laws. Cyrus, in the first year of his reign at Babylon, permitted the Jews to return to their own country, Ezra 1:1; but they did not obtain leave to rebuild the temple; and the completion of those prophecies, which foretold the termination of their captivity after seventy years, was not till Darius Hystaspes, by an edict, allowed them to rebuild the temple.

CARAVANSERAI, a building in the East, which is expressed in our version of the Scriptures by the term Inn. There appear to be three descriptions of these buildings. Some are simply places of rest, (by the side of a fountain, if possible,) which, being at proper distances on the road, are thus named, though they are mere naked walls; others have an attendant, who subsists either by some charitable donation, or the benevolence of passengers; and others are more considerable establishments, where families reside and take care of them, and furnish many necessary provisions. Colonel Campbell says, "Caravanserais

were originally intended for, and are now pretty generally applied to, the accommodation of strangers and travellers, though, like every other good institution, sometimes perverted to the purposes of private emolument or public job. They are built at proper distances through the roads of the Turkish dominions, and afford to the indigent and weary traveller an asylum from the inclemency of the weather. They have commonly one story above the ground-floor; the lower story is arched, and serves for warehouses to store goods, for lodgings, and for stables, while the upper is used merely for lodgings; besides which they are always accommodated with a fountain, and have cooks' shops and other conveniences to supply the wants of lodgers."

Khan appears to be the Turkish word for caravanserai. The preceding engraving gives a view of the interior court of one of these oriental inns.

|| against Amalek, erected a trophy. 1 Sam. 15:12.

II. CARMEL, a celebrated range of hills running north-west from the plain of Esdraelon, and ending in the promontory, or cape, which forms the bay of Accho. Its height is about 1500 feet, and at its north-eastern foot, runs the brook Kishon, and a little farther north, the river Belus. Josephus makes Carmel a part of Galilee; but it rather belonged to Manasseh, and to the south of Asher. Carmel signifies the vineyard; and Jerome informs us, that this mountain had good pas

tures.

Mount Carmel is the only great promontory upon the coast of Palestine. The foot of the northern part approaches the water, so that, seen from the hills north-east of Acre, mount Carmel appears as if "dipping his feet in the western sea;" farther south it retires more inland, so that between the mountain and the sea there is an extensive plain covered with fields and olive-trees. Carmel consists rather of several connected hills, than of one ridge; the northern and eastern part being somewhat higher than the southern and western. Mariti describes it as a delightful re

CARBUNCLE, a precious stone, like a large ruby, or garnet, of a dark, deep red color, something like bullock's blood; said to glitter even in the dark, and to sparkle more than the ruby: but the carbuncle of thegion, and says the good quality ancients is probably the ruby. of its soil is apparent from the CARCHEMISH, probably the fact, that so many odoriferous same with Circesium or Cer- plants and flowers, as hyacinths, cusium, a fortified city on the east jonquilles, tazettos, anemones, side of the Euphrates, where the &c. grow wild upon the mountain. river Chaboras enters it, in quite Von Richter says, "Mount Carthe northern part of Mesopota-mel is entirely covered with mia. Is. 10:9. Jer. 46:2. 2 Chr. green; on its summit are pines 35:20. and oaks, and farther down olive and laurel-trees; every where plentifully watered. It gives rise to a multitude of crystal brooks, the largest of which issues from the so called fountain of Elijah: and they all hurry along, between banks thickly overgrown with

I. CARMEL, a city of Judah, on a mountain of the same name, in the south of Palestine, 10 miles east of Hebron. Here Nabal the Carmelite, Abigail's husband, dwelt. On this mountain Saul, returning from his expedition

CEPHAS, a Syriac name given to Peter, which by the Greeks was rendered Petros, and by the Latins Petrus, both signifying stone, or rock. See PETER.

CESAR, CESAREA, see CESAR, CESAREA.

CHALCEDONY, a precious stone, in color like a carbuncle. Rev. 21:19. It is said to have derived its name from Chalcedon, a city of Bithynia, opposite to Byzantium. It comprises several varieties, one of which is the modern carnelian.

CHALDEA, a country in Asia, the capital of which, in its widest extent, was Babylon. It was originally of small extent; but the empire being afterwards very much enlarged, the name is generally taken in a more extensive sense, and includes Babylonia, which see.

the irruptions of the neighboring
Arabians. We may suppose,
too, that some special form of
government was assigned to
them, in order to convert them
from a rude horde into a civilized
people. That this establishment
of the Chaldeans in Babylon did
not take place long before the
time of Shalmaneser, (about 730
B. C.) may be inferred from the
fact, that Isaiah, c.23:13, calls the
Chaldeans a people newly found-
ed by the Assyrians.
A very
vivid and graphic description of
the Chaldean warriors is given
by the prophet Habakkuk, who
probably lived about the time
when they first made incursions
into Palestine or the adjacent re-
gions. c. 1:6-11. They must
soon have obtained the upper
hand in the Babylonian kingdom;
for both Nebuchadnezzar and his
father, Nabopolassar, were Chal-
deans by birth.

CHALDEE LANGUAGE, see
LANGUAGE.

CHALDEANS. This name is taken, (1.) for the people of Chaldea, and the subjects of that empire generally. (2.) For phi- CHAMOIS, a species of losophers, naturalists or sooth- mountain goat, found only in the sayers, whose principal employ-Alps and other lofty and inaccesment was the study of mathe-sible mountains. In Deut. 14:5, matics and astrology, by which the animal, wrongly called chathey pretended to foreknow the mois in the English Bible, was destiny of men born under cer- probably a species of antelope. tain constellations.

CHAMBER, UPPER, see HOUSE.

CHARIOTS OF WAR. Scripture speaks of two sorts of these, one for princes and generals to ride in, the other to break the enemy's battalions, by rushing in among them, being armed with

The Chaldeans were originally a warlike people, who at first inhabited the Carduchian mountains, north of Assyria, and the northern part of Mesopotamia. As the Assyrian monarchs extended their conquests towards the north and west, the Chalde-iron, i. e. iron hooks or scythes, ans came also under their dominion; and this rough and energetic people appear to have assumed, under the sway of their conquerors, a new character, by means of the removal of a part of them to Babylon, where they were probably placed to ward off

which made terrible havoc. The Canaanites, whom Joshua en. gaged at the waters of Merom, had horsemen, and a multitude of chariots. Josh. 11:4. Sisera, general of Jabin, king of Hazor, had 900 chariots of iron.

CHARRAN, see HARAN II.

CHEBAR, a river of Assyria, || Scripture gives of cherubim which falls into the Euphrates, in differ; but all agree in representthe upper part of Mesopotamia. ing a figure composed of various Ezek. 1:1. The same as the creatures a man, an ox, an Chaboras. eagle and a lion.

CHIOS, an island in the Archi

CHEMOSH, the national god of the Moabites, and of the Am-pelago, between Lesbos and Samonites, worshipped also under Solomon at Jerusalem. Judg. 11:24. 1 K. 11:7. 2 K. 23:13. Jer. 48:7. Some confound Chemosh with Ammon.

mos, on the coast of Asia Minor, now called Scio. Paul passed this way as he sailed southward from Mitylene to Samos. Acts 20:15.

CHISLEU, the ninth month of the Hebrews, beginning with the new moon of December. Neh. 1:1. Zech. 7:1. Others make it equivalent to our November.

CHERETHITES, the Philistines. David, and some of his successors, had guards which were called Cherethites and Pelethites, 2 Sam. 8:18, whose office was of the same nature as that of CHITTIM. Writers on Scripcapigis among the Turks and ture antiquities are not agreed as other orientals, who are bearers to the country or countries imof the sultan's orders for punish-plied under this name. Among ing any one, by decapitation, or the three different opinions of otherwise; an office which is ancient and modern interpreters, very honorable in the East, according to which they sought though considered as degrading for the land of the Chittim in Italy, among us. It appears that Macedonia and Cyprus, the latHerod made use of an officer of ter is the most probable, which this description in beheading is also that of Josephus. AcJohn the Baptist. See PELE-cording to this, Chittim is the

THITES.

island Cyprus, so called from a Phoenician colony Citium, in the southern part of this island; but still in such a sense, that this name Chittim was at a later period employed also, in a wider sense, to designate other islands and countries adjacent to the coasts of the Mediterranean; e. g. Macedonia. Dan. 11:30. 1 Mac. 1:1. 8:5. This is also mentioned by Josephus.

CHERUB, plural CHERUBIM, a particular order of angels, Ps. 18:10, &c. but more particularly those symbolical representations which are so often referred to in the Old Testament, and in the book of Revelation. On no subject, perhaps, have there been SO many unavailing conjectures as the form and design of these figures. Grotius says, the cherubim were figures like a calf. Bochart and Spencer think they were nearly the figure of an ox. Josephus says they were extraordinary creatures, of ably the planet Saturn. figure unknown to mankind. Clemens of Alexandria believes that the Egyptians imitated the cherubim of the Hebrews in their sphinxes and hieroglyphical animals. The descriptions which

CHIUN, the name of an idol worshipped by the Israelites in the desert. Amos 5:26. Comp. Acts 7:43. It was most proba

CHORAZIN, a town in Galilee, near to Capernaum, not far distant from Bethsaida, and, consequently, on the western shore of the sea of Galilee. Pococke speaks of a village called Gerasi,

ternal unction of grace and of the Holy Ghost, of which the outward unction, with which kings, priests and prophets were anciently anointed, was but the figure and symbol. Nevertheless, many have supposed,-and we see no objection to it,that when the Spirit visibly descended on Jesus at his baptism, he received a peculiar, solemn and appropriate unction.

CHRISTIAN, a name given at Antioch to those who believed Jesus to be the Messiah. Acts 11:26. They generally called themselves brethren, the faithful, saints, believers; and were named by the Gentiles Nazarenes and Galileans.

The ancient Hebrews, being instructed by the prophets, had clear notions of the Messiah; but these became gradually depraved, so that when Jesus appeared in Judea, the Jews entertained a false conception of the Messiah, expecting a temporal monarch and conqueror, who should remove the Roman yoke, and subject the whole world. Hence they were scandalized at the outward appearance, the humil-genealogies, from the beginning ity and seeming weakness of our Saviour. The modern Jews, indulging still greater mistakes, form to themselves chimerical ideas of the Messiah, utterly unknown to their forefathers.

The ancient prophets had foretold, that the Messiah should be God and man, exalted and abased, master and servant, priest and victim, prince and subject; involved in death, yet victor over death; rich and poor; a king, a conqueror, glorious; a man of griefs, exposed to infirmities, unknown, in a state of abjection and humiliation. All these contrarieties were to be reconciled in the person of the Messiah; as they really were in the person of Jesus.

It is not recorded that Jesus ever received any external official unction. The unction that the prophets and the apostles speak of is the spiritual and in

CHRONICLES, the name of two historical books of the O. T. the author of which is not known. The first book contains a recapitulation of sacred history, by

of the world to the death of David. The second book contains the history of the kings of Judah, without those of Israel, from the beginning of the reign of Solomon only, to the return from the captivity of Babylon. In this respect it differs from the books of Kings, which give the history of the kings of both Judah and Israel. In many places, where the history of the same kings is related, the narrative in Chronicles is almost a copy of that in Kings; in other places, the one serves as a supplement to the other. In the Septuagint, these books are called Paralipomena, i.e. things omitted.

CHRYSOLITE, a transparent precious stone, having the color of gold with a mixture of green, and a fine lustre. Rev. 21:20. Many suppose it to be the topaz of the moderns.

CHRYSOPRASUS, the tenth