Reference: Chaldaea
Fausets
(See BABEL.) Properly the S. part of Babylonia, chiefly on the right bank of the Euphrates, but used to designate the whole country. Ur or Umqueir, more toward the mouth of the Euphrates, was the original chief city of Chaldaea; here inscriptions of the 22nd century B.C., deciphered lately, prove that the early seat of the Babylonian empire was there rather than higher up the Euphrates. In Isa 23:13 the prophet reminds Tyre of the fact so humbling to her pride, that the upstart Chaldees should destroy her: "Behold the land of the Chaldaeans; this people was not, until the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness:" i.e., their latter empire started into importance only after Assyria, in whose armies they had previously been mercenaries. The mountains of Armenia are thought by some to be their original seat (the Carduchian mountains, according to Xenophon, Cyrop. 3:2-3), from whence they proceeded S. in wandering "bands" (Job 1:17) before they became a settled empire, but their Cushite language disproves this.
Rawlinson distinguishes three periods.
1. When their empire was in the S., toward the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates; this is the Chaldaean period (from 2340 to 1500 B.C.) in which (See CHEDORLAOMER of Elam conquered Syria (Genesis 14), as the inscriptions show.
2. From 1500 to 625 B.C., the Assyrian period.
3. From 625 to 538 B.C., the Babylonian period. The Hebrew name is Chasdim, relative to Chesed, Abraham's nephew apparently (Ge 22:22). But their existence was centuries earlier (Ge 11:28). Chesed's name implies simply that Abraham's family had a connection with them. The Kurds still in Kurdistan between Nineveh and Media may be akin to the ancient Casdim. But G. Rawlinson considers the Chaldi to he more probably one of the Cushite (Ethiopian) tribes that crossed over the Persian gulf and settled in Babylonia.
Their name ultimately prevailed over that of the other tribes in the country. The remains found of their language correspond to that of the modern Galla of Abyssinia, the ancient language of Ethiopia. Scripture is thus confirmed, that Babel came from Cush and Ham, not from Shem (Ge 10:6-10). Some interpret Ur = the moon goddess; the Chaldees being moon worshippers or Sabeans, from tsaba' "the heavenly hosts," worshipped Bel, the planet Jupiter, Nebo, Mercury, etc. (Job 31:26-27.) Chaldaea lies between the Tigris and Euphrates, and comprises also an average of 30 miles along the W. of the Euphrates; a vast alluvial plain, running N.E. and S.W. 400 miles, with the Persian gulf on the S., and a line from Hit on the Euphrates to Tekrit on the Tigris forming its N. boundary, Elam, or Susiana, lies on the E. An arid waste, with great mounds of rubbish and brick here and there, all that is left of that "glory of kingdoms," now extends where once, by a perfect network of canals for irrigation, a teeming population was supplied abundantly from the rich soil with grain and wine.
Scripture is to the letter fulfilled: "a drought is upon her waters" (Jer 50:38). It was once said to be the only country where wheat grew wild. Berosus states also that barley, sesame, palms, apples, and many shelled fruit, grew wild. Herodotus (1:193) stated that grain yielded the sower from two to three hundred fold. Strabo says it yielded bread, wine, honey, ropes, and fuel equal to charcoal. Now, while dry in some parts, it is a stagnant marsh in others, owing to neglect of the canals; as Scripture also foretells: "the sea is come up upon Babylon," etc. (Jer 51:42); "she is a possession for the bittern, and pools of water" (Isa 14:23). The Chaldaean cities are celebrated in Scripture: "Babel, Erech (now Warka), Accad, Calneh (Niffer)" (Ge 10:10). Borsippa is Birs-Nimrud now; Sepharvaim or Sippara, Mosaib; Cutha, Ibrahim; Chilmad, Calwadha; Larancha, Senkereh; Is, Hit, where the canal leaving the Euphrates at the point where the alluvial plain begins passed along the whole edge of the plain, and fell into the Persian gulf.
There is one large inland fresh water sea, Nedjef, 40 miles long by 35 wide, surrounded by red sandstone cliffs; about 20 miles from the right bank of the Euphrates. Above and below this sea are the Chaldaean marshes in which Alexander was almost lost. In another sense the "CHALDAEANS" are a priest caste, with a peculiar tongue and learning, skilled in divination. In the ethnic sense we saw it was applied first to a particular Cushite tribe, then to the whole nation from the time of Nabopolassar. The Semitic language prevailed over the Cushite in Assyrian and later Babylonian times, and was used for all civil purposes; but for sacred and mystic lore the Cushite language was retained as a learned language. This is "the learning and the tongue of the Chaldaeans" (Da 1:4), in which the four Jewish youths were instructed, and which is quite distinct from the Aramaean, or Chaldee so-called (allied to Hebrew), of those parts of the book of Daniel which are not Hebrew, as not being so connected with the Jews as with the Babylonians.
The Cushite Chaldee had become a dead language to the mass of the people who had become Semitized by the Assyrians. All who studied it were called "Chaldaeans," whatever might be their nation; so Daniel is called "master of the Chaldaeans" (Da 5:11). Their seats of learning were Borsippa, Ur, Babylon, and Sepharvaim. The serene sky and clear atmosphere favored their astronomical studies; Cahisthenes sent Aristotle from Babylon their observations for 1903 years. Afterward their name became synonymous with diviners and fortunetellers. They wore a peculiar dress, like that seen on the gods and deified men in Assyrian sculptures. At the time of the Arab invasion the Chaldaeans chiefly still preserved the learning of the East.
We owe to them the preservation of many fragments of Greek learning, as the Greeks had previously owed much of their eastern learning to the Chaldees. The Aramaean and the Hebrew are sister languages. The former is less developed and cultivated than either Hebrew or Arabic. Of its two dialects, Chaldee and Syriac, the former prevailed in the E., the latter in the W. of Aram. To express the article it employs an affix instead of a prefix as the Hebrew The dual number and the purely passive conjugations are wanting. The Chaldee of parts of the Bible (Da 2:4-7:28; Ezr 4:8-6:18; 7:12-26; Jer 10:11) more closely approaches the Hebrew idiom than the Chaldee of the Targum of Onkelos. Some think the seeming Hebraisms in it are remnants of an older form of the language than that found in the targums.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.
And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha; and the sons of Raamah, Sheba, and Dedan.
And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha; and the sons of Raamah, Sheba, and Dedan. And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.
He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
And Haran died before his father Terah, in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.
And Haran died before his father Terah, in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.
Artaxerxes, king of kings, To Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time.
Artaxerxes, king of kings, To Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time. I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, who are disposed of their own free will to go to Jerusalem, go with thee.
I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, who are disposed of their own free will to go to Jerusalem, go with thee. Forasmuch as thou art sent by the king, and by his seven counselors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thy hand;
Forasmuch as thou art sent by the king, and by his seven counselors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thy hand; And to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem,
And to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem, And all the silver and gold that thou canst find in all the province of Babylon, with the free-will-offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem:
And all the silver and gold that thou canst find in all the province of Babylon, with the free-will-offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem: That thou mayest buy speedily with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meat-offerings and their drink-offerings, and offer them upon the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem.
That thou mayest buy speedily with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meat-offerings and their drink-offerings, and offer them upon the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem. And whatever shall seem good to thee, and to thy brethren, to do with the rest of the silver and gold, that do after the will of your God.
And whatever shall seem good to thee, and to thy brethren, to do with the rest of the silver and gold, that do after the will of your God. The vessels also that are given thee for the service of the house of thy God, those deliver thou before the God of Jerusalem.
The vessels also that are given thee for the service of the house of thy God, those deliver thou before the God of Jerusalem. And whatever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king's treasure-house.
And whatever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king's treasure-house. And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers who are beyond the river, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily,
And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers who are beyond the river, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily, To a hundred talents of silver, and to a hundred measures of wheat, and to a hundred baths of wine, and to a hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much.
To a hundred talents of silver, and to a hundred measures of wheat, and to a hundred baths of wine, and to a hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?
Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons? Also we certify you, that concerning any of the priests and Levites, singers, porters, Nethinims, or ministers of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom upon them.
Also we certify you, that concerning any of the priests and Levites, singers, porters, Nethinims, or ministers of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom upon them. And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thy hand, set magistrates and judges, who may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not.
And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thy hand, set magistrates and judges, who may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not. And whoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be to death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.
And whoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be to death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yes, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only have escaped alone to tell thee.
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yes, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only have escaped alone to tell thee.
If I have beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness;
If I have beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness; And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand:
And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand:
I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.
I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.
Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up its towers, they raised up its palaces; and he brought it to ruin.
Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up its towers, they raised up its palaces; and he brought it to ruin.
Thus shall ye say to them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.
Thus shall ye say to them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.
A drouth is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.
A drouth is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.
The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of its waves.
The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of its waves.
Children in whom was no blemish, but of good appearance, and skillful in all wisdom, and intelligent in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the language of the Chaldeans.
Children in whom was no blemish, but of good appearance, and skillful in all wisdom, and intelligent in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the language of the Chaldeans.
Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Syriac, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.
Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Syriac, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation. The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known to me the dream, with the interpretation of it, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known to me the dream, with the interpretation of it, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill. But if ye shall show the dream, and the interpretation of it, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor: therefore show me the dream, and the interpretation of it.
But if ye shall show the dream, and the interpretation of it, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor: therefore show me the dream, and the interpretation of it. They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation of it.
They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation of it.
There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and sooth-sayers;
There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and sooth-sayers;