himself and since a trial in Jerusalem held virtually no hope of justice, Paul made this formal petition to be judged by the highest court of the empire. It appears that in some cases the appeal could be denied, as, for example, in the case of a thief, a pirate, or a seditionist caught in the act. Likely for this reason Festus conferred first with “the assembly of counselors” before admitting the appeal. The subsequent hearing before the visiting Herod Agrippa II was in order that Festus might have clearer information to submit in transmitting Paul’s case to “the August One,” Nero. (Ac 25:12-27; 26:32; 28:19) Paul’s appeal served a further purpose, that of taking him to Rome, fulfilling an intention expressed earlier. (Ac 19:21; Ro 15:22-28) Jesus’ prophetic promise and the angelic message later received both show divine direction in the matter.​—Ac 23:11; 27:23, 24.

It was apparently during Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome that he wrote his letter to the Philippians (c. 60-61 C.E.). At the letter’s close, Paul includes the greetings of the brothers in Rome and “especially those of the household of Caesar.” (Php 4:21, 22) The term “household of Caesar” does not necessarily refer to the immediate family of Nero, then reigning, but may apply to those in government service, Caesar’s slaves and minor officials. Whether these Christians from Caesar’s household were products of Paul’s preaching is not stated. If his prison quarters were at all connected with the Praetorian Guard (Php 1:13), this would place him, and the preaching he there did, in the proximity of Nero’s palace, hence near many of the household of Caesar. (Ac 28:16, 30, 31) Whatever the manner of his meeting these Christians of Caesar’s household, they apparently had special interest in the brothers of Philippi. Since Philippi was a Roman colony with many retired soldiers and government servants, it may be that a number of the Christians there were related to or were friends of those on whose behalf Paul conveyed greetings.

A great fire ravaged Rome in 64 C.E., destroying about a fourth of the city. The rumor circulated that Nero was responsible and, according to Roman historian Tacitus, Nero tried to protect himself by placing the blame on the Christians. (The Annals, XV, XLIV) Mass arrests followed, and Christians as well as those suspected of being Christians were tortured, put to death in large numbers, some even being burned alive in public. This appears to have marked the start of a great wave of persecution, not from religious opposers, but from political sources bent on exterminating the Christian congregation. Likely Paul, who evidently was freed after two years of imprisonment in Rome (c. 59-61 C.E.), now experienced his second imprisonment (c. 65 C.E.). It is generally held that he thereafter was put to death at Nero’s order.​—Compare 2Ti 1:16, 17; 4:6-8.

The Jewish revolt began in 66 C.E., two years before Nero’s death, but was not suppressed until 70 C.E. in the reign of Vespasian (69-79 C.E.). The apostle John is thought to have been exiled to the island of Patmos during the rule of Domitian (81-96 C.E.), a harsh opponent of Christianity.​—Re 1:9.

[Chart on page 382]

Name

Years of Rule

Major Biblical Events During Reign

Augustus (Octavian)

31 B.C.E.–14 C.E.

Birth of John (the Baptizer); decree of registration, and birth of Jesus at Bethlehem (Lu 2:1); death of Herod the Great

Tiberius

14-37 C.E.

Ministries of both John and Jesus (Lu 3:1); also their deaths. Pentecost of 33 C.E. and initial activity of newly established Christian congregation. The conversion of Saul (Paul)

Gaius (Caligula)

37-41 C.E.

—

Claudius

41-54 C.E.

Paul’s first two missionary tours and part of third. A major famine; Jews banished from Rome (Ac 11:28; 18:2)

Nero

54-68 C.E.

Paul’s first trial in Rome. (Ac 25:21; 26:32) Start of strong official persecution against Christians following the great fire in Rome; likely also Paul’s second trial and execution. Beginning of Jewish revolt (66 C.E.)

Galba

68-69 C.E.

—

Otho

69 C.E.

—

Vitellius

69 C.E.

—

Vespasian

69-79 C.E.

Destruction of Jerusalem (70 C.E.)

Titus

79-81 C.E.

—

Domitian

81-96 C.E.

Exile of apostle John to Patmos (Re 1:9)

Nerva

96-98 C.E.

—

Trajan

98-117 C.E.

Bible canon likely completed during first year of his reign

(Caes·a·reʹa) [Of (Belonging to) Caesar].

An important seaport city built by Herod the Great on the Mediterranean seacoast during the latter part of the first century B.C.E. The original site was previously known as Straton’s or Strato’s Tower, thought to be so named after a Sidonian ruler. The ancient name has been preserved in the Arabic name Qaisariye (today called Horvat Qesari in Hebrew). It is situated about 40 km (25 mi) S of Mount Carmel and about 87 km (54 mi) NNW of Jerusalem.

The Jewish historian Josephus is the prime source of information about the construction and early history of the city. Herod the Great had received the site along with Samaria and other towns as a gift from Caesar Augustus. After rebuilding Samaria, which he named Sebaste, he turned his attention to the seacoast and proceeded to build a magnificent port and city at Strato’s Tower, the construction covering a period of 10 to 12 years, and the time of its dedication coming about the year 10 B.C.E. (according to some scholars). These projects were named by Herod in honor of Caesar Augustus​—the city was called Caesarea, whereas its seaport was called Sebastos (Greek for Augustus). The city was most beautiful both in material and in construction, and it contained a temple, a theater, and an amphitheater large enough to accommodate a great crowd of people. An aqueduct supplied Caesarea with fresh water, and a drainage system underneath the city carried water and sewage out to the sea. The major feat, however, was the construction of the city’s artificial harbor.

Following the removal of Herod the Great’s son Archelaus, Caesarea became the official residence of the Roman procurators who governed Judea. In the Bible account of the Acts of Apostles, the city figures prominently both as a seaport and as a seat of government.

Philip, who had accomplished successful missionary service in Samaria, subsequently engaged in “declaring the good news” in the coastal territory from the city of Ashdod through all the cities on up to Caesarea, about 90 km (56 mi) to the N. (Ac 8:5-8, 40) Shortly thereafter, Paul’s conversion took place, and because of a plot against him when he began preaching in Jerusalem, the disciples there took their new brother to the seaport of Caesarea and sent him off to his hometown, Tarsus.​—Ac 9:28-30.

As the main headquarters for the Roman military forces, Caesarea was a natural place for the centurion Cornelius to have his residence. The city, though having a substantial number of Jewish residents, is considered to have been mainly of Gentile population. Thus in the year 36 C.E. Peter was divinely directed to a fitting site for witnessing to uncircumcised Cornelius, his relatives, and his intimate friends and for their being baptized as the first uncircumcised Gentiles to be admitted into the Christian congregation.​—Ac 10:1-48.

It was to Caesarea that Herod Agrippa I withdrew after his unsuccessful imprisonment of Peter, and here he received the delegations from Tyre and Sidon and shortly thereafter died (44 C.E.), as an expression of God’s adverse judgment. (Ac 12:18-23) Paul went through Caesarea on returning to Palestine when nearing completion of his second and third missionary tours. (Ac 18:21, 22; 21:7, 8) At the time of his second visit, Paul and his companions lodged with Philip the evangelizer, who possibly settled in Caesarea at the close of his earlier preaching tour. Some of the local disciples now accompanied the apostle from that seaport up to Jerusalem, though Paul, while in Caesarea, had been warned by the prophet Agabus of the danger awaiting him.​—Ac 21:10-16.

Because of an assassination plot against him in Jerusalem, Paul, under arrest, was later taken to Caesarea under heavy guard and delivered to Governor Felix for trial. (Ac 23:23, 24) The notable contrast between the emotional religious prejudice accompanied by riotous conditions in Jerusalem and the relatively orderly conditions in Caesarea are considered to be evidence of the strong Roman influence in the latter city as well as its position as the chief garrison of Roman troops. Governor Festus, who succeeded Felix, obliged Paul’s Jewish opposers in Jerusalem to come down to Caesarea to present their charges against him, at which time Paul appealed to Caesar rather than face trial in Jerusalem. (Ac 25:1-12) While still in Caesarea awaiting transfer to Rome, Paul was able to give a strong witness concerning Christianity before Festus and his royal visitors, King Agrippa II and his sister Bernice. (Ac 25:13, 22-27; 26:1-32) From Caesarea Paul, as prisoner, set sail on the voyage that would eventually take him to Rome.​—Ac 27:1, 2.

During the reign of Nero, bitter rivalry broke out between the Jewish and Syrian inhabitants of Caesarea, and incidents there are considered to have served to ignite the flame of revolt that eventually led to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.

In 1961 a stone was found in the theater of Caesarea bearing a Latin inscription that includes the name of Pontius Pilate, the first such inscription to be found.

(Caes·a·reʹa Phi·lipʹpi) [Caesarea of Philip].

A town situated at the headwaters of the Jordan River, today represented by the small village of Banyas. At an elevation of 350 m (1,150 ft) above sea level, its location is one of great natural beauty. The village is enclosed on three sides by mountains, with the snowcapped peak of Mount Hermon rising majestically to the NE, while to the W extends a lush green plain watered by one of the principal sources of the Jordan springing from a nearby cavern.

The town was the site of a battle between Egypt and the victorious forces of Antiochus III (the Great) (c. 200 B.C.E.). It was then known as Paneas, a name given the town in honor of the pagan god Pan, a fertility deity, who was worshiped there. In the year 20 B.C.E. Caesar Augustus gave Paneas to Herod the Great, who thereafter built a white marble temple in the place, dedicating it to Augustus. Herod’s son, Philip the tetrarch, later enlarged and beautified the city in honor of Tiberius Caesar. It was then given the name Caesarea and, to distinguish it from the seaport city of the same name, was called Caesarea Philippi. Still later the city was again enlarged and adorned by Herod Agrippa II, and its name was changed to Neronias, though this name quickly passed into disuse following the death of Nero. Josephus relates that, after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., General Titus staged gladiatorial events there, using captive Jews as victims. (The Jewish War, VII, 23, 24 [ii, 1]) In course of time the name of the city reverted to its ancient name of Paneas, and in Arabic (which uses no “p”) this became Banyas.

It was on the way to “the villages of Caesarea Philippi” that Jesus questioned his disciples: “Who are men saying the Son of man is?” giving rise to the meaningful conversation regarding the Christian congregation’s rock-mass foundation and the use of the keys of the Kingdom of the heavens.​—Mr 8:27; Mt 16:13-20.

An enclosure used for confining birds or other animals. (Jer 5:27; compare Am 8:1, 2, where the same Hebrew word, keluvʹ, is rendered “basket.”) The prophet Ezekiel evidently alluded to King Zedekiah of Judah under the figure of a lion that was put in a cage (Heb., su·gharʹ) and transported to the king of Babylon.​—Eze 19:9; compare Eze 12:13; 17:20; 2Ki 25:5-7.

(Caʹia·phas).

Joseph Caiaphas was the high priest during Jesus’ earthly ministry. (Lu 3:2) He was the son-in-law of High Priest Annas (Joh 18:13; see ANNAS) and was appointed to office by the predecessor of Pontius Pilate, Valerius Gratus, about the year 18 C.E., although some say as late as the year 26 C.E. He held the office until about the year 36 C.E., longer than any of his immediate predecessors, this being due to his skillful diplomacy and cooperation with Roman rule. He and Pilate were reportedly good friends. Caiaphas was a Sadducee.​—Ac 5:17.

A ringleader in the plot to do away with Jesus, Caiaphas prophesied, though not of his own originality, that Jesus would shortly die for the nation, and to that end he gave his wholehearted support. (Joh 11:49-53; 18:12-14) At Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin, Caiaphas ripped his garments and said: “He has blasphemed!” (Mt 26:65) When Jesus was before Pilate, Caiaphas was undoubtedly there crying: “Impale him! Impale him!” (Joh 19:6, 11); he was there asking for the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus (Mt 27:20, 21; Mr 15:11); he was there shouting: “We have no king but Caesar” (Joh 19:15); he was also there protesting the sign over Jesus’ head: “The King of the Jews” (Joh 19:21).

The death of Jesus did not mark the end of Caiaphas’ role as a chief persecutor of infant Christianity. The apostles were next haled before this religious ruler; they were sternly commanded to stop their preaching, were threatened, and were even flogged, but to no avail. “Every day in the temple and from house to house they continued without letup,” Caiaphas notwithstanding. (Ac 4:5-7; 5:17, 18, 21, 27, 28, 40, 42) The blood of righteous Stephen was soon added to Jesus’ bloodstains on the skirts of Caiaphas, who also armed Saul of Tarsus with letters of introduction so the murderous campaign could be extended to Damascus. (Ac 7:1, 54-60; 9:1, 2) However, not long thereafter Vitellius, a Roman official, removed Caiaphas from office.

[Something Produced].

The first child born on earth to the original human pair, Adam and Eve.

Following the birth of Cain, Eve said: “I have produced a man with the aid of Jehovah.” (Ge 4:1) Did she have in mind that she might be the foretold woman who would produce the seed by means of which deliverance would come? (Ge 3:15) If so, she was greatly mistaken. However, she could validly say that Cain was produced “with the aid of Jehovah” because God had not taken away the reproductive powers of sinful Adam and Eve and because, when passing judgment on her, God had said that she would “bring forth children,” though it would be with birth pangs.​—Ge 3:16.

Cain became a cultivator of the ground and, “at the expiration of some time,” he, as well as his younger brother Abel, brought offerings to present to Jehovah, feeling the need to gain God’s favor. Cain’s offering of “some fruits of the ground,” however, was not ‘looked upon with any favor’ by God. (Ge 4:2-5; compare Nu 16:15; Am 5:22.) The fact that Cain’s offering was bloodless does not seem to have been a factor, considering that the Law covenant provided for both animal and grain offerings. While some point out that Cain’s offering is not said to be of the choicest fruits whereas Abel’s offering is specified to have been of the “firstlings of his flock, even their fatty pieces,” the problem was not in the quality of produce that Cain offered. As Hebrews 11:4 points out, Cain’s offering lacked the motivation of faith that made Abel’s sacrifice acceptable.

The manner in which the distinction between the approved and the disapproved offerings was made is not stated, but it was undoubtedly evident to both Cain and Abel. Jehovah, who reads the heart of man (1Sa 16:7; Ps 139:1-6), knew the wrong attitude of Cain, and His rejection of Cain’s sacrifice resulted in that wrong disposition being made clearly manifest. “The works of the flesh” now began to be openly produced by Cain: “enmities, strife, jealousy, fits of anger.” (Ga 5:19, 20) Jehovah showed the sullen man that exaltation could be his if he would simply turn to doing good. He could have humbled himself to imitate his brother’s approved example, but he chose to ignore God’s counsel to get the mastery over the sinful desire that ‘lurked at the door,’ craving to dominate him. (Ge 4:6, 7; compare Jas 1:14, 15.) This disrespectful course was “the path of Cain.”​—Jude 11.

Subsequently, Cain said to his brother: “Let us go over into the field.” (Ge 4:8) (Though these words are not in the Masoretic text, a number of Hebrew manuscripts have the sign of omission here, while the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Greek Septuagint, the Syriac Peshitta, and Old Latin texts all include these words as spoken by Cain to Abel.) In the field Cain attacked Abel, killing him, and thereby becoming the first human murderer. As such he could be said to have “originated with the wicked one,” who is the father of manslayers as well as of the lie. (1Jo 3:12; Joh 8:44) Cain’s callous response to Jehovah’s inquiry as to Abel’s whereabouts was further evidence of his attitude; it was not an expression of repentance or remorse but a lying retort: “I do not know. Am I my brother’s guardian?”​—Ge 4:9.

God’s sentencing of Cain to banishment from the ground evidently meant his eviction from the neighborhood of the garden of Eden, and the curse already upon the earth would be increased in Cain’s case, the earth not responding to his cultivation of it. Cain expressed regret over the severity of his punishment and showed anxiety as to the possibility of Abel’s murder being avenged upon him, but still no sincere repentance. Jehovah “set up a sign for Cain” to prevent his being killed, but the record does not say that this sign or mark was placed on Cain’s person in any way. The “sign” likely consisted of God’s solemn decree itself, known and observed by others.​—Ge 4:10-15; compare vs 24 where that decree is referred to by Lamech.

Cain went into banishment in “the land of Fugitiveness to the east of Eden,” taking with him his wife, an anonymous daughter or granddaughter of Adam and Eve. (Ge 4:16, 17; compare 5:4, also the much later example of Abraham’s marriage to his half sister Sarah, Ge 20:12.) Following the birth of his son Enoch, Cain “engaged in building a city,” naming it for his son. Such city may have been but a fortified village by present standards, and the record does not state when it was completed. His descendants are listed in part and include men who distinguished themselves in nomadic stock raising, the playing of musical instruments, and the forging of metal tools as well as those who were known for their practice of polygamy and their violence. (Ge 4:17-24) Cain’s line ended with the global Flood of Noah’s day.

(Ca·iʹnan).

1. Son of Enos (Enosh); an ancestor of Jesus’ earthly mother Mary. (Lu 3:37) Cainan is evidently called Kenan at Genesis 5:9-14 and 1 Chronicles 1:2.

2. One listed in Luke’s genealogy of Jesus Christ as the son of Arpachshad. (Lu 3:36) The name Cainan appears in genealogical lists in present copies of the Greek Septuagint, such as the Alexandrine Manuscript of the fifth century C.E. (Ge 10:24; 11:12, 13; 1Ch 1:18 but not 1Ch 1:24), although it is not found in extant Hebrew manuscripts of the Hebrew Scriptures. The name Cainan is also missing at Luke 3:36 in two Bible manuscripts (Papyrus Bodmer 14, 15, of c. 200 C.E.; Codex Bezae, of the fifth century C.E.). This omission is in harmony with the Masoretic text at Genesis 10:24; 11:12, 15; and 1 Chronicles 1:18, according to which Shelah, not Cainan, is the son of Arpachshad.​—See ARPACHSHAD; GENEALOGY OF JESUS CHRIST (A Problem in Luke’s Genealogy of Jesus).

Among the Hebrews and other Oriental peoples of ancient times bread was often baked in the form of flat disks, and it was not uncommon to refer to such bread by the term “cake.” However, cakes were of various shapes. For instance, “ring-shaped cakes” (Heb., chal·lohthʹ) were used at the time of the installing of Israel’s priesthood (Ex 29:2, 23), and Tamar prepared “heart-shaped cakes.” (Heb., levi·vohthʹ; 2Sa 13:8, ftn; see LOAF.) Abraham told Sarah to make “round cakes” (Heb., ʽu·ghohthʹ) to feed the materialized angels that visited him.​—Ge 18:6; see also Nu 11:8; 1Ki 19:6; Eze 4:12.

Through the prophet Hosea, Jehovah said: “Ephraim himself has become a round cake not turned on the other side.” (Ho 7:8) Ephraim (Israel) had mingled with pagan peoples, adopting their ways and also seeking alliances with heathen nations, and consequently was like a cake not turned. It was not uncommon to bake cakes on hot ashes or hot stones. If such cakes were not turned, they might be baked or even burned on one side and not baked at all on the other side.

During Israel’s Passover celebration “unfermented cakes” (yeastless, or unleavened, bread; Heb., mats·tsohthʹ) were to be eaten, and associated with this observance was “the festival of unfermented cakes.” (Ex 12:8, 15, 17-20; 13:3-7; 23:15; 34:18; De 16:3, 8, 16) Unfermented ring-shaped cakes moistened with oil or unfermented wafers that were smeared with oil were among the offerings Israel was to make to Jehovah God. (Le 2:4-7, 11, 12) In the law of the communion sacrifice to be presented to Jehovah, provision was also made for offering ring-shaped cakes of leavened bread.​—Le 7:13.

After the ark of the covenant had been brought to Jerusalem, David “apportioned to all the people, to the whole crowd of Israel, man as well as woman, to each one a ring-shaped cake [Heb., chal·lathʹ] of bread and a date cake [Heb., ʼesh·parʹ] and a raisin cake [Heb., ʼashi·shahʹ], after which all the people went each to his own house.” (2Sa 6:19) The raisin cake consisted of compressed dried grapes or raisins. However, it is possible that at least some of the raisin cakes prepared in ancient times were made from raisins and flour.

In Jeremiah’s day the people of Judah and Jerusalem engaged in false worship, and the women among them were “kneading flour dough in order to make sacrificial cakes to the ‘queen of the heavens.’” (Jer 7:18) Reference is also made to this false deity and “sacrificial cakes” (Heb., kaw·wa·nimʹ) made for her in Jeremiah 44:19. Just what these sacrificial cakes consisted of is uncertain, but they were evidently put on the altar as an offering.​—See QUEEN OF THE HEAVENS.

Other types of cakes mentioned in the Bible are ‘cakes of pressed [or dried] figs’ (Heb., deve·limʹ [1Sa 30:12; Isa 38:21]), “sweet cake” (Heb., la·shadhʹ; Nu 11:8), “flat cakes” (Heb., tsap·pi·chithʹ; Ex 16:31), “round cake” (Heb., tselulʹ; Jg 7:13), “cakes of raisins” (Heb., tsim·mu·qimʹ; 1Sa 25:18), and “sprinkled cakes” (Heb., niq·qu·dhimʹ; 1Ki 14:3). The Greek word aʹzy·mos means “unfermented; unleavened,” and its neuter plural form is used to refer to “unfermented cakes” and “the festival of unfermented cakes.”​—1Co 5:8; Mr 14:1.

(Caʹlah).

A city founded by Nimrod in Assyria and originally part of “the great city” composed of Nineveh, Calah, Resen, and Rehoboth-Ir, the latter three places apparently being suburbs of Nineveh. (Ge 10:9-12) Calah appears as Kalhu on Assyrian cuneiform texts, and during the period of the Assyrian Empire, it became one of the three principal cities of the realm, along with Nineveh and Asshur. Calah was situated at the NE angle of the junction of the Great Zab River with the Tigris, about 35 km (22 mi) SSE of Nineveh. The modern name of the site is Nimrud, thereby preserving the name of the ancient founder of the city.

In the ninth century B.C.E., Ashurnasirpal II claims to have restored the city from a decayed condition and made it his capital, building massive walls that were fortified with scores of towers, a royal palace, and temples; these included a ziggurat tower some 38 m (125 ft) high. Research indicates that the city covered an area of 358 ha (885 acres) and contained not only palaces, temples, and houses but also gardens and orchards, watered by a canal dug from the Zab River. The banquet provided by Ashurnasirpal at the completion of his new capital is stated to have included all the city’s residents plus visiting dignitaries, to a total of 69,574 persons.

When excavated, the ruins of Calah produced some of the finest examples of Assyrian art, including colossal winged, man-headed lions and winged bulls, many huge bas-reliefs that lined the palace walls, and also a rich find of beautifully carved ivory objects. An excellently preserved statue of Ashurnasirpal was uncovered, as well as the stone referred to as the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, which names King Jehu of Israel as paying tribute to Assyria.​—See SHALMANESER No. 1.

Finally, Calah suffered desolation along with the other royal cities of the realm with the downfall of the Assyrian Empire.

[Heb., qa·nehʹ].

The Hebrew qa·nehʹ is the original source of the English word “cane” (as well as of the word “canon”), and qa·nehʹ is often translated as “stalk” (Ge 41:5, 22), ‘branch’ (Ex 25:31, 32), or “reed” (1Ki 14:15). In certain texts, however, either the context or a modifying word indicates that an aromatic plant is referred to, and qa·nehʹ is thus translated “calamus” (Ex 30:23) and “cane.”​—Ca 4:14; Isa 43:24.

Among the ingredients used in preparing the holy anointing oil was “sweet calamus,” the sweetness referring to its odor, not its taste. (Ex 30:22-25) The Song of Solomon (4:14) includes “cane” among other odoriferous spices. Jehovah through his prophet Isaiah (43:24) reproved the sinful Israelites for ‘having bought’ (Heb., qa·niʹtha) for his temple service no “[sweet] cane” (qa·nehʹ), thereby making a play on words in Hebrew. Jeremiah (6:20) refers to cane received from a “land far away,” while Ezekiel (27:3, 19) includes cane among the products for which wealthy Tyre traded.

The English word “calamus” is derived from the Greek kaʹla·mos, used by the translators of the Greek Septuagint to render the Hebrew qa·nehʹ. Like the Hebrew word, kaʹla·mos also has the basic meaning of reed or cane, whereas the English word “calamus” today is used principally to refer to the sweet flag (Acorus calamus) or its aromatic root.

Regarding the sweet cane, or calamus, of the Hebrew Scriptures, many scholars prefer to identify it with an aromatic reed grass of India, such as Cymbopogon martini, a perennial grass whose leaves when crushed produce a fragrant oil known as ginger-grass oil. Other varieties of these Indian grasses produce citronella oil and lemongrass oil. The view that one or more of such sweet-scented grasses is represented by the sweet cane, or calamus, is based mainly on Jeremiah’s reference to the product as coming from a “land far away,” which in this case would be India. Other areas, however, may have been producers of the aromatic cane, or calamus, as is indicated by Ezekiel’s prophecy (27:19). Thus, while some kind of aromatic reed or cane is meant, the plant’s precise identification remains uncertain.

(Calʹcol) [Perfected].

One whose wisdom, though great, was exceeded by King Solomon’s (1Ki 4:31); possibly the same as the descendant of Judah through Zerah.​—1Ch 2:4, 6.

(Caʹleb) [Dog].

1. Son of Hezron, brother of Jerahmeel and great-grandson of Judah and Tamar (1Ch 2:3-5, 18); also called Chelubai (1Ch 2:9). One of his descendants was Bezalel, the skilled craftsman assigned to oversee the building of the tabernacle. (1Ch 2:19, 20; Ex 35:30) It appears that No. 2 below was his descendant.

2. Son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite of the tribe of Judah, uncle of Othniel, and likely a descendant of No. 1. (Nu 32:12; Jos 15:17; 1Ch 4:13, 15; see OTHNIEL.) When 40 years old, Caleb was one of the 12 spies sent out by Moses on a 40-day preview of the land of Canaan, and upon returning, Caleb together with Joshua stood up against the opposition of all the others to give a favorable report, saying: “Let us go up directly, and we are bound to take possession of it.” (Nu 13:6, 30; 14:6-9) Because he had ‘followed Jehovah his God fully,’ he was the only one of that adult generation besides Joshua and some Levites to enter the Promised Land in 1473 B.C.E. Six years later, when 85 years old, Caleb declared: “Now here Jehovah has preserved me alive, just as he promised, these forty-five years since Jehovah made this promise to Moses when Israel walked in the wilderness, and now here I am today eighty-five years old. Yet I am today as strong as on the day of Moses’ sending me out. As my power was then, so my power is now for the war, both to go out and to come in.”​—Jos 14:6-11.

The city of Hebron (the stronghold called Kiriath-arba, which was held by the giant Anakim) as well as its surrounding territory, including nearby Debir, was assigned to Caleb for his possession. In 1 Samuel 30:13, 14, where it tells about the Amalekites making a raid “upon the south of Caleb,” it evidently does not refer to a city by that name but, rather, to this area assigned to Caleb and called by his name; hence the raid was ‘upon the south of Caleb’s territory.’

Upon receiving this possession, Caleb declared: “Whoever strikes Kiriath-sepher [also called Debir] and does capture it, I shall certainly give him Achsah my daughter as a wife.” Othniel his nephew (the first judge of Israel after the death of Joshua) captured the city and won the prize. Caleb then gave his daughter, at her request, the Upper and the Lower Gulloth as a wedding present, in addition to the “piece of land to the south.”​—Jos 15:13-19; Jg 1:11-15; 3:9-11.

Achsah is listed as the daughter of “Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel” (No. 1 above) who lived about a century and a half before “Caleb the son of Jephunneh.” (1Ch 2:42, 49) Some commentators say there was only one Caleb. But the great lapse of time between Judah’s grandson Hezron and the settlement of Canaan precludes such a conclusion. Others say that both Calebs must have had daughters by the same name. However, women are mentioned in genealogies only when they have had a major role in the history of God’s people. And since there was only one famous Achsah, she must have been the daughter of the second Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. Still other commentators would drop this statement about Achsah from the verse (1Ch 2:49) as a misplaced scribal addition, but they have no textual authority. However, it is more reasonable to think that the original writer intentionally included this abrupt notice in verse 49 for a special purpose, using “daughter” in its wider sense to mean a descendant to call attention to the fact that Achsah was not only the daughter of Caleb the son of Jephunneh but also a direct descendant of Caleb the son of Hezron.

(Caʹleb-ephʹra·thah).

This name appears at 1 Chronicles 2:24 in the Masoretic text as the place of the death of Hezron of the tribe of Judah. (Compare LXX.) No further mention is made of it, nor has any identification been made with a geographic site.​—See HEZRON No. 2.

(Caʹleb·ite) [Of (Belonging to) Caleb].

A designation identifying foolish Nabal as a descendant of Caleb.​—1Sa 25:3.

A calendar is an orderly system of dividing time into years, months, weeks, and days. Long before man’s creation, God provided the basis for such measuring of time. Genesis 1:14, 15 tells us that one of the purposes of the “luminaries in the expanse of the heavens” is that they might serve for “seasons and for days and years.” The solar day, the solar year, and the lunar month are thus natural divisions of time, governed respectively by the daily turning of the earth on its axis, by its annual orbit around the sun, and by the monthly phases of the moon in its relation to earth and sun. The division of time into weeks and the division of the day into hours, on the other hand, are arbitrary ones.

From the first man Adam forward, time has been measured in terms of years. Thus, Adam was “a hundred and thirty years” of age when he became father to Seth.​—Ge 5:3.

Monthly divisions also came into use. By the time of the Flood we find time divided into months of 30 days, since a period of 5 months is shown to equal 150 days. (Ge 7:11, 24; 8:3, 4) The same record also indicates that Noah divided the year into 12 months.​—See YEAR.

Seven-day periods are mentioned at this time and may even have been in regular use since early in human history. (Ge 7:4, 10; 8:10, 12) There is, however, no evidence of a divinely required weekly Sabbath observance by man until God’s positive instructions to Israel following their Exodus from Egypt.​—See WEEK.

Various calendar systems have been developed by men in the past, and a number continue in use today. Early calendars were mainly lunar calendars, that is, the months of the year were counted by complete cycles of the moon, as, for example, from one new moon to the next new moon. On the average, such lunation takes about 29 days, 12 hours, and 44 minutes. The months were usually counted as of either 29 or 30 days, but in the Bible record the term “month” generally means 30 days.​—Compare De 21:13; 34:8; also Re 11:2, 3.

A year of 12 lunar months falls about 11 days short of a solar year of 365 1⁄4 days. Since the solar year determines the return of the seasons, there was need to adjust the calendar to this solar year, and this resulted in what are called lunisolar, or bound solar, years​—that is, years in which the months were lunar but the years were solar. This was done by the addition of a number of days each year or of an additional month during certain years to compensate for the shortness of the 12 lunar months.

Hebrew Calendar. The Israelites used such a lunisolar, or bound solar, calendar. This is evident from the fact that Jehovah God established the beginning of their sacred year with the month Abib in the spring and specified the celebration of certain festivals on fixed dates, festivals that were related to harvest seasons. For these dates to have coincided with the particular harvests, there had to be a calendar arrangement that would synchronize with the seasons by compensating for the difference between the lunar and solar years.​—Ex 12:1-14; 23:15, 16; Le 23:4-16.

The Bible does not indicate what method was originally used to determine when additional days or an additional, or intercalary, month should be inserted. It is logical, however, that either the vernal or the autumnal equinox served as a guide to indicate when the seasons were falling behind sufficiently to require calendar adjustment. Though not specifically mentioned in the Bible, a 13th month that was added by the Israelites to accomplish this adjustment was called, in postexilic times, Veadar, or the second Adar.

We do not find record of a definitely fixed or standardized form of Jewish calendar until the fourth century of our Common Era (c. 359 C.E.), when Hillel II specified that the leap years of 13 months should be the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th, and 19th of each 19 years. Such a 19-year cycle is commonly called the Metonic cycle, after the Greek mathematician Meton (of the fifth century B.C.E.), although there is also evidence that such a cycle was perfected before him by the Babylonians. (See Babylonian Chronology, 626 B.C.–A.D. 75, by R. A. Parker and W. H. Dubberstein, 1971, pp. 1, 3, 6.) This cycle takes into account that every 19 years the new and the full moons fall again on the same days of the solar year.

The Jewish months ran from new moon to new moon. (Isa 66:23) Thus, one Hebrew word, choʹdhesh, rendered “month” (Ge 7:11) or “new moon” (1Sa 20:27), is related to cha·dhashʹ, meaning “new.” Another word for month, yeʹrach, is rendered “lunar month.” (1Ki 6:38) In later periods, fire signals were used or messengers were dispatched to advise the people of the beginning of the new month.

In the Bible the individual months are usually designated simply by numbering according to their position in the year, from the 1st through to the 12th. (Jos 4:19; Nu 9:11; 2Ch 15:10; Jer 52:6; Nu 33:38; Eze 8:1; Le 16:29; 1Ki 12:32; Ezr 10:9; 2Ki 25:1; De 1:3; Jer 52:31) Only four months are named prior to the exile in Babylon, namely, Abib, the first month (Ex 13:4); Ziv, the second (1Ki 6:37); Ethanim, the seventh (1Ki 8:2); and Bul, the eighth (1Ki 6:38). The meanings of these names are strictly seasonal, thus giving additional proof of a lunisolar year.​—See the individual months by name.

In postexilic times the names of the months used in Babylon were employed by the Israelites, and seven of these are mentioned: Nisan, the 1st month, replacing Abib (Es 3:7); Sivan, the 3rd month (Es 8:9); Elul, the 6th (Ne 6:15); Chislev, the 9th (Zec 7:1); Tebeth, the 10th (Es 2:16); Shebat, the 11th (Zec 1:7); and Adar, the 12th (Ezr 6:15).

The postexilic names of the remaining five months appear in the Jewish Talmud and other works. They are Iyyar, the 2nd month; Tammuz, the 4th; Ab, the 5th; Tishri, the 7th; and Heshvan, the 8th. The 13th month, which was intercalated periodically, was named Veadar, or the second Adar.

Eventually the length of most of the months was fixed as having a specific number of days. Nisan (Abib), Sivan, Ab, Tishri (Ethanim), and Shebat regularly had 30 days each; Iyyar (Ziv), Tammuz, Elul, and Tebeth regularly had 29 days each. Heshvan (Bul), Chislev, and Adar, however, could have either 29 or 30 days. The variations in these latter months served to make necessary adjustments with the lunar calendar but also were used to prevent certain festivals from occurring on days viewed as prohibited by later Jewish religious leaders.

Whereas the sacred year began in the spring with the month Abib (or Nisan) by God’s decree at the time of the Exodus (Ex 12:2; 13:4), the Bible record indicates that prior to this the Israelites had counted the year as running from fall to fall. God gave recognition to this arrangement so that, in effect, there was a dual system of a sacred and a secular or agricultural calendar used by his people. (Ex 23:16; 34:22; Le 23:34; De 16:13) In postexilic times, Tishri 1, in the last half of the year, marked the beginning of the secular year, and the Jewish New Year, or Rosh Hashanah (head of the year), is still celebrated on that date.

In 1908 the only approximation of an ancient written Hebrew calendar was found at the site of Gezer, and it is believed to be from the tenth century B.C.E. It is an agricultural calendar and describes agricultural activity beginning with the autumn. In brief, it describes two months each of storage, sowing, and spring growth, followed by one month each of pulling up flax, barley harvest, and a general harvest, then two months of pruning the vines and, finally, one month of summer fruit.​—Le 26:5.

The chart accompanying this article shows the months in their relation to both the sacred and secular calendars and also their approximate correspondence to the months of our present calendar.

The frequent references in the Gospel accounts and the book of Acts to the various festival seasons show that the Jewish calendar continued to be observed by the Jews during the time of Jesus and the apostles. These festival seasons serve as a guide for determining the relative time of the Biblical events of that day.​—Mt 26:2; Mr 14:1; Lu 22:1; Joh 2:13, 23; 5:1; 6:4; 7:2, 37; 10:22; 11:55; Ac 2:1; 12:3, 4; 20:6, 16; 27:9.

It should be noted that Christians are not governed by any sacred or religious calendar specifying certain holy days or festivals, a point that is clearly stated by the apostle Paul at Galatians 4:9-11 and Colossians 2:16, 17. The one event that they are required to observe annually, the Lord’s Evening Meal, at Passover time, is governed by the lunar calendar.​—Mt 26:2, 26-29; 1Co 11:23-26; see LORD’S EVENING MEAL.

Julian and Gregorian Calendars. In the year 46 B.C.E., Julius Caesar issued a decree changing the Roman calendar from a lunar to a solar year. This Julian calendar, based on the calculations of the Greek astronomer Sosigenes, had 12 months of arbitrary length and a regular year of 365 days beginning on January 1. It also brought in the use of leap years by the addition of an extra day every four years, to compensate for the extra fraction of a day in the length of the tropical year, which has a little less than 365 1⁄4 days.

The Julian calendar year was actually a little more than 11 minutes and 14 seconds longer than the true solar year. Thus, by the 16th century a discrepancy of ten full days had accumulated. In 1582 C.E., Pope Gregory XIII introduced a slight revision of the Julian calendar, whereby the leap years every four years were retained but with the exception that only those century years with a number divisible by 400 were to be counted as leap years. By papal bull in 1582, ten days were to be omitted in that year, so that the day after October 4 became October 15. The Gregorian calendar is now in general use in most parts of the world. It is the basis for the historical dates used throughout this publication.

Whereas Christians today customarily use the calendar in effect in their particular land, they are aware that the God of eternity, Jehovah, has his own calendar of events not governed by human systems of reckoning. As his prophet Daniel wrote: “He is changing times and seasons, removing kings and setting up kings, giving wisdom to the wise ones and knowledge to those knowing discernment. He is revealing the deep things and the concealed things, knowing what is in the darkness; and with him the light does dwell.” (Da 2:21, 22) So, in his position as Universal Sovereign he stands far above our spinning earth, with its day and night, its lunar cycles, and its solar year. However, in his Word, the Bible, God does helpfully relate his actions and purposes to such measurements of time, thereby allowing his creatures on earth to learn where they stand in relation to his grand calendar of events.​—See CHRONOLOGY.

[Heb., ʽeʹghel].

A young bull. Calves were offered in sacrifice (Le 9:2, 3), and on special occasions or under special circumstances a fattened calf was slaughtered and prepared for the table.​—Ge 18:7, 8; 1Sa 28:24; Lu 15:23.

‘Cutting the calf in two and passing between its parts’ alludes to an ancient mode of entering into a solemn obligation or covenant. (Compare Ge 15:9-21.) Doubtless Jeremiah used this expression to stress the sacredness of the covenant into which the Jews had entered before God, and by the terms of which they were obligated to liberate fellow Israelites whom they had enslaved.​—Jer 34:17-19.

Illustrative Usage. Unfaithful Israel was corrected like an inexperienced ‘calf that had not been trained’ to the yoke. (Jer 31:18) Egypt’s mercenary soldiers are likened to fattened calves that would prove to be unable to resist the Babylonians and would take to flight. (Jer 46:21, 26) At the time the wicked and presumptuous ones are reduced to dust, the fearers of God’s name are shown going forth and pawing the ground like fattened calves released from the stall.​—Mal 4:1, 2.

Calf Worship. Calf worship was the first form of idolatry mentioned in the Bible to which the Israelites succumbed after the Exodus from Egypt. While Moses was in the mountain receiving God’s law, the people became impatient and approached Aaron with the request that he make a god for them. From the gold earrings contributed by the Israelites, Aaron formed a molten statue of a calf, undoubtedly a young bull. (Ps 106:19, 20) It was regarded as representing Jehovah, and the festival held the following day was designated “a festival to Jehovah.” The Israelites sacrificed to the golden calf, bowed before it, ate, drank, and enjoyed themselves in song and dance.​—Ex 32:1-8, 18, 19; Ne 9:18.

The molten calf was not necessarily made of solid gold. This is indicated by the fact that Isaiah, when referring to the making of a molten image, mentions that the metalworker overlays it with gold. (Isa 40:19) Hence, the golden calf was perhaps formed of wood and then overlaid with gold. Therefore, when Moses subjected the image to a burning process, the wooden center was reduced to charcoal and the gold layer either entirely or partially melted. Whatever was left was crushed and ground to pieces until it was fine like dust, and this dust, composed of charcoal and gold, Moses scattered upon the surface of the water.​—Ex 32:20; De 9:21.

Idolatrous Egyptian worship, which associated gods with cows, bulls, and other animals, likely had influenced the Israelites to a great extent, causing them to adopt calf worship so soon after being liberated from Egypt. This is confirmed by Stephen’s words: “In their hearts they turned back to Egypt, saying to Aaron, ‘Make gods for us to go ahead of us. . . . ’ So they made a calf in those days and brought up a sacrifice to the idol and began to enjoy themselves in the works of their hands.”​—Ac 7:39-41.

The first king of the ten-tribe kingdom, Jeroboam, fearing that his subjects would revolt and go back to the house of David if they continued going up to Jerusalem for worship, had two golden calves made. (1Ki 12:26-28) The Bible record does not reveal to what extent Jeroboam’s choice of a calf to represent Jehovah was influenced by earlier calf worship in Israel, by what he had observed while in Egypt (1Ki 12:2), or by the religion of the Canaanites and others, who often represented their gods as standing upon an animal, such as a bull.

One of the golden calves Jeroboam set up at the far northern city of Dan, the other at Bethel about 17 km (11 mi) N of Jerusalem. He told his subjects that it was too much for them to go up to Jerusalem for worship and that the calf represented the God who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt. (Compare Ex 32:8.) Since the priests of the tribe of Levi stayed loyal to Jehovah’s worship at Jerusalem, Jeroboam appointed his own priests to lead the false worship before the idol calves at Dan and Bethel. (2Ch 11:13-15) He also arranged for a festival similar to the Festival of Booths, but it was celebrated a month later than the festival in Jerusalem.​—1Ki 12:28-33; 2Ch 13:8, 9; Le 23:39.

Jehovah condemned this calf worship and, through his prophet Ahijah, foretold calamity for the house of Jeroboam. (1Ki 14:7-12) Nevertheless, calf worship remained entrenched in the ten-tribe kingdom. Even King Jehu, who eradicated Baal worship in Israel, let calf worship remain, likely in order to keep the ten-tribe kingdom distinct from the kingdom of Judah. (2Ki 10:29-31) In the ninth century B.C.E., Jehovah raised up his prophets Amos and Hosea to proclaim His condemnation of calf worship, which included kissing the idol calves, and also to foretell doom for the ten-tribe kingdom. The golden calf of Bethel was to be carried away to the king of Assyria, giving cause for the people as well as the foreign-god priests to mourn. The high places would be annihilated, and thorns and thistles would grow upon the altars that had been used in false worship. (Ho 10:5-8; 13:2; Am 3:14; 4:4; 5:5, 6) Calamity did come when the ten-tribe kingdom fell to Assyria in 740 B.C.E. About a century later, Jeremiah prophesied that the Moabites would be just as ashamed of their god Chemosh as the Israelites had become of their center of idolatrous calf worship, Bethel.​—Jer 48:13; see BETHEL No. 1; BULL; COW; IDOL, IDOLATRY (Under the rule of the kings).

(Calʹneh).

1. A city founded by Nimrod in the land of Shinar. (Ge 10:10) It thus evidently lay in southern Mesopotamia, but the location is uncertain. Nippur, an ancient Babylonian city about 85 km (50 mi) SE of Babylon, has long been suggested as its site, based on Talmudic tradition and other factors. Some scholars, however, prefer an identification with Kulunu, the early name of a city of some importance near Babylon. A third possibility is a twin city of Kish called Hursagkalama, the latter part of the name (-kalama) supposedly representing Calneh. Some translations (RS, JB, NE) render Calneh, not as a place-name, but as the phrase “all of them” so that the text reads, “Babel, Erech, and Accad, all of them in the land of Shinar.” This, however, requires an adjustment in the vowel pointing of the Masoretic text.

2. A place mentioned by the prophet Amos, along with the cities of Hamath and Gath, when warning the people of Israel and Judah of coming calamity. (Am 6:2) While some commentators consider it to be the same as No. 1 above, most scholars view its association with Hamath and Gath as indicating a location in the region adjacent to the eastern Mediterranean Sea, rather than in Mesopotamia. They suggest an identification with Kullani of the Assyrian inscriptions in northern Syria (apparently represented today by modern Kullan Köy, about 16 km [10 mi] SE of Arpad), mentioned by Tiglath-pileser III as among the places subjugated during an Assyrian campaign in the west. If this identification is correct, then Calneh here may be the same as Calno of Isaiah 10:9.

(Calʹno).

A city listed in Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the boasting of the Assyrians as to their conquests and the futility of trying to withstand their might. (Isa 10:5, 9-11) Most scholars consider Calno to be an alternate spelling of Calneh. (Am 6:2) Calno’s mention in connection with Carchemish would harmonize with the identification of Calneh with Kullani of the Assyrian texts, located between Carchemish and Aleppo. Kullani was conquered by Tiglath-pileser III, a contemporary of King Menahem of Israel.

See GOLGOTHA.

[Heb., ga·malʹ; beʹkher, ‘young male camel’ (Isa 60:6); bikh·rahʹ, “young she-camel” (Jer 2:23); kir·ka·rohthʹ, “swift she-camels” (Isa 66:20); Gr., kaʹme·los].

An animal that has long served man as a beast of burden and a means of transport, especially in desert regions. There are two varieties of camel, the Bactrian and the Arabian. The Bactrian (Camelus bactrianus) has two humps on its back, is stronger than the Arabian, and is able to carry greater loads; the Arabian (Camelus dromedarius), thought to be the one generally referred to in the Bible, has only one hump.

The camel’s characteristics ideally fit it for life in desert regions, where it fills the place usually assigned the horse or donkey in other lands. This animal’s thick hair shields it from desert heat. Its long slitlike nostrils can close at will, a useful precaution against the blowing sand. Its eyes are shielded from blistering sandstorms by heavy eyelids and long eyelashes. The camel’s feet are provided with a hardened skin and are padlike, remarkably shaped for walking on soft and yielding sand. Callous pads on which the animal rests protect its chest and knees. These pads are present at birth. The camel’s strong teeth enable it to chew practically anything. This creature needs little grain and can subsist on the common plants of the desert, making it an animal quite economical to use.

The camel’s hump serves as a sort of portable pantry. Here most of its food reserve is stored in the form of fat. If the camel is required to draw nourishment from its stored-up food supply for too long a time, the skin of the hump, instead of standing up, falls over and hangs like an empty bag on the side of the dorsal ridge. In ancient times, as today, loads were placed on the humps of camels. (Isa 30:6) Mention is also made in Scripture of a “woman’s saddle basket of the camel,” which undoubtedly was placed on the camel’s hump.​—Ge 31:34.

Although folklore has it that the camel stores water in its hump, this is not the case. It is generally thought that the camel can get along without water for a prolonged period because of its ability to retain much of the water that it drinks. A contributory factor is the design of the nose, which enables the animal to extract water vapor when exhaling. The camel can tolerate a loss of water of 25 percent of its weight, in contrast to 12 percent for humans. It does not lose moisture by perspiration as rapidly as do other creatures, because its body temperature can vary 6° C. (11° F.) without marked effects. Its blood is unique in that loss of fluid is minimal even when water is in short supply for several days. It can also replace lost body weight by drinking as much as 135 L (35 gal) in ten minutes.

Some camels are known to have traveled at amazing speeds. At 1 Samuel 30:17, an allusion to swift camels may be noted. It was only the 400 young men that rode camels who escaped when David struck down the Amalekite raiders.

According to the Law, the camel was an unclean animal and, therefore, was not used by the Israelites for food. (Le 11:4; De 14:7) However, camel hair was woven into cloth. John the Baptizer wore a garment of this material. (Mt 3:4; Mr 1:6) Even today the cloth made from camel hair is used for making articles of clothing.

Use From Early Times. The first Bible mention of the camel relates to Abraham’s temporary residence in Egypt, where he acquired a number of these beasts of burden. (Ge 12:16) When Abraham’s faithful servant was sent to Mesopotamia to procure a wife for Isaac, a train of ten camels, with all sorts of gifts, accompanied him. (Ge 24:10) It was to a camel caravan of Ishmaelites bound for Egypt that Joseph was sold by his half brothers.​—Ge 37:25-28.

Job is introduced as “the greatest of all the Orientals.” His material possessions included 3,000 camels, and following the test of his integrity, Jehovah blessed Job, so much so that he came to possess 6,000 camels and a vast quantity of other livestock.​—Job 1:3; 42:12.

In common with other livestock of Egypt, the camels suffered from the plagues God brought upon Pharaoh’s domain. (Ex 9:3, 10, 25; 12:29) Whether any camels went with the Israelites on the trek through the wilderness is not indicated in the Bible record, but likely this was the case.

The first reference to camels after Israel’s settling in the Promised Land is in connection with their use by invaders. When Midianite hordes and their ‘camels without number’ spread over the land and impoverished it, a critical situation faced God’s people Israel. (Jg 6:5; 7:12) At times, with Jehovah’s help, the Israelites defeated their enemies and captured vast numbers of camels, on one occasion 50,000.​—1Ch 5:21; 2Ch 14:15.

While outlawed from Saul’s court, David and his men warred against the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites, striking down all the men and women but taking domestic animals, including camels, as booty. (1Sa 27:8, 9) During the reign of David, a special official, Obil, was in charge of his camels. (1Ch 27:30) The queen of Sheba brought gifts to King Solomon in a camel train, and Ben-hadad II of Syria sent presents to the prophet Elisha loaded upon 40 camels.​—1Ki 10:1, 2; 2Ki 8:9.

In foretelling the fall of Babylon, the prophet Isaiah alluded to the conquering armies under the symbol of “a war chariot of camels.” (Isa 21:7) According to the Greek historian Herodotus (I, 80), Cyrus did make use of the camel in his military campaigns. When describing the oncoming doom of Rabbah, capital city of the Ammonites, Ezekiel 25:5 says that the city would become “a pasture ground of camels.” Also, the faithless house of Israel, in its adulterous course, having illicit relations with pagan nations round about, was likened to a young she-camel in heat, aimlessly running to and fro.​—Jer 2:23, 24.

Reminiscent of the plagues that struck the livestock of Egypt, Zechariah foretold a scourge that would come upon the camels and other livestock of the nations who fight against Jehovah’s people on earth. (Zec 14:12, 15) After their restoration from exile, God’s people are depicted as being covered by a “heaving mass of camels,” all bearing tribute. Camels are also mentioned among the beasts of burden bringing the brothers of God’s servants to Jerusalem out of all the nations “as a gift to Jehovah.” (Isa 60:6; 66:20) It is of interest that, in the first fulfillment of Isaiah’s restoration prophecy, there were 435 camels among the livestock of the Jews returning from Babylon in 537 B.C.E.​—Ezr 2:67; Ne 7:69.

Illustrative Use. Jesus made reference to the camel in an illustrative way. On one occasion he pointed out that it would be easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to get into the Kingdom. (Mt 19:24; Mr 10:25; Lu 18:25) A question has arisen as to whether “camel” should not be more correctly rendered “rope” in this instance. In fact, George M. Lamsa’s translation uses the word “rope” in the main text, and a footnote on Matthew 19:24 reads: “The Aramaic word gamla means rope and camel.” Also, the Greek words for rope (kaʹmi·los) and camel (kaʹme·los) are very similar, and it has been suggested that there was a confusion of the Greek words. It is noteworthy, though, that A Greek-English Lexicon (by Liddell and Scott, revised by Jones, Oxford, 1968, p. 872) defines kaʹmi·los as “rope” but adds that perhaps it was coined as an emendation of the phrase, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God,” thus indicating that kaʹme·los, rather than kaʹmi·los, appeared in the original Greek text.

In the oldest extant Greek manuscripts of the Gospel of Matthew (the Sinaitic, the Vatican No. 1209, and the Alexandrine), the word kaʹme·los appears. Matthew wrote his account of the life of Jesus first in Hebrew and then may have translated it himself into Greek. He knew, therefore, exactly what Jesus said and meant. Hence he knew the proper word, and the word used in the oldest extant Greek manuscripts was kaʹme·los. There is good reason, therefore, for believing “camel” to be the correct rendering.

By means of this illustration, not meant to be taken literally, Jesus was pointing out that just as it was not possible for a literal camel to go through the eye of a literal needle it was even less possible for a rich man, while continuing to cling to his riches, to enter into the Kingdom of God.​—See NEEDLE’S EYE.

In his condemnation of the hypocritical Pharisees, Jesus spoke of their ‘straining out the gnat but swallowing the camel.’ Those men used to strain out the gnat from their wine, not merely because it was an insect, but because it was ceremonially unclean; yet they figuratively gulped down camels, which were also unclean. While insisting upon compliance with the minutest of the Law’s requirements, they entirely overlooked the weightier matters​—justice, mercy, and faithfulness.​—Mt 23:23, 24.

The Hebrew word for “camp” (ma·chanehʹ) comes from the root verb cha·nahʹ, meaning “camp; encamp; pitch camp.” (Jg 15:9; Ex 14:2; Ge 33:18) These terms are used with regard to a transitory site of nomadic people (Ge 32:21; 33:18), the temporary and mobile tenting arrangement of the Israelites on their trek through the wilderness (Nu 2:17), or the protective enclosure of an army (2Ki 25:1). The Greek word for “camp” is pa·rem·bo·leʹ.​—See ARMY.

Camp of Israel. Israel’s Exodus from Egypt was not in tumultuous confusion but in well-ordered “battle formation” befitting “the armies of Jehovah.” (Ex 13:18; 12:41; 6:26) Such battle formation was possibly like that of an army consisting of five parts, with a van or forward detachment, a main body, a rear guard, and two wings. At the time, the Israelites were still under patriarchal arrangements, and this would be reflected in assigning tribes and families their places in the order of march. According to such customs, the servants, retainers, and others attached to the family were reckoned as part of the household, and so the “vast mixed company” that left Egypt likely were intermingled with the various tribes, clans, and families.​—Ex 12:38; Nu 11:4; De 29:11.

With the establishment of the tabernacle, the camp arrangement was organized according to divine instructions toward the beginning of the second year. The camp center, both in location and in importance, was the tent of Jehovah’s presence, the tabernacle, with its surrounding courtyard. Its entrance faced the E, where Moses, Aaron, and the priests encamped. (Nu 3:38) The rest of the Levites (numbering 22,000 males, a month old and up) camped on the three remaining sides: the Kohathites on the S, the Gershonites to the W, and the Merarites on the N. (Nu 3:23, 29, 35, 39) With these latter two groups, certain baggage, wagons, and animals used for transporting the tabernacle and its equipment were associated. Thus those assigned to serve at Jehovah’s sanctuary lived near to and surrounding the tabernacle, providing a protective cordon from intrusion by non-Levites, “that no indignation may arise against the assembly.”​—Nu 1:53; 7:3-9.

Out and beyond the Levitical tents, the 12 tribes camped in a quadrilateral arrangement oriented by the four points of the compass. It appears that the people in general were removed a considerable distance from the tabernacle; some commentators suggest some 900 m (3,000 ft), because there was to be a distance of “about two thousand cubits” between the people and the ark of the covenant when the crossing of the Jordan began. (Jos 3:4) The 12 tribes were divided into four grand divisions, each called by the name of the central tribe of the division. So the three-tribe division to the E of the tabernacle was called Judah, with Issachar on the one side of Judah and Zebulun on the other side. (Nu 2:3-8) When this arrangement was set up in 1512 B.C.E., this three-tribe division of Judah numbered 186,400 able-bodied males 20 years old and up. (Nu 1:1-3; 2:9) Clockwise to the S was the three-tribe division of Reuben, with Simeon and Gad alongside Reuben, and numbering 151,450 men of war. (Nu 2:10-16) These two divisions on the E and S, together with the Levites, were Jacob’s descendants by Leah and her handmaid Zilpah. (Ge 35:23, 26) Incidentally, with both Reuben and the Kohathites camping S of the sanctuary, the physical association between the Reubenite rebels Dathan and Abiram and the Kohathite Korah is explained. (Nu 16:1) Around to the W was the three-tribe division of Ephraim, flanked by Manasseh and Benjamin, all descendants of Rachel, and numbering 108,100 army men. (Nu 2:18-24) Finally, on the N was the three-tribe division of Dan, associated with Asher and Naphtali, and totaling 157,600 fighting men. (Nu 2:25-31) Dan and Naphtali were descendants of Rachel’s handmaid Bilhah, but Asher was of Leah’s maidservant Zilpah.​—Ge 35:25, 26.

The size of this camp of Israel was very great. The above register figures total 603,550 fighting men, in addition to women and children, old folks and handicapped, 22,000 Levites, and “a vast mixed company” of aliens​—perhaps all together 3,000,000 or more. (Ex 12:38, 44; Nu 3:21-34, 39) How much area such an encampment would cover is not certain; estimates vary greatly. When the camp was pitched opposite Jericho on the Plains of Moab, it is described as extending “from Beth-jeshimoth to Abel-shittim.”​—Nu 33:49.

The plan, or layout, of the camp is usually illustrated as being rectangular or square, an arrangement thought to be superior in efficiency and security. Definite camp boundaries are indicated by reference to going outside or entering the camp. (Le 13:46; 16:26, 28; 17:3) And there were ‘gates,’ or ports of entrance, to the camp. (Ex 32:26, 27) In his description, Josephus mentions that roads were laid out within the camp. (Jewish Antiquities, III, 289 [xii, 5]) All of this required engineering and organization if the Israelites were to set up camp quickly on a new location with minimal effort and delay.

“Signs for the house of their fathers” were provided to help a person find his proper place in the camp. (Nu 2:2) Since the Hebrew expression deʹghel, rendered “three-tribe division,” also means “banner” (as in Ca 2:4), it is possible that there were tribal markers as well as family ensigns. The Bible gives neither the number nor a description of these signs.

The government of the camp of Jehovah was most efficient. Under the theocratic arrangement, chiefs were appointed over 10’s, 50’s, 100’s, and 1,000’s. These were “capable men, fearing God, trustworthy men, hating unjust profit.” (Ex 18:21; De 1:15) Under their direction, good supervision and maintenance as well as an equitable judicial system were provided; also through them quick communication with all the people was achieved. Coded trumpet blasts signaled the whole assembly or, at times, the chieftains of thousands as representatives of the tribes to present themselves at the tent of meeting.​—Nu 1:16; 10:2-4, 7, 8.

An elaborate code of laws regulated every aspect of camp life. The health and purity of the camp were preserved through various sanitary regulations. Lepers, anyone with an infectious disease or a running discharge, and those who had touched a dead body were excluded from the camp until pronounced clean. (Nu 5:2, 3) The dead were buried outside the camp. (Le 10:4, 5) Ashes from the burnt sacrifices, also the carcasses of certain sacrifices, were disposed of outside the camp. (Le 4:11, 12; 6:11; 8:17) Criminals were executed outside (Le 24:14; Nu 15:35, 36), and captives of war and returning warriors were kept outside for a cleansing period.​—Nu 31:19.

Movement of this vast camp from one site to another (about 40 such encampments are reviewed by Moses in Numbers 33) was also a marvelous display of organization. As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, the camp remained in place. When the cloud moved, the camp moved. “At the order of Jehovah they would encamp, and at the order of Jehovah they would pull away.” (Nu 9:15-23) Two hammered silver trumpets communicated these orders of Jehovah to the camp in general. (Nu 10:2, 5, 6) Special fluctuating blasts signaled the breaking up of the camp. The first time this occurred was “the second year [1512 B.C.E.], in the second month, on the twentieth day.” With the ark of the covenant in the lead, the first three-tribe division headed by Judah and followed by Issachar, then Zebulun, moved out. They were followed by the Gershonites and Merarites carrying their assigned parts of the tabernacle. Next came the three-tribe division headed by Reuben and followed by Simeon and Gad. After them came the Kohathites with the sanctuary, then the third three-tribe division, of Ephraim, followed by Manasseh and Benjamin. Finally, in the rear guard was the division headed by Dan and accompanied by Asher and Naphtali. Thus the two most numerous and powerful divisions took the positions of forward and rear guard.​—Nu 10:11-28.

“So they went marching from the mountain of Jehovah for a journey of three days . . . And Jehovah’s cloud was over them.” (Nu 10:33, 34) How long a line this cloud-led column of marchers formed is not disclosed, nor the speed or distance covered in a day. With their little children and flocks, they probably traveled slowly. While on this march, which took three days, there was probably no formal camp layout with a setting up of the tabernacle for the temporary overnight encampment; rather, just the adjustments necessary for eating and sleeping.

Military Camps. In connection with warfare, use of the term “camp” varies. It may, for example, denote the headquarters, or base of operations, from which raiding parties sally forth; Gilgal and Shiloh are such examples. (Jos 4:19; 5:10; 9:6; 10:6, 15, 43; 18:9; Jg 21:12) Or “camp” sometimes means the army itself, rather than the place where they pitch their tents at night. (Jos 10:5; 11:4, 5) “Camping against” a city had the meaning of warring against the city, just as ‘pitching camp’ also indicated preparation for war.​—Jg 9:50; 1Sa 11:1; 28:4; 2Ki 25:1.

Several factors influenced the selection of a site for an army encampment. High ground with limited access afforded natural protection and required less guarding than open and vulnerable spots. (1Sa 26:3) The camp had to have access to water. (2Ki 3:9) Joshua defeated a federation of kings camped at the waters of Merom. (Jos 11:5) Gideon’s forces camped at the well of Harod (Jg 7:1), and one third of David’s army camped at the torrent valley of Besor until their companions returned from the victory.​—1Sa 30:9, 10.

A protective enclosure, as around Saul’s camp, may have been made of baggage, wagons, and animals. (1Sa 26:5, 7) Armies having chariots may have used them to encircle their camps. More permanent campsites were sometimes protected by trenches and dirt mounds round about. Battles were not usually fought at the campsite, except in cases of surprise attack. (Jos 11:7) Hence extensive entrenchment and strong walled enclosures were not usually built.

Secular histories give glimpses of army camp life among the pagans as it was in Bible days. The Egyptian camp of Ramses II, for example, was fenced with shields. The Assyrian fortified camp was generally circular and strengthened with walls and towers. The tents in Persian camps all faced the E, and their encampments were protected by trenches and embankments. Greek military camps were also circular, with the commanding officer tented in the middle of the camp. When the Roman army pitched camp a sizable ditch was dug around the whole of the new campsite.

(Caʹna) [probably from Heb. qa·nehʹ, “reed,” hence, Place of Reeds].

The hometown of Nathanael. (Joh 21:2) Evidently it was just the third day after Nathanael’s introduction to Jesus and his becoming a disciple that Jesus was in Cana and attended a marriage feast, at which his mother and brothers were also present. Here Jesus performed his first miraculous sign, that of changing water into fine wine. From here he and his family and disciples “went down to Capernaum.” (Joh 1:43-49; 2:1-12) Later, when again in Cana, Jesus was approached by an attendant of the king, begging him to “come down” to Capernaum to heal his dying son. Without making the trip Jesus performed the cure.​—Joh 4:46-54.

The town is called “Cana of Galilee” in each case, evidently to distinguish it from Kanah in Asher. (Jos 19:28) Kafr Kanna, a town 6.5 km (4 mi) NE of Nazareth, is the traditional site of Cana. Springs provide an ample water supply there. However, lexicographers consider the form Kanna to be a very unlikely transition from Cana, particularly because of the doubling of the “n.” There is reason to believe that Kafr Kanna’s claim to being Cana stems largely from its being easily accessible to pilgrims from Nazareth, causing it to have the favor of church tradition.

The balance of opinion and the weight of evidence favor an identification with Khirbet Qana, about 13 km (8 mi) N of Nazareth. Here the ruins of an ancient village lie on a hill at the edge of the Plain of Asochis, modernly called el-Battuf (Biqʽat Bet Netofa). Reeds are abundant in a nearby marshy plain, making the name Cana very fitting. It is still known in Arabic as Qana el-Jelil, equivalent of Cana of Galilee. Josephus, the Jewish historian of the first century C.E., speaks of residing “at a village of Galilee called Cana” and later makes mention of “the great plain, called the plain of Asochis, in which my quarters lay.” (The Life, 86 [16]; 207 [41]) This testimony would also favor the location of Cana of Galilee at the site of Khirbet Qana, rather than Kafr Kanna. Although no spring is found at Khirbet Qana, the ruins reveal the remains of ancient cisterns; potsherds (fragments of earthen vessels), and coins believed to date from the first century C.E. have also reportedly been found there.​—PICTURE, Vol. 2, p. 738.

In ancient times a road led past Khirbet Qana down to the shores of the Sea of Galilee and along the shoreline to Capernaum, which lay some 206 m (676 ft) below sea level; hence the expression to “come down” to Capernaum. (Joh 4:47) The distance by road was about 40 km (25 mi).

(Caʹnaan) [Merchant Land; Land of the Tradesman], Canaanite (Caʹnaan·ite).

1. The fourth-listed son of Ham and grandson of Noah. (Ge 9:18; 10:6; 1Ch 1:8) He was the progenitor of 11 tribes who eventually inhabited the region along the eastern Mediterranean between Egypt and Syria, thereby giving it the name “the land of Canaan.”​—Ge 10:15-19; 1Ch 16:18; see No. 2.

Following the incident regarding Noah’s drunkenness, Canaan came under Noah’s prophetic curse foretelling that Canaan would become the slave of both Shem and Japheth. (Ge 9:20-27) Since the record mentions only that “Ham the father of Canaan saw his father’s nakedness and went telling it to his two brothers outside,” the question arises as to why Canaan rather than Ham became the object of the curse. Commenting on Genesis 9:24, which states that when Noah awoke from his wine he “got to know what his youngest son had done to him,” a footnote in Rotherham’s translation says: “Undoubtedly Canaan, and not Ham: Shem and Japheth, for their piety, are blessed; Canaan, for some unnamed baseness, is cursed; Ham, for his neglect, is neglected.” Similarly, a Jewish publication, The Pentateuch and Haftorahs, suggests that the brief narrative “refers to some abominable deed in which Canaan seems to have been implicated.” (Edited by J. H. Hertz, London, 1972, p. 34) And, after noting that the Hebrew word translated “son” in verse 24 may mean “grandson,” this source states: “The reference is evidently to Canaan.” The Soncino Chumash also points out that some believe Canaan “indulged a perverted lust upon [Noah],” and that the expression “youngest son” refers to Canaan, who was the youngest son of Ham.​—Edited by A. Cohen, London, 1956, p. 47.

These views, of necessity, are conjectural since the Biblical record does not give any details as to Canaan’s implication in the offense against Noah. Yet some implication seems definitely intended by the fact that, just before relating the case of Noah’s drunkenness, Canaan is abruptly introduced into the account (Ge 9:18) and, in describing Ham’s actions, the record refers to him as “Ham the father of Canaan.” (Ge 9:22) That the expression “saw his father’s nakedness” may indicate some abuse or perversion that involved Canaan, is a reasonable conclusion. For in most instances incest or other sexual sins are meant when the Bible speaks of ‘laying bare’ or ‘seeing the nakedness’ of another. (Le 18:6-19; 20:17) So, it is possible that Canaan had committed or attempted to commit some abuse on the unconscious Noah and that Ham, though having knowledge of this, failed either to prevent it or to take disciplinary action against the offender, and compounded the wrong by making known to his brothers Noah’s disgrace.

The prophetic element of the curse must also be considered. There is no evidence to indicate that Canaan himself became the slave of Shem or Japheth during his lifetime. But, God’s foreknowledge was at work, and since the curse expressed by Noah was divinely inspired, and since God’s disfavor is not expressed without just cause, it is likely that Canaan had already manifested a definitely corrupt trait, perhaps of a lustful nature, and that God foresaw the bad results in which this characteristic would eventually culminate among Canaan’s descendants. In the earlier case of Cain, Jehovah had noted a wrong heart attitude and had warned Cain of the danger of being overcome by sin (Ge 4:3-7); God also had discerned the unreformable bent toward wickedness on the part of the majority of the pre-Flood population, making their destruction warranted. (Ge 6:5) The most obvious evidence of the justness of the curse placed on Canaan is thus seen in the later history of his descendants, for they built up a particularly sordid record of immorality and depravity, as both Biblical and secular history testify. The curse on Canaan saw its fulfillment some eight centuries after its pronouncement, when Canaan’s descendants were subjugated by the Semitic Israelites, later coming under the domination of the Japhetic powers of Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome.

2. The name Canaan also applies to the race descended from Ham’s son and to the land of their residence. Canaan was the earlier and native name of that part of Palestine lying W of the Jordan River (Nu 33:51; 35:10, 14), although the Canaanitish Amorites did invade the land E of the Jordan sometime prior to the Israelite conquest.​—Nu 21:13, 26.

Boundaries and Early History. The earliest description of the boundaries of Canaan show it as extending from Sidon in the N down to Gerar near Gaza in the SW and over to Sodom and the neighboring cities in the SE. (Ge 10:19) In Abraham’s time, however, it seems that Sodom and the other “cities of the District” were viewed as distinct from Canaan. (Ge 13:12) The later territories of Edom and Moab, inhabited by descendants of Abraham and Lot, were also apparently considered to be outside of Canaan. (Ge 36:6-8; Ex 15:15) The territory of Canaan as promised to the nation of Israel is outlined in fuller detail at Numbers 34:2-12. It evidently began farther N than Sidon and extended S as far as the “torrent valley of Egypt” and Kadesh-barnea. The Philistines, who were not Canaanites (Ge 10:13, 14), had occupied the coastal region S of the Plain of Sharon, but this, too, had previously been “reckoned” as Canaanite land. (Jos 13:3) Other tribes, such as the Kenites (one family of which is later associated with Midian; Nu 10:29; Jg 1:16) and the Amalekites (descended from Esau; Ge 36:12) had also penetrated the territory.​—Ge 15:18-21; Nu 14:45.

Whether the descendants of Canaan migrated to and settled in this land directly after the breakup at Babel (Ge 11:9) or whether they first accompanied the main body of Hamites to Africa and then worked their way back up into the Palestinian region, the Bible does not say. At any rate, by 1943 B.C.E. when Abraham left Haran in Paddan-aram and headed toward that land, the Canaanites were settled there, and Abraham had certain dealings with both Amorites and Hittites. (Ge 11:31; 12:5, 6; 13:7; 14:13; 23:2-20) Abraham received repeated promises from Jehovah God that his seed, or descendants, would inherit the land, and he was instructed to “go about in the land through its length and through its breadth.” (Ge 12:7; 13:14-17; 15:7, 13-21; 17:8) On the basis of this promise and out of respect for God’s curse, Abraham was careful that his son Isaac’s wife should not be a Canaanitess.​—Ge 24:1-4.

The relative ease with which Abraham and, later, Isaac and Jacob were able to move about the land with their large herds and flocks indicates that the region was not as yet thickly populated. (Compare Ge 34:21.) Archaeological investigations also give evidence of a rather sparse settlement at that time, with most of the towns located along the coast, in the Dead Sea region, in the Jordan Valley, and on the Plain of Jezreel. Concerning Palestine in the early part of the second millennium B.C.E., W. F. Albright says that the hill country was in the main still unoccupied by sedentary population, so the Biblical tradition is absolutely correct in making the patriarchs wander over the hills of central Palestine and the dry lands of the south, where there was still plenty of room for them. (Archaeology of Palestine and the Bible, 1933, pp. 131-133) Canaan was evidently subject to some Elamite (and hence Semitic) influence and domination at this time, as indicated by the Biblical record at Genesis 14:1-7.

Among the towns around which Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob camped were Shechem (Ge 12:6), Bethel and Ai (Ge 12:8), Hebron (Ge 13:18), Gerar (Ge 20:1), and Beer-sheba (Ge 22:19). Though no great animosity seems to have been manifested by the Canaanites toward the Hebrew patriarchs, divine protection nevertheless was the prime factor in their freedom from attack. (Ps 105:12-15) Thus, after the assault by Jacob’s sons on the Hivite city of Shechem, it was because “the terror of God” came to be upon the neighboring cities that “they did not chase after the sons of Jacob.”​—Ge 33:18; 34:2; 35:5.

Secular history indicates that Egypt exercised suzerainty over Canaan for some two centuries prior to the Israelite conquest. During this period, messages (known as the Amarna Tablets), sent by vassal rulers in Syria and Palestine to Pharaohs Amenhotep III and Akhenaton, present a picture of considerable intercity strife and political intrigue in the region. At the time of Israel’s arrival at its frontier (1473 B.C.E.), Canaan was a land of numerous city-states or petty kingdoms, though still showing some cohesion according to tribal relations. The spies who had searched out the land nearly 40 years earlier found it to be a land rich in fruitage and found its cities to be well fortified.​—Nu 13:21-29; compare De 9:1; Ne 9:25.

Distribution of the Tribes of Canaan. Of the 11 Canaanite tribes (Ge 10:15-19), the Amorites appear to have occupied a principal position in the land. (See AMORITE.) Aside from the land conquered by them E of the Jordan in Bashan and Gilead, the references to the Amorites show that they were strong in the mountainous country of Canaan proper, both in the N and in the S. (Jos 10:5; 11:3; 13:4) Perhaps second in strength were the Hittites, who, though found as far S as Hebron in Abraham’s time (Ge 23:19, 20), later seem to have been mainly to the N, in the direction of Syria.​—Jos 1:4; Jg 1:23-26; 1Ki 10:29.

Of the other tribes, the Jebusites, the Hivites, and the Girgashites are next most frequently mentioned at the time of the conquest. The Jebusites were evidently centered in the mountainous region around Jerusalem. (Nu 13:29; Jos 18:16, 28) The Hivites were scattered from as far S as Gibeon (Jos 9:3, 7) on up to the base of Mount Hermon in the N. (Jos 11:3) The territory of the Girgashites is not indicated.

The remaining six tribes, the Sidonians, Arvadites, Hamathites, Arkites, Sinites, and the Zemarites, may well be included in the comprehensive term “Canaanites” frequently used in association with the specific names of other tribes, unless the expression is simply used to refer to cities or groups that were of mixed Canaanite population. (Ex 23:23; 34:11; De 7:1; Nu 13:29) All these six tribes seem to have been primarily located N of the region originally conquered by the Israelites and receive no specific mention in the account of the conquest.

Conquest of Canaan by Israel. (MAPS, Vol. 1, pp. 737, 738) In the second year after the Exodus the Israelites had made an initial attempt to penetrate the southern borders of Canaan, but without divine backing, and they were routed by the Canaanites and allied Amalekites. (Nu 14:42-45) Toward the close of the 40-year period of wandering, Israel again moved toward the Canaanites and was attacked by the king of Arad in the Negeb, but this time the Canaanite forces were defeated, and their cities were destroyed. (Nu 21:1-3) Still the Israelites did not follow up this victory with an invasion from the S but circled around to approach from the E. This brought them into conflict with the Amorite kingdoms of Sihon and Og, and the defeat of these kings put all of Bashan and Gilead under Israelite control, including 60 cities “with a high wall, doors and bar” in Bashan alone. (Nu 21:21-35; De 2:26–3:10) The defeat of these powerful kings had a weakening effect on the Canaanite kingdoms W of the Jordan, and the subsequent miraculous crossing of the Jordan dryshod by the Israelite nation caused the Canaanites’ hearts to ‘begin to melt.’ Thus, the Canaanites made no attack upon the Israelite camp at Gilgal during the period of the recovery of many of the Israelite males from circumcision and during the subsequent celebration of the Passover.​—Jos 2:9-11; 5:1-11.

Able now to obtain ample water from the Jordan and to draw food supplies from the conquered region E of the Jordan, the Israelites at Gilgal had a good base from which to proceed with the conquest of the land. The nearby outpost city of Jericho, now tightly shut up, was their first target, and its mighty walls fell by Jehovah’s power. (Jos 6:1-21) Then the invading forces ascended some 1,000 m (3,300 ft) into the mountainous region N of Jerusalem and, after an initial setback, captured Ai and burned it. (Jos 7:1-5; 8:18-28) While the Canaanite kingdoms throughout the land began to form a massive coalition to repulse the Israelites, certain Hivite cities now sought peace with Israel by means of a subterfuge. This secession of Gibeon and three other neighboring cities evidently was viewed by the other Canaanite kingdoms as an act of treason endangering the unity of the entire ‘Canaanite league.’ Five Canaanite kings, therefore, united to fight, not against Israel, but against Gibeon, and an all-night march by Israelite troops under Joshua was undertaken to save the beleaguered city. Joshua’s defeat of the five attacking kings was accompanied by a miraculous downpour of huge hailstones and also by God’s causing the delay of the setting of the sun.​—Jos 9:17, 24, 25; 10:1-27.

The victorious Israelite forces then made a sweep through the entire southern half of Canaan (with the exception of the Plains of Philistia), conquering cities of the Shephelah, the mountainous region, and the Negeb, and then they returned to their base camp at Gilgal by the Jordan. (Jos 10:28-43) Now the Canaanites in the northern sector under the leadership of the king of Hazor began to mass their troops and war chariots, uniting their forces at a rendezvous by the waters of Merom, N of the Sea of Galilee. Joshua’s army, however, made a surprise attack on the Canaanite confederacy and put them to flight, thereafter marching on to capture their cities as far N as Baal-gad at the base of Mount Hermon. (Jos 11:1-20) The campaign evidently covered a considerable period of time and was followed by another offensive action in the mountainous region in the S, this attack being directed at the giantlike Anakim and their cities.​—Jos 11:21, 22; see ANAKIM.

By now some six years had passed since the start of the fighting. The major conquest of Canaan had been accomplished, and the strength of the Canaanite tribes was broken, thus allowing for the distribution of the land among the Israelite tribes to begin. (See BOUNDARY.) However, a number of regions remained yet to be subdued, including such major sections as the territory of the Philistines, who, though not Canaanites, were nevertheless usurpers of the land promised to the Israelites; the territory of the Geshurites (compare 1Sa 27:8); territory from the area around Sidon on up to Gebal (Byblos); and all the region of Lebanon (Jos 13:2-6). Besides these, there were pockets of resistance scattered throughout the land, some of which were later captured by the inheriting tribes of Israel, while others remained unconquered or were allowed to remain and made to perform forced labor for the Israelites.​—Jos 15:13-17; 16:10; 17:11-13, 16-18; Jg 1:17-21, 27-36.

Though so many of the Canaanites survived the major conquest and resisted subjugation, it could still be said that “Jehovah gave Israel all the land that he had sworn to give to their forefathers,” that he had given them “rest all around,” and that “not a promise failed out of all the good promise that Jehovah had made to the house of Israel; it all came true.” (Jos 21:43-45) All around the Israelites the enemy peoples were cowed and offered no genuine threat to their security. God had stated earlier that he would drive the Canaanites out “little by little” so that the wild beasts would not multiply in a suddenly desolated land. (Ex 23:29, 30; De 7:22) Despite the superior war equipment of the Canaanites, including war chariots with iron scythes, any failure of the Israelites finally to take certain areas could not be charged to Jehovah’s account as a failure on his part to fulfill his promise. (Jos 17:16-18; Jg 4:13) Rather, the record shows that the Israelites’ few defeats were due to unfaithfulness on their part.​—Nu 14:44, 45; Jos 7:1-12.

Why did Jehovah decree the extermination of the Canaanites?

The historical account shows that the populations of the Canaanite cities conquered by the Israelites were subjected to complete destruction. (Nu 21:1-3, 34, 35; Jos 6:20, 21; 8:21-27; 10:26-40; 11:10-14) This fact has been used by some critics as a means for depicting the Hebrew Scriptures, or “Old Testament,” as imbued with a spirit of cruelty and wanton slaughter. The issue involved, however, is clearly that of whether God’s sovereignty over the earth and its inhabitants is acknowledged or not. He had deeded over the right of tenure of the land of Canaan to the ‘seed of Abraham,’ doing so by an oath-bound covenant. (Ge 12:5-7; 15:17-21; compare De 32:8; Ac 17:26.) But more than a mere eviction or dispossessing of the existing tenants of that land was purposed by God. His right to act as “Judge of all the earth” (Ge 18:25) and to decree the sentence of capital punishment upon those found meriting it, as well as his right to implement and enforce the execution of such decree, was also involved.

The justness of God’s prophetic curse on Canaan found full confirmation in the conditions that had developed in Canaan by the time of the Israelite conquest. Jehovah had allowed 400 years from Abraham’s time for the ‘error of the Amorites to come to completion.’ (Ge 15:16) The fact that Esau’s Hittite wives were “a source of bitterness of spirit to Isaac and Rebekah” to the extent that Rebekah had ‘come to abhor her life because of them’ is certainly an indication of the badness already manifest among the Canaanites. (Ge 26:34, 35; 27:46) During the centuries that followed, the land of Canaan became saturated with detestable practices of idolatry, immorality, and bloodshed. The Canaanite religion was extraordinarily base and degraded, their “sacred poles” and “sacred pillars” evidently being phallic symbols, and many of the rites at their “high places” involving gross sexual excesses and depravity. (Ex 23:24; 34:12, 13; Nu 33:52; De 7:5) Incest, sodomy, and bestiality were part of ‘the way of the land of Canaan’ that made the land unclean and for which error it was due to “vomit its inhabitants out.” (Le 18:2-25) Magic, spellbinding, spiritism, and sacrifice of their children by fire were also among the Canaanites’ detestable practices.​—De 18:9-12.

Baal was the most prominent of the deities worshiped by the Canaanites. (Jg 2:12, 13; compare Jg 6:25-32; 1Ki 16:30-32.) The Canaanite goddesses Ashtoreth (Jg 2:13; 10:6; 1Sa 7:3, 4), Asherah, and Anath are presented in an Egyptian text as both mother-goddesses and as sacred prostitutes who, paradoxically, remain ever-virgin (literally, “the great goddesses who conceive but do not bear”). Their worship apparently was invariably involved with the services of temple prostitutes. These goddesses symbolized the quality not only of sexual lust but also of sadistic violence and warfare. Thus, the goddess Anath is depicted in the Baal Epic from Ugarit as effecting a general slaughter of men and then decorating herself with suspended heads and attaching men’s hands to her girdle while she joyfully wades in their blood. The figurines of the goddess Ashtoreth that have been discovered in Palestine are of a nude woman with rudely exaggerated sex organs. Of their phallic worship, archaeologist W. F. Albright observes that: “At its worst, . . . the erotic aspect of their cult must have sunk to extremely sordid depths of social degradation.”​—Archaeology and the Religion of Israel, 1968, pp. 76, 77; see ASHTORETH; BAAL No. 4.

Added to their other degrading practices was that of child sacrifice. According to Merrill F. Unger: “Excavations in Palestine have uncovered piles of ashes and remains of infant skeletons in cemeteries around heathen altars, pointing to the widespread practice of this cruel abomination.” (Archaeology and the Old Testament, 1964, p. 279) Halley’s Bible Handbook (1964, p. 161) says: “Canaanites worshipped, by immoral indulgence, as a religious rite, in the presence of their gods; and then, by murdering their first-born children, as a sacrifice to these same gods. It seems that, in large measure, the land of Canaan had become a sort of Sodom and Gomorrah on a national scale. . . . Did a civilization of such abominable filth and brutality have any right longer to exist? . . . Archaeologists who dig in the ruins of Canaanite cities wonder that God did not destroy them sooner than he did.”​—PICTURE, Vol. 1, p. 739.

Jehovah had exercised his sovereign right to execute the sentence of death upon the wicked population of the entire planet at the time of the global Flood; he had done so with regard to the entire District of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of ‘the loud cry of complaint about them and their very heavy sin’ (Ge 18:20; 19:13); he had executed a decree of destruction upon Pharaoh’s military forces at the Red Sea; he had also exterminated the households of Korah and other rebels among the Israelites themselves. However, in these cases, God had employed natural forces to accomplish the destruction. By contrast, Jehovah now assigned to the Israelites the sacred duty of serving as principal executioners of his divine decree, guided by his angelic messenger and backed by God’s almighty power. (Ex 23:20-23, 27, 28; De 9:3, 4; 20:15-18; Jos 10:42) The results, nevertheless, were precisely the same to the Canaanites as if God had chosen to destroy them by some phenomenon such as a flood, fiery explosion, or earthquake, and the fact that human agents effected the putting to death of the condemned peoples, however unpleasant their task may seem, cannot alter the rightness of the divinely ordained action. (Jer 48:10) By using this human instrument, pitted against “seven nations more populous and mighty” than they were, Jehovah’s power was magnified and his Godship proved.​—De 7:1; Le 25:38.

The Canaanites were not ignorant of the powerful evidence that Israel was God’s chosen people and instrument. (Jos 2:9-21, 24; 9:24-27) However, with the exception of Rahab and her family and the cities of the Gibeonites, those who came in for destruction neither sought mercy nor availed themselves of the opportunity to flee, but instead they chose to harden themselves in rebellion against Jehovah. He did not force them to bend and give in to his expressed will but, rather, “let their hearts become stubborn so as to declare war against Israel, in order that he might devote them to destruction, that they might come to have no favorable consideration, but in order that he might annihilate them” in execution of his judgment against them.​—Jos 11:19, 20.

Joshua wisely “did not remove a word from all that Jehovah had commanded Moses” as to the destruction of the Canaanites. (Jos 11:15) But the Israelite nation failed to follow up his good lead and completely eliminate the source of pollution of the land. The continued presence of the Canaanites among them brought infection into Israel that, in the course of time, undoubtedly contributed toward more deaths (not to mention crime, immorality, and idolatry) than the decreed extermination of all the Canaanites would have produced had it been faithfully effected. (Nu 33:55, 56; Jg 2:1-3, 11-23; Ps 106:34-43) Jehovah had warned the Israelites that his justice and his judgments would not be partial and that for the Israelites to enter into relations with the Canaanites, intermarry with them, practice interfaith, and adopt their religious customs and degenerate practices would mean their inevitably bringing down upon themselves the same decree of annihilation and would result in their also being ‘vomited out of the land.’​—Ex 23:32, 33; 34:12-17; Le 18:26-30; De 7:2-5, 25, 26.

Judges 3:1, 2 states that Jehovah let some of the Canaanite nations stay “so as by them to test Israel, that is, all those who had not experienced any of the wars of Canaan; it was only in order for the generations of the sons of Israel to have the experience, so as to teach them war, that is, only those who before that had not experienced such things.” This does not contradict the earlier statement (Jg 2:20-22) that Jehovah allowed these nations to remain because of Israel’s unfaithfulness and in order to “test Israel, whether they will be keepers of Jehovah’s way.” Rather, it harmonizes with that reason and shows that later generations of Israelites would thereby be faced with the opportunity to demonstrate obedience to God’s commands concerning the Canaanites, putting their faith to the test to the point of endangering their lives in war in order to prove obedient.

In view of all of this, it is clear that the opinion held by some Bible critics that the destruction of the Canaanites by Israel is not in harmony with the spirit of the Christian Greek Scriptures does not accord with the facts, as a comparison of such texts as Matthew 3:7-12; 22:1-7; 23:33; 25:41-46; Mark 12:1-9; Luke 19:14, 27; Romans 1:18-32; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9; 2:3; and Revelation 19:11-21 will demonstrate.

Later History. Following the conquest, the situation between the Canaanites and the Israelites gradually became one of relatively peaceful coexistence, though this was to Israel’s detriment. (Jg 3:5, 6; compare Jg 19:11-14.) Syrian, Moabite, and Philistine rulers successively gained temporary domination over the Israelites, but it was not until the time of Jabin, called “the king of Canaan,” that the Canaanites regained sufficient power to accomplish a 20-year subjugation of Israel. (Jg 4:2, 3) After Jabin’s ultimate defeat by Barak, Israel’s difficulties during the prekingdom period came principally from non-Canaanite sources, the Midianites, Ammonites, and Philistines. Likewise during the time of Samuel, of the Canaanite tribes only the Amorites are briefly mentioned. (1Sa 7:14) King David evicted the Jebusites from Jerusalem (2Sa 5:6-9), but his major campaigns were against the Philistines, Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, Amalekites, and the Syrians. Thus, the Canaanites, though still possessing cities and holding land in Israel’s territory (2Sa 24:7, 16-18), had evidently ceased to be a threat militarily. Two Hittite warriors are mentioned among David’s fighting force.​—1Sa 26:6; 2Sa 23:39.

During his rule Solomon put the remnants of the Canaanite tribes to forced labor in his many projects (1Ki 9:20, 21), extending his building work even to the far northern Canaanite city of Hamath. (2Ch 8:4) But Canaanite wives later contributed to Solomon’s downfall, the loss of much of the kingdom for his heir, and the religious corruption of the nation. (1Ki 11:1, 13, 31-33) From Solomon’s reign (1037-998 B.C.E.) down to the rule of Jehoram of Israel (c. 917-905 B.C.E.), only the Hittites appear to have maintained a considerable measure of prominence and strength as a tribe, though evidently located to the N of Israel’s territory and adjacent to or in Syria.​—1Ki 10:29; 2Ki 7:6.

Intermarriage with Canaanites still was a problem among the returned Israelites after the Babylonian exile (Ezr 9:1, 2), but the Canaanite kingdoms, including those of the Hittites, had evidently disintegrated under the impact of Syrian, Assyrian, and Babylonian aggression. The term “Canaan” came to refer primarily to Phoenicia, as in Isaiah’s prophecy concerning Tyre (Isa 23:1, 11, ftn) and in the case of the “Phoenician” (literally, “Canaanite” [Gr., Kha·na·naiʹa]) woman from the region of Tyre and Sidon who approached Jesus.​—Mt 15:22, ftn; compare Mr 7:26.

Commercial and Geopolitical Importance. Canaan formed a land bridge connecting Egypt with Asia and, more particularly, Mesopotamia. Though the economy of the country was basically agricultural, commercial trade was also engaged in, and the seaport cities of Tyre and Sidon became major trade centers with fleets of ships that were renowned throughout the then-known world. (Compare Eze 27.) Thus, as far back as Job’s time, the word “Canaanite” had become synonymous with ‘tradesman’ and is so translated. (Job 41:6; Zep 1:11; note also the reference to Babylon as “the land of Canaan,” Eze 17:4, 12.) Canaan thus occupied a very strategic place in the Fertile Crescent and was the target of the great empires of Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and Africa that were seeking to control military passage and commercial traffic through Canaan’s confines. God’s placing of his chosen people in this land, therefore, was certain to draw the attention of the nations and have far-reaching effects; in a geographic sense, though more importantly in a religious sense, the Israelites could be said to dwell “in the center of the earth.”​—Eze 38:12.

Language. Although the Bible record clearly shows the Canaanites to be Hamitic, the majority of reference works speak of them as of Semitic origin. This classification is based on the evidence of a Semitic language spoken by the Canaanites. The evidence most frequently appealed to is the large number of texts found at Ras Shamra (Ugarit) written in a Semitic language or dialect and considered to date from as far back as the 14th century B.C.E. However, Ugarit apparently did not come within the Biblical boundaries of Canaan. An article by A. F. Rainey in The Biblical Archaeologist (1965, p. 105) states that on ethnic, political, and, probably, linguistic bases “it is now clearly a misnomer to call Ugarit a ‘Canaanite’ city.” He gives further evidence to show that “Ugarit and the land of Canaan were separate and distinct political entities.” Hence, these tablets provide no clear rule by which to determine the language of the Canaanites.

Many of the Amarna Tablets found in Egypt do proceed from the rulers of various cities in Canaan proper, and these tablets are written mainly in cuneiform Akkadian, a Semitic language. This, however, was the diplomatic language of the entire Middle East at that time, so that it was used even when writing to the Egyptian court. Thus, it is of considerable interest to note the statement in The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (edited by G. A. Buttrick, 1962, Vol. 1, p. 495) that “the Amarna Letters contain evidence for the opinion that non-Semitic ethnic elements settled in Palestine and Syria at a rather early date, for a number of these letters show a remarkable influence of non-Semitic tongues.” (Italics ours.) The facts are that there is still uncertainty as to the original language spoken by the first inhabitants of Canaan.

It is true, however, that the Bible account itself appears to show that Abraham and his descendants were able to converse with the people of Canaan without the need of an interpreter, and it may also be noted that, while some place-names of a non-Semitic type were used, most of the towns and cities captured by the Israelites already bore Semitic names. Still, Philistine kings in Abraham’s time and also, evidently, David’s time, were called “Abimelech” (Ge 20:2; 21:32; Ps 34:Sup), a thoroughly Semitic name (or title), whereas it is nowhere contended that the Philistines were a Semitic race. So, it would appear that the Canaanite tribes, over a period of some centuries from the time of the confusion of tongues at Babel (Ge 11:8, 9), apparently changed over to a Semitic tongue from their original Hamitic language. This may have been because of their close association with the Aramaic-speaking peoples of Syria, as a result of Mesopotamian domination for a period of time, or for other reasons not now apparent. Such a change would be no greater than that of other ancient nations, such as the ancient Persians, who, though of Indo-European (Japhetic) stock, later adopted the Semitic Aramaean language and writing.

“The language of Canaan” referred to at Isaiah 19:18 would by then (eighth century B.C.E.) be the Hebrew language, the principal language of the land.

See NILE CANALS; POOL OF THE CANAL.

(Ca·na·naeʹan) [from Aramaic, meaning “Zealot; Enthusiast”].

A designation distinguishing the apostle Simon from the apostle Simon Peter. (Mt 10:4; Mr 3:18) The term “Cananaean” is thought to be of Aramaic origin and apparently corresponds to the Greek word ze·lo·tesʹ meaning “zealot; enthusiast.”​—Lu 6:15; Ac 1:13.

(Can·daʹce).

A queen of Ethiopia whose treasurer became a Christian. (Ac 8:27) Instead of being a specific personal name, “Candace,” like “Pharaoh” and “Caesar,” is considered to be a title. Ancient writers, including Strabo, Pliny the Elder, and Eusebius, used this designation in referring to queens of Ethiopia. Pliny the Elder (c. 23-79 C.E.) wrote that “the town [Meroë, capital of ancient Ethiopia] possesses few buildings. They said that it is ruled by a woman, Candace, a name that has passed on through a succession of queens for many years.”​—Natural History, VI, XXXV, 186.

See CALAMUS, CANE.

(Canʹneh).

A place mentioned along with Haran and Eden as being among the traders of ancient Tyre. (Eze 27:23) Its association with Haran and Eden would seem to place it in northern Mesopotamia, along the middle course of the Euphrates River. Some scholars view the name as a contracted form of Calneh.

(of the Bible).

Originally the reed (Heb., qa·nehʹ) served as a rule or measuring device. (Eze 40:3-8; 41:8; 42:16-19) The apostle Paul applied ka·nonʹ to the “territory” measured out as his assignment, and again to the “rule of conduct” by which Christians were to measure how they acted. (2Co 10:13-16; Ga 6:16) The “Bible canon” came to denote the catalog of inspired books worthy of being used as a straightedge in measuring faith, doctrine, and conduct.​—See BIBLE.

The mere writing of a religious book, its preservation for hundreds of years, and its esteem by millions do not prove it is of divine origin or canonical. It must bear credentials of Divine Authorship demonstrating that it was inspired by God. The apostle Peter states: “Prophecy was at no time brought by man’s will, but men spoke from God as they were borne along by holy spirit.” (2Pe 1:21) An examination of the Bible canon shows that its contents measure up to this criterion in every respect.

Hebrew Scriptures. The Bible began with the writings of Moses, 1513 B.C.E. In these are preserved God’s commandments and precepts to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as the regulations of the Law covenant. What is called the Pentateuch includes the five books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Job, apparently also written by Moses, fills in history after the death of Joseph (1657 B.C.E.) and before Moses proved himself to be an integrity-keeping servant of God, a time when there was “no one like [Job] in the earth.” (Job 1:8; 2:3) Moses also wrote Psalm 90 and, possibly, 91.

That these writings of Moses were of divine origin, inspired of God, canonical, and a safe guideline for pure worship, there can be no doubt, in the light of internal evidence. It was not through Moses’ initiative that he became the leader and commander of the Israelites; at first Moses drew back at the suggestion. (Ex 3:10, 11; 4:10-14) Rather, God raised Moses up and invested in him such miraculous powers that even Pharaoh’s magic-practicing priests were compelled to acknowledge that what Moses did originated with God. (Ex 4:1-9; 8:16-19) So it was not Moses’ personal ambition to be an orator and writer. Rather, in obedience to God’s command and with the divine credentials of holy spirit, Moses was moved first to speak and then to write down part of the Bible canon.​—Ex 17:14.

Jehovah himself set the precedent for having laws and commandments written down. After speaking to Moses in Mount Sinai, Jehovah “proceeded to give Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone written on by God’s finger.” (Ex 31:18) Later we read, “And Jehovah went on to say to Moses: ‘Write down for yourself these words.’” (Ex 34:27) Jehovah, therefore, was the one who communicated with Moses and instructed him to write down and preserve the first five books of the Bible canon. No council of men made them canonical; from their inception they had divine approval.

“As soon as Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book,” he commanded the Levites, saying: “Taking this book of the law, you must place it at the side of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, and it must serve as a witness there against you.” (De 31:9, 24-26) It is noteworthy that Israel acknowledged this record of God’s dealings and did not deny these facts. Since the contents of the books in many instances were a discredit to the nation generally, the people might well have been expected to reject them if possible, but this never seems to have been an issue.

Like Moses, the priestly class were used by God both to preserve these written commandments and to teach them to the people. When the Ark was brought into Solomon’s temple (1026 B.C.E.), nearly 500 years after Moses began writing the Pentateuch, the two stone tablets were still in the Ark (1Ki 8:9), and 384 years after that, when “the very book of the law” was found in the house of Jehovah during Josiah’s 18th year (642 B.C.E.), the same high regard for it was still shown. (2Ki 22:3, 8-20) Similarly, there was “great rejoicing” when, after the return from Babylonian exile, Ezra read from the book of the Law during an eight-day assembly.​—Ne 8:5-18.

Following Moses’ death, the writings of Joshua, Samuel, Gad, and Nathan (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel) were added. Kings David and Solomon also made contributions to the growing canon of Holy Writings. Then came the prophets from Jonah to Malachi, each contributing to the Bible canon, each endowed with miraculous prophetic ability from God, each in turn meeting the requirements of true prophets as outlined by Jehovah, namely, they spoke in the name of Jehovah, their prophecy came true, and they turned the people toward God. (De 13:1-3; 18:20-22) When Hananiah and Jeremiah were tested on the last two points (both spoke in Jehovah’s name), only the words of Jeremiah came to pass. Thus Jeremiah proved to be Jehovah’s prophet.​—Jer 28:10-17.

Just as Jehovah inspired men to write, it logically follows that he would direct and watch over the collecting and preserving of these inspired writings in order that mankind would have an enduring canonical straightedge for true worship. According to Jewish tradition, Ezra had a hand in this work after the exiled Jews were resettled in Judah. He was certainly qualified for the work, being one of the inspired Bible writers, a priest, and also “a skilled copyist in the law of Moses.” (Ezr 7:1-11) Only the books of Nehemiah and Malachi remained to be added. The canon of the Hebrew Scriptures, therefore, was well fixed by the end of the fifth century B.C.E., containing the same writings that we have today.

The canon of the Hebrew Scriptures was traditionally divided into three sections: the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings, or Hagiographa, contained in 24 books, as shown in the chart. By further combining Ruth with Judges, and Lamentations with Jeremiah, some Jewish authorities counted 22, the same as the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. In his prologue to the books of Samuel and Kings, Jerome, though seeming to favor counting 22, said: “Some would include both Ruth and Lamentations among the Hagiographa . . . and thus would get twenty-four books.”

The Jewish historian Josephus, in answering opponents in his work Against Apion (I, 38-40 [8]) around the year 100 C.E., confirms that by then the canon of the Hebrew Scriptures had been fixed for a long time. He wrote: “We do not possess myriads of inconsistent books, conflicting with each other. Our books, those which are justly accredited, are but two and twenty, and contain the record of all time. Of these, five are the books of Moses, comprising the laws and the traditional history from the birth of man down to the death of the lawgiver. . . . From the death of Moses until Artaxerxes, who succeeded Xerxes as king of Persia, the prophets subsequent to Moses wrote the history of the events of their own times in thirteen books. The remaining four books contain hymns to God and precepts for the conduct of human life.”

Canonicity of a book therefore does not rest in whole or in part on whether some council, committee, or community accepts or rejects it. The voice of such noninspired men is valuable only as witness to what God himself has already done through his accredited representatives.

The exact number of books in the Hebrew Scriptures is not important (whether a certain two are combined or left separated), nor is the particular order in which they follow one another, since the books remained as separate rolls long after the canon was closed. Ancient catalogs vary in the order the books are listed, as, for example, one listing places Isaiah after the book of Ezekiel. What is most important, however, is what books are included. In reality, only those books now in the canon have any solid claim for canonicity. From ancient times efforts to include other writings have been resisted. Two Jewish councils held at Yavne or Jamnia, a little S of Joppa, about 90 and 118 C.E. respectively, when discussing the Hebrew Scriptures, expressly excluded all Apocryphal writings.

Josephus bears witness to this general Jewish opinion of the Apocryphal writings when he says: “From Artaxerxes to our own time the complete history has been written, but has not been deemed worthy of equal credit with the earlier records, because of the failure of the exact succession of the prophets. We have given practical proof of our reverence for our own Scriptures. For, although such long ages have now passed, no one has ventured either to add, or to remove, or to alter a syllable; and it is an instinct with every Jew, from the day of his birth, to regard them as the decrees of God, to abide by them, and, if need be, cheerfully to die for them.”​—Against Apion, I, 41, 42 (8).

This long historical position of the Jews toward the Hebrew Scripture canon is very important, in view of what Paul wrote to the Romans. The Jews, the apostle says, “were entrusted with the sacred pronouncements of God,” which included writing and protecting the Bible canon.​—Ro 3:1, 2.

Acknowledging but by no means establishing the Bible canon that God’s holy spirit had authorized were early councils (Laodicea, 367 C.E.; Chalcedon, 451 C.E.) and so-called church fathers who were substantially agreed in accepting the established Jewish canon and in rejecting the Apocryphal books. Examples of such men include: Justin Martyr, Christian apologist (died c. 165 C.E.); Melito, “bishop” of Sardis (2nd century C.E.); Origen, Biblical scholar (185?-254? C.E.); Hilary, “bishop” of Poitiers (died 367? C.E.); Epiphanius, “bishop” of Constantia (from 367 C.E.); Gregory Nazianzus (330?-389? C.E.); Rufinus of Aquileia, “the learned Translator of Origen” (345?-410 C.E.); Jerome (340?-420 C.E.), Biblical scholar of the Latin church and compiler of the Vulgate. In his prologue to the books of Samuel and Kings, after enumerating the 22 books of the Hebrew Scriptures, Jerome says: “Whatever is beyond these must be put in the apocrypha.”

The most conclusive testimony on the canonicity of the Hebrew Scriptures is the unimpeachable word of Jesus Christ and the writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures. Though they nowhere give an exact number of books, the unmistakable conclusion drawn from what they said is that the canon of the Hebrew Scriptures did not contain the Apocryphal books.

If there was not a definite collection of Holy Writings known and recognized by them and those to whom they spoke and wrote, they would not have used such expressions as “the Scriptures” (Mt 22:29; Ac 18:24); “the holy Scriptures” (Ro 1:2); “the holy writings” (2Ti 3:15); the “Law,” often meaning the whole body of Scripture (Joh 10:34; 12:34; 15:25); “the Law and the Prophets,” used as a generic term meaning the entire Hebrew Scriptures and not simply the first and second sections of those Scriptures (Mt 5:17; 7:12; 22:40; Lu 16:16). When Paul referred to “the Law,” he quoted from Isaiah.​—1Co 14:21; Isa 28:11.

It is most unlikely that the original Greek Septuagint contained Apocryphal books. (See APOCRYPHA.) But even if some of these writings of doubtful origin crept into subsequent copies of the Septuagint circulated in Jesus’ day, neither he nor the writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures quoted from them even though using the Septuagint; they never cited as “Scripture” or the product of holy spirit any Apocryphal writing. So, not only do the Apocryphal books lack internal evidence of divine inspiration and attestation by ancient inspired writers of Hebrew Scriptures but they also lack the stamp of approval by Jesus and his divinely accredited apostles. However, Jesus did approve the Hebrew canon, referring to the entire Hebrew Scriptures when he spoke of “all the things written in the law of Moses and in the Prophets and Psalms,” the Psalms being the first and longest book in the section called the Hagiographa or Holy Writings.​—Lu 24:44.

Jesus’ words at Matthew 23:35 (and at Lu 11:50, 51) are also very significant: “That there may come upon you all the righteous blood spilled on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.” Timewise, the prophet Urijah was put to death during the reign of Jehoiakim more than two centuries after Zechariah’s murder near the end of Jehoash’s reign. (Jer 26:20-23) So if Jesus wanted to cite the whole list of martyrs, why did he not say ‘from Abel to Urijah’? Evidently it was because the instance concerning Zechariah is found at 2 Chronicles 24:20, 21, and hence near the end of the traditional Hebrew canon. So in this sense Jesus’ statement did embrace all the murdered witnesses of Jehovah mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures, from Abel listed in the first book (Genesis) to Zechariah cited in the last book (Chronicles), which, by illustration, would be like our saying “from Genesis to Revelation.”

Christian Greek Scriptures. The writing as well as the collecting of the 27 books comprising the canon of the Christian Greek Scriptures was similar to that of the Hebrew Scriptures. Christ “gave gifts in men,” yes, “he gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelizers, some as shepherds and teachers.” (Eph 4:8, 11-13) With God’s holy spirit on them they set forth sound doctrine for the Christian congregation and, “by way of a reminder,” repeated many things already written in the Scriptures.​—2Pe 1:12, 13; 3:1; Ro 15:15.

Outside the Scriptures themselves there is evidence that, as early as 90-100 C.E., at least ten of Paul’s letters were collected together. It is certain that at an early date Christians were gathering together the inspired Christian writings.

We read that “near the close of the 1st cent., Clement bishop of Rome was acquainted with Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth. After him, the letters of both Ignatius bishop of Antioch and Polycarp bishop of Smyrna attest the dissemination of the Pauline letters by the second decade of the 2nd century.” (The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, edited by G. W. Bromiley, 1979, Vol. 1, p. 603) These were all early writers​—Clement of Rome (30?-100? C.E.), Polycarp (69?-155? C.E.), and Ignatius of Antioch (late 1st and early 2nd centuries C.E.)​—who wove in quotations and extracts from various books of the Christian Greek Scriptures, showing their acquaintance with such canonical writings.

Justin Martyr (died c. 165 C.E.) in his “Dialogue With Trypho, a Jew” (XLIX), used the expression “it is written” when quoting from Matthew, in the same way the Gospels themselves do when referring to the Hebrew Scriptures. The same is also true in an earlier anonymous work, “The Epistle of Barnabas” (IV). Justin Martyr in “The First Apology” (LXVI, LXVII) calls the “memoirs of the apostles” “Gospels.”​—The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. I, pp. 220, 139, 185, 186.

Theophilus of Antioch (2nd century C.E.) declared: “Concerning the righteousness which the law enjoined, confirmatory utterances are found both with the prophets and in the Gospels, because they all spoke inspired by one Spirit of God.” Theophilus then uses such expressions as ‘says the Gospel’ (quoting Mt 5:28, 32, 44, 46; 6:3) and “the divine word gives us instructions” (quoting 1Ti 2:2 and Ro 13:7, 8).​—The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 1962, Vol. II, pp. 114, 115, “Theophilus to Autolycus” (XII, XIII).

By the end of the second century there was no question but that the canon of the Christian Greek Scriptures was closed, and we find such ones as Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian recognizing the writings comprising the Christian Scriptures as carrying authority equal to that of the Hebrew Scriptures. Irenaeus in appealing to the Scriptures makes no fewer than 200 quotations from Paul’s letters. Clement says he will answer his opponents by “the Scriptures which we believe are valid from their omnipotent authority,” that is, “by the law and the prophets, and besides by the blessed Gospel.”​—The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. II, p. 409, “The Stromata, or Miscellanies.”

The canonicity of certain individual books of the Christian Greek Scriptures has been disputed by some, but the arguments against them are very weak. For critics to reject, for example, the book of Hebrews simply because it does not bear Paul’s name and because it differs slightly in style from his other letters is shallow reasoning. B. F. Westcott observed that “the canonical authority of the Epistle is independent of its Pauline authorship.” (The Epistle to the Hebrews, 1892, p. lxxi) Objection on the grounds of unnamed writership is far outweighed by the presence of Hebrews in the Chester Beatty Papyrus No. 2 (P⁠⁴⁶) (dated within 150 years of Paul’s death), which contains it along with eight other letters of Paul.

Sometimes the canonicity of small books such as James, Jude, Second and Third John, and Second Peter is questioned on the grounds that these books are quoted very little by early writers. However, they make up all together only one thirty-sixth of the Christian Greek Scriptures and were therefore less likely to be referred to. In this connection it may be observed that Second Peter is quoted by Irenaeus as bearing the same evidence of canonicity as the rest of the Greek Scriptures. The same is true of Second John. (The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. I, pp. 551, 557, 341, 443, “Irenaeus Against Heresies”) Revelation, also rejected by some, was attested to by many early commentators, including Papias, Justin Martyr, Melito, and Irenaeus.

The real test of canonicity, however, is not how many times or by what nonapostolic writer a certain book has been quoted. The contents of the book itself must give evidence that it is a product of holy spirit. Consequently, it cannot contain superstitions or demonism, nor can it encourage creature worship. It must be in total harmony and complete unity with the rest of the Bible, thus supporting the authorship of Jehovah God. Each book must conform to the divine “pattern of healthful words” and be in harmony with the teachings and activities of Christ Jesus. (2Ti 1:13; 1Co 4:17) The apostles clearly had divine accreditation and they spoke in attestation of such other writers as Luke and James, the half brother of Jesus. By holy spirit the apostles had “discernment of inspired utterances” as to whether such were of God or not. (1Co 12:4, 10) With the death of John, the last apostle, this reliable chain of divinely inspired men came to an end, and so with the Revelation, John’s Gospel, and his epistles, the Bible canon closed.

The 66 canonical books of our Bible in their harmonious unity and balance testify to the oneness and completeness of the Bible and recommend it to us as indeed Jehovah’s Word of inspired truth, preserved until now against all its enemies. (1Pe 1:25) For a complete listing of the 66 books that make up the entire Bible canon, the writers, when the books were completed, and the time covered by each, see “Table of Bible Books in Order Completed” under BIBLE.​—See also individual article for each Bible book.

[Chart on page 407]

JEWISH CANON OF THE SCRIPTURES

The Law

1. Genesis

2. Exodus

3. Leviticus

4. Numbers

5. Deuteronomy

The Prophets

6. Joshua

7. Judges

8. 1, 2 Samuel

9. 1, 2 Kings

10. Isaiah

11. Jeremiah

12. Ezekiel

13. The Twelve Prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi)

The Writings (Hagiographa)

14. Psalms

15. Proverbs

16. Job

17. Song of Solomon

18. Ruth

19. Lamentations

20. Ecclesiastes

21. Esther

22. Daniel

23. Ezra, Nehemiah

24. 1, 2 Chronicles

[Heb., ʼavi·yoh·nahʹ].

The fruit of the caper plant. Some translations of Ecclesiastes 12:5 render the Hebrew term ʼavi·yoh·nahʹ as “desire” so that the passage is made to read “and desire fails.” (RS; see also KJ; Ro.) However, many modern translators (AT; JB; JP; NW; NC [Spanish]) consider that the writer of Ecclesiastes, in this chapter describing the conditions of man in his old age, used a metaphor, as is the case throughout the description, and that ʼavi·yoh·nahʹ refers to the caper berry (as stimulating desire or appetite). This latter view finds support in the renderings of the Greek Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate, the Syriac Peshitta, and Arabic translations.

The caper plant (Capparis spinosa) may reach a height of 1 m (3 ft) but usually spreads over the ground in vinelike fashion. It is abundant in Israel, often growing from clefts in rocks or spreading over walls or ruins much like ivy. The spiny branches bear rich green oval leaves. The plant flowers in May with large white blossoms, purple filaments extending out from their centers.​—PICTURE, Vol. 1, p. 543.

The berries of the plant are not used as much as the small young buds. These are pickled and eaten as a condiment to stimulate appetite, a quality for which they have been known from ancient times. Thus the writer of Ecclesiastes apparently says that, when an old man’s sense of taste diminishes and his appetite weakens, even the stimulation of the caper berry is unable to awaken his desire for food.

(Ca·perʹna·um) [from Heb., meaning “Village of Nahum”; or, “Village of Comforting”].

A city of major importance in Jesus’ earthly ministry, located on the NW shores of the Sea of Galilee. It had a tax office, where Jesus called Matthew to be his disciple (Mt 9:9), and perhaps a military post, for a centurion resided there. (Mt 8:5) These indications, plus the fact that an attendant of the king, wealthy enough to have slaves, lived there (Joh 4:46-53), all seem to make it likely that Capernaum was of some size and importance and hence worthy of being called “a city of Galilee.”​—Lu 4:31.

Two principal sites have been suggested as the original location of Capernaum. The ruins of Khan Minyeh (Horvat Minnim), situated on the Sea of Galilee at the NE corner of the Plain of Gennesaret, were viewed by many as the probable location of Capernaum, but excavations there indicate that the ruins are of Arab origin. This leaves Tell Hum (Kefar Nahum), an extensive ruin about 4 km (2.5 mi) farther along the shore to the NE from Khan Minyeh, and almost that same distance SW of the point where the Jordan River enters the Sea of Galilee. The coastal plain here is quite narrow, but in ancient times a road led from the Jordan down past Capernaum and through the Plain of Gennesaret to connect with the great trade route leading from Mesopotamia and Damascus, through Palestine and on to Egypt. A number of springs flow across the Plain of Gennesaret, emptying into the blue waters of the Sea of Galilee, and the large amount of vegetable matter these springs carry draws large numbers of fish, making the area an excellent location for fishermen.​—PICTURE, Vol. 2, p. 739.

Early in his ministry, following the marriage at Cana, where his first miracle was performed, Jesus, together with his mother, brothers, and disciples, traveled from Cana down to Capernaum, spending a few days there before going up to Jerusalem for the Passover of the year 30 C.E.​—Joh 2:12, 13.

Later, after beginning his great Galilean ministry and while again in Cana, Jesus performed a long-distance miraculous cure of the son of a member of the royal court of Herod Antipas, the sick child being healed in Capernaum though about 26 km (16 mi) away from Cana. (Joh 4:46-54) The news of this miracle evidently spread quickly to the neighboring towns so that, when Jesus moved on from Cana to his hometown of Nazareth, he could say to his listeners in that city that they would likely ask him to do in Nazareth “the things we heard as having happened in Capernaum.” (Lu 4:16, 23) Leaving Nazareth, where the people had attempted to kill him, Jesus “took up residence in Capernaum beside the sea in the districts of Zebulun and Naphtali” (Mt 4:13-16; Lu 4:28-31), thereby fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy (9:1, 2) that a great light would be seen in that region by those walking in darkness.

It was possibly along the nearby Plain of Gennesaret, SW of Capernaum, that Jesus again met Peter and Andrew (already his disciples; Joh 1:35-42) and gave them the express invitation to become his active followers in the ministry, doing the same thereafter for James and John. (Mr 1:16-21) Following this, Jesus preached in the synagogue of Capernaum, healing a demonized man in attendance, and from this strategically located city the report of his preaching and miracles “kept going out into every corner of the surrounding country.” (Lu 4:31-37; Mr 1:21-28; see SYNAGOGUE.) The home of the fishermen Peter and Andrew was in Capernaum, and here Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law; after this, the house was besieged by people bringing ill and demon-possessed persons to him for healing.​—Mr 1:29-34; Lu 4:38-41.

Following a preaching tour of Galilee, accompanied by the four disciples called from the Capernaum vicinity, Jesus returned to Capernaum, which by now could be called “his own city,” the place where he could be said to be “at home.” (Mt 9:1; Mr 2:1) Again the crowds flocked around the house, and on this occasion Jesus healed a paralytic who was lowered through an opening in the roof. (Mr 2:2-12) Later, coming upon Matthew in the tax office, Jesus issued the call to him, and Matthew became the fifth disciple to join in the active ministry with Jesus. At Matthew’s house in Capernaum Jesus attended a big reception feast at which there were many tax collectors, a group despised by the Pharisees.​—Mt 9:9-11; Lu 5:27-30.

After going into Judea and Jerusalem and attending the Passover of 31 C.E., Jesus returned to Galilee, and it seems likely that it was on a mountain in the neighborhood of Capernaum that he chose the 12 to be his apostles and delivered the renowned Sermon on the Mount. (Lu 6:12-49) Entering Capernaum, he was met by Jewish elders acting as intermediaries on behalf of an army officer who had demonstrated love for the Jewish nation, even building a synagogue in the city for them. This Gentile officer’s unquestioning faith in Jesus’ power to heal a sick slave even from a distance (as he had earlier healed the child of the king’s attendant) caused Jesus to marvel and resulted in Jesus’ prophecy that persons “from eastern parts and western parts” would recline at the table along with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of the heavens.​—Mt 8:5-13; Lu 7:1-10.

Toward the close of his second preaching tour in Galilee and after activity in the country of the Gerasenes (or Gadarenes) SE of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus “crossed back again . . . to the opposite shore,” likely to the vicinity of Capernaum. (Mt 8:28; Mr 5:1, 21; Lu 8:26, 40) Among the expectant crowd gathered on the shore, a woman was healed simply by touching Jesus’ garment, after which Jesus performed a far greater miracle by bringing to life the deceased daughter of Jairus, a presiding officer of the synagogue. Again, though Jesus gave orders against telling others of this resurrection, “the talk about this spread out into all that region.” (Mt 9:18-26; Mr 5:22-43; Lu 8:40-56) Possibly in Capernaum or its vicinity Jesus also healed two blind men as well as a speechless man possessed of a demon.​—Mt 9:27-34.

At the close of his third Galilean preaching tour and shortly before the Passover of 32 C.E. (Joh 6:4), Jesus walked on the waters of the Sea of Galilee during a crossing to the shores of Gennesaret near Capernaum. After entering Capernaum, he was located by crowds who had followed him from across the sea. When Jesus gave a discourse designed to correct the basically materialistic interest in him that had been shown by the majority, many of his disciples defected from the ranks of his followers. This left a smaller number of faithful ones. (Mt 14:23-34; Mr 6:53; Joh 6:17-71) It was likely in Capernaum, after having attended the Passover of 32 C.E. in Jerusalem, that Jesus rebuked the Pharisaic traditionalists for criticizing Jesus’ disciples while at the same time making God’s Word void by their traditions.​—Mt 15:1-20; Mr 7:1-23; Joh 7:1.

Finally, it was in Capernaum, sometime prior to the Festival of Booths in the year 32 C.E., when his major activity in Galilee and the northern part of the country was nearing its conclusion, that Jesus miraculously provided money for the temple tax and presented illustrations concerning greatness in the Kingdom of the heavens, strayed sheep, and the settling of difficulties.​—Mt 17:24–18:35; Mr 9:33-50; Lu 9:46-50.

Capernaum was included by Jesus with the nearby cities of Chorazin and Bethsaida as one of the places in which most of his powerful works had been performed. (Mt 11:20-24; Lu 10:13-15) Capernaum had been exalted heaven high in a spiritual way by the presence, preaching, and miracles of Jesus, but it would now be abased, as it were, to Hades, here representing the depth of its abasement. Using hyperbole, Jesus said that even Sodom would not have perished if it had been as highly favored as was Capernaum. Today Capernaum, like Sodom, no longer exists as a city, its ruins at Tell Hum (Kefar Nahum) stretching out for about 1.5 km (1 mi) along the seacoast.

(Caphʹtor), Caphtorim (Caphʹto·rim).

Among the descendants of Ham through Mizraim are the Caphtorim. (Ge 10:6, 13, 14; 1Ch 1:12) At some unspecified time prior to the Israelite Exodus from Egypt (1513 B.C.E.), the Caphtorim had taken over land in the SW part of Canaan, dispossessing a people known as the Avvim. (De 2:23) Elsewhere, the name Caphtor (also, Crete, NW) is applied to the “island” or “coastland” (RS, AT, others) from which the Philistines migrated to Canaan.​—Jer 47:4; Am 9:7.

The identification of Caphtor has been a subject of much discussion. Among the places suggested are the Delta region of Egypt, the southeastern coast of Asia Minor (including Cilicia), Cappadocia, and Crete. The majority of scholars today favor an identification with the island of Crete, lying off the SE coast of Greece. Some would also include neighboring islands and coastlands under the name Caphtor. Caphtor is understood to be represented by the name Kaptara, found in the Assyro-Babylonian texts, and by Kfty(w) in Egyptian inscriptions. There is evidence indicating that the Egyptians (also descendants of Mizraim) carried on trade with the Cretans from early times, perhaps from a period contemporaneous with Abraham.

Many scholars consider that the reference to “the Caphtorim” at Deuteronomy 2:23 actually applies to the Philistines. However, since the Philistines are shown to have gone forth from among the Casluhim (another branch of Mizraim’s descendants), the Philistines could only be called Caphtorim in a geographic (and not a genealogical or racial) sense, that is, in the sense of their having lived in the territory of Caphtor before coming to Canaan. They would then be called Caphtorim in the same way that the Hebrew Jacob was called a Syrian (or Aramaean). (De 26:5) Otherwise, it must be understood that the Philistines are not meant at Deuteronomy 2:23 and that the national group of the Caphtorim had its own emigrants to Canaan.

The uppermost section and crowning decoration of a building’s column. Massive capitals topped Jachin and Boaz, the pillars that stood in front of Solomon’s temple. (2Ch 3:15-17) These capitals and the pillars upon which they rested were made under the direction of the craftsman Hiram at the time of the temple’s construction (1034-1027 B.C.E.) and survived over 400 years until Jerusalem was sacked by the Babylonians in 607 B.C.E. (2Ch 4:11-13; Jer 52:17, 22) In every reference to these capitals, except for one, the Hebrew word ko·theʹreth is used. It comes from the root ka·tharʹ (‘surround’; Jg 20:43) and is related to keʹther (“headdress”; Es 1:11). The Hebrew word for “capital” occurring in 2 Chronicles 3:15 (tseʹpheth) comes from the root verb tsa·phahʹ, meaning “overlay.”​—Ex 25:11.

The pillars themselves were of cast copper, about 1.7 m (5.6 ft) in diameter and 18 cubits (8 m; 26 ft) high. In addition, the capitals were 5 cubits (2.2 m; 7.3 ft) high. (1Ki 7:15, 16) In view of the passages indicating that the capitals were five cubits high, a number of scholars have concluded that the reference to “three cubits” in 2 Kings 25:17 is a scribal error. That is why some Bible translations (for example, JB, NAB) have replaced “three cubits” with “five cubits.” Since the pillars were hollow, with walls about 7.5 cm (3 in.) thick, it is reasonable to suppose that the capitals were of similar construction and were also cast in clay molds “in the District of the Jordan.”​—2Ch 4:17; Jer 52:21.

From the limited description of these bowl-shaped capitals, it is impossible to describe their exact appearance or design. Around the bottom part of each there were seven nets of copper network, and from these hung two rows of 100 copper pomegranates each, suspended on copper chains. These were arranged like necklaces around the capitals. (1Ki 7:17, 18, 20, 42; 2Ch 3:16) It appears that on the side of the capital next to the temple, four pomegranates in each chain of 100 were rather obscured from view, for Jeremiah says there “came to be ninety-six, on the sides” (literally, “windward”; “on the outside,” AT; “being visible,” Mo). (Jer 52:23) Above these pomegranate decorations there was “lily work” of 4 cubits (1.8 m; 5.8 ft).​—1Ki 7:19, 22.

Other capitals that are mentioned in the Bible are Nineveh’s “pillar capitals” (Heb., kaph·toh·rimʹ), doomed to be frequented by “pelican and porcupine.”​—Zep 2:13, 14.

(Cap·pa·doʹci·a).

In the days of the apostles, Cappadocia was a large inland region in the eastern part of Asia Minor, with a generally cold climate and rather sparse woodlands. It occupied a plateau having elevations of 900 m (3,000 ft) in much of the region. Though the boundaries fluctuated throughout its history, basically they were Pontus on the N, Galatia and Lycaonia in the W, Cilicia and the Taurus Mountains on the S, and Armenia and the upper Euphrates River on the E. Extensive pasturing of sheep was done, and cattle and fine horses were also abundant. Wheat was the major grain product.

Cappadocia was made part of the Persian Empire under Cyrus and the original region was formed into the two satrapies of Pontus and Cappadocia. During the Seleucid dynasty of Syria, tributary kings were allowed to rule. Roman Emperor Tiberius ended this in 17 C.E., and Cappadocia became a Roman province under the administration of a procurator. Vespasian enlarged the province in 70 C.E., combining it with Armenia, thereby forming a major frontier province in the East. Cappadocia held strategic importance because of the roads traversing the region, one of these running from Tarsus on the Mediterranean, through the gap in the Taurus Range known as the Cilician Gates, across Cappadocia to the province of Pontus, and to ports on the Black Sea.

The natives of Cappadocia were evidently Aryans of Japhetic stock, but Jewish settlements were in evidence by the second century B.C.E. Jews from Cappadocia were present at Jerusalem on Pentecost of 33 C.E. (Ac 2:9) Likely as a result of this, Christianity spread into Cappadocia at an early date, and Cappadocian Christians were among those addressed by Peter in his first letter.​—1Pe 1:1.

The officer, second in dignity to the high priest (Ac 4:1), who had charge over the officiating priesthood and the Levites who were organized under lesser captains to guard the temple in Jerusalem and to keep order. (Lu 22:4, 52) There were 24 divisions of the Levites, which divisions served a week at a time in rotation, twice a year. Each division likely also had a captain over it, with several captains of smaller groups.

The captains were men of influence. They conspired with the chief priests in hiring Judas to betray Jesus. They brought their forces along with the priests to arrest Jesus. (Lu 22:3, 4, 52) It was the temple captain who lent official flavor to the arrest of Peter and John in the temple. (Ac 4:1, 3) On a later occasion, after Peter and some of the apostles had been released from prison by an angel, the temple captain went with his officers to bring them before the Sanhedrin in an apparently legal way without violence.​—Ac 5:24-26.

A person in bondage, exile, confinement, or under restraint, especially one seized and carried off as a result of war. (Nu 21:1) In ancient times the spoils of war often included, besides captured livestock, the populace of conquered cities and territories. (1Ch 5:21; 2Ch 14:14, 15; Am 4:10) On one occasion the ark of the covenant was carried off as booty, with dire consequences to its Philistine captors. (1Sa 4:11–5:12) References to captives date back to patriarchal times; the first mentioned in the Bible is Lot, who was rescued from the forces of Chedorlaomer by Abraham. (Ge 14:14; 31:26; 34:25-29) In a sense Job, although no war casualty, was in a “captive condition” until Jehovah rescued him from his misery.​—Job 42:10.

When the Israelites moved in to possess the Promised Land, certain cities, including their populations, were entirely devoted to destruction, as, for example, Jericho, the firstfruits of the conquest. (Jos 6:17, 21) When capturing other cities not devoted to destruction, the Israelites, unlike the pagan nations, were not allowed to rape the women. If they desired a captive woman for a wife, certain requirements had to be met first.​—La 5:11; Nu 31:9-19, 26, 27; De 21:10-14.

However, when enemy nations came up against the Israelites, Jehovah sometimes allowed his people to be carried off captive when they had been unfaithful to him. (2Ch 21:16, 17; 28:5, 17; 29:9) The most notable examples of this were in the eighth and seventh centuries B.C.E., when thousands of Israelites were exiled as captives by the Assyrian and Babylonian World Powers. (See CAPTIVITY.) Ahijah and Jeremiah foretold this coming national disaster. (1Ki 14:15; Jer 15:2) Moses too had warned that their sons and daughters would “go off into captivity” as a penalty for disobedience to Jehovah, adding that if they repented, such captives would in time return. (De 28:41; 30:3) Solomon foresaw captivity resulting from unfaithfulness, and he prayed for Jehovah to release the captives if they repented.​—1Ki 8:46-52; 2Ch 6:36-39; see also 2Ch 30:9; Ezr 9:7.

The treatment of captives varied a great deal, depending on many circumstances. Sometimes they were permitted to remain in their own land on condition that they pay tribute and not rebel against their new master. (Ge 14:1-4; 2Sa 8:5, 6; 2Ki 17:1-4) A conquered monarch was sometimes permitted to continue reigning as a vassal king, or he might be replaced. (2Ki 23:34; 24:1, 17) In some instances great numbers of captives were put to death, like the 10,000 who were thrown down from a crag so “they, one and all, burst apart.” (2Ch 25:12) Some conquerors were very cruel and fiendish in their treatment of captives, hanging them “by just their hand” (La 5:12), cutting off their noses and ears (Eze 23:25), blinding them with red-hot irons or boring out their eyes with spears or daggers (Jg 16:21; 1Sa 11:2; Jer 52:11), or “slitting open the pregnant women” of a captured town. (Am 1:13) The sadistic Assyrians, particularly noted for their extreme cruelty, are depicted in monuments as tying captives down and then skinning them alive.

Captives were often led away to forced labor (2Sa 12:29-31; 1Ch 20:3), taken into slavery, or sold as chattel (1Sa 30:1, 2; 2Ki 5:2; Isa 14:3, 4). Often conquerors delighted in roping captives together around the neck or head (compare Isa 52:2), or binding them in fetters (2Ki 25:7), and leading them off “naked and barefoot, and with buttocks stripped,” to their humiliation and shame.​—Isa 20:4.

Release and return of the Jewish captives was the happy theme of many prophecies. (Isa 49:24, 25; Jer 29:14; 46:27; Eze 39:28; Ho 6:11; Joe 3:1; Am 9:14; Zep 3:20) The psalmist also looked toward the time when “Jehovah gathers back the captive ones of his people.” (Ps 14:7; 53:6; 85:1; 126:1, 4) Many of these prophecies were fulfilled in a miniature way from and after 537 B.C.E., when a remnant of the captives that had come under control of the Persian Empire began streaming back to Jerusalem to rebuild the city and its great temple. (Ezr 2:1; 3:8; 8:35; Ne 1:2, 3; 7:6; 8:17) Certain enemies of Jehovah’s people were especially mentioned as destined for captivity themselves, nations such as Babylon (Isa 46:1, 2; Jer 50:1, 2), Egypt (Jer 43:11, 12; Eze 30:17, 18), and Moab (Jer 48:46).

Jesus quotes from Isaiah 61:1, 2, applying it to himself as sent by Jehovah “to preach a release to the captives and a recovery of sight to the blind.” (Lu 4:16-21) The apostle Paul draws illustrations from the ancient practice of conquerors’ taking captives. (Eph 4:8; 2Co 10:5) In the last book of the Bible the principle is set forth: “If anyone is meant for captivity, he goes away into captivity.”​—Re 13:10.

In Biblical history a number of different captivities are mentioned. (Nu 21:29; 2Ch 29:9; Isa 46:2; Eze 30:17, 18; Da 11:33; Na 3:10; Re 13:10; see CAPTIVE.) However, “the captivity” generally refers to the great exiling of Jews from the Promised Land in the eighth and seventh centuries B.C.E. by the Assyrian and Babylonian World Powers, and is also called “the Exile” and “the deportation.”​—Ezr 3:8; 6:21; Mt 1:17; see EXILE.

Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and other prophets warned of this great calamity in statements like these: “Whoever is for the captivity, to the captivity!” “As for you, O Pashhur, and all the inhabitants of your house, you will go into captivity; and to Babylon you will come.” “There is this pronouncement against Jerusalem and all the house of Israel . . . ‘Into exile, into captivity they will go.’” (Jer 15:2; 20:6; Eze 12:10, 11) Later, concerning the return from Babylonian captivity, Nehemiah (7:6) relates: “These are the sons of the jurisdictional district who came up out of the captivity of the exiled people whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had taken into exile and who later returned to Jerusalem and to Judah.”​—See also Ezr 2:1; 3:8; 8:35; Ne 1:2, 3; 8:17.

Assyria, it seems, was the first to introduce the policy of uprooting and removing the entire populations of captured towns from their homeland and repopulating the territory with captives from other parts of the empire. This deportation policy of Assyria was not enforced against only the Jews, for when Damascus, the capital of Syria, fell under the crushing military onslaught of this second world power, its people were banished to Kir, as foretold by the prophet Amos. (2Ki 16:8, 9; Am 1:5) The practice had a twofold effect: It discouraged the few remaining ones from subversive activity; and the surrounding nations that may have been friendly with those taken captive were less inclined to give aid and assistance to the new foreign element brought in from distant places.

In both the northern ten-tribe kingdom of Israel and the southern two-tribe kingdom of Judah, the root cause leading up to captivity was the same: abandonment of true worship of Jehovah in favor of the worship of false gods. (De 28:15, 62-68; 2Ki 17:7-18; 21:10-15) Jehovah, for his part, continually sent his prophets to warn them both but to no avail. (2Ki 17:13) None of the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel’s kings ever made a complete purge of the false worship instituted by that nation’s first king, Jeroboam. Judah, her sister kingdom to the S, failed to heed both Jehovah’s direct warnings and the example of the captivity into which Israel had fallen. (Jer 3:6-10) The inhabitants of both kingdoms eventually were carried away into exile, each nation in more than one principal deportation.

Beginning of the Exile. During the reign of Israelite King Pekah at Samaria (c. 778-759 B.C.E.), Assyrian King Pul (Tiglath-pileser III) came against Israel, captured a large section in the N, and deported its inhabitants to eastern parts of his empire. (2Ki 15:29) This same monarch also captured territory E of the Jordan and from that area “he took into exile those of the Reubenites and of the Gadites and of the half tribe of Manasseh and brought them to Halah and Habor and Hara and the river Gozan to continue until this day.”​—1Ch 5:26.

In 742 B.C.E. the Assyrian army under Shalmaneser V besieged Samaria. (2Ki 18:9, 10) When Samaria fell in 740 B.C.E., thus ending the ten-tribe kingdom, its inhabitants were taken into exile “in Halah and in Habor at the river Gozan and in the cities of the Medes.” This was because, as the Scriptures say, “they had not listened to the voice of Jehovah their God, but kept overstepping his covenant, even all that Moses the servant of Jehovah had commanded. They neither listened nor performed.”​—2Ki 18:11, 12; 17:6; see SARGON.

Captives from other widely scattered places were then brought in and settled in the cities of Samaria. “Subsequently the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon and Cuthah and Avva and Hamath and Sepharvaim and had them dwell in the cities of Samaria instead of the sons of Israel; and they began to take possession of Samaria and to dwell in its cities.” (2Ki 17:24) This foreign element imported with them their pagan religion; “each different nation came to be a maker of its own god.” And because they showed no regard or respect for Jehovah, he “sent lions among them, and they came to be killers among them.” The king of Assyria then returned one of the Israelite priests, “and he came to be a teacher of them as to how they ought to fear Jehovah.” So, as the account then says, “It was of Jehovah that they became fearers, but it was of their own gods that they proved to be worshipers, according to the religion of the nations from among whom they had led them into exile.”​—2Ki 17:25-33.

During the century and more that followed the overthrow of the northern kingdom, other notable exiles began. Before Sennacherib’s humiliating defeat at God’s hand in 732 B.C.E., he attacked various places in Judah. It is claimed by Sennacherib in his annals that he captured 200,150 from towns and fortresses in Judah’s territory, though, judging from the tone of the annals, the number is probably an exaggeration. (2Ki 18:13) His successor Esar-haddon and the Assyrian monarch that followed him, Asenappar (Ashurbanipal), both transported captives to foreign territories.​—Ezr 4:2, 10.

In 628 B.C.E., Egypt’s Pharaoh Necho put Josiah’s son Jehoahaz of the southern kingdom in bonds and carried him captive to Egypt. (2Ch 36:1-5) But it was more than a decade later, in 617 B.C.E., that the first captives from Jerusalem were taken into exile at Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar came against the rebellious city and carried off the upper class of the population, including King Jehoiachin and his mother, and men such as Ezekiel, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, together with “the princes and all the valiant, mighty men​—ten thousand he was taking into exile—​and also every craftsman and builder of bulwarks. No one had been left behind except the lowly class of the people . . . Court officials and the foremost men of the land he led away as exiled people from Jerusalem to Babylon. As for all the valiant men, seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the builders of bulwarks, a thousand, all the mighty men carrying on war, the king of Babylon proceeded to bring them as exiled people to Babylon.” He also took much of the treasure from the temple. (2Ki 24:12-16; Es 2:6; Eze 1:1-3; Da 1:2, 6) Jehoiachin’s uncle Zedekiah was left behind as a vassal king. A few others of note, including the prophet Jeremiah, also remained in Jerusalem. In view of the large number of captives recorded at 2 Kings 24:14, the figure 3,023 given at Jeremiah 52:28 apparently refers to those of a certain rank, or to those who were family heads​—their wives and children, numbering thousands, not being included in the figure.

The final capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar was completed in 607 B.C.E., after an 18-month siege. (2Ki 25:1-4) This time the city was emptied of most of its inhabitants. Some of the lowly ones of the land were allowed to remain “as vinedressers and as compulsory laborers” under the governorship of Gedaliah at Mizpah. (Jer 52:16; 40:7-10; 2Ki 25:22) Those taken captive to Babylon included “some of the lowly ones of the people and the rest of the people that were left remaining in the city and the deserters . . . and the rest of the master workmen.” The expression “that were left remaining in the city” apparently indicates that great numbers had died from famine, disease, or fire, or else they were slaughtered in the war. (Jer 52:15; 2Ki 25:11) Zedekiah’s sons, the princes of Judah, court officials, certain priests, and many other prominent citizens were put to death at the order of the king of Babylon. (2Ki 25:7, 18-21; Jer 52:10, 24-27) All of this could account for the rather low number of those actually listed as exiles that were led off, the number given being only 832, probably heads of households, their wives and children not being counted.​—Jer 52:29.

Some two months later, after the assassination of Gedaliah, the rest of the Jews left behind in Judah fled to Egypt, taking Jeremiah and Baruch along with them. (2Ki 25:8-12, 25, 26; Jer 43:5-7) Some of the Jews also may have fled to other nations round about. Probably from among these nations were the 745 captives, as household heads, exiled five years later when Nebuchadnezzar, as Jehovah’s symbolic club, dashed to pieces the nations bordering Judah. (Jer 51:20; 52:30) Josephus says that five years after the fall of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar overran Ammon and Moab and then went on down and took vengeance on Egypt.​—Jewish Antiquities, X, 181, 182 (ix, 7).

The situation with Jerusalem was different from that of other conquered cities such as Samaria, which was reinhabited with imported captives from other parts of the Assyrian Empire. In contrast to the usual policy of the Babylonians toward the cities they conquered, Jerusalem and its vicinity were emptied and left desolate, just as Jehovah had predetermined. Bible critics may question that Judah’s once-prosperous land was suddenly made “a desolate waste, without an inhabitant,” but there is admittedly no historical evidence, no records from this period, to prove otherwise. (Jer 9:11; 32:43) Archaeologist G. Ernest Wright declares: “The violence visited upon Judah is clear . . . from archaeological surveys which show that city after city ceased to be inhabited at this time, many never to be reoccupied.” (Biblical Archaeology, 1962, p. 182) William F. Albright agrees: “There is not a single known case where a town of Judah proper was continuously occupied through the exilic period.”​—The Archaeology of Palestine, 1971, p. 142.

Condition of the Exiles. The captivity was regarded in general as a period of oppression and bondage. Jehovah said that, instead of showing mercy to Israel, “upon the old man you [Babylon] made your yoke very heavy.” (Isa 47:5, 6) No doubt certain payments (tax, tribute, toll), based on what they were able to produce or earn, were exacted of them the same as was levied on other captives. Also, the very fact that the great temple of Jehovah in Jerusalem had been stripped and destroyed, its priesthood either killed or taken into exile, and its worshipers carried away into captivity and made subjects to a foreign power, certainly constituted a state of oppression.

However, being exiled to a foreign land was not as bad as being sold into cruel perpetual slavery or being executed in the sadistic manner typical of Assyrian and Babylonian conquests. (Isa 14:4-6; Jer 50:17) The exiled Jews, it seems, enjoyed a certain measure of freedom to move around, and they exercised some degree of internal administration of their affairs. (Ezr 8:1, 16, 17; Eze 1:1; 14:1; 20:1) “To all the exiled people, whom I have caused to go into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon,” Jehovah said: “Build houses and inhabit them, and plant gardens and eat their fruitage. Take wives and become father to sons and to daughters; and take wives for your own sons and give your own daughters to husbands, that they may give birth to sons and to daughters; and become many there, and do not become few. Also, seek the peace of the city to which I have caused you to go into exile, and pray in its behalf to Jehovah, for in its peace there will prove to be peace for you yourselves.” (Jer 29:4-7) Some of them developed skills in various trades that proved useful after the exile ended. (Ne 3:8, 31, 32) Engaging in commercial enterprises and general merchandising became their specialties. Many Jewish names were found among business records. As a result of such commercial intercourse and social contact with non-Jews, the Hebrew language began to reflect Aramaic influence.

The period of captivity, amounting to 80 years for some, naturally affected community worship of the true God Jehovah. With no temple, no altar, and no organized priesthood, the offering of daily sacrifices was not possible. However, the practice of circumcision, abstention from unclean foods, Sabbath observance, and constancy in prayer were things the faithful could do in spite of the scorn and ridicule of others. Captive Daniel’s “serving with constancy” his God was well known by King Darius and others. Even when an interdict was legalized that prohibited under the penalty of death the making of a petition to anyone except the king, “three times in a day [Daniel] was kneeling on his knees and praying and offering praise before his God, as he had been regularly doing prior to this.” (Da 6:4-23) Such faithfulness in their limited worship helped to prevent these exiles from losing their national identity. They could also profit from the contrast they observed between the pure simplicity of Jehovah’s worship and the ostentatious idolatrous materialism of Babylon. No doubt they also benefited from the presence of Jehovah’s prophets, Ezekiel and Daniel.​—Eze 8:1; Da 1:6; 10:1, 2.

As the local synagogue arrangement developed among the Jews, the need for copies of the Scriptures in the communities of Jewish exiles all over Media, Persia, and Babylonia intensified. Ezra was known as “a skilled copyist in the law of Moses,” indicating that copies of Jehovah’s Law had been brought from Judah, reproductions of which were made. (Ezr 7:6) Without doubt these precious scrolls of past generations included the book of Psalms, with the probability that Psalm 137, and perhaps also Psalm 126, were composed during or shortly after the captivity. The six so-called Hallel Psalms (113 to 118) were sung at the great Passover feasts following the return of the remnant from Babylon.

Restoration and the Dispersion. Hope of release from the captivity was not to be found in Babylon’s policy of no return. Egypt, to whom Israel had once looked for assistance, was in no position militarily or otherwise to help, and the other nations were likewise helpless, if not outright hostile toward the Jews. Only in Jehovah’s prophetic promises was there any basis for hope. Moses and Solomon, centuries before, had spoken of restoration that would follow captivity. (De 30:1-5; 1Ki 8:46-53) Other prophets also gave reassurance of a deliverance from exile. (Jer 30:10; 46:27; Eze 39:25-27; Am 9:13-15; Zep 2:7; 3:20) Isaiah, in the last 18 chapters (49-66) of his prophecy, developed this restoration theme to a sweeping climax. The false prophets, however, proved wrong in predicting an early release, and any who trusted in them were sadly disappointed.​—Jer 28:1-17.

Faithful Jeremiah proved to be the one giving the correct length of the desolation of Jerusalem and Judah as 70 years, after which time restoration would come. (Jer 25:11, 12; 29:10-14; 30:3, 18) Concerning this, Daniel, in the first year of Darius the Mede, “discerned by the books the number of the years concerning which the word of Jehovah had occurred to Jeremiah the prophet, for fulfilling the devastations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.”​—Da 9:1, 2.

How many exiles returned to Jerusalem from Babylon in 537 B.C.E.?

Early in 537 B.C.E., Persian King Cyrus II issued a decree permitting the captives to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. (2Ch 36:20, 21; Ezr 1:1-4) Preparations were soon under way. With the direction of Governor Zerubbabel and High Priest Jeshua, the returning exiles, numbering 42,360 in addition to 7,537 slaves and singers, made the trip of about four months. Ezra and Nehemiah give different figures for the number of individual Israelite households that returned, but they agree on the total number. (See NEHEMIAH, BOOK OF.) By the seventh month, in the fall, they were settled in their cities. (Ezr 1:5–3:1) Providentially, the royal line of David leading to Christ had been preserved through Jehoiachin (Jeconiah) and Zerubbabel. Also, the lineage of the Levitical high priest continued unbroken through Jehozadak and, in turn, his son Jeshua.​—Mt 1:11-16; 1Ch 6:15; Ezr 3:2, 8.

Later, more captives returned to Palestine. In 468 B.C.E., Ezra was accompanied by more than 1,750, which figure apparently includes only adult males. (Ezr 7:1–8:32) A few years later Nehemiah made at least two trips from Babylon to Jerusalem, but how many Jews returned with him is not disclosed.​—Ne 2:5, 6, 11; 13:6, 7.

The captivity put an end to the separation of Judah and Israel. The conquerors made no distinction according to tribal origins when deporting the exiles. “The sons of Israel and the sons of Judah are being oppressed together,” Jehovah observed. (Jer 50:33) When the first contingent returned in 537 B.C.E., representatives of all the tribes of Israel were among them. Later, at the completion of the temple rebuilding, a sacrifice of 12 male goats was made, “according to the number of the tribes of Israel.” (Ezr 6:16, 17) Such reunification after the captivity was indicated in prophecy. For example, Jehovah promised to “bring Israel back.” (Jer 50:19) Furthermore, Jehovah said: “I will bring back the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel, and I will build them just as at the start.” (Jer 33:7) Ezekiel’s illustration of the two sticks that were made one (37:15-28) indicated that the two kingdoms would again become one nation. Isaiah foretold that Jesus Christ would become a stumbling stone “to both the houses of Israel,” hardly meaning that Jesus, or the 12 whom he sent out during his third tour of Galilee, would have to visit settlements in far-off Media in order to preach to descendants of Israelites from the northern kingdom. (Isa 8:14; Mt 10:5, 6; 1Pe 2:8) The prophetess Anna, in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus’ birth, was of the tribe of Asher, which tribe was once numbered with the northern kingdom.​—Lu 2:36.

Not all the Jews returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel, only “a mere remnant.” (Isa 10:21, 22) Among those returning, there were very few who had seen the original temple. Old age prevented many from risking the hardships of the trip. Others who from a physical point of view could have made the trip chose to remain behind. Many, no doubt, had gained a little material success over the years and were satisfied to remain where they were. If the rebuilding of Jehovah’s temple did not occupy the first place in their lives, they would not be inclined to make the hazardous trip, with an uncertain future awaiting them. And, of course, those who had proved apostate had no incentive to go back.

This means that as a people, part of the Jews remained scattered and came to be known as the Di·a·spo·raʹ, or “Dispersion.” In the fifth century B.C.E. communities of Jews were found throughout the 127 jurisdictional districts of the Persian Empire. (Es 1:1; 3:8) Even certain descendants of the exiles still found positions high in government office: for example, Mordecai and Esther under the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes I), and Nehemiah as royal cupbearer to Artaxerxes Longimanus. (Es 9:29-31; 10:2, 3; Ne 1:11) Ezra, when compiling Chronicles, wrote that many of those dispersed in various eastern cities “continue until this day” (c. 460 B.C.E.). (1Ch 5:26) With the rise of the Grecian Empire, Jews were brought by Alexander the Great to his new Egyptian city of Alexandria, where they learned to speak Greek. It was there that the translating of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek to produce the Septuagint was begun in the third century B.C.E. The Syro-Egyptian wars brought about the transferal of many Jews into Asia Minor and into Egypt respectively. Pompey, upon conquering Jerusalem in 63 B.C.E., took Jews to Rome as slaves.

The great dispersion of Jews throughout the Roman Empire was a factor contributing to the rapid spread of Christianity. Jesus Christ limited his own preaching to the soil of Israel, but he commanded his followers to reach out and spread their ministry “to the most distant part of the earth.” (Ac 1:8) Jews from different parts of the Roman Empire were in Jerusalem attending the Pentecost festival in 33 C.E., and they heard the spirit-begotten Christians preaching about Jesus in the languages of Parthia, Media, Elam, Mesopotamia, Cappadocia, Pontus, the district of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, Libya, Crete, Arabia, and Rome. Thousands, upon returning to their lands, took with them their newly found faith. (Ac 2:1-11) In most of the cities Paul visited he found synagogues where he could readily speak to Jews of the Dispersion. In Lystra, Paul met Timothy, whose mother was a Jewess. Aquila and Priscilla were newly arrived from Rome when Paul got to Corinth, about 50 C.E. (Ac 13:14; 14:1; 16:1; 17:1, 2; 18:1, 2, 7; 19:8) The great numbers of Jews in and around Babylon made it worth the effort for Peter to go there to carry on his ministry among “those who are circumcised.” (Ga 2:8; 1Pe 5:13) This community of Jews in the area around Babylon continued as the most important center of Judaism for quite some time after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.

(Carʹche·mish).

An important trade center situated on the W bank of the upper Euphrates at one of the main fords of that river. A principal trade route ran from Nineveh up to Haran (only about 88 km [55 mi] E of Carchemish), then crossed the Euphrates at Carchemish, and continued on to the Orontes Valley in Lebanon, from which point other routes led to the Mediterranean or S to Palestine and Egypt. Caravans passing through provided revenue in the form of taxes, and the city evidently became quite wealthy.

Because of its strategic position, both commercially and militarily, control of Carchemish was sought by aggressor kingdoms from early times. Pharaoh Thutmose III (of the middle of the second millennium B.C.E.) obtained plunder from it, and Ramses III also records an assault on the city. Ashurnasirpal II (of the ninth century B.C.E.) describes his crossing of the Euphrates on rafts buoyed up with inflated goatskins and claims to have received tribute from the king of Carchemish that included 20 talents of silver, 100 talents of copper, 250 talents of iron, plus gold objects, furniture inlaid with ivory, garments of linen and wool, and other booty.

Carchemish figures in the Biblical account at Isaiah 10:9-11, where Jehovah foretold the Assyrian attack against Israel and Judah. The boastful Assyrian ruler is described as listing Carchemish among the kingdoms that could not withstand his might. This doubtless refers to the Assyrian conquest of the independent kingdom of Carchemish by Sargon II, a contemporary of King Hezekiah. Thereafter Carchemish was ruled by an Assyrian governor.

Then, after the fall of Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, Pharaoh Necho led his army northward to the aid of the Assyrians. King Josiah of Judah unwisely tried to turn the Egyptian forces back at Megiddo and was killed in the attempt (c. 629 B.C.E.). (2Ch 35:20-24) In 625 B.C.E. a decisive battle was fought at Carchemish between the Egyptian and Babylonian armies. Nebuchadnezzar led the Babylonians to a smashing victory over Pharaoh Necho’s forces and swept over Syria and Canaan. This battle marked the end of Egyptian imperial strength in these regions. The Bible account at Jeremiah 46:2 is paralleled by that of the Babylonian Chronicles (B.M. 21946), both describing the defeat of the Egyptian army.

Excavations have been made at the imposing mound of Carchemish, which is SE of the small Turkish town of Karkamış (formerly Cerablus or Barak). The Syrian town of Jerablus, just across the border, adjoins the 93-ha (230 acre) site. A large number of documents in the language presently called “hieroglyphic Hittite” were found, and it is believed that Carchemish was dominated for about two centuries during the latter part of the second millennium B.C.E. by the empire whose capital was Hattushash. (See, however, HITTITES.) Also found were reliefs bearing, among other things, the image of a sphinx, as well as the crux ansata symbol, or ankh, indicating strong Egyptian influence.

(Caʹri·an).

A body of troops that aided Jehoiada in the overthrow of Athaliah and the installation of Jehoash as king of Judah.​—2Ki 11:4, 13-16, 19.

Many scholars consider the Carian bodyguard to be another name for the Cherethites, mentioned as serving in the military forces of David and Solomon. In the view of some scholars, the Cherethites also functioned as a special bodyguard for these kings. (2Sa 8:18; 1Ki 1:38; 1Ch 18:17) This connection of the Carian bodyguard with the Cherethites is additionally based on the fact that the Masoretic text says “Carian bodyguard” at 2 Samuel 20:23, while the reading in its margin, as well as in many Hebrew manuscripts, is “Cherethites.”

There is an ancient district of Caria in the SW part of Asia Minor. Because Ezekiel 25:16 and Zephaniah 2:5 associate the Cherethites with the Philistines, and because the Greek Septuagint rendering of these texts has “Cretans” instead of Cherethites, some believe that perhaps those in the Carian bodyguard had originally come from the district of Caria by way of Crete.

(Carʹkas).

One of King Ahasuerus’ seven court officials by whom he sent the unheeded demand for Vashti’s presence.​—Es 1:10-12; see COURT OFFICIAL.

(Carʹmel) [Orchard].

The name of both a mountain range and a city. The Hebrew word kar·melʹ is used to refer to an “orchard.”​—Isa 16:10; 32:15; Jer 2:7.

1. The Carmel Range is a wedge-shaped spur of the central mountain range of Israel, running out therefrom in a NW direction with its NW headland coming to about 180 m (600 ft) from the Mediterranean Sea. The entire range measures some 50 km (30 mi) in length, stretching from the Mediterranean down to the Plain of Dothan, beyond which lie the hills of Samaria. The range has three distinct sections, the ridges of the NW and SE being separated by a lower rocky basin or plateau in the center. The NW section, which is located NW of ʽIsfiya, has the highest point, some 545 m (1,790 ft) above sea level. It is not certain whether the name Carmel in Bible times applied to the entire range or only to the NW ridge, which is about 21 km (13 mi) long. In modern times the name Mount Carmel (Jebel el-Karmal; Har Karmel) is assigned to this latter part. Jokneam, a royal Canaanite city, lay at the SE end of this upper section, and it is spoken of as being “in Carmel.” Megiddo and Taanach, on the E slopes of the SE section, are not so designated.​—Jos 12:22.

The land into which Israel moved when they crossed the Jordan may be divided geographically into three basic sections, each running the length of the land from N to S: the Jordan Valley, the hill country, and the coastal plain. The Carmel Range, however, makes a definite break in this general pattern. Interrupting the continuity of the N-S mountain ranges, it produces the well-known Valley of Jezreel, or Esdraelon, which flanks the SE side of the Carmel Range. Similarly, the headland or promontory of Carmel, jutting into the Mediterranean coastal plain, divides it into the Plain of Asher (N of Carmel) and the plains of Sharon and of Philistia (S of Carmel). Immediately N of the Carmel headland, the coastline cuts back sharply to form the Bay of Acco, where modern Haifa now constitutes a major seaport. Carmel formed one of the boundary markers in the territory of the tribe of Asher.​—Jos 19:24-26.

Carmel formed a natural roadblock to caravans and armies traveling between Mesopotamia and Egypt. The eastern slopes (facing the Plain of Asher and the Valley of Jezreel) rise very steeply, and from ancient times the Carmel Range has been covered by a thick growth of trees and shrubs, which make passage difficult. There is a narrow strip of land between the foot of the Carmel headland and the sea, but to take this route meant a considerable detour and also placed advancing armies in a vulnerable position. There were mountain passes leading from the Valley of Jezreel across the range by the fortress cities of Jokneam and Taanach, but the pass at Megiddo, between these two, was much easier to traverse and so was more vital. Another principal route, however, ran S from the crossroads town of Megiddo, skirted the remainder of the Carmel Range, and then swung W over to the coast via the Plain of Dothan.

Carmel is often associated with fertile regions such as Lebanon, Sharon, and Bashan. (Isa 35:2; Jer 50:19) King Uzziah, “a lover of agriculture,” had farmers and vinedressers in Carmel (2Ch 26:10), and the remains of numerous rock-hewn winepresses and olive presses are found there. The prophets symbolized the disastrous effects of Jehovah’s adverse judgment against Israel by the withering up of Carmel’s abundant vegetation. (Isa 33:9; Am 1:2; Na 1:4) Its slopes, swept by the sea winds, still contain fruit orchards, olive groves, and vines, and in the spring are carpeted with a magnificent display of flowers. In The Song of Solomon (7:5), the Shulammite maiden’s head is likened to Carmel, the simile referring either to the luxuriance of her hair or to the way in which her shapely head rose majestically upon her neck. The majestic appearance of Carmel, particularly the headland that sweeps dramatically upward from the coast, even as Mount Tabor rises impressively in the Valley of Jezreel, was also used to represent the imposing figure of Nebuchadnezzar advancing to the conquest of Egypt.​—Jer 46:18.

Carmel was evidently one of the principal places to which people of Samaria fled when seeking refuge. Though by no means the highest of the ranges, its sparse population, its dense forest cover, and also the numerous caves in the soft limestone of its rocky slopes served to hide the refugees. Yet, the prophet Amos showed that such refuge would prove futile to those fleeing from Jehovah’s righteous judgment.​—Am 9:3.

Historically, Mount Carmel figures primarily in the activities of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. (PICTURE, Vol. 1, p. 950) It was here that Elijah had King Ahab assemble the people to witness the test between Baal, represented by the 450 prophets of Baal, and the true God Jehovah, represented by Elijah. (1Ki 18:19-39) After the test, Elijah had the false prophets brought down to the torrent valley of Kishon, which courses along the eastern foot of Carmel before ending in the Bay of Acco, and there slaughtered them. (1Ki 18:40) From the summit of Carmel, Elijah prayed for the end of the three-and-a-half-year drought, and from there his attendant saw the small cloud that was the precursor of the mighty rainstorm that was to follow. (1Ki 18:42-45; Jas 5:17) From here Elijah ran at least 30 km (19 mi) to Jezreel, by Jehovah’s help outpacing Ahab’s chariot all the way.​—1Ki 18:46.

Elijah’s successor, Elisha, after their separation at the Jordan River, traveled from Jericho via Bethel to Carmel. (2Ki 2:15, 23, 25) Elisha was again at Mount Carmel when the woman of Shunem (a short distance N of Jezreel) came seeking his help for her dead child.​—2Ki 4:8, 20, 25.

2. A city in the mountainous region of Judah (Jos 15:1, 48, 55), identified by most geographers with Khirbet el-Kirmil (Horvat Karmel) some 11 km (7 mi) SSE of Hebron.

King Saul erected “a monument [Heb., yadh]” at Carmel apparently commemorating his victory over the Amalekites. (1Sa 15:12) Although the Hebrew word yadh appearing in this text is usually translated “hand,” it can also refer to a “monument” or standing memorial, as is shown by the use of the accompanying verb phrase “was erecting” in connection with Saul’s act and by the fact that years later “Absalom’s Monument,” or yadh, is specifically called a pillar.​—2Sa 18:18.

At the time David was a fugitive from murderous Saul, “Nabal the Carmelite” (though apparently a resident of nearby Maon) grazed his large flocks in Carmel’s rolling mountainous pastoral regions. (1Sa 25:2; 30:5; 2Sa 2:2; 3:3) When Nabal refused to repay David’s protective forces with deserved provisions, the initiative and tact of Nabal’s wife, “Abigail the Carmelitess,” served to restrain David from bloodguilt. (1Sa 25:2-35) Abigail later became David’s wife.​—1Sa 25:36-42; 27:3; 1Ch 3:1.

“Hezro the Carmelite” was among the mighty men of David’s military forces.​—2Sa 23:8, 35; 1Ch 11:26, 37.

See CARMEL No. 2.

(Carʹmi) [possibly, Vinedresser].

1. A son of Reuben and the brother of Hanoch, Pallu, and Hezron; forefather of the Carmites. Carmi, with the rest of Jacob’s household, came to Egypt.​—Ge 46:9; Ex 6:14; Nu 26:6; 1Ch 5:3.

2. Father of Achan; a descendant of Judah and Tamar through Zerah and Zabdi. (Jos 7:1, 18) The designation “sons of Judah” at 1 Chronicles 4:1, where Carmi is listed, evidently is to be understood as including later descendants.​—Compare 1Ch 2:4-7.

(Carʹmites) [Of (Belonging to) Carmi].

A family descended from Carmi, a son of Reuben.​—Nu 26:5, 6.

[Gr., ke·raʹti·on].

In the illustration of the prodigal son, Jesus describes the starving lad as desiring to eat the carob pods that were fed to the pigs. (Lu 15:16) These pods grow on the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua), an attractive evergreen that grows throughout Palestine as well as in the rest of the Mediterranean area. The tree reaches a height of up to 9 m (30 ft), with small glistening leaves resembling those of the ash. The fruit or pods have a shiny leathery shell of a purplish-brown color and, in harmony with their name in Greek (ke·raʹti·on, “small horn”), have a curved horn shape. They measure from 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 in.) in length and about 2.5 cm (1 in.) in width. Inside are several pealike seeds separated from one another by a sweet, sticky, edible pulp. Carob pods are widely used till this day as a food for horses, cattle, and pigs. Grafting of the trees is employed to produce a quality of carob that people also eat.

An artisan, craftsman, or worker in wood. The Hebrew term cha·rashʹ is the general designation for a “craftsman,” “worker,” or “builder,” who would use various materials such as wood, metal, or stone. (2Ki 12:11; 2Ch 24:12; Ex 28:11; 1Ch 14:1) The Greek equivalent is teʹkton, translated “carpenter” in Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3.

Noah and his three sons had much carpentry work to do in building the huge ark, according to the pattern given by Jehovah.​—Ge 6:14-16.

The carpenter in Israel would be employed in constructing houses and, in later times, structures such as synagogues. Although buildings were for the most part made of stone or earth, some wood was used, for example, in beams and doors. The things constructed by the carpenter in Bible times included furniture, such as tables, stools, and benches. Many implements such as plows and threshing sledges were partly or entirely made of wood. (2Sa 24:22) In the construction of the tabernacle and its furnishings, Bezalel and Oholiab were especially guided by Jehovah God. His spirit accentuated their ability to do the finest work in wood, as well as other materials. (Ex 31:2-11) Skilled workers in wood were brought from Tyre for the building of David’s house. (2Sa 5:11) Zerubbabel used carpenters in building the second temple in Jerusalem.​—Ezr 3:7.

Jesus was called not only “the carpenter’s son” (Mt 13:55) but “the carpenter” as well. (Mr 6:3) Since the Hebrew father usually taught his son his trade, Jesus no doubt learned carpentry from his adoptive father Joseph.

(Carʹpus) [Fruit].

A Christian residing at Troas, with whom Paul had left his cloak. Likely Carpus was Paul’s host when the apostle visited there.​—2Ti 4:13.

(Car·sheʹna).

The first listed of the seven princes of Media and Persia consulted by Ahasuerus on the matter of Vashti’s disobedience.​—Es 1:14; see MEMUCAN.

The art of sculpturing wood, stone, metal, and clay. Under the broad aspects of this subject, carving and engraving are terms used interchangeably to translate a number of Hebrew words. However, the most frequently used Hebrew word, peʹsel, occurs with reference to carved or engraved images.

The prohibition to Israel against making carved images for the purpose of worshiping them was first stated in the Decalogue (Ex 20:4) and was later repeated. “Cursed is the man who makes a carved image.” (De 27:15; 4:16, 23; 5:8) The prophets over and over again pointed out the foolishness of making and worshiping carved idols and they condemned the practice. (Ps 97:7; Isa 42:17; 44:9-20; 45:20; Jer 10:14, 15; Na 1:14; Hab 2:18) For God’s covenant people to give reverential regard to carved images in their worship was to divide the exclusive devotion that was due Jehovah. So, whenever Israel fell away from God and worshiped the carvings of their own hands, they understandably lost divine favor.​—Jg 18:18, 30, 31; 2Ki 21:7-9; 2Ch 33:7, 22; Eze 8:10.

On the other hand, the carving work done for the tabernacle and the great temple of Solomon was not to be worshiped but was intended for decorative purposes and to convey symbolic meaning. Jehovah himself commanded that these carvings be made, and God placed his spirit on Bezalel and Oholiab, the skilled craftsmen chosen to oversee the tabernacle construction. (Ex 35:30, 31, 34) Objects such as the lampstand, the cherubs on the Ark’s cover, the engraving on the jewels of the breastpiece, and the gold plate on the turban of the high priest are some examples of carved objects of gold and precious stones in the tabernacle arrangement. (Ex 25:18, 19, 31-40; 28:2, 21, 36) In Solomon’s temple there were cedarwood carvings of cherubs, palm-tree figures, blossoms, and gourd-shaped ornaments, all overlaid with gold. (1Ki 6:18-35; 2Ch 2:7) Similarly, there was a great array of carvings in the pictorial temple envisioned by Ezekiel.​—Eze 41:17-20.

Because of the divine condemnation of carved idols and images for worship, it is no surprise that those found in Palestine by archaeologists show pagan origin or influence. Not only did the Israelites abstain from carving monuments of their great leaders but they also refrained from cutting reliefs depicting their military victories. However, reliefs, statues, and other carved replicas from Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, and Persia shed light on the worship, warfare, and daily life of those ancient people. Some of the more common things that have been found reveal that stone, clay, wood, glass, ivory, precious gems, bone, plaster, shell, metals, and alabaster were used by the carver in making thrones, lions, columns, jewelry, signets and seals, sarcophagi, stone tablets, furniture, wall decorations, and utensils.

(Ca·si·phiʹa) [possibly, Place of Silversmiths].

A “place” evidently situated in Babylonia and apparently near the gathering point of the exiles returning with Ezra to Jerusalem in 468 B.C.E. (Ezr 8:17-20) Other than stating that it was the area from which Ezra recruited Levites and Nethinim while encamped at the river Ahava, the Bible does not precisely identify Casiphia as either a city or a district.

(Cas·luʹhim).

A son or people descended from Mizraim, the son of Ham. The Biblical record shows that it was the Casluhim “from among whom the Philistines went forth.” (Ge 10:6, 13, 14; 1Ch 1:8, 11, 12) Since other texts speak of the Philistines as coming from Caphtor or Crete (Jer 47:4; Am 9:7), some scholars suggest that the above phrase should be transposed to come after the last-named descendant of Mizraim, Caphtorim. However, there is no need to assume a contradiction in these texts. The record at Genesis (paralleled by that in Chronicles) is genealogical. The other references to the Philistines as proceeding from Caphtor are likely geographic, indicating a migration from the territory of the Caphtorim.

The Casluhim do not appear elsewhere in the Bible and have left no definite mark in secular history. Aside from their descending from Mizraim, whose name was equivalent to Egypt in Bible times, there is no information to show where they settled.

[Heb., qid·dahʹ; qetsi·ʽahʹ].

Although two Hebrew words are used to refer to this plant in the Bible, the Syriac and Targum versions indicate that they apply to the same tree or a product of it. The cassia bark tree (Cinnamomum cassia) now grows in eastern Asia and is of the same family as the cinnamon tree. It may reach a height of 12 m (40 ft) and has glossy, stiff leaves. The inner bark of the branches (called cassia lignea), when cut, dries and peels off, rolling itself into tubes, which are then sent to market. The cassia bark is coarser and more pungent than cinnamon bark. The buds are used as cloves in preparing food dishes, and the mature flowers, when dried, serve as an aromatic incense.

When the holy anointing oil was prepared at the time of making the tabernacle, cassia was included among the ingredients as one of “the choicest perfumes.” (Ex 30:23-25) Cassia was prominent among the products in which the merchants and traders of the city of Tyre dealt. (Eze 27:19) At Psalm 45:8 the word qetsi·ʽahʹ is used to describe the garments of the king as giving off delightful fragrance at the time of his marriage. The only other occurrence of this word is as the name of Job’s second daughter, Keziah, born after his recovery from illness.​—Job 42:14.

The Hebrew word bi·rahʹ, rendered “castle” or ‘fortified place,’ occurs only in the books of Daniel, Esther, Chronicles, and Nehemiah, which were completed between about 536 and sometime after 443 B.C.E., following the Babylonian exile.​—1Ch 29:1, ftn; 2Ch 17:12; Es 1:2, ftn.

Writing in the language of his day, Ezra records David’s calling Solomon’s temple a “castle” when he encouraged the people fully to support its construction.​—1Ch 29:1, 19.

Nehemiah built a castle or fortress just to the NW of the rebuilt temple, the direction from which the grounds were most vulnerable. (Ne 2:8; 7:2) Evidently this castle was replaced by the Maccabees and rebuilt by Herod the Great, who named it the Tower (Fortress) of Antonia. It was here that Paul was interrogated by the Roman military commander.​—Ac 21:31, 32, 37; 22:24; see ANTONIA, TOWER OF.

“Shushan the castle,” some 360 km (225 mi) E of Babylon, was a part-time residence of the Persian king. Here Nehemiah worked as a royal cupbearer before leaving for Jerusalem. (Ne 1:1) Here also was the setting of one of Daniel’s visions. (Da 8:2) But “Shushan the castle” is best known as the background for the book of Esther. (Es 1:2, 5; 3:15; 8:14) “Shushan the castle,” it seems, was not one particular building but was a complex of royal edifices within a fortified area. This is supported by certain details given in the account. “The house of the women,” where the virgins were prepared for presentation to Ahasuerus, was located there. (Es 2:3, 8) Before his elevation in the government, Mordecai was daily stationed “in the king’s gate” located “in Shushan the castle.”​—Es 2:5, 21; 3:2-4; see SHUSHAN.

[Heb., ga·zamʹ].

The larval stage of butterflies or moths. The Hebrew word ga·zamʹ is thought to be derived from a root meaning “cut.” In numbers, caterpillars, like locusts, literally cut or shear away the leaves of vegetation piece by piece, leaf by leaf, until the plant is almost denuded of its greenery. (Joe 1:4; 2:25; Am 4:9) While the traditional view is that the Hebrew term ga·zamʹ signifies “locust,” the translators of the Septuagint used the Greek word kamʹpe, meaning caterpillar. Also, Koehler and Baumgartner favor translating ga·zamʹ as caterpillar. (Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros, Leiden, 1958, p. 178) It is thus rendered, at Joel 1:4; 2:25, in the translation by Isaac Leeser and in the New World Translation; “palmerworm” in the King James Version; “shearer” in An American Translation.

Caterpillars are almost exclusively vegetarian. Their appetites are voracious, some caterpillars consuming twice their own weight of greenery in a day. Hence, in large numbers they cause no little damage to vegetation.

(Cauʹda).

An island off the SW coast of Crete passed by the apostle Paul and Luke on the voyage to Rome in about 58 C.E. Having lifted anchor at Fair Havens, their ship hugged the S coast of Crete until, likely after rounding Cape Matala, they were caught and driven by a tempestuous wind that could have forced the boat into the quicksands off the shores of North Africa. However, they came into the shelter of “a certain small island called Cauda” and the island’s position evidently broke the force of the wind, providing them smoother waters, likely along its SW shore. This gave the crew sufficient time to hoist in the skiff, undergird the boat, and lower its gear.​—Ac 27:13-17.

The Cauda of Luke’s narrative is today called Gavdos, an island 11 km (7 mi) long by 5 km (3 mi) broad, lying about 65 km (40 mi) WSW of Fair Havens.

An underground hollow or cavern with an opening to the surface. The word “cave” is translated from the Hebrew meʽa·rahʹ (Ge 19:30) and the Greek speʹlai·on. (Joh 11:38) The Hebrew chor or chohr denotes a “hole,” sometimes big enough for humans to penetrate. (1Sa 14:11; Job 30:6; 2Ki 12:9) Another Hebrew word for “hole” is mechil·lahʹ.​—Isa 2:19.

Caves abound in the limestone of Palestine; Mount Carmel and the vicinity of Jerusalem, for example, were undermined with many caves. Accordingly, they are frequently mentioned in Scripture, sometimes in a figurative sense. Some of them were large enough to hold hundreds of persons and were used for permanent dwellings, as at Petra, or they were used as temporary shelters, burial sites, cisterns, stables, or storehouses. Many artifacts have been recovered from these natural shelters.

Caves provided refuge in times of danger. The first mention of such a place concerns Lot and his two daughters living in a cave after leaving Zoar because of fear. (Ge 19:30) At Makkedah five confederate Amorite kings hid from Joshua in a cave that afterward became their common tomb. (Jos 10:16-27) When fleeing from the Philistines in the days of King Saul, some Israelites hid in caves. (1Sa 13:6; 14:11) To escape the wrath of Saul, David took refuge in a cave near Adullam and was there joined by “about four hundred men.” (1Sa 22:1, 2) Again pursued by Saul, David concealed himself in a cave in the wilderness of En-gedi, and it was here that David cut off the skirt of Saul’s coat when he “came in to ease nature.” (1Sa 24:1-15) It may have been David’s experiences on these two occasions that prompted him to compose Psalms 57 and 142, as their superscriptions show. After David was made king, the cave of Adullam apparently served as military headquarters during a campaign against the Philistines. (2Sa 23:13; 1Ch 11:15) When wicked Jezebel attempted to kill off all of Jehovah’s prophets, Obadiah fed 100 of them who were hiding in caves. (1Ki 18:4, 13) Elijah also fled from the anger of Jezebel to a cave at Horeb, and it was there that he received divine instructions to return and anoint Hazael as well as Jehu. (1Ki 19:1-17) So from these examples Paul had ample support for writing that men of faith “wandered about in . . . caves and dens of the earth.” (Heb 11:38) Many years later the catacombs of Rome served as underground refuges and meeting places for persecuted Christians.

The dead were often buried in caves. The very rocky soil in much of Palestine made digging graves difficult. The Bible’s second mention of a cave is concerning the one of Machpelah at Hebron that Abraham bought and used as a burial site, and where Sarah, Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah were all buried. (Ge 23:7-20; 25:9, 10; 49:29-32; 50:13) The memorial tomb of Jesus’ friend Lazarus “was, in fact, a cave.”​—Joh 11:38.

Caves often served as excellent storehouses, especially in times of danger. Thus, to protect their crops from Midianite raiders during the days of Gideon, “the sons of Israel made for themselves the underground store places that were in the mountains, and the caves and the places difficult to approach.” (Jg 6:2) Similarly, the Dead Sea Scrolls were evidently hidden for safekeeping in caves near the Wadi Qumran, NW of the Dead Sea, where they remained undisturbed for many centuries until their discovery began in 1947.

Figurative Use. Jesus accused the money changers of making the temple “a cave of robbers.” (Mt 21:13; Jer 7:11) The prophecies recorded by Isaiah and in Revelation tell that some will try to escape God’s judgment, “the dreadfulness of Jehovah,” by hiding themselves in “the caves,” but according to Ezekiel “the caves” they make their strongholds will furnish no protection from God.​—Isa 2:19-21; Re 6:15-17; Eze 33:27.

[Heb., ʼeʹrez].

The cedar trees, and particularly those of Lebanon, were renowned in Bible times and are especially prominent in the account of the temple construction by Solomon.

The cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) is a majestic tree of massive proportions, with deep, strong roots. Large forests of these cedars once blanketed the mountains of Lebanon, but today only a few small groves remain because of indiscriminate use and the failure to replenish the trees by proper conservation and reseeding. The ravages of war doubtless contributed to this depletion as well. (Isa 14:5-8) However, the remaining trees still present an impressive sight.​—Compare Ca 5:15.

The cedars sometimes reach a height of 37 m (120 ft) and the trunk may have a circumference of up to 12 m (40 ft). The long, spreading branches, stretching out horizontally from the trunk, may give a total circumference of as much as 60 to 90 m (200 to 300 ft). The trees are somewhat pyramid-shaped when young but tend to flatten out on top as they mature. The foliage grows in distinct horizontal tiers or layers (instead of interlacing), the boughs bearing round flowerlike sprays of bright-green needles about 1.3 cm (0.5 in.) in length, and tan-colored cones that exude a fragrant resin. The bark is reddish brown in color and quite rough. The trunk becomes gnarled with age.

The wood of the cedar has a warm red tone, is free from knots, and was valued highly for building purposes because of its beauty, fragrance, durability, and resistance to attack by insects. (Ca 1:17; 4:11) The Phoenician shipbuilders used it for their masts. (Eze 27:5) King Hiram of Tyre supplied men and materials for building “a house of cedars” for David in Jerusalem. (2Sa 5:11; 7:2; 2Ch 2:3) Solomon later used cedarwood in the temple, for the beams (1Ki 6:9), for overlaying the altar of incense (1Ki 6:20), and for paneling the interior of the temple in its entirety so that “there was no stone to be seen.” (1Ki 6:15-18) “The House of the Forest of Lebanon,” constructed later, was probably so named because of its 45 pillars of cedarwood. (1Ki 7:2, 3) Cedar was also used in the Porch of the Throne and in the temple courtyard.​—1Ki 7:7-12.

Such extensive use of cedarwood required the labor of thousands of workers in cutting the trees, transporting them to Tyre or Sidon on the Mediterranean seacoast, forming them into rafts, and floating them down the coast, probably to Joppa. They were then hauled overland to Jerusalem. This was worked out by a contract between Solomon and Hiram. (1Ki 5:6-18; 2Ch 2:3-10) Thereafter the flow of lumber continued so that it could be said that Solomon made ‘cedarwood like the sycamore tree for quantity’ during his reign.​—1Ki 10:27; compare Isa 9:9, 10.

Following the exile, cedar timbers from Lebanon were again obtained for reconstruction work on the temple.​—Ezr 3:7.

Figurative Use. In the Scriptures the majestic cedar is used figuratively to represent stateliness, loftiness, and strength, either real or apparent. (Eze 31:2-14; Am 2:9; Zec 11:1, 2) Thus, King Jehoash of Israel intended his reply to King Amaziah of Judah to be a withering insult when he compared Amaziah’s kingdom to a “thorny weed” while likening his own kingdom to a mighty cedar of Lebanon. (2Ki 14:9; compare Jg 9:15, 20.) The cedar figures dramatically in Ezekiel’s riddle (chap 17), wherein the king and princes of Judah are likened to the treetop of a cedar of Lebanon carried off to Babylon. (Eze 17:1-4, 12, 13) Thereafter the Messiah is prophetically pictured as a twig from the very top of the cedar, which Jehovah then plants on a lofty mountain.​—Eze 17:22-24; compare Isa 11:1; Jer 23:5; 33:15; Ps 2:6; Re 14:1; Da 4:17.

The cedarwood used in the wilderness by the Israelites was evidently from a type of cedar other than that of Lebanon. The brown-berried cedar (Juniperus oxycedrus) and the Phoenician juniper (Juniperus phoenicia) have been suggested, both being well known in the Sinai desert region. Certain purification rites required the use of cedarwood, and it may be that, because of its well-known resistance to decay, it was there used to symbolize freedom from corruption or disease.​—Le 14:2-7, 49-53; Nu 19:6.

That the cedar served figuratively in an adverse as well as a favorable sense is evident. It became a status symbol among the unfaithful materialistic kings of Judah and symbolized their self-exaltation and false security. (Jer 22:13-15, 23; Isa 2:11-13) Yet, the growth and development of the righteous man is likened to that of the firmly rooted cedar. (Ps 92:12; compare Isa 61:3 with Ps 104:16.) So, while on the one hand Jehovah manifests his power by breaking the mighty cedars of Lebanon and making them ‘skip about the mountains like calves’ (Ps 29:4-6), on the other hand he foretells the time when he will make the cedar grow even in the wilderness regions (Isa 41:19, 20) and singles it out among the trees as one of the many creations that will praise his lofty name.​—Ps 148:9, 13.

(Cenʹchre·ae).

The account at Acts 18:18 relates that in Cenchreae Paul had his hair clipped because he had made a vow, and afterward he apparently sailed from Cenchreae to Ephesus accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila (in c. 52 C.E.). Writing to Rome about four years later, the apostle referred to “the congregation that is in Cenchreae.” Paul’s letter to the Romans may have been carried to its destination by Phoebe of the city of Cenchreae.​—Ro 16:1, 2.

Cenchreae lay on the Saronic Gulf side of a narrow isthmus about 11 km (7 mi) E of Corinth, and was linked to that city by a chain of military fortifications. Cenchreae was Corinth’s port for points E of Greece, while Lechaeum, on the opposite side of the isthmus, served as Corinth’s port for Italy and the west. Ruins in the area today include buildings and breakwaters near the present village of Kechriais.

See FIRE HOLDER.

See REGISTRATION.

See ARMY OFFICER.

See PETER.

The thin protective covering or husk on the kernels of cereal grains such as barley and wheat. Though the Biblical references to chaff are figurative, they reflect the threshing practices common in ancient times. After harvesting, this inedible membrane covering of the valuable grain was useless, and hence was an appropriate symbol of something light, worthless, and undesirable, something to be separated from the good and to be disposed of.

First, the threshing operation broke the chaff loose from the kernel. Then by winnowing, the light chaffy part was carried away like dust in the wind. (See WINNOWING.) This well illustrates how Jehovah God both removes the apostates from among his people and also disposes of wicked persons and opposing nations. (Job 21:18; Ps 1:4; 35:5; Isa 17:13; 29:5; 41:15; Ho 13:3) God’s Kingdom will crush its enemies into such small particles that they will be easily blown away like the chaff.​—Da 2:35.

The worthless chaff was often gathered and burned to prevent it from blowing back and contaminating the piles of grain. Similarly, John the Baptizer foretold the coming burning destruction of the wicked false religionists​—the Thresher, Jesus Christ, will gather in the wheat, “but the chaff he will burn up with fire that cannot be put out.”​—Mt 3:7-12; Lu 3:17; see THRESHING.

See BOND.

(chal·cedʹo·ny).

The modern stone bearing this name is a transparent or translucent cryptocrystalline variety of quartz used for ornaments and gems. It is not quite as hard as pure quartz, and it occurs in masses in the cavities of volcanic rocks. The common kind of chalcedony is partially transparent and figured with milky-white swirls and spots. It appears in many colors, such as white, gray, yellow, blue, and brown.

Chalcedony was a stone commonly used for engraved gems in ancient times. It was named after an old Greek city called Chalcedon (in Asia Minor), which once was a source of the mineral. The only Biblical text referring to this stone states that the third foundation of New Jerusalem’s wall was chalcedony (Gr., khal·ke·donʹ).​—Re 21:2, 19; see JEWELS AND PRECIOUS STONES.

(Chal·deʹa), Chaldean (Chal·deʹan).

Originally the land and people occupying the southern portion of the Babylonian alluvial plain, the rich delta area of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. At one time these rivers may have emptied into the Persian Gulf separately, the cities of Eridu and Ur being seaports. But over the years the river silts may have gradually filled in the bay, pushing the coastline to the SE and allowing the Tigris and Euphrates to join together before emptying into the sea. In early times the region’s most important city was Ur, the hometown of Abraham, from which he and his family departed at God’s command before 1943 B.C.E. (Ge 11:28, 31; 15:7; Ne 9:7; Ac 7:2-4) About 300 years later Satan the Devil caused Chaldean raiders to inflict heavy losses on faithful Job.​—Job 1:17.

As the influence of the Chaldeans spread northward, the whole territory of Babylonia became known as “the land of the Chaldeans.” Isaiah in his prophecies anticipated this Chaldean rise to power and their subsequent fall. (Isa 13:19; 23:13; 47:1, 5; 48:14, 20) Particularly was this domination manifest during the seventh and sixth centuries B.C.E. when Nabopolassar, a native of Chaldea, and his successors, Nebuchadnezzar II, Evil-merodach (Awil-Marduk), Neriglissar, Labashi-Marduk, Nabonidus, and Belshazzar, ruled the Third World Power, Babylon. (2Ki 24:1, 2; 2Ch 36:17; Ezr 5:12; Jer 21:4, 9; 25:12; 32:4; 43:3; 50:1; Eze 1:3; Hab 1:6) That dynasty came to its end when “Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed.” (Da 5:30) Darius the Mede was “made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans.”​—Da 9:1; see BABYLON No. 2.

From early times the Chaldeans were noted for their knowledge of mathematics and astronomy. In the days of Daniel a special cult of prognosticators who considered themselves skilled in the so-called science of divination were called Chaldeans.​—Da 2:2, 5, 10; 4:7; 5:7, 11.

The only occurrence of the Hebrew word seʹredh in the Bible is at Isaiah 44:13, and it has reference to the “red chalk” used by wood craftsmen for marking purposes.

Outcroppings of this very soft, easily powdered, sedimentary rock with a high calcium carbonate content are found in various parts of Palestine. Because it is worthless as a building stone and can be so readily crumbled and pulverized, the prophet Isaiah used chalkstone in an effective simile to show what must be done to the idolatrous altars of Israel if forgiveness was to be attained. (Isa 27:9) The Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew term gir (chalk) occurs in Daniel 5:5 and is translated “plaster.”​—See LIME; PLASTER.

[Heb., tin·sheʹmeth].

The name of this reptile is included among “the swarming creatures” that were “unclean” under the Mosaic Law. (Le 11:29, 30) The name is considered to have been derived from na·shamʹ, a root word meaning “pant.” (Compare Isa 42:14.) Koehler and Baumgartner, by a comparison with Arabic, suggest “snorter” as the meaning. (Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros, Leiden, 1958, p. 1035) While identification is uncertain, the name may apply to the chameleon. The common Chamaeleo chamaeleon is frequently found in Egypt and Palestine.

The chameleon is a slow-moving, tree-dwelling lizard noted for its color-changing ability. Color response is primarily determined by temperature, light intensity, and emotional state.

At Leviticus 11:18 the same Hebrew word is applied to the swan as among “unclean” fowl.

[Heb., zeʹmer].

A small goatlike antelope characterized by its hook-tipped horns and noted for its agility and surefootedness at dizzying heights. The grown male may measure 80 cm (32 in.) at the shoulder and may weigh over 30 kg (66 lb). The summer coat of the chamois is a tawny color that gets darker with the advent of the winter season. The chamois is listed among the animals suitable for food, according to the requirements of the Law.​—De 14:5.

There is uncertainty as to the animal meant by the Hebrew word zeʹmer, which is variously rendered “chamois” (KJ, AS, ER, NW, Yg), “mountain goat” (La), “mountain sheep” (AT, JB, Mo, Ro), “antelope” (Le), and simply transliterated as “zemer” (Kx). The Hebrew root from which the word zeʹmer is derived is thought to be related to the Arabic zamara (bounce; flee), suggesting a bouncing, leaping animal, hence similar to a gazelle. Some zoologists maintain that the chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) was never found in Palestine. However, it may be noted that local varieties of this animal are to be found in the Carpathian and Caucasus mountains, thus allowing for the possibility that at one time a variety of the chamois may have existed in the ranges of Lebanon.

A black, brittle, and porous form of carbon, usually the residue of partially burned wood. In ancient times it was made by covering a pile of wood with earth and burning it slowly for several days with only a sufficient amount of air to burn off the gases. This practice left behind a relatively pure form of carbon. It was a time-consuming process requiring careful supervision, but charcoal was a favored fuel when intense, sustained heat without smoke was desired. There is no evidence that natural mineral coal was used in ancient Israel.

Charcoal, in an open fire or in a brazier, was used to warm oneself in cold weather. (Isa 47:14; Jer 36:22; Joh 18:18) Its even heat with an absence of flame and smoke also highly recommended it for cooking. (Joh 21:9) For smelting and refining metals, charcoal was indispensable; without it, reaching and sustaining the great temperatures required to reduce the ores to pure metals was hardly possible. (Isa 44:12; 54:16; see REFINE, REFINER.) Much the same as is done today in charging an iron blast furnace, the ore was sandwiched in between layers of charcoal. This practice apparently gave rise to the proverb: Kindness toward an enemy is like coals of fire upon his head; it softens his anger and brings out the good in him. (Pr 25:22; Ro 12:20) The glow of slow-burning charcoal was used by the “wise woman” of Tekoa as an illustration of living posterity.​—2Sa 14:1-7.

However, the Hebrew words ga·cheʹleth and pe·chamʹ are not always rendered “charcoal,” for they often simply refer to coals, burning coals, or embers. Wood was used as fuel for the tabernacle altar (Le 1:7, 8; 3:5), and on the Day of Atonement “burning coals of fire from off the altar” made the incense overspread the ark of the covenant like a cloud. (Le 16:12, 13) Isaiah described the idolater that makes a god out of part of the same tree with which he builds a fire, the coals of which bake his bread.​—Isa 44:14, 15, 19.

In a number of Scripture passages “coals” are used in a somewhat figurative or illustrative sense, indicating any kind of glowing, hot, burning substance. (2Sa 22:9; Job 41:21; Ps 18:8, 12, 13; 140:10; Isa 6:6; Eze 1:13; 10:2; 24:11) The hot “burning coals of the broom trees” were used to represent the retribution upon one with a “tricky tongue.”​—Ps 120:2-4.

A two-wheeled, horse-drawn vehicle, developed primarily for the battlefield rather than for troop movement behind the lines. All four Hebrew terms referring to the chariot (mer·kavʹ [1Ki 4:26]; mer·ka·vahʹ [Ge 41:43]; reʹkhev [1Ki 1:5]; rekhuvʹ [Ps 104:3]) come from the root verb ra·khavʹ, meaning “ride.” (Ge 24:61; 1Sa 25:42; 1Ki 18:45) The Greek term is harʹma. (Ac 8:28) The chariot provided fast transport in combat, gave soldiers a mobile firing platform, and furnished them with psychological shock power when charging into ranks of foot soldiers. Chariots with many variations of design are widely illustrated on ancient monuments, attesting to both their antiquity and their widespread use.

Basically, the chariot usually consisted of a platform mounted on a single axle, with thigh-high sides; the open back of the car provided quick and easy entrance. The chariot car had a tongue and yoke harnessed to speedy horses. Often chariots were outfitted with auxiliary equipment consisting of quiver and bow cases, shields, and spears. An added menace to foot soldiers was the practice of extending iron scythes from the hubs of the wheels of some war chariots. (Jos 17:16, 18; Jg 1:19) When there was only one charioteer, the reins were held around his waist or hips in battle, leaving his hands free to handle the weapons. Larger and heavier chariots with multiple spans of horses had crews of two, three, or four, with a driver and one or two fighters, and perhaps a shield-man.​—Ex 14:7, ftn.

Speed, maneuverability, and stability were prime factors that were improved with continued development. For example, by moving the axle toward the rear, greater maneuverability and stability were achieved. Replacing solid wheels with spoked ones lightened the weight and increased the speed. (1Ki 7:33) The six-spoke wheel became the most common, though some wheels were designed with four, or with eight or more. Using lightweight woods, with only the fittings of leather, bronze, or iron, made chariots light enough that one or two men could carry them over rough terrain or small streams.

War chariots were employed by many of the pagan nations that opposed Israel. At the Red Sea in 1513 B.C.E., Pharaoh’s entire army, including his 600 special war chariots “and all the other chariots of Egypt,” were destroyed by Jehovah. (Ex 14:6, 7; 15:4, 19; Jos 24:6) When conquering the Promised Land, the Israelites routed the enemy and burned many of their captured chariots. (Jos 11:4-9) Jabin the king of Canaan held the Israelites in bondage for 20 years until Jehovah pinned down and destroyed his fleet of 900 chariots equipped with iron scythes and commanded by Sisera, at the torrent valley of Kishon. (Jg 4:2, 3, 13, 15, 16; 5:28) During the period of Israel’s kings, at one time or another, the Philistines, Egyptians, Ethiopians, Syrians, Assyrians, and Babylonians battled against them with large chariot forces, as many as 32,000 chariots on one occasion. (1Sa 13:5; 2Sa 1:6; 1Ch 19:6, 7, 18; 2Ch 12:2, 3; 14:9; 16:8; Isa 37:21, 24) In pronouncements of doom, the prophets sometimes mentioned the chariots in which such nations prided themselves.​—Jer 50:37; 51:21; Mic 5:10, 15.

The more level places, such as the Plains of Philistia and the broad Valley of Jezreel, were better suited for chariot warfare than was the hilly country. On one occasion the Syrians boasted that their chariots would overcome Israel if the latter could be lured out of the mountains to fight on the flat land, for, as they thought, “[Israel’s] God is a God of mountains.” However, the great defeat suffered by the Syrians proved that Jehovah is also “a God of low plains.”​—1Ki 20:23-30.

In Israel no sizable national chariot force developed until the time of Solomon. This was due in large measure to God’s warning that the king was not to multiply horses, as if the nation’s security depended on them. This restriction limited the use of chariots, since horses were used to power such vehicles. (De 17:16) When Samuel warned of the burden that human kings would inflict on the people, he told them: “Your sons he will take and put them as his in his chariots.” (1Sa 8:11) Absalom and Adonijah, in attempting to usurp the kingship, each had a chariot made for himself, with 50 men to run before it. (2Sa 15:1; 1Ki 1:5) When David defeated the king of Zobah, he preserved 100 chariot horses.​—2Sa 8:3, 4; 10:18.

King Solomon, in building up the army of Israel, expanded the number of chariots to 1,400. (1Ki 10:26, 29; 2Ch 1:14, 17) In addition to Jerusalem, other towns known as chariot cities had special facilities for taking care of all this mechanized war equipment.​—1Ki 9:19, 22; 2Ch 8:6, 9; 9:25.

After Solomon’s death, chariots were common in both the northern and southern kingdoms. The northern kingdom had a “chief of half the chariots,” indicating that there were two principal divisions of chariots. (1Ki 16:9) King Jehu was recognized by his furious chariot driving. (2Ki 9:20) Several kings of both Judah and Israel, namely, Ahab, Jehoram, Ahaziah, and Josiah, were fatally wounded in their chariots.​—1Ki 22:34-38; 2Ki 9:21, 24, 27; 2Ch 18:33, 34; 35:23, 24.

The prophet Isaiah declared to rebellious Israel: “Woe to those going down to Egypt for assistance, those who rely on mere horses, and who put their trust in war chariots, because they are numerous, and in steeds, because they are very mighty, but who have not looked to the Holy One of Israel and have not searched for Jehovah himself.”​—Isa 31:1.

The chariot was primarily a war implement, and it was useful in the chase of wild animals. There are also instances where it was used for peaceful purposes. Joseph as a food administrator of Egypt rode in a chariot of honor, second only to that of Pharaoh. In his chariot he rode out to meet his father when Jacob entered Egypt. (Ge 41:43; 46:29) Upon Jacob’s death many chariots were in the funeral procession that went from Egypt to Machpelah, the burial place that Abraham had purchased. (Ge 50:7-14) As a means of transportation, chariots were also employed by Kings Rehoboam and Ahab, Naaman the Syrian army chief, and the Ethiopian official who invited the evangelist Philip to ride with him on the road down to Gaza. (1Ki 12:18; 18:44, 45; 2Ki 5:21, 26; Ac 8:28-31, 38) Richly decorated and shaded chariots carried victorious rulers in processions. Sacred chariots and the horses that drew them were dedicated to sun worship by apostate Judean rulers.​—2Ki 23:11.

Figurative Use. In a figurative and prophetic sense, chariots are symbols of war just like the bow and sword. (Isa 21:7, 9; Zec 9:10) “The war chariots of God” are said to be “in tens of thousands, thousands over and over again,” denoting God’s invincible power to destroy his enemies.​—Ps 68:17; 2Ki 6:17.

Cities of ancient times set apart as places to station chariots, particularly chariots of war. (2Ch 1:14; 9:25) Solomon had such cities.​—1Ki 9:17-19; 10:26; 2Ch 8:5, 6.

The Hebrew word chen has the meaning of favor, charm, or elegance, in form and conduct, and it is generally rendered “favor” (Ge 6:8), though in certain instances it is translated “charm.” For example, a prostitute may be “attractive with charm” (Na 3:4), but as observed in the Proverbs: “Charm may be false, and prettiness may be vain; but the woman that fears Jehovah is the one that procures praise for herself.” Also, “a woman of charm is the one that takes hold of glory.” (Pr 31:30; 11:16; see also Pr 5:18, 19.) Divine wisdom and understanding can be a real ornamental charm (Pr 3:21, 22; 4:7-9), as is also true of proper speech. (Ps 45:2; Pr 22:11) When the Jews returned from exile in Babylon, Zerubbabel was encouraged to press forward with the temple building, being assured that with the laying of the headstone, “there will be shoutings to it: ‘How charming! How charming!’”​—Zec 4:7.

The Hebrew word ʼit·timʹ is used in Isaiah 19:3 to refer to “charmers” of Egypt. The Hebrew word cheʹver (rendered ‘spell’) refers to a magical formula spoken, sung, or written as a spell in order to ‘bind’ a person. (Ps 58:5; Isa 47:9, 12) “The ornamental humming shells” possessed, and no doubt worn, by the daughters of Zion were evidently charms, the Hebrew word designating them (lecha·shimʹ) being drawn from a root meaning “whisper; charm.” (Isa 3:20; compare 2Sa 12:19; Ps 58:5.) Such spiritistic practices were among “the detestable things” that Jehovah forbade his people to indulge in. (De 18:9-11) The ancient Babylonians, Egyptians, and others were notorious for their trust in charms and the casting of spells.​—Isa 19:3; 47:9, 12.

Snake Charming. So-called snake charming can be a form of spiritism and is a survival of the ancient cult of serpent worshipers. The charmer is supposed to cast a spell over the serpent, often a hooded cobra, so it appears enchanted with the playing of music, usually on a flute or pipe instrument. Snakes are not deaf or hard of hearing, as some may think, but as Psalm 58:4, 5 implies, they are able to hear the voice of charmers as well as the music. One might think that it is a mere trick of training the snake as one would train an animal or bird, by placing it in a basket with a lid, playing soft music, quickly dropping the lid if any attempt is made to escape, until the snake finally learns to raise itself upright in obedience to the music without trying to escape. While this may be true in some instances, spiritistic forces are often apparently involved in snake charming.

Attesting to the antiquity of this spiritistic practice is its mention in the Bible.​—Ps 58:4, 5; Ec 10:11; Isa 3:3; Jer 8:17.

(Cheʹbar) [from Babylonian, meaning “Great (Canal)”].

A “river” in “the land of the Chaldeans” near which Jews of the community of Tel-abib were exiled. (Eze 1:1-3; 3:15) When speaking of “the river Chebar,” Ezekiel used the Hebrew term na·harʹ (rendered “river”) apparently in its widest sense to include the numerous Babylonian canals that once intersected the fertile area between the lower courses of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. This usage would be consistent with the corresponding Babylonian word that also describes either a river or a canal. The precise location of the Chebar is unknown.

However, most Biblical geographers connect the “river Chebar” with the Shatt en-Nil, which has been identified with the naru Kabaru (or “Grand Canal”) mentioned in cuneiform contract tablets found at the city of Nippur, about 85 km (50 mi) SE of Babylon. The Shatt en-Nil branches off the Euphrates above Babylon and runs in a SE direction, passing near Nippur, to rejoin the Euphrates S of Ur, about 240 km (150 mi) below Babylon.

In 613 B.C.E., Tel-abib, near the river Chebar, was the site of the prophet Ezekiel’s first recorded vision, the stunning effects of which lasted seven days, and of his being commissioned as “a watchman . . . to the house of Israel.” (Eze 1:1–3:21) Similar visions on later occasions reminded the prophet of his experience at Chebar.​—Eze 10:15, 20, 22; 43:3.

(Ched·or·la·oʹmer).

A king of ancient Elam who, prior to Abraham’s entry into the Promised Land in 1943 B.C.E., had extended his power westward to the borders of Egypt. After 12 years of servitude, five kings near the southern end of the Dead Sea rebelled against their eastern overlord. In the 14th year, Chedorlaomer and three allies, Amraphel of Shinar, Arioch from Ellasar, and Tidal of Goiim, came W to put down the rebellion. Beginning in the N and sweeping S, they defeated cities along the trade routes E of the Jordan, and S of the Dead Sea in territory later occupied by the Amalekites. It was then an easy matter to put to flight the five kings that formed the core of the insurrection.

Among Chedorlaomer’s captives was Abraham’s nephew Lot, who had been living nearby. Abraham, learning of this, quickly set out in hot pursuit with 318 of his armed servants. At Dan they surprised the enemy’s far superior forces and, successfully pursuing them as far as Hobah, N of Damascus, recovered Lot and his possessions.​—Ge 14:1-17.

The name Chedorlaomer itself has not been found in listings of ancient rulers of Elam, but it is recognized as Elamite. Kudur, a possible variation of Chedor, appears in many compound names. Lagamar, bearing a resemblance to laomer, was an Elamite deity.

Either side of the face above the jaw and below the eye; in Hebrew lechiʹ, and in Greek si·a·gonʹ. The Bible speaks of striking the cheek, not so much to inflict physical harm, but to chastise, reproach, or insult. Thus Jehovah’s prophet Micaiah was struck on the cheek for prophesying bad consequences against wicked King Ahab of Israel. (1Ki 22:24; 2Ch 18:23) Job was reproachfully struck on the cheeks by those who disrespected and ridiculed him during his trial at Satan’s hands.​—Job 16:10.

The prophets Isaiah and Micah prophesied relative to the Messiah’s being struck on the cheek and the hair being pulled from the cheeks, all significant of the bitter reproach that his enemies would heap upon him. (Isa 50:6; Mic 5:1) This was fulfilled on Jesus Christ by the Jews at his trial before the Sanhedrin and by the Roman soldiers later on, just before he was put to death on the torture stake. (Mt 26:67, 68; Joh 18:22, 23; 19:3) But Jesus did not retaliate in kind or answer with bitter, angry words.

Jesus had given his disciples counsel: “You heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.’ However, I say to you: Do not resist him that is wicked; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other also to him.” (Mt 5:38, 39) Here Jesus was not teaching pacifism or denying the right of self-defense from bodily harm, but he was teaching that a Christian does not need to pay back blow for blow, retaliating, taking vengeance. He was inculcating the principle of avoiding quarrels by not replying or reacting in kind. A slap on the cheek is not intended to injure physically but only to insult or to provoke into a fight. Jesus did not say that if someone strikes a Christian on the jaw, he should get up off the floor and hold the other side of his face for a target. What Jesus was saying was that if anyone tried to provoke a Christian into a fight or argument by either slapping him with an open hand or stinging him with insulting words, it would be wrong to retaliate. This is in harmony with the statements of the apostles, giving further emphasis to this principle.​—Ro 12:17-21; 1Pe 3:9.

Job in poetic language figuratively described how he had been formed in his mother’s womb, saying to the Grand Creator: “Did you not proceed to pour me out as milk itself and like cheese to curdle me?”​—Job 10:10.

Making cheese differed from making butter; the latter was obtained by churning. To make cheese in ancient times, milk was quickly curdled with rennet from an animal’s stomach or with juice of certain leaves or roots. After curdling, the whey was drained off, and the fresh curds were eaten.

David was instructed to take “ten portions of milk” to the chief of the 1,000 under whom his brothers served in Saul’s army. (1Sa 17:17, 18) The literal reading of the original is “ten cuts of milk,” which may have meant “ten fresh-milk cheeses.” The Latin Vulgate reads “ten little forms [or, molds] of cheese.” During the civil war instigated by Absalom, friends sent David provisions of food, including “curds of cattle,” and these too may have been soft cheeses.​—2Sa 17:29.

[ח].

The eighth letter in the Hebrew alphabet. This letter is the harshest of the guttural sounds and is similar to the sound of “ch,” as in the Scottish word loch or the German ach. In the Hebrew, in the eighth section of Psalm 119 (vss 57-64) every verse begins with this letter.

In this work it is transliterated as ch to denote strong aspiration.

(Cheʹlal) [Perfection].

A former exile of “the sons of Pahath-moab” among those who put away their foreign wives at Ezra’s instruction.​—Ezr 10:16, 17, 30, 44.

(Cheʹlub) [Basket; Cage].

1. Descendant of Judah; brother of Shuhah and father of Mehir. (1Ch 4:1, 11) The rendering of the name as “Chelub” is based on the Masoretic text and appears in this form in some translations. (KJ, NW, Ro, AT) However, he is called “Caleb” in the Greek Septuagint, Syriac Peshitta, and the Latin Vulgate (Clementine recension), and therefore, this form is found in translations by Knox and Lamsa.

2. Father of Ezri, one serving under King David as overseer of those cultivating the fields.​—1Ch 27:26.

See CALEB No. 1.

(Chelʹu·hi).

Descendant of Bani; one of those dismissing their foreign wives in the time of Ezra.​—Ezr 10:34, 35, 44.

(Cheʹmosh).

The chief deity of the Moabites, who are referred to as “the people of Chemosh.” (Nu 21:29; Jer 48:46) Some scholars identify this deity with the Baal of Peor because of the latter’s association with the Moabites. (Nu 25:1-3) At least in cases of extreme stress, if not generally practiced, children were probably sacrificed to Chemosh.​—2Ki 3:26, 27.

The black basalt stele, commonly known as the Moabite Stone, erected by King Mesha of Moab to commemorate his revolt against Israel, provides further insight as to how the Moabites viewed their god Chemosh. According to this monument, Chemosh gave the victories in battle, and warfare was undertaken at his command. King Mesha attributed the deliverance from Israelite oppression to Chemosh, and he reasoned that the actual affliction at the hands of Omri the king of Israel was due to the god’s anger with his land.

Jephthah referred to Chemosh as the god of the Ammonites. (Jg 11:24) Some scholars question the correctness of Jephthah’s statement in view of the fact that Chemosh is elsewhere always associated with the Moabites. However, it must be remembered that the Ammonites worshiped numerous gods. (Jg 10:6) Furthermore, since the Ammonites and the Moabites were neighboring peoples, with a common ancestry through Lot the nephew of Abraham, there is nothing unusual about both nations’ worshiping Chemosh.

The worship of Chemosh was evidently introduced into Israel during the reign of Solomon. Undoubtedly under the influence of his Moabite wives, Solomon built a high place to Chemosh “on the mountain that was in front of Jerusalem.” (1Ki 11:1, 7, 8, 33) During Josiah’s extensive religious reform, over three centuries later, this high place was made unfit for worship.​—2Ki 23:13.

The prophet Jeremiah, in foretelling calamity for Moab, indicated that her principal god Chemosh as well as his priests and princes would go into exile. The Moabites would become ashamed of their god because of his impotence, just as the Israelites of the ten-tribe kingdom had become ashamed of Bethel, likely because of its association with calf worship.​—Jer 48:7, 13, 46.

(Che·naʹa·nah) [feminine form of Canaan].

1. Father of Zedekiah the false prophet contemporaneous with Kings Ahab and Jehoshaphat.​—1Ki 22:11, 24; 2Ch 18:10, 23.

2. Descendant of Benjamin through Jediael and Bilhan.​—1Ch 7:6, 10.

(Che·naʹni) [shortened form of Chenaniah].

A Levite making confession to Jehovah prior to the sealing of the “trustworthy arrangement” contracted during Nehemiah’s governorship.​—Ne 9:3, 4, 38.

(Chen·a·niʹah) [probably, Firmly Established by Jehovah].

1. A Levite contemporaneous with King David. “Chenaniah the chief of the Levites in carrying” was an expert, qualified to instruct others concerning the proper handling of the sacred Ark.​—1Ch 15:22, 25-27.

2. A Kohathite of the family of Izhar. Chenaniah and his sons had been designated for “the outside business,” evidently consisting of service as judges and officers, of whom there were 6,000 at the time of David’s numbering the Levites. (1Ch 26:29; 23:1-4, 12) Since the Kohathites carried the utensils of the sanctuary in Moses’ day, possibly this Chenaniah is the same as No. 1 above.​—Nu 4:4, 5, 15.

(Cheʹphar-amʹmo·ni) [Village of the Ammonites].

A city in the tribal inheritance of Benjamin. (Jos 18:21, 24) The location is uncertain; some connect it with Khirbet Kefr ʽAna, a ruined site about 5 km (3 mi) NNE of Bethel.

(Che·phiʹrah) [Village].

A Hivite city (Jos 9:7, 17), and one of the four cities represented by the Gibeonite ambassadors who falsely claimed to be from a distant land and who by means of this trick were able to conclude a covenant with the Israelites under Joshua. (Jos 9:3-27) Chephirah is easily identifiable today with the impressive uninhabited remains at Khirbet Kefireh, 7 km (4.5 mi) WSW of el-Jib (Gibeon) at the summit of what was once a series of armed terraces. This strategic position of Chephirah served to guard against the approach of enemy forces to Gibeon from the west. At the time of the land distribution Chephirah came within Benjamin’s inheritance (Jos 18:26), and after the exile it was among those cities resettled.​—Ezr 2:1, 25; Ne 7:29.

(Cheʹran).

A son of Horite Sheik Dishon.​—Ge 36:26; 1Ch 1:41.

(Cherʹe·thites).

The name of a people connected with the Philistines. (Eze 25:16; Zep 2:5) Some Cherethites served with the military forces of Jehovah’s chosen nation.​—2Sa 8:18; 20:23; 1Ch 18:17.

Certain Hebrew lexicographers believe that kere·thimʹ comes from the root word ka·rathʹ (meaning “cut off”) and should be rendered “executioners.” The majority of Bible commentators, however, consider the Hebrew term for “Cherethites” (kere·thimʹ) to refer to nationality. But they do acknowledge that ka·rathʹ may be the correct root of kere·thimʹ and that Jehovah, at Ezekiel 25:16, may be making an alliterative play on words when pledging, “I will cut off [hikh·rat·tiʹ] the Cherethites [kere·thimʹ],” or, in effect, ‘I will slay the slayers.’

An affinity between the Cherethites and the Philistines seems indicated by their mention together at Ezekiel 25:15-17 and Zephaniah 2:5-7. The Greek Septuagint rendering of these verses substitutes the term “Cretans” for “Cherethites,” perhaps attempting thereby to link them with the Philistines who came “out of Crete [Caphtor].” (Am 9:7) Because of this and the apparent connection of the Cherethites with “the land of the Philistines” at 1 Samuel 30:14, 16, most scholars conclude that the Cherethites and Philistines were either the same people or two closely associated peoples. Others reason that the Cherethites may have been a principal Philistine tribe.

One suggestion advanced is that, though originally two peoples, the Philistines were either the more powerful of the two or were the earlier arrivals in Canaan and so eventually predominated, giving their name to the section of land called Philistia, although the name Cherethites did not entirely fade out. According to this view, the meaning of the above-cited prophecies of Ezekiel and Zephaniah would be that Jehovah was going to bring vengeance and woe upon all the inhabitants of the cities of Philistia, both the Philistines and the Cherethites, prophecies apparently brought to fulfillment by the Babylonians.

Some of the Cherethites came to be among David’s armed forces, and they and the Pelethites (often mentioned with them) may have served as the royal bodyguard under Benaiah. (2Sa 8:18; 20:23; 1Ch 18:17; compare 2Sa 23:22, 23; 1Ch 11:25.) In view of this, scholars often seek to connect them with “the Carian bodyguard” of the time of priest Jehoiada, more than 100 years later. (2Ki 11:4, 19; see CARIAN BODYGUARD.) Though apparently foreign born, the Cherethites of David’s day were not mere mercenaries, acting solely out of personal gain (as is often wrongly argued), but they were genuinely devoted to David as Jehovah’s anointed. This was amply demonstrated by their faithfully sticking with David when he was forced to evacuate Jerusalem because “the heart of the men of Israel” had come to be with rebel Absalom. (2Sa 15:13, 18) Similarly, the Cherethites later obediently aided in suppressing the revolt of Sheba the Benjamite, and in supporting Solomon, David’s choice as Israel’s royal successor.​—2Sa 20:7; 1Ki 1:38, 39, 44.

(Cheʹrith) [Excavated].

A torrent valley E of the Jordan where Elijah concealed himself and was fed by ravens after announcing a coming drought to Israel’s King Ahab. (1Ki 17:1-7) The exact location is unknown.

1. (cherʹub). An angelic creature of high rank having special duties, distinguished from the order of seraphs. The first of the 92 times they are mentioned in the Bible is at Genesis 3:24; after God’s driving Adam and Eve out of Eden, cherubs (Heb., keru·vimʹ) were posted at the E entrance with a flaming blade of a sword “to guard the way to the tree of life.” Whether more than two were stationed there is not disclosed.