The area of the camp would be in all about 3 square miles.
After the Hebrews entered Palestine, the camps then spoken
of were exclusively warlike (Josh. 11:5, 7; Judg. 5:19, 21;
7:1; 1 Sam. 29:1; 30:9, etc.).
(2.) The country which derived its name from the preceding.
The name as first used by the Phoenicians denoted only the
maritime plain on which Sidon was built. But in the time of
Moses and Joshua it denoted the whole country to the west
of the Jordan and the Dead Sea (Deut. 11:30). In Josh. 5:12
the LXX. read, "land of the Phoenicians," instead
of "land of Canaan."
The name signifies "the lowlands," as
distinguished from the land of Gilead on the east of
Jordan, which was a mountainous district. The extent and
boundaries of Canaan are fully set forth in different parts
of Scripture (Gen. 10:19; 17:8; Num. 13:29; 34:8). (See
CANAANITES ¯T0000705,.)
The "Canaanites," as distinguished from the
Amalekites, the Anakim, and the Rephaim, were
"dwellers in the lowlands" (Num. 13:29), the
great plains and valleys, the richest and most important
parts of Palestine. Tyre and Sidon, their famous cities,
were the centres of great commercial activity; and hence
the name "Canaanite" came to signify a
"trader" or "merchant" (Job 41:6; Prov.
31:24, lit. "Canaanites;" comp. Zeph. 1:11; Ezek.
17:4). The name "Canaanite" is also sometimes
used to designate the non-Israelite inhabitants of the land
in general (Gen. 12:6; Num. 21:3; Judg. 1:10).
The Israelites, when they were led to the Promised Land,
were commanded utterly to destroy the descendants of Canaan
then possessing it (Ex. 23:23; Num. 33:52, 53; Deut. 20:16,
17). This was to be done "by little and little,"
lest the beasts of the field should increase (Ex. 23:29;
Deut. 7:22, 23). The history of these wars of conquest is
given in the Book of Joshua. The extermination of these
tribes, however, was never fully carried out. Jerusalem was
not taken till the time of David (2 Sam. 5:6, 7). In the
days of Solomon bond-service was exacted from the fragments
of the tribes still remaining in the land (1 Kings 9:20,
21). Even after the return from captivity survivors of five
of the Canaanitish tribes were still found in the land.
In the Tell-el-Amarna tablets Canaan is found under the
forms of Kinakhna and Kinakhkhi. Under the name of Kanana
the Canaanites appear on Egyptian monuments, wearing a coat
of mail and helmet, and distinguished by the use of spear
and javelin and the battle-axe. They were called
Phoenicians by the Greeks and Poeni by the Romans. By race
the Canaanites were Semitic. They were famous as merchants
and seamen, as well as for their artistic skill. The chief
object of their worship was the sun-god, who was addressed
by the general name of Baal, "lord." Each
locality had its special Baal, and the various local Baals
were summed up under the name of Baalim, "lords."
It is somewhat singular that female sovereignty seems to
have prevailed in Ethiopia, the name Candace (compare
"Pharaoh," "Ptolemy,"
"Caesar") being a title common to several
successive queens. It is probable that Judaism had taken
root in Ethiopia at this time, and hence the visit of the
queen's treasurer to Jerusalem to keep the feast. There
is a tradition that Candace was herself converted to
Christianity by her treasurer on his return, and that he
became the apostle of Christianity in that whole region,
carrying it also into Abyssinia. It is said that he also
preached the gospel in Arabia Felix and in Ceylon, where he
suffered martyrdom.
The tabernacle was a tent without windows, and thus
artificial light was needed. This was supplied by the
candlestick, which, however, served also as a symbol of the
church or people of God, who are "the light of the
world." The light which "symbolizes the knowledge
of God is not the sun or any natural light, but an
artificial light supplied with a specially prepared oil;
for the knowledge of God is in truth not natural nor common
to all men, but furnished over and above nature."
This candlestick was placed on the south side of the Holy
Place, opposite the table of shewbread (Ex. 27:21; 30:7, 8;
Lev. 24:3; 1 Sam. 3:3). It was lighted every evening, and
was extinguished in the morning. In the morning the priests
trimmed the seven lamps, borne by the seven branches, with
golden snuffers, carrying away the ashes in golden dishes
(Ex. 25:38), and supplying the lamps at the same time with
fresh oil. What ultimately became of the candlestick is
unknown.
In Solomon's temple there were ten separate
candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right and five on
the left of the Holy Place (1 Kings 7:49; 2 Chr. 4:7).
Their structure is not mentioned. They were carried away to
Babylon (Jer. 52:19).
In the temple erected after the Exile there was again but
one candlestick, and like the first, with seven branches.
It was this which was afterwards carried away by Titus to
Rome, where it was deposited in the Temple of Peace. When
Genseric plundered Rome, he is said to have carried it to
Carthage (A.D. 455). It was recaptured by Belisarius (A.D.
533), and carried to Constantinople and thence to
Jerusalem, where it finally disappeared.
The Old Testament Canon is witnessed to by the New
Testament writers. Their evidence is conclusive. The
quotations in the New from the Old are very numerous, and
the references are much more numerous. These quotations and
references by our Lord and the apostles most clearly imply
the existence at that time of a well-known and publicly
acknowledged collection of Hebrew writings under the
designation of "The Scriptures;" "The Law
and the Prophets and the Psalms;" "Moses and the
Prophets," etc. The appeals to these books, moreover,
show that they were regarded as of divine authority,
finally deciding all questions of which they treat; and
that the whole collection so recognized consisted only of
the thirty-nine books which we now posses. Thus they
endorse as genuine and authentic the canon of the Jewish
Scriptures. The Septuagint Version (q.v.) also contained
every book we now have in the Old Testament Scriptures. As
to the time at which the Old Testament canon was closed,
there are many considerations which point to that of Ezra
and Nehemiah, immediately after the return from Babylonian
exile.
It stood on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. The
"land of Gennesaret," near, if not in, which it
was situated, was one of the most prosperous and crowded
districts of Palestine. This city lay on the great highway
from Damascus to Acco and Tyre. It has been identified with
Tell Hum, about two miles south-west of where the Jordan
flows into the lake. Here are extensive ruins of walls and
foundations, and also the remains of what must have been a
beautiful synagogue, which it is conjectured may have been
the one built by the centurion (Luke 7:5), in which our
Lord frequently taught (John 6:59; Mark 1:21; Luke 4:33).
Others have conjectured that the ruins of the city are to
be found at Khan Minyeh, some three miles further to the
south on the shore of the lake. "If Tell Hum be
Capernaum, the remains spoken of are without doubt the
ruins of the synagogue built by the Roman centurion, and
one of the most sacred places on earth. It was in this
building that our Lord gave the well-known discourse in
John 6; and it was not without a certain strange feeling
that on turning over a large block we found the pot of
manna engraved on its face, and remembered the words,
'I am that bread of life: your fathers did eat manna in
the wilderness, and are dead.'", (The Recovery of
Jerusalem.)
The "captain of the guard" mentioned in Acts
28:16 was the Praetorian prefect, the commander of the
Praetorian troops.
(2.) Another word (Heb. katsin) so translated denotes
sometimes a military (Josh. 10:24; Judg. 11:6, 11; Isa.
22:3 "rulers;" Dan. 11:18) and sometimes a civil
command, a judge, magistrate, Arab. kady, (Isa.
1:10; 3:6; Micah 3:1, 9).
(3.) It is also the rendering of a Hebrew word (shalish)
meaning "a third man," or "one of
three." The LXX. render in plural by tristatai;
i.e., "soldiers fighting from chariots," so
called because each war-chariot contained three men, one of
whom acted as charioteer while the other two fought (Ex.
14:7; 15:4; 1 Kings 9:22; comp. 2 Kings 9:25). This word is
used also to denote the king's body-guard (2 Kings
10:25; 1 Chr. 12:18; 2 Chr. 11:11) or aides-de-camp.
(4.) The "captain of the temple" mentioned in
Acts 4:1 and 5:24 was not a military officer, but
superintendent of the guard of priests and Levites who kept
watch in the temple by night. (Comp. "the ruler of the
house of God," 1 Chr. 9:11; 2 Chr. 31:13; Neh. 11:11.)
(5.) The Captain of our salvation is a name given to our
Lord (Heb. 2:10), because he is the author and source of
our salvation, the head of his people, whom he is
conducting to glory. The "captain of the Lord's
host" (Josh. 5:14, 15) is the name given to that
mysterious person who manifested himself to Abraham (Gen.
12:7), and to Moses in the bush (Ex. 3:2, 6, etc.) the
Angel of the covenant.
Many speculations have been indulged in with reference to
these ten tribes. But we believe that all, except the
number that probably allied themselves with Judah and
shared in their restoration under Cyrus, are finally lost.
"Like the dew on the mountain, Like the foam on the
river, Like the bubble on the fountain, They are gone, and
for ever."
(2.) Of Judah. In the third year of Jehoiachim, the
eighteenth king of Judah (B.C. 605), Nebuchadnezzar having
overcome the Egyptians at Carchemish, advanced to Jerusalem
with a great army. After a brief siege he took that city,
and carried away the vessels of the sanctuary to Babylon,
and dedicated them in the Temple of Belus (2 Kings 24:1; 2
Chr. 36:6, 7; Dan. 1:1, 2). He also carried away the
treasures of the king, whom he made his vassal. At this
time, from which is dated the "seventy years" of
captivity (Jer. 25; Dan. 9:1, 2), Daniel and his companions
were carried to Babylon, there to be brought up at the
court and trained in all the learning of the Chaldeans.
After this, in the fifth year of Jehoiakim, a great
national fast was appointed (Jer. 36:9), during which the
king, to show his defiance, cut up the leaves of the book
of Jeremiah's prophecies as they were read to him in
his winter palace, and threw them into the fire. In the
same spirit he rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings
24:1), who again a second time (B.C. 598) marched against
Jerusalem, and put Jehoiachim to death, placing his son
Jehoiachin on the throne in his stead. But Jehoiachin's
counsellors displeasing Nebuchadnezzar, he again a third
time turned his army against Jerusalem, and carried away to
Babylon a second detachment of Jews as captives, to the
number of 10,000 (2 Kings 24:13; Jer. 24:1; 2 Chr. 36:10),
among whom were the king, with his mother and all his
princes and officers, also Ezekiel, who with many of his
companions were settled on the banks of the river Chebar
(q.v.). He also carried away all the remaining treasures of
the temple and the palace, and the golden vessels of the
sanctuary.
Mattaniah, the uncle of Jehoiachin, was now made king over
what remained of the kingdom of Judah, under the name of
Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:17; 2 Chr. 36:10). After a troubled
reign of eleven years his kingdom came to an end (2 Chr.
36:11). Nebuchadnezzar, with a powerful army, besieged
Jerusalem, and Zedekiah became a prisoner in Babylon. His
eyes were put out, and he was kept in close confinement
till his death (2 Kings 25:7). The city was spoiled of all
that was of value, and then given up to the flames. The
temple and palaces were consumed, and the walls of the city
were levelled with the ground (B.C. 586), and all that
remained of the people, except a number of the poorest
class who were left to till the ground and dress the
vineyards, were carried away captives to Babylon. This was
the third and last deportation of Jewish captives. The land
was now utterly desolate, and was abondoned to anarchy.
In the first year of his reign as king of Babylon (B.C.
536), Cyrus issued a decree liberating the Jewish captives,
and permitting them to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the
city and the temple (2 Chr. 36:22, 23; Ezra 1; 2). The
number of the people forming the first caravan, under
Zerubbabel, amounted in all to 42,360 (Ezra 2:64, 65),
besides 7,337 men-servants and maid-servants. A
considerable number, 12,000 probably, from the ten tribes
who had been carried away into Assyria no doubt combined
with this band of liberated captives.
At a later period other bands of the Jews returned (1)
under Ezra (7:7) (B.C. 458), and (2) Nehemiah (7:66) (B.C.
445). But the great mass of the people remained still in
the land to which they had been carried, and became a
portion of the Jews of the "dispersion" (John
7:35; 1 Pet. 1:1). The whole number of the exiles that
chose to remain was probably about six times the number of
those who returned.
(2.) A town in the hill country of Judah (Josh. 15:55), the
residence of Nabal (1 Sam. 25:2, 5, 7, 40), and the native
place of Abigail, who became David's wife (1 Sam.
27:3). Here king Uzziah had his vineyards (2 Chr. 26:10).
The ruins of this town still remain under the name of
Kurmul, about 10 miles south-south-east of Hebron, close to
those of Maon.
A "cart rope," for the purpose of fastening loads
on carts, is used (Isa. 5:18) as a symbol of the power of
sinful pleasures or habits over him who indulges them. In Syria and Palestine wheel-carriages for any
other purpose than the conveyance of agricultural produce
are almost unknown.
(2.) Hebrew pl. ketzi'oth (Ps. 45:8). Mentioned
in connection with myrrh and aloes as being used to scent
garments. It was probably prepared from the peeled bark, as
the Hebrew word suggests, of some kind of cinnamon.
(1.) Neat cattle. Many hundreds of these were yearly
consumed in sacrifices or used for food. The finest herds
were found in Bashan, beyond Jordan (Num. 32:4). Large
herds also pastured on the wide fertile plains of Sharon.
They were yoked to the plough (1 Kings 19:19), and were
employed for carrying burdens (1 Chr. 12:40). They were
driven with a pointed rod (Judg. 3:31) or goad (q.v.).
According to the Mosaic law, the mouths of cattle employed
for the threshing-floor were not to be muzzled, so as to
prevent them from eating of the provender over which they
trampled (Deut. 25:4). Whosoever stole and sold or
slaughtered an ox must give five in satisfaction (Ex.
22:1); but if it was found alive in the possession of him
who stole it, he was required to make double restitution
only (22:4). If an ox went astray, whoever found it was
required to bring it back to its owner (23:4; Deut. 22:1,
4). An ox and an ass could not be yoked together in the
plough (Deut. 22:10).
(2.) Small cattle. Next to herds of neat cattle, sheep
formed the most important of the possessions of the
inhabitants of Palestine (Gen. 12:16; 13:5; 26:14; 21:27;
29:2, 3). They are frequently mentioned among the booty
taken in war (Num. 31:32; Josh. 6:21; 1 Sam. 14:32; 15:3).
There were many who were owners of large flocks (1 Sam.
25:2; 2 Sam. 12:2, comp. Job 1:3). Kings also had shepherds
"over their flocks" (1 Chr. 27:31), from which
they derived a large portion of their revenue (2 Sam.
17:29; 1 Chr. 12:40). The districts most famous for their
flocks of sheep were the plain of Sharon (Isa. 65: 10),
Mount Carmel (Micah 7:14), Bashan and Gilead (Micah 7:14).
In patriarchal times the flocks of sheep were sometimes
tended by the daughters of the owners. Thus Rachel, the
daughter of Laban, kept her father's sheep (Gen. 29:9);
as also Zipporah and her six sisters had charge of their
father Jethro's flocks (Ex. 2:16). Sometimes they were
kept by hired shepherds (John 10:12), and sometimes by the
sons of the family (1 Sam. 16:11; 17:15). The keepers so
familiarized their sheep with their voices that they knew
them, and followed them at their call. Sheep, but more
especially rams and lambs, were frequently offered in
sacrifice. The shearing of sheep was a great festive
occasion (1 Sam. 25:4; 2 Sam. 13:23). They were folded at
night, and guarded by their keepers against the attacks of
the lion (Micah 5:8), the bear (1 Sam. 17:34), and the wolf
(Matt. 10:16; John 10:12). They were liable to wander over
the wide pastures and go astray (Ps. 119:176; Isa. 53:6;
Hos. 4:16; Matt. 18:12).
Goats also formed a part of the pastoral wealth of
Palestine (Gen. 15:9; 32:14; 37:31). They were used both
for sacrifice and for food (Deut. 14:4), especially the
young males (Gen. 27:9, 14, 17; Judg. 6:19; 13:15; 1 Sam.
16:20). Goat's hair was used for making tent cloth (Ex.
26:7; 36:14), and for mattresses and bedding (1 Sam. 19:13,
16).
The first notice of a cave occurs in the history of Lot
(Gen. 19:30).
The next we read of is the cave of Machpelah (q.v.), which
Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth (Gen. 25:9, 10). It
was the burying-place of Sarah and of Abraham himself, also
of Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob (Gen. 49:31; 50:13).
The cave of Makkedah, into which the five Amorite kings
retired after their defeat by Joshua (10:16, 27).
The cave of Adullam (q.v.), an immense natural cavern,
where David hid himself from Saul (1 Sam. 22:1, 2).
The cave of Engedi (q.v.), now called 'Ain Jidy, i.e.,
the "Fountain of the Kid", where David cut off
the skirt of Saul's robe (24:4). Here he also found a
shelter for himself and his followers to the number of 600
(23:29; 24:1). "On all sides the country is full of
caverns which might serve as lurking-places for David and
his men, as they do for outlaws at the present day."
The cave in which Obadiah hid the prophets (1 Kings 18:4)
was probably in the north, but it cannot be identified.
The cave of Elijah (1 Kings 19:9), and the
"cleft" of Moses on Horeb (Ex. 33:22), cannot be
determined.
In the time of Gideon the Israelites took refuge from the
Midianites in dens and caves, such as abounded in the
mountain regions of Manasseh (Judg. 6:2).
Caves were frequently used as dwelling-places (Num. 24:21;
Cant. 2:14; Jer. 49:16; Obad. 1:3). "The excavations
at Deir Dubban, on the south side of the wady leading to
Santa Hanneh, are probably the dwellings of the
Horites," the ancient inhabitants of Idumea Proper.
The pits or cavities in rocks were also sometimes used as
prisons (Isa. 24:22; 51:14; Zech. 9:11). Those which had
niches in their sides were occupied as burying-places
(Ezek. 32:23; John 11:38).
It grew very abundantly in Palestine, and particularly on
Lebanon, of which it was "the glory" (Isa. 35:2;
60:13). Hiram supplied Solomon with cedar trees from
Lebanon for various purposes connected with the
construction of the temple and the king's palace (2
Sam. 5:11; 7:2, 7; 1 Kings 5:6, 8,10; 6:9, 10, 15, 16, 18,
20; 7:2, 3, 7, 11, 12; 9:11, etc.). Cedars were used also
in the building of the second temple under Zerubbabel (Ezra
3:7).
Of the ancient cedars of Lebanon there remain now only some
seven or eight. They are not standing together. But beside
them there are found between three hundred and four hundred
of younger growth. They stand in an amphitheatre fronting
the west, about 6,400 feet above the level of the sea.
The cedar is often figuratively alluded to in the sacred
Scriptures. "The mighty conquerors of olden days, the
despots of Assyria and the Pharaohs of Egypt, the proud and
idolatrous monarchs of Judah, the Hebrew commonwealth
itself, the war-like Ammonites of patriarchal times, and
the moral majesty of the Messianic age, are all compared to
the towering cedar, in its royal loftiness and supremacy
(Isa. 2:13; Ezek. 17:3, 22, 23, 31:3-9; Amos 2:9; Zech.
11:1, 2; Job 40:17; Ps. 29:5; 80:10; 92:12, etc).",
Groser's Scrip. Nat. Hist. (See BOX-TREE
¯T0000636.)
(2.) It was used as an ornament (Prov. 1:9; Cant. 1:10).
The Midianites adorned the necks of their camels with
chains (Judg. 8:21, 26).
(3.) Chains were also used as fetters wherewith prisoners
were bound (Judg. 16:21; 2 Sam. 3:34; 2 Kings 25:7; Jer.
39:7). Paul was in this manner bound to a Roman soldier
(Acts 28:20; Eph. 6:20; 2 Tim. 1:16). Sometimes, for the
sake of greater security, the prisoner was attached by two
chains to two soldiers, as in the case of Peter (Acts
12:6).
The country so named is a vast plain formed by the deposits
of the Euphrates and the Tigris, extending to about 400
miles along the course of these rivers, and about 100 miles
in average breadth. "In former days the vast plains of
Babylon were nourished by a complicated system of canals
and water-courses, which spread over the surface of the
country like a network. The wants of a teeming population
were supplied by a rich soil, not less bountiful than that
on the banks of the Egyptian Nile. Like islands rising from
a golden sea of waving corn stood frequent groves of
palm-trees and pleasant gardens, affording to the idler or
traveller their grateful and highly-valued shade. Crowds of
passengers hurried along the dusty roads to and from the
busy city. The land was rich in corn and wine."
Recent discoveries, more especially in Babylonia, have
thrown much light on the history of the Hebrew patriarchs,
and have illustrated or confirmed the Biblical narrative in
many points. The ancestor of the Hebrew people, Abram, was,
we are told, born at "Ur of the Chaldees."
"Chaldees" is a mistranslation of the Hebrew
Kasdim, Kasdim being the Old Testament name of the
Babylonians, while the Chaldees were a tribe who lived on
the shores of the Persian Gulf, and did not become a part
of the Babylonian population till the time of Hezekiah. Ur
was one of the oldest and most famous of the Babylonian
cities. Its site is now called Mugheir, or Mugayyar, on the
western bank of the Euphrates, in Southern Babylonia. About
a century before the birth of Abram it was ruled by a
powerful dynasty of kings. Their conquests extended to Elam
on the one side, and to the Lebanon on the other. They were
followed by a dynasty of princes whose capital was Babylon,
and who seem to have been of South Arabian origin. The
founder of the dynasty was Sumu-abi ("Shem is my
father"). But soon afterwards Babylonia fell under
Elamite dominion. The kings of Babylon were compelled to
acknowledge the supremacy of Elam, and a rival kingdom to
that of Babylon, and governed by Elamites, sprang up at
Larsa, not far from Ur, but on the opposite bank of the
river. In the time of Abram the king of Larsa was Eri-Aku,
the son of an Elamite prince, and Eri-Aku, as has long been
recognized, is the Biblical "Arioch king of
Ellasar" (Gen. 14:1). The contemporaneous king of
Babylon in the north, in the country termed Shinar in
Scripture, was Khammu-rabi. (See BABYLON.)
In the early Latin and Greek versions of the Bible, similar
divisions of the several books were made. The New Testament
books were also divided into portions of various lengths
under different names, such as titles and heads or
chapters.
In modern times this ancient example was imitated, and many
attempts of the kind were made before the existing division
into chapters was fixed. The Latin Bible published by
Cardinal Hugo of St. Cher in A.D. 1240 is generally
regarded as the first Bible that was divided into our
present chapters, although it appears that some of the
chapters were fixed as early as A.D. 1059. This division
into chapters came gradually to be adopted in the published
editions of the Hebrew, with some few variations, and of
the Greek Scriptures, and hence of other versions.
The first mention of the chariot is when Joseph, as a mark
of distinction, was placed in Pharaoh's second state
chariot (Gen. 41:43); and the next, when he went out in his
own chariot to meet his father Jacob (46:29). Chariots
formed part of the funeral procession of Jacob (50:9). When
Pharaoh pursued the Israelites he took 600 war-chariots
with him (Ex. 14:7). The Canaanites in the valleys of
Palestine had chariots of iron (Josh. 17:18; Judg. 1:19).
Jabin, the king of Canaan, had 900 chariots (Judg. 4:3);
and in Saul's time the Philistines had 30,000. In his
wars with the king of Zobah and with the Syrians, David
took many chariots among the spoils (2 Sam. 8:4; 10:18).
Solomon maintained as part of his army 1,400 chariots (1
Kings 10:26), which were chiefly imported from Egypt (29).
From this time forward they formed part of the armies of
Israel (1 Kings 22:34; 2 Kings 9:16, 21; 13:7, 14; 18:24;
23:30).
In the New Testament we have only one historical reference
to the use of chariots, in the case of the Ethiopian eunuch
(Acts. 8:28, 29, 38).
This word is sometimes used figuratively for hosts (Ps.
68:17; 2 Kings 6:17). Elijah, by his prayers and his
counsel, was "the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen
thereof." The rapid agency of God in the phenomena of
nature is also spoken of under the similitude of a chariot
(Ps. 104:3; Isa. 66:15; Hab. 3:8).
Chariot of the cherubim (1 Chr. 28:18), the chariot formed
by the two cherubs on the mercy-seat on which the Lord
rides.
Chariot cities were set apart for storing the war-chariots
in time of peace (2 Chr. 1:14).
Chariot horses were such as were peculiarly fitted for
service in chariots (2 Kings 7:14).
Chariots of war are described in Ex. 14:7; 1 Sam. 13:5; 2
Sam. 8:4; 1 Chr. 18:4; Josh. 11:4; Judg. 4:3, 13. They were
not used by the Israelites till the time of David. Elijah
was translated in a "chariot of fire" (2 Kings
2:11). Comp. 2 Kings 6:17. This vision would be to Elisha a
source of strength and encouragement, for now he could say,
"They that be with us are more than they that be with
them."
In Isa. 19:3 the word "charmers" is the rendering
of the Hebrew 'ittim, meaning, properly,
necromancers (R.V. marg., "whisperers"). In Deut.
18:11 the word "charmer" means a dealer in
spells, especially one who, by binding certain knots, was
supposed thereby to bind a curse or a blessing on its
object. In Isa. 3:3 the words "eloquent orator"
should be, as in the Revised Version, "skilful
enchanter."
The cherubim were symbolical. They were intended to
represent spiritual existences in immediate contact with
Jehovah. Some have regarded them as symbolical of the chief
ruling power by which God carries on his operations in
providence (Ps. 18:10). Others interpret them as having
reference to the redemption of men, and as symbolizing the
great rulers or ministers of the church. Many other
opinions have been held regarding them which need not be
referred to here. On the whole, it seems to be most
satisfactory to regard the interpretation of the symbol to
be variable, as is the symbol itself.
Their office was, (1) on the expulsion of our first parents
from Eden, to prevent all access to the tree of life; and
(2) to form the throne and chariot of Jehovah in his
manifestation of himself on earth. He dwelleth between and
sitteth on the cherubim (1 Sam. 4:4; Ps. 80:1; Ezek. 1:26,
28).