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Cab – Captives
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Cab
A Hebrew measure, the sixth part of a seah, and the eighteenth part of an ephah. A cab contained three pints and one third, of our wine measure, or two pints and five sixths, of our corn measure, .
Cabul
Probably meaning displeasing,
1. A name given by Hiram king of Tyre to a district in Northern Galilee containing twenty cities, which Solomon gave him for his help in building the temple, ; the term implying his dissatisfaction with the gift.
2. A city of Asher, .
Caesar
Originally the surname of the Julian family at Rome. After being dignified in the person of Julias Caesar, it became the usual appellation of those of his family who ascended the throne. The last of these was Nero, but the name was still retained by his successors as a sort of title belonging to the imperial dignity. The emperors alluded to by this title in the New Testament, are Augustus, ; Tiberius, ; ; Claudius, ; and Nero, ; . Caligula, who succeeded Tiberius, is not mentioned.
Caesarea
Often called Caesarea of Palestine, situated on the coast of the Mediterranean sea, between Joppa and Tyre. It was anciently a small place, called the Tower of Strato, but was rebuilt with great splendor, and strongly fortified by Herod the Great, who formed a harbor by constructing a vast breakwater, adorned the city with many stately buildings, and named it Caesarea, in honor of Augustus. It was inhabited chiefly by Greeks, and Herod established in it quinquennial games in honor of the emperor. This city was the capital of Judea during the reign of Herod the Great and of Herod Agrippa I., and was also the seat of the Roman power while Judea was governed as a province of the empire. It was subject to frequent commotion between the Greeks, Romans, and Jews, so that on one occasion 20,000 persons are said to have fallen in one day.
It is noted in gospel history as the residence of Philip the evangelist, ; ; and of Cornelius the centurion, the first fruits from the Gentiles, ; Here Herod Agrippa was smitten by the angel of God, . Paul several times visited it, ; ; ,; here he appeared before Felix, who trembled under his appeals,
; ; here he was imprisoned for two years; and after pleading before Festus and Agrippa, he sailed hence for imperial Rome, ; . It is now a heap of ruins.
Caesarea-Philippi
A city three or four miles east of Dan, near the eastern source of the Jordan; anciently called Paneas, now Banias, from an adjacent grotto dedicated to Pan, from which one of the sources of the Jordan flowed. It stood where the mountains south-west of Hermon join the plain above lake Huleh, on an elevated plateau surrounded by ravines and water-courses; and its walls were thick and strong. It was enlarged and embellished by Philip the tetrarch of Trachonitis, and called Caesarea in honor of Tiberius Caesar; and the name Philippi was added to distinguish it from Caesarea on the Mediterranean. Our Savior visited this place shortly before his transfiguration, ; ; ,. After the destruction of Jerusalem, Titus here made the captive Jews fight and kill each other in gladiatorial shows. In the time of the crusades it underwent many changes, and is now a paltry village amid extensive ruins.
Caiaphas
High priest of the Jews, A. D. 27 to 36. He was a Sadducee, and a bitter enemy of Christ. At his palace the priests, etc., met after the resurrection of Lazarus, to plot the death of the Savior, lest all the people should believe on him. On one of these occasions, , he counseled the death of Christ for the political salvation of the nation; and his words were, unconsciously to him, an inspired prediction of the salvation of a lost world. These plots against Christ, ; ; , led to his seizure, and he was brought first before Annas, formerly high priest, who sent him to Caiaphas his son-in-law. See ANNAS. Caiaphas examined Christ before the assembling of the Sanhedrin, after which the trial went on, and Christ was condemned, mocked, and transferred to Pilate for sentence and execution, ; ; ; . Not content with procuring the death of the Savior, Caiaphas and his friends violently persecuted his followers, ; ,. But a few years after the ascension of Christ, and soon after the degradation of Pilate, Caiaphas also was deposed from office by the Roman proconsul Vitellius. Like Balaam of the Old Testament, he is a melancholy instance of light resisted, privilege, station, and opportunity abused, and prophetic words concerning Christ joined with a life of infidelity and crime and a fearful death.
Cain
The first-born of the human race, , and the first murderer. See ABEL. His crime was committed against the warnings of God, and he despised the call of God to confession and penitence, . The punishment inflicted upon him included an increase of physical wants and hardships, distress of conscience, banishment from society, and loss of God’s manifested presence and favor, . But God mingled mercy with judgment; and appointed for Cain some sign that he should not suffer the death penalty he had incurred at the hand of man, thus signifying that God only was his judge. He withdrew into the land of Nod, east of Eden, and built a city that he named Enoch, after one of his sons.
Cainan
1. Son of Enos, and father of Mahalaleel, ; .
2. Son of Arphaxad and father of Salah, . This Cainan, however, is not named in the three Old Testament genealogies, ; ; , nor in any ancient version. The name occurs in two places in the Septuagint, an early Greek version; and some suppose that copyists of Luke’s gospel inserted the name, in order to agree with the Septuagint.
Calah
A city of Assyria, built by Ashur or by Nimrod, ,. It was at some distance from Nineveh, and Resen lay between them. It is thought to have been near the river Lycus, the great Zab, which empties into the Tigris.
Calamus
See CANE.
Caleb
1. Son of Jephunneh, of the tribe of Judah, who was sent, with one man from each of the other tribes, to search out the promised land, :45. Of all the twelve, Caleb and Joshua acted the part of true and faithful men; and they only, of all the grown men of Israel, were permitted to enter Canaan, ,; . He was one of the princes appointed to divide the conquered territory among the tribes, . Hebron was given to him as a reward of his fidelity, according to the promise of God, ; . Though eighty-five years old, he still retained his vigor, and soon drove out the Anakim from his inheritance. He gave a portion also with his daughter Achsah to Othniel his nephew, who had earned the reward by his valor in the capture of Debir, ; . This region was for some time called by his name, .
2. Son of Hor, whose children people the country about Bethlehem, etc., .
Calf
The young of the cow, a clean animal much used in sacrifice; hence the expression, "So will we render the calves of our lips," , meaning, we will offer as sacrifices the prayers and praises of our lips, . The fatted calf was considered the choicest animal food, ; ; .
In , "they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof," there is an allusion to an ancient mode of ratifying a covenant; the parties thus signifying their willingness to be themselves cut in pieces if unfaithful, .
THE GOLDEN CALF worshipped by the Jews at mount Sinai, while Moses was absent in the mount, was cast by Aaron from the earrings of the people. Its worship was attended with degrading obscenities, and was punished by the death of three thousand men.
The golden calves of Jeroboam were erected by him, one at each extreme of his kingdom, that the ten tribes might be prevented from resorting to Jerusalem to worship, and thus coalescing with the men of Judah, . Thus the people "forgot God their Savior," and sank into gross idolatry. Jeroboam is scarcely ever mentioned in Scripture without the brand upon him, "who made Israel to sin," . The prophet Hosea frequently alludes to the calf at Bethel, to the folly and guilt of its worshippers, and to the day when both idol and people should be broken in pieces by the Assyrians.
Calneh
Called Calno, and Canneh, , one of Nimrod’s cities, , and afterwards called Ctesiphon; it lay on the east bank of the Tigris opposite Seleucia, twenty miles below Bagdad. Ctesiphon was a winter residence of the Parthian kings. Nothing now remains but the ruins of a palace and mounds of rubbish.
Calvary
Or GOLGOTHA, the latter being the Hebrew term, place of a skull, the place where our Savior was crucified, near by Jerusalem, , but outside of its walls, ; ; ; . In the same place was a private garden, and a tomb in which the body of Christ lay until the resurrection, ,. The expression, "Mount Calvary," has no evidence to support it beyond what is implied in the name Golgotha which might well be given to a slight elevation shaped like the top of a skull, and the probability that such a place would be chosen for the crucifixion. It is very doubtful whether the true localities of Calvary and the tomb are those covered by the present "Church of the Holy Sepulchre," a vast structure north of mount Zion and within the modern city, built on the site which was fixed under the empress Helena, A. D. 335, by tradition and a pretended miracle. Some biblical geographers adhere to this location; but Robinson and many others strongly oppose it, on the ground of the weakness of the tradition, and the difficulty of supposing that this place lay outside of the ancient walls. See JERUSALEM. Dr. Fisk, while visiting the spot under the natural desire to identify the scene of the crucifixion; that the rock shown column he saw, half concealed by iron-work, might have been that to which our Lord was bound when scourged; that the small fragment of rude stone seen by the light of a small taper, through a kind of iron filigree, might have been the place of our Lord’s burial and resurrection: but when he saw the neat juxtaposition of all these things, and knew that in order to provide for the structure of the church the site had to be cut down and leveled; when he reflected that on the very spot a heathen temple had stood, till removed by the empress Helena, to make room for this church; and, moreover, when he considered the superstitious purpose all these things were to serve, and the spirit of that church which thus paraded these objects of curiosity, he could not bring himself to feel they were what they professed to be.
Let us be thankful that though the exact scene of Christ’s death is now unknown, there can be no doubt as to the fact. "He died, and was buried, and the third day rose again, according to the Scriptures." Then the old ritual passed away, Satan was despoiled, man was redeemed, God reconciled, and heaven opened to all believers.
Camel
Carrier, A beast of burden very common in the East, where it is called "the land-ship," and "the carrier of the desert." It is six or seven feet high, and is exceedingly strong, tough, and enduring of labor. The feet are constructed with a tough elastic sole, which prevents the animal from sinking in the sand; and on all sorts of ground it is very sure-footed. The Arabian species, most commonly referred to in Scripture, has but one hump on the back; while the Bactrian camel, found in central Asia, has two. While the animal is well fed, these humps swell with accumulated fat, which is gradually absorbed under scarcity and toil, to supply the lack of food. The dromedary is a lighter and swifter variety, otherwise not distinguishable from the common camel, . Within the cavity of the stomach is a sort of paunch, provided with membranous cells to contain an extra provision of water: the supply with which this is filled will last for many days while he traverses the desert. His food is coarse leaves, twigs, thistles, which he prefers to the tenderest grass, and on which he performs the longest journeys. But generally, on a march, about a pound weight of dates, beans, or barley, will serve for twenty-four hours. The camel kneels to receive its load, which varies from 500 to 1,000 or 1,200 pounds. Meanwhile it is wont to utter loud cries or growls of anger and impatience. It is often obstinate and stupid, and at times ferocious; the young are as dull and ungainly as the old. Its average rate of travel is about two and one third miles an hour; and it jogs on with a sullen pertinacity hour after hour without fatigue, seeming as fresh at night as in the morning. No other animal could endure the severe and continual hardships of the camel, his rough usage, and his coarse and scanty food. The Arabians well say of him, "Job’s beast is a monument of God’s mercy."
This useful animal has been much employed in the East, from a very early period. The merchants of those sultry climes have found it the only means of exchanging the products of different lands, and from time immemorial long caravans have traversed year after year the almost pathless deserts, . The number of one’s camels was a token of his wealth. Job had 3,000, and the Midianites’ camels were like the sand of the sea,
; ; . Rebekah came to Isaac riding upon a camel, ; the queen of Sheba brought them to Solomon, and Hazael to Elisha, laden with the choicest gifts, ; ; and they were even made serviceable in war, . The camel was to the Hebrews an unclean animal, ; yet its milk has ever been to the Arabs an important article of food, and is highly prized as a cooling and healthy drink. Indeed, no animal is more useful to the Arabs, while living or after death. Out of its skin they make for corn. Of its skin they make huge water bottles and leather sacks, also sandals, ropes, and thongs. Its dung, dried in the sun, serves them for fuel.
CAMELS’ HAIR was woven into cloth in the East, some of it exceedingly fine and soft, but usually coarse and rough, used for making the coats of shepherds and camel-drivers, and for covering tents. It was this that John the Baptist wore, and not "soft raiment," . Modern dervishes wear garments of this kind and this appears to be meant in .
The expression, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle," etc., , was a proverb to describe an impossibility. The same phrase occurs in the Koran; and a similar one in the Talmud, respecting an elephant’s going through a needle’s eye. See also the proverb in , which illustrates the hypocrisy of the Pharisees by the custom of passing wine through a strainer. The old versions of the New Testament, instead of, "strain at" a gnat, have, "strain out," which conveys the true meaning.
Camp, Encampments
These terms usually refer to the movements of the Israelites between Egypt and Canaan; and many passages of the Levitical law relate to things done "within" or "without the camp." The whole body of the people consisted of six hundred thousand fighting men, besides women and children, ; and was disposed into four battalions, so arranged as to enclose the tabernacle in a square, and each under one general standard, . The mode in which this vast mass of people was arranged, with the most perfect order and subordination, must excite general surprise. Balaam, standing on the heights of Moab, viewed the imposing spectacle with admiration and awe: "How godly are thy tents, O Jacob! the Lord his God is with him," :25.
The order appointed for the removal of the hosts of Israel from one encampment to another is detailed in :36. The names of forty-one encampments are given in ; from the first in Rameses, in the month April, B. C. 1491, to the last on the brink of the Jordan forty years later. See EXODUS, and WANDERINGS.
Travellers in the desert were wont to pitch their tents in the center of a circle formed by their camels and baggage, which served as a barrier against an assault. A similar mode of encamping was practiced by large caravans, and by armies, .
Camphire
In ; , is not the gum Camphor of our apothecaries, but the Cyprus-flower, as it is sometimes called, the Athena of the Arabs, a whitish fragrant flower, hanging in clusters like grapes. Oriental ladies make use of the dried and powdered leaves to give their nails, feet, and hands a reddish orange tinge. The nails of Egyptian mummies are found thus dyed. See EYELIDS. The flowers of the Alhenna are fragrant; and being disposed in clusters, the females of Egypt are fond of carrying it in their bosoms.
Cana
The birthplace of Nathanael, the city in which our Lord performed his first miracle, and from which he soon after sent a miraculous healing to the nobleman’s son at Capernaum, eighteen miles off, ; ; . It was called Cana of Galilee, now Kana-el-Jelil, and lay seven miles north of Nazareth. This is Robinson’s view. The commonly received site is nearer Nazareth. Cana is now in ruins.
Canaan
1. The son of Ham, and grandson of Noah, . His numerous posterity seem to have occupied Zidon first, and thence spread into Syria and Canaan, ; . The Jews believe that he was implicated with his father in the dishonor done to Noah, , which was the occasion of the curse under which he and his posterity suffered, ,; , 2. The land peopled by Canaan and his posterity, and afterwards given to the Hebrews. This country has at different periods been called by various names, either from its inhabitants or some circumstances connected with its history. (1.) "The land of Canaan," from Canaan, the son of Ham, who divided it among his sons, each of whom became the head of a numerous tribe, and ultimately of a distinct people, ; . This did not at first include any land east of the Jordan. (2.) "The land of Promise," , from the promise given to Abraham, that his posterity should possess it, ; . These being termed Hebrews, ; and (4.) "The land of Israel," from the Israelites, or posterity of Jacob, having settled there. This name is of frequent occurrence in the Old Testament. It comprehends all that tract of ground on each side of the Jordan, which God gave for an inheritance to the Hebrews. At a later age, this term was often restricted to the territory of the ten tribes, . (5.) "The land of Judah." This at first comprised only the region which was allotted to the tribe of Judah. After the separation of the ten tribes, the land which belonged to Judah and Benjamin, who formed a separate kingdom, was distinguished by the appellation of "the land of Judah," or Judea; which latter name the whole country retained during the existence of the second temple, and under the dominion of the Romans. (6.) "The Holy Land." This name appears to have been used by the Hebrews after the Babylonish captivity, . (7.) "Palestine," , a name derived from the Philistines, who migrated from Egypt, and having expelled the aboriginal inhabitants, settled on the borders of the Mediterranean. Their name was subsequently given to the whole country, though they in fact possessed only a small part of it. By heathen writers, the Holy Land has been variously termed Palestine, Syria, and Phoenicia.
Canaan was bounded on the west by the Mediterranean Sea, north by mount Lebanon and Syria, east by Arabia Deserta; and south by Edom and the desert of Zin and Paran. Its extreme length was about one hundred and eighty miles, and its average width about sixty-five. Its general form and dimensions Coleman has well compared to those of the state of New Hampshire. At the period of David, vast tributary regions were for a time annexed to the Holy Land. These included the bordering nations on the east, far into Arabia Deserta; thence north to Tipsah on the Euphrates, with all Syria between Lebanon and the Euphrates. On the south it included Edom, and reached the Red sea at Ezion-geber.
The land of Canaan has been variously divided. Under Joshua it was apportioned out to the twelve tribes. Under Rehoboam it was divided into the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah. It afterwards fell into the hands of the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Syrians, and the Romans. During the time of our Savior, it was under the dominion of the last-mentioned people, and was divided into five provinces: Galilee, Samaria, Judea, Peraea, and Idumaea. Peraea was again divided into seven cantons; Abilene, Trachonitis, Iturea, Gaulonitis, Batanaea, Peraea, and Decapolis. At present, Palestine is subject to the sultan of Turkey, under whom the pashas of Acre and Gaza govern the seacoast and the pasha of Damascus the interior of the country.
The surface of the land of Canaan is beautifully diversified with mountains and plains, rivers and valleys. The principal mountains are Lebanon, Carmel, Tabor, Gilead, Herman, the mount of Olives, etc. The plain of the Mediterranean, of Esdraelon, and of Jericho, are celebrated as the scenes of many important events. The chief streams are the Jordan, the Arnon, the Sihor, the Jabbok, and the Kishon. The lake of Tiberias or Sea of Galilee, and lake Merom. These are elsewhere described, each in its own place.
The general features of the country may here be briefly described. The northern boundary is at the lofty mountains of Lebanon and Hermon, some peaks of which are ten thousand feet high. Around the base of mount Hermon are the various sources of the Jordan. This river, passing through lake Merom and the sea of Galilee, flows south with innumerable windings into the Dead sea. Its valley is deeply sunk, and from its source to the Dead sea it has a descent of two thousand feet. The country between the Jordan valley and the Mediterranean Sea is in general an elevated tableland, broken up by many hills and by numerous deep valleys through which the wintry torrents flow into Jordan and the sea. The tableland of Galilee may be nine hundred or one thousand feet above the Mediterranean. In lower Galilee we find the great and beautiful plain of Esdraelon, extending from mount Carmel and Acre on the west to Tabor and Gilboa, and even to the Jordan on the east. From this plain the land again rises towards the south; mount Gerizim being 2,300 feet, Jerusalem 2,400, and Hebron 2,600 above the sea. On the seacoast, below mount Carmel, a fertile plain is found; towards the south it becomes gradually wider, and expands at last into the great dessert of Paran. From this plain of the seacoast the ascent to the high land of the interior is by a succession of natural terraces; while the descent to the Jordan, the Dead Sea, and Edom, is abrupt and precipitous. The country beyond the Jordan is mountainous; a rich grazing land, with many fertile valleys. Still farther east is the high and desolate plateau of Arabia Deserta.
The soil and climate of Canaan were highly favorable. The heat was not extreme in the deep riverbeds, and on the seacoast; and the climate was in general mild and healthful. The variations of sunshine, clouds, and rain, which with us extend throughout the year, are in Palestine confined chiefly to the winter or rainy season. The autumnal rains usually commence in the latter part of October, and soon after the first showers wheat and barley are sowed. Rain falls more heavily in December; and continues, though with less frequency, until April. From May to October no rain falls. The cold of winter is not severe, and the ground does not freeze. Snows a foot or more deep sometimes occur, and there are frequent hailstorms in winter. The barley harvest is about a fortnight earlier than the wheat, and both are earlier than the wheat, and both are earlier in the plains than on the high land; altogether the grain harvest extends from April to June. In this month and October the heat is great; the ground becomes dry up; and all nature, animate and inanimate, looks forward with longing for the return of the rainy season.
The soil of Canaan was highly productive. The prevailing rock is a chalky limestone, abounding in caverns. It readily formed, and was covered with, a rich mould, which produced, in the various elevations and climates so remarkably grouped together in that small region of the world, an unequalled variety of the fruits of the ground. Olives, figs, vines, and pomegranates grew in abundance; the hills were clothed with flocks and herds, and the valleys were covered with corn. The land of promise was currently described as "flowing with milk and honey." Yet the glowing description given by Moses, , and the statements of history as to the vast population formerly occupying it, are in striking contrast with its present aspect of barrenness and desolation. The curse brought down by the unbelief of the Jews still blights their unhappy land. Long ages of warfare and misrule have despoiled and depopulated it. Its hills, once terraced to the summit, and covered with luxuriant grain, vines, olives, and figs, are now bare rocks. Its early and latter rains, once preserved in reservoirs, and conducted by winding channels to water the ground in the season of drought, now flow off unheeded to the sea. The land, stripped of its forests, lies open to the sun-which now scorches where it once fertilized. And yet some parts of Palestine still show an astonishing fertility; and wherever the soil is cultivated, it yields a hundred fold. Indian corn grows there eleven feet high, and grapes are still produced that almost rival the clusters of Eshcol. Intelligent travellers agree in confirming the statements of Scripture as to its ancient fertility. See HEBREWS, JUDEA.
CONQUEST OF CANAAN. Various arguments have been adduced to justify the conquest of Canaan, and the extermination of its inhabitants by the Israelites; as, that the land had been allotted to Shem and his sons after the flood, and the sons of Ham were usurpers; that they first assaulted to the Jews; that Abraham had taken possession of the land ages before; that the Canaanites were akin to the Egyptians, and implicated in their guilt and punishment as oppressors of the Hebrews. Whatever justice there may be in any of these reasons, they are not those which the Bible assigns. The only true warrant of the Jews was, the special command of the Lord of all. They were impressively taught that the wickedness of those nations was the reason of their punishment, which the forbearance of God had long delayed, and which was designed as a warning to them and all mankind against idolatry and its kindred sins. It was these sins the Jews were to abhor and exterminate; they were to act as agents of God’s justice, and not for the gratification of their own avarice, anger, or lust, the spoil and the captives being all devoted to destruction. The narrative of the conquest is given in :49; :33; . The Canaanites were not wholly destroyed. Many of them escaped to other lands; and fragments of almost all the nations remained in Judea, subject to the Israelites, but snares to their feet and thorns in their sides. It must be observed also, that full notice was previously given them to quit their forfeited possessions; a solemn writ of ejectment had been issued by the great Proprietor, and if they resisted, they incurred the consequences.
Canaanites
The descendants of Canaan. Their first habitation was in the land of Canaan, where they multiplied extremely, and by trade and war acquired great riches, and sent out colonies all over the islands and coasts of the Mediterranean. When the measure of their idolatries and abominations was completed, God delivered their country into the hands of the Israelites, who conquered it under Joshua. See the previous article. The following are the principal tribes mentioned.
1. The HIVITES dwelt in the northern part of the country, at the foot of mount Hermon, or Anti-Lebanon, according to , where it is related that they, along with the united forces of northern Canaan, were defeated by Joshua. They were not, however, entirely driven out of their possessions, ; ; . There were also Hivites in middle Palestine, ; ,; .
2. The CANAANITES, in a restricted sense, inhabited partly the plains on the coast of the Mediterranean sea, ; .
3. The GIRGASHITES dwelt between the Canaanites and the Jebusites; as may be inferred from the order in which they are mentioned in .
4. The JEBUSITES had possession of the hill country around Jerusalem, and of that city itself, of which the ancient name was Jebus, ,; . The Benjamites, to whom this region was allotted, did not drive out the Jebusites, . David first captured the citadel of Jebus, .
5. The AMORITES inhabited, in Abraham’s time, the region south of Jerusalem, on the western side of the Dead sea, . At a later period, they spread themselves out over all the mountainous country which forms the southeastern part of Canaan, and which was called from them the "mountain of the Amorites," and afterwards the "mountain of Judea,"
,; ; . On the east side of the Jordan also they had, before the time of Moses, founded two kingdoms, that of Bashan in the north, and another, bounded at first by the Jabbok, in the south. But under Sihon they crossed the Jabbok, and took from the Ammonites and Moabites all the country between the Jabbok and the Arnon; so that this latter stream now became the southern boundary of the Amorites, ,,,; ,; ,; . This last tract the Israelites took possession of after their victory over Sihon. See AMORITES.
6. The HITTITES, or children of Heth, according to the report of the spies, , dwelt among the Amorites in the mountainous district of the south, afterwards called the "mountain of Judah." In the time of Abraham they possessed Hebron; and the patriarch purchased from them the cave of Machpelah as a sepulchre, ; ,. After the Israelites entered Canaan, the Hittites seem to have moved farther northward. The country around Bethel is called "the land of the Hittites," . See HITTITES.
7. The PERIZZITES were found in various parts of Canaan. The name signifies inhabitants of the plains, from their original abode. According to , they dwelt with the Canaanites, between Bethel and Ai; and according to , in the vicinity of Shechem. See PERIZZITES.
Besides these seven tribes, there were several others of the same parentage, dwelling north of Canaan. These were the Arkites, Arvadites, Hamathites, and Zemarites. There were also several other tribes of diverse origin within the bounds of Canaan, destroyed by the Israelites; such as the Anakim, the Amalekites, and the Rephaim of giants.
Candace
The name of an Ethiopian queen, whose high treasurer was converted to Christianity under the preaching of Philip the evangelist, . The Ethiopia over which she ruled was not Abyssinia, but that region of Upper Nubia called by the Greeks Meroe; and is supposed to correspond with the present province of Atbara, lying between thirteen and eighteen degrees north latitude. Extensive ruins found in this neighborhood, and along the upper valley of the Nile, indicate high civilization among the ancient Ethiopians. Pliny and Strabo inform us that for some time before and after the Christian era, Ethiopia Proper was under the government of female sovereigns, who all bore the appellation of Candace. Irenaeus and Eusebius ascribe to Candace’s minister her own conversion to Christianity, and the promulgation of the gospel through her kingdom.
Candlestick
In the tabernacle, the golden candlestick stood on the left hand of one entering the Holy Place, opposite the table of showbread. It consisted of a pedestal; an upright shaft; six arms, three on one side and three on the opposite side of the shaft; and seven lamps surmounting the shaft and arms. The arms were adorned with three kinds of carved ornaments, called cups, globes, and blossoms. Its lamps were supplied with pure olive oil, and lighted every evening, ; ,; ; ; ; . In the first temple there were ten candelabra of pure gold, half of them standing on the north, and half on the south side, within the Holy Place, ,; ; . In the second temple there was but one, resembling that of the tabernacle. This was carried to Rome, on the destruction of Jerusalem; it was lodged in Vespasian’s temple to Peace, and copied on the triumphal arch of Titus, where its mutilated image is yet to be seen. See the beautiful and significant visions of the candlestick by Zechariah and John, ; ,.
Cane
Or CALAMUS, SWEET, , an aromatic reed mentioned among the drugs of which the sacred perfumes were compounded, . The true odoriferous calamus or grass came from India; and the prophets speak of it as a foreign commodity of great value, ; ; .
Canker-Worm
In our English Bible, put where the Hebrew means a species of locust, ; ,.
Canon
The Greek word denotes, primarily, a straight rod; hence a rule or standard, by a reference to which the rectitude of opinions or actions may be decided. In the latter sense it is used in ; . In the same sense it was used by the Greek fathers. As the standard to which they sought to appeal on all questions was the will of God contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, they came naturally to apply this term to the collective body of those writings, and to speak of them as the canon or rule. Canon is also equivalent to a list of catalogue, in which are inserted those books which contain the inspired rule of faith.
In order to establish the canon of Scripture, it must be shown that all the books are of divine authority; that they are entire and incorrupt; that it is complete without addition from any foreign source; and that the whole of the books for which divine authority can be proved are included. See BIBLE.
Capernaum
A chief city of Galilee in the time of Christ, not mentioned before the captivity in Babylon. It lay on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, about five miles from the Jordan and on the frequented route from Damascus to the Mediterranean. This seems to have been the residence of Christ, during the three years of his ministry, more than any other place. The brothers Andrew and Peter dwelt there; Christ often taught in the synagogue, and wrought mighty works there. ; ; ,; and it is called "his own city," ; ; . Its inhabitants were thus "exalted unto heaven;" but their unbelief and impenitence cast them down to destruction, . The very name and site of Capernaum have been lost. Dr. Robinson, however, finds them at Khan Minyeh, on the northern border of the fine plain of Gennesareth, where ruins of some extent still remain, and a copious fountain not far from the sea.
Caphtorim
Descendants of Mizraim, and kindred to the Casluhim, near whom they were probably located on the northeast coast of Africa. These last two people are both named as ancestors of the Philistines, ; ; ; and it is probable that a colony made up from both drove out the Avim from the country on the south-east coast of the Mediterranean, and occupied it under the name of Philistines, which it is generally agreed means strangers. But whether they came from Cyprus, Crete, or Cappadocia, is not agreed.
Cappadocia
The largest ancient province of Asia Minor; having Pontus on the north, mount Taurus, separating it from Cilicia and Syria, on the south, Galatia on the west, and the Euphrates and Armenia on the east. It was watered by the river Halys, and was noted for its fine pastures and its excellent breed of horses, asses, and sheep. There were many Jews residing in it, . Christianity was early introduced there, , among a people proverbial for dullness, faithlessness, and vice. See CRETE. Several celebrated Christian fathers flourished in this province, as Basil and the three Gregories; and their churches may be traced as late as the tenth century.
Captives
Taken in war, seem anciently to have been looked upon as justly liable to death, and hence to any treatment less dreadful than death. Their necks were trodden upon, , in token of abject subjection, which illustrates . They were sold into servitude, like Joseph. They were mutilated, like Samson, or Adonizedek. They were stripped of all clothing, and driven in crowds to adorn the victor’s triumph. Large numbers of them were selected, often by a measuring line, , and slain, . This was sometimes done with designed cruelty, ; . The Romans in some cases bound a living captive to a dead body, and left them to perish together; a practice which may be applied to illustrate the apostle’s cry, "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" .
William W. Rand (ed.), A Dictionary of the Holy Bible, for General Use in the Study of the Scriptures (American Tract Society, 1859). Public domain. Text from the CrossWire Bible Society.