Cherubim (1) – Children Of Eden

Cherubim (1)

cher'-u-bim, cher'-oo-bim (kerubhim, plural of cherub, kerubh): Through the influence of the Septuagint, "cherubim" was used in the earlier English versions, also as a singular, hence, the plural was made to sound "cherubims." The etymology of the word cannot be ascertained.

1. As Guardians of Paradise:

In Genesis 3:24 the cherubim are placed by God, after the expulsion of Adam from the garden of Eden, at the east thereof, together with the flaming sword "to keep the way of the tree of life." In their function as guardians of Paradise the cherubim bear an analogy to the winged bulls and lions of Babylonia and Assyria, colossal figures with human faces standing guard at the entrance of temples (and palaces), just as in Egypt the approaches to the sanctuaries are guarded by sphinxes. But the Babylonian colossi go by the name of lamassu, or shedu; no designation at all approaching the Hebrew kerubh has so far been found in the Assyrian language. Nor are thus named the winged figures, half human and half animal, which in Babylonian and Persian art are found on both sides of the "sacred tree." Thus, a Babylonian origin of the Hebrew cherubim is neither proved nor disproved. If we look for further analogies which, of course, do not indicate a borrowing on the part of the Hebrews, we may mention the fabulous griffins (grupes), usually represented as having the heads and wings of an eagle and the body and hind quarters of a lion; they were believed by the Greeks to inhabit Scythia, and to keep jealous watch over the gold of that country.

2. The Garden as the Abode of the Gods:

If we read between the lines of the Paradise account in Ge (compare Genesis 3:8), the garden of Eden, the primeval abode of man, reveals itself as more than that: it was apparently the dwelling-place of God. In the polytheistic story of the creation of the world and early life of man, which, while in several respects analogous (compare Genesis 3:22), is devoid of the more spiritual notions of Hebraism, the garden was the abode of the gods who alone had access to the tree of life from the fruit of which they derived their immortality. Adam, before the fall, is conceived as a superhuman being; for while he is forbidden to taste of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, the way to immortality is open to him; for it is only after transgressing the Divine command that he merits death and becomes mortal. The choice of immortal innocence and mortal knowledge lay before him; he elected death with knowledge.

3. The Cherubim as Attendants of the Deity:

The mythical elements of the Paradise story are still more patent in Ezekiel 28:13 ff, where the fall of the king of Tyre is likened to that of primeval man. The garden is situated on a holy mountain of Elohim(= God to Ezekiel, but gods in the primitive source), the `mountain of assembly' of Isaiah 14:13, high above the stars in the recesses of the North. It is a wonderful place, adorned with all manner of precious stones. There man, perfect from the day he was created, resplendent with beauty, excelling in wisdom, walks among the fiery stones, like a cherub with outstretched wings. The cherubs are apparently the attendants of the Deity, beauteous angels, of whom man was to be one: but he fell from glory and was hurled from the sanctuary which he had polluted. Some of the angelic attendants of the Deity within are placed in Genesis without, to do service as guardians of the unapproachable holy garden.

4. As Bearers of the Throne:

As attendants of God, they bear the throne upon which He descends from His high abode. Thus in the description of a theophany in Psalms 18:1–50, we read: "He bowed the heavens also, and came down; And thick darkness was under his feet. And he rode upon a cherub and did fly; Yea, he soared upon the wings of the wind." (Psalms 18:9,Psalms 18:10) Hence, the Lord, or, as the fuller title goes, the Lord of Hosts, is repeatedly styled "He that sitteth (throned) above the cherubim" (Psalms 80:1; Psalms 99:1; 1 Samuel 4:4, and elsewhere). There is certainly no trace here of bull figures: bulls do not fly. The underlying conception is, it seems, rather that of the storm cloud. Compare Psalms 104:3: "Who maketh the clouds his chariot; Who walketh upon the wings of the wind." The Hebrew for "chariot" is rekhubh, a sort of inverted kerubh. 5. In the Vision of Ezekiel:

But the function of the cherubim as bearers and movers of the Divine throne is brought out most clearly in the vision of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:1–28, with which compare Ezekiel 10:1–22). In chapter 1 the prophet designates them as "living creatures" (chayyoth); but upon hearing God's words addressed to the "man clothed in linen" (Ezekiel 10:2) he perceives that the living creatures which he saw in the first vision were cherubim (Ezekiel 10:20); hence, in Ezekiel 9:3 the chariot or throne, from which the glory of God went up, is spoken of as a cherub. The following is a description in detail of the cherubim as seen by Ezekiel. They are represented as four living creatures, each with four faces, man, lion, ox (replaced in the parallel chapter by cherub), and eagle (Ezekiel 1:10; Ezekiel 10:14), having the figure and hands of men (Ezekiel 1:5,Ezekiel 1:8), and the feet of calves (Ezekiel 1:7). Each has four wings, two of which are stretched upward (Ezekiel 1:11), meeting above and sustaining the "firmament," that is, the bottom of the Divine throne (Ezekiel 1:22; Ezekiel 10:1), while two are stretched downward, conformable the one to the other, so as to cover their bodies (Ezekiel 1:11,Ezekiel 1:23). In appearance, the living creatures resemble coals of fire (compare Ezekiel 10:2,Ezekiel 10:6 f, where the "man clothed in linen" is bidden fill both his hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim), burning like torches, the fire flashing up and down among the creatures, a bright fire out of which lightning goes forth (Ezekiel 1:13). Thus the creatures run and vanish as the appearance of a flash of lightning (Ezekiel 1:14). The cherubim do not turn as they change direction, but always go straight forward (Ezekiel 1:9,Ezekiel 1:17; Ezekiel 10:11), as do the wheels of the cherubic chariot with rings full of eyes round about (Ezekiel 1:18; Ezekiel 10:12). The cherubim represent the spirit, or will, in the wheels: at the direction of the spirit, the wheels are lifted up from the bottom and the chariot moves upward (Ezekiel 1:19 Ezekiel 10:16 f). The cherubim are thus the moving force of the vehicle.

6. Relation to Seraphim and Other Angels:

Ezekiel's cherubim are clearly related to the seraphim in Isaiah's inaugural vision (Isaiah 6:1–13). Like the cherubim, the seraphim are the attendants on God as He is seated upon a throne high and exalted; they are also winged creatures: with twain they cover their faces, and with twain they cover their feet, and with twain they fly. Like the Levites in the sanctuary below, they sing a hymn of adoration: "Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory." In the Book of Enoch, the cherubim, seraphim, and ophannim (wheels), and all the angels of power constitute the "host of God," the guardians of His throne, the singers of praise ascribing blessedness to "the Lord of Spirits," with the archangel Gabriel at their head (see Isaiah 61:10 f;). And so in the Jewish daily liturgy the seraphim, ophannim, and "living creatures" constitute the heavenly choir who, the elect ministers of the Living God, ready to do the will of their maker with trembling, intone in sweet harmony the Thrice-holy. In the Talmud, the cherubim are represented as having the likeness of youths (with a fanciful etymology, ke plus rubh, "like a youth"; Cukk 5b; Chag 13b), while, according to the Midrash, they have no definite shape, but appear indifferently as men or women, or as spirits and angelic beings (Ge rabba' 21).

7. In Revelation 4:

The "four living creatures" of Revelation 4:6 ff are clearly modeled upon Ezekiel, with supplementary touches from Isaiah. Full of eyes before and behind, they are in the midst of the throne, and round about it. One resembles a lion, the other a calf, and the third a man, and the fourth a flying eagle. Each of the creatures has six wings. "They have no rest day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come."

8. Ornamental Cherubim in the Temple of Solomon:

In the temple of Solomon, two gigantic cherubic images of olive-wood plated with gold, ten cubits high, stood in the innermost sanctuary (the debhir) facing the door, whose wings, five cubits each, extended, two of them meeting in the middle of the room to constitute the throne, while two extended to the walls (1 Kings 6:23–28; 1 Kings 8:6,1 Kings 8:7; 2 Chronicles 3:10–13; 2 Chronicles 5:7,2 Chronicles 5:8). The Chronicler represents them as the chariot of the Lord (1 Chronicles 28:18). There were also images of the cherubim carved on the gold-plated cedar planks which constituted the inner walls of the temple, and upon the olive-wood doors (1 Kings 6:29,1 Kings 6:35; 2 Chronicles 3:7); also on the bases of the portable lavers, interchanging with lions and oxen (1 Kings 7:29–36). According to the Chronicler, they were also woven in the veil of the Holy of Holies (2 Chronicles 3:14).

9. In the Temple of Ezekiel:

Ezekiel represents the inner walls of the temple as carved with alternating palm trees and cherubim, each with two faces, the lion looking on one side, the man on the other (Ezekiel 41:18–25).

10. In the Tabernacle:

In the Tabernacle, there were two cherubim of solid gold upon the golden slab of the "lid," or "mercy-seat," facing each other, with wings outstretched above, so as to constitute a throne on which the glory of the Lord appeared, and from which He spake (Exodus 25:18–22; Exodus 37:7–9; Numbers 7:89; Hebrews 9:5). There were also cherubim woven into the texture of the inner curtain of the Tabernacle and the veil (Exodus 26:1,Exodus 26:31; Exodus 36:8,Exodus 36:35). There were no cherubim in the temple of Herod, but the walls were painted with figures of them (see Talmud Yoma' 54a). In the times of Josephus no one knew what the Scriptural cherubim looked like (Ant., VIII, iii, 3).

LITERATURE.

Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, under the word; KAT3, 529 f, and references; commentaries on Genesis and Ezekiel.

Max L. Margolis

Cherubim (2)

The cherubic forms in the constellation figures.

See ASTRONOMY, sec. II, 8.

Chesalon

kes'-a-lon (kecalon; Chaslon, Chasalon): One of the cities on the Northern boundary of Judah (Joshua 15:10). In the 4th century it was a "very large village." It is now Kesla, 2,087 ft. above sea-level, a small village perched on a mountain ridge to the South of Wady el Humar. See Palestine Exploration Fund, III, 25, 26; Sh XVII.

Chesed

ke'-sed, kes'-ed (kasdim; Chaszad): One of the sons of Nahor and Milcah (Genesis 22:22); was probably the father of the Casdim. The early Babylonian form Kasdu appears in Assyrian as Kaldu or Kaldu. English Versions of the Bible follows the Assyrian and Greek style of writing the name and uses Chaldees or Chaldeans instead of Casdim. The Chaldeans dwelt in the lower valley of the Euphrates, at the head of the Persian Gulf. Abram came from Ur of the Chaldees (Genesis 11:28,Genesis 11:31; Genesis 15:7; Nehemiah 9:7). In Job 1:17 the Casdim are described as invading the land of Uz, the eldest brother of Chesed (Genesis 22:21,Genesis 22:22). In the days of Nebuchadrezzar the Casdim overran Syria and Palestine and carried the people of Judah in successive deportations into captivity (2 Kings 24:1–10; 2 Kings 25:1 ff). In Daniel 2:2,Daniel 2:5 the Casdim are named with the magicians and astrologers as a learned class, skilled in interpretations. Casdim is sometimes used in Hebrew for the land of Chaldea (Ezekiel 23:15 Ezekiel 11:24).

John Richard Sampey

Chesil

ke'-sil, kes'-il (kecil; A, Chaseir): A town in the extreme South of Judah named with Eltolad, Hormah and Ziklag (Joshua 15:30). The name does not occur again. In Joshua 19:4 it is replaced by Bethul (Septuagint Baithel), and in 1 Chronicles 4:30 by Bethuel. "Chesil" may have arisen from a misreading of the text.

Chesnut

ches'-nut.

See CHESTNUT.

Chest

chest ('aron, genazim; kibotos):

(1) The ark of the covenant in Old Testament is invariably denoted by the word 'aron, elsewhere rendered the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) "chest."

See ARK.

(2) 'Aron is also the word rendered "coffin" (Genesis 50:26: "and he was put in a coffin in E.").

See COFFIN.

(3) In Kings and Chronicles (2 Kings 12:9,2 Kings 12:10; 2 Chronicles 24:8,2 Chronicles 24:10,2 Chronicles 24:11) 'aron stands uniformly for a money chest. It is the "chest" that Jehoiada, the priest, placed in the court "beside the altar" and "bored a hole in the lid of" that the priests might "put therein all the money that was brought into the house of Yahweh" (2 Kings 12:9); and "the chest" that King Joash commanded to be made and set "without at the gate of the house of Yahweh" to receive "the tax that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel" (2 Chronicles 24:8,2 Chronicles 24:10,2 Chronicles 24:11). One feature is common to the thing meant in all these applications--the c. was rectangular in shape, and, most probably in every instance, made of wood.

(4) Josephus (Ant., VI, 1,2) uses the equivalent of the word to denote the "coffer" (1 Samuel 6:8 ff English Versions), or small chest, in which the princes of Philistia deposited the gold mice.

(5) In New Testament times the "chests" that were provided in the court of the women, in the temple of Herod, to receive the various kinds of money gifts had the exceptional shape of a trumpet (if Sheqalim, vi.5 may be trusted)--wide at the bottom and gradually narrowing toward the top, hence, called shopharoth. It was into these that the Master was watching the multitude casting in their money when He saw the poor widow cast in her two mites (Mark 12:41,Mark 12:42).

(6) In Ezekiel 27:24, where the prophet is giving an inventory of the merchandise of Tyre, another word entirely is used (genazim), and it is rendered in the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) "chests" ("chests of rich apparel, bound with cords and made of cedar"). According to Cornill, Davidson, Smend and others this rendering is without sufficient support (see Smith, Dictionary of the Bible and commentary in the place cited.).

George B. Eager

Chestnut, Tree

ches'-nut.

See PLANE TREE.

Chesulloth

ke-sul'-oth (ha-keculloth; B, Chasaloth, A, Achesaloth): A town on the border of Zebulun (Joshua 19:18), the same as Chisloth-tabor (Joshua 19:12). It is represented by the modern village Iksal on the northern edge of Esdraelon, circa 3 miles West of Mt. Tabor.

Cheth

See CHETH.

Chettiim

ket'-i-im, ket-i'-im (kittim).

See KITTIM.

Chew; Cud

choo, chu, (ma`aleh gerah, literally "bringing up" (American Revised Versions margin), i.e. "chewing the cud," from garar, "to roll," "ruminate"): One of the marks of cleanliness, in the sense of fitness for food, of a quadruped, given in Leviticus 11:3 and Deuteronomy 14:6, is the chewing of the cud. Among the animals considered clean are therefore included the ox, the sheep, the goat, the hart, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the pygarg, the antelope and the chamois. Several of the forbidden animals are expressly named in the passages, e.g. the camel, the rock-badger, the hare and the swine. In addition to the distinctions between clean and unclean animals mentioned in the Bible, the Talmud points out that the clean animals have no upper teeth, that their horns are either forked, or if not forked they are clear of splinters, notched with scales and round, and that certain portions of the meat of clean animals tear lengthwise as well as across. Many theories have been advanced as to the reasons for the distinctions with regard to the chewing of the cud and the cloven hoof. See the Jewish Encyclopedia under the word "Clean." The most obvious is that ruminating animals and animals without claws were apparently cleaner-feeding animals than the others.

Nathan Isaacs

Chezib

ke'-zib.

See ACHZIB (1).

Chicken

chik'-'-n, chik'-in (Anglo-Saxon, cicen or cycen; Latin, Gallus ferrugineus; alektruon, masculine and fem.): A barnyard fowl of any age. The record is to be found in the books of the disciples, but Jesus is responsible for the only direct mention of chickens in the Bible. Matthew 23:37, contains this: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" Luke's version of the same scene says: "Even as a hen gathereth her own brood under her wings" (Luke 13:34). There is no reference to chickens in the Old Testament sufficiently clear to specify our common domestic bird. The many references to "fatted fowl" in these older records, in accordance with the text and the history of the other nations, were pigeons, guineas, ducks, geese and swans. The importation of peafowl by Solomon is mentioned. The cock and hen are distinctive birds and would have been equally a marvel worth recording had they been introduced at that time. From the history of the bird in other countries it is a safe estimate to place their entrance into Palestine between five and six hundred years BC. That would allow sufficient time for them to increase and spread until they would be well known and common enough to be used effectively in the ministry of Jesus Christ. Every historical fact and indication points to the capture and domestication of the red jungle fowl in Burma. The Chinese records prove that they first secured imported fowl from the West in 1400 BC. Their use for food dated from 1200 to 800 BC, in the Book of Manu, but it was specified that only those that ran wild were to be eaten. From these countries they were imported to Greece and Italy, and from there carried south into Palestine Homer ([?] 10; compare also alektruon, P 602) names a man Cock, alektor, which seems to indicate that he knew the bird. Pindar gives them slight mention; Aristophanes wrote of them as "Persian birds," which indicates that they worked their way westward by importation. I cannot find them in the records of Aristotle, but Aristophanes advanced the idea that not the gods, but the birds were rulers of men in ancient times, and compared the comb of the cock with the crown of a king, and pointed out that when he "merely crows at dawn all jump up to their work" (Aves, 489-90). They were common in Italy in the days of Pliny, who was ten years old at the time of the crucifixion of Christ. Pliny gave many rules for raising chickens, proving that much was known of their habits in his time. Yet so credulous was he and so saturated with superstition, that, mixed with his instructions for preserving eggs, brooding and raising chickens, is the statement that on account of the fighting power of the cocks the lions feared them. He wrote that a man named Galerius in the time of the consuls, Lepidus and Catulus, owned a barnyard fowl that spoke. He names Lenius Strabo as the first man to devise a "coupe" to keep fowl in and "cram" them to fatness. He gave the laws governing the use of fowl at table and recorded that in Egypt eggs were hatched in manure beds, which is conclusive proof that birds had been carried across the Mediterranean several centuries previous. The records of Babylon, 600 BC, contain figures undoubtedly intended for cocks, and they were reproduced in marble in Lycia at that time, In all these reproductions the birds have the drooping tail of the wild, and there is no record of the date at which they erected the tail, lifted the head and assumed the upright bearing of today.

Gene Stratton-Porter

Chide

chid: Only in the Old Testament, translating Hebrew ribh, a word which is more frequently rendered "strive." Since in Genesis 31:36; Judges 8:1; Psalms 103:9, the strife is one of words, it means in these passages, "scold," or "sharply censure," and is applied either to mutinous protests and reproaches of inferiors to a superior, or, as in the last of these passages, to rebukes administered by a superior to inferiors.

Chidon, The Threshing-Floor Of

ki'-don, (goren kidhon; Septuagint B, omits; A has Cheilo): The place where Uzza perished because he touched the ark (1 Chronicles 13:9). In 2 Samuel 6:6 it is called the threshing- floor of Nachon. No name resembling either of these has been discovered.

Chief

chef: The English word is in the King James Version of Old Testament the translation of some 17 different Hebrew words, most frequently of ro'sh, "head," sar, "prince," and re'shith, "beginning." The principal changes made by the Revised Version (British and American) are:

(1) Hebrew beth'abh, "house of a father," being recognized as a technical term denoting a subdivision of a tribe, ro'sh is rendered literally "head," when it occurs in connection with this phrase, so that "chief fathers" (Num 31:26) and "chief of the fathers" (Ezra 1:5) become "heads of fathers' houses";

(2) Hebrew naghidh and nasi' are more accurately translated "prince" in such passages as 1 Chronicles 5:2; Numbers 3:32;

(3) the misinterpretations which brought about the translation "chief" for 'atsilim, "corners," Isaiah 41:9, and for ma`aleh, "ascent," in 2 Chronicles 32:33, are corrected.

In the New Testament "chief" is in most of its appearances the translation of Greek protos, "first"; the Revised Version (British and American) reads "first" for the King James Version "chief," "chiefest," in Matthew 20:27; Mark 10:44; Acts 16:12. The reading in the latter passage is a difficult one, but the King James Version "Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia," seems to imply a political authority which Philippi did not possess; the Revised Version (British and American) "a city of Macedonia, the first of the district." Greek archon, "prince," "ruler," is rendered by the King James Version "chief," by the Revised Version (British and American) "prince," in Luke 11:15; the King James Version "chief Pharisees," the Revised Version (British and American) "rulers of the Pharisees," in Luke 14:1.

The original meaning of "chief" having been weakened, the comparative and superlative were admitted into English, the latter only appearing in the King James Version or the Revised Version: 1 Samuel 2:29; Song of Songs 5:10; 2 Corinthians 11:5, etc. On "chief of Asia" (Acts 19:31 the King James Version) see ASIARCH.

F. K. Farr

Chief Friends; Good Men

See CHIEF FRIENDS; GOOD, CHIEF; CHIEF.

Chief Musician

mu-zish'-an.

See ASAPH.

Chief Seats

chef sets (protokathedria): It was one of the reproaches urged by our Lord against the scribes and Pharisees that they loved the chief seats in the synagogues (Matthew 23:6; Mark 12:39; Luke 11:43; Luke 20:46). These were special seats set in front of the ark containing the Scriptures and of the reader's platform, and facing the congregation. They were specially reserved for those who were held in the highest honor in the congregation. There were seventy-one such seats in the great synagogue of Alexandria, which were occupied by the members of the great Council in that city (see SYNAGOGUE).

J. Macartney Wilson

Child-Bearing

child'-bar-ing: Only in 1 Timothy 2:15: "She shall be saved through her (m "the") child-bearing" (dia tes teknogonias). The reference is to the calling of woman as wife and mother, as her ordinary lot in life, and to the anxieties, pains and perils of maternity, as the culmination and representation of the penalties woman has incurred because of the Fall (Genesis 3:16). "She shall be saved by keeping faithfully and simply to her allotted sphere as wife and mother" (Dummelow). The preposition dia is not used here instrumentally, as though child-bearing were a means of her salvation, but locally, as in 1 Corinthians 3:15, "saved so as through fire," where life is saved by rushing through the flames. The explanation by reference to the incarnation, with an appeal to Galatians 4:4, favored by Ellicott and others, seems very mechanical.

H. E. Jacobs

Child; Children

child, chil'-dren (ben, "son," yeledh, "child" na`ar, "lad"; teknon, paidion): The Hebrews regarded the presence of children in the family as a mark of Divine favor and greatly to be desired (Genesis 15:2; Genesis 30:1; 1 Samuel 1:11,1 Samuel 1:20; Psalms 127:3; Luke 1:7,Luke 1:28). The birth of a male child was especially a cause for rejoicing (Psalms 128:3, Hebrew); more men, more defenders for the tribe. If there were no sons born to a household, that family or branch became lost. If the wife proved childless, other wife or wives might be added to the family (Genesis 16:1–16). Further, each Jewish mother, at least in later times, hoped that her son might prove to be the Messiah. The custom of Levirate marriage, which was not limited to the Hebrew people, rested on the principle that if a man died childless his brother should marry his widow, the children of such union being considered as belonging to the brother whose name and line were thus preserved from extinction (Deuteronomy 25:5; Genesis 38:26; Matthew 22:24).

Children were sometimes dedicated to God, even before their birth (1 Samuel 1:11). Names often were significant: Moses (Exodus 2:10); Samuel (1 Samuel 1:20); Ichabod (1 Samuel 4:21; compare Genesis 30:1–43) (see PROPER NAMES). The firstborn son belonged to God (Numbers 3:44 ff). The ceremony of redeeming the firstborn occurred on the thirtieth day. Friends of the family were invited to a feast, the rabbi also being present. The child was placed in the hands of the priest. The father carried some gold or silver in a cup or vessel. The priest asked the mother whether this was her firstborn, and, on being answered in the affirmative, claimed the child as Yahweh's. The father offered the redemption money, which was accepted in exchange for the child (compare 1 Peter 1:18). See FIRSTBORN. Other stages in the life of the child were celebrated with fitting ceremonies. In the fourth year, in Palestine, on the second day of the Passover occurred the ceremony of the first cutting of the boy's hair, the friends sharing the privilege. Sometimes, as in the case of the wealthy, the weight of the child in currency was given as a donation to the poor. In common with the custom of other eastern peoples, male children were circumcised (Genesis 17:12), the rite being performed on the eighth day.

Early education was cared for in the home, the children growing up more or less with the mother (Proverbs 6:20; Proverbs 31:1; 2 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 3:14,2 Timothy 3:15), and the girl continuing with her mother until her marriage. In wealthier families tutors were employed (1 Chronicles 27:32). Schools for children are first mentioned by Josephus (Ant., XV, x, 5). According to the Talmud the first school for children was established about 100 BC, but in the time of Jesus such schools were common. Children were taught to read and to write even in families of moderate means, these arts being widely diffused as early as 600 BC, if not earlier (Isaiah 8:1; Isaiah 10:19). Great stress was laid on the Torah, i.e. the law of Moses. Boys were trained also in farming, the tending of cattle, and in the trades. The religious training of the boy began in his fourth year, as soon as he could speak distinctly. The religious life of the girl also began early. In later times at least children took part in the Sabbath and Passover festivals and boys attended synagogue and school regularly.

Children were subject to the father (Nehemiah 5:5 marks the extreme), who in turn was bound to protect them, though he himself had the power of life and death (Leviticus 18:21; Leviticus 20:2 ff). Respect for and obedience to parents were stoutly upheld by public opinion (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16; compare Proverbs 6:20; Micah 7:6; Deuteronomy 21:18–21; Exodus 21:15).

Both the Old Testament and New Testament afford abundant evidence of the strength of the bond that bound the Hebrew family together (Genesis 21:16; 2 Samuel 18:33; 1 Kings 3:23 2 Kings 4:19; Isaiah 8:4; Job 29:5; Matthew 19:13; Matthew 20:20; Mark 9:24; Luke 2:48; John 4:47; Hebrews 2:13; Hebrews 11:23). The gift of a son from Yahweh was the height of joy; the loss of a child marked the depth of woe. A hint occurs in the custom of naming a man as the father of his firstborn son (Hastings Dictionary of the Bible, I, 382), or even the use of the father's name as a surname (Bar-jonah, Bartimeus) and such continues in Syria at the present day. This idea is further instanced in the use, in both Old Testament and New Testament, of the terms to express the relation between God and men (Exodus 4:22; Deuteronomy 14:1; Deuteronomy 32:6; Jeremiah 3:4; Zechariah 12:10; Malachi 1:6).

See also FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS; SONS.

LITERATURE. Benzinger, Hebraische Archaologie, 2nd edition, 1907, 112-23; for rabbinical lore, Friedenberg in Jewish Encyclopedia, IV, 27 f.

W. N. Stearns

Figurative: Child is the English Versions of the Bible rendering of the Greek teknon. The corresponding Hebrew words (ben, and yeledh), are usually translated "son," but they have practically the same significance in the figurative use of the term. Child is used figuratively to describe:

(1) An affectionate greeting. Jesus addressed the sick of the palsy as "child" (Mark 2:5 the Revised Version, margin).

(2) The disciples, or followers, of a teacher. Jesus addressed His disciples as children (Mark 10:24). Paul referred to Timothy as his child (1 Timothy 1:2), and also to Onesimus (Philemon 1:10). John also designated the disciples to whom he was writing as his children (2 John 1:4). The same use of "children" or "sons" is common in the Old Testament (see 1 Kings 20:35; 2 Kings 2:3,2 Kings 2:5,2 Kings 2:7; 2 Kings 4:38). As a term of special endearment, disciples are sometimes called "little children" (teknia). Jesus thus addressed His disciples when He was speaking about His departure (John 13:33). Paul thus addressed the Galatians (Galatians 4:19), and that was a favorite expression with John (see 1 John 2:1; 1 John 4:4; 1 John 5:21). A term that was even more endearing was paidia, which means "little ones" or "babes." Jesus used this term once in addressing His disciples after His resurrection (John 21:5), and John also used this term occasionally in saluting those to whom he was writing (1 John 2:18).

(3) Those who belong to God. Children of God is a common expression in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. It is based on the relation between parents and children, and in general describes God's affection for His own, and their dependence upon Him, and moral likeness to Him. The term is sometimes used of those who are disloyal to God, and they are designated as "rebellious children" (see Isaiah 30:1).

See CHILDREN OF GOD.

(4) Those who belong to the devil. Those who are like the devil in thought and action are designated as "children of the devil" (1 John 3:10).

(5) One's relation to something to which he belongs, or by which he is dominated in his affection for it. Thus we have:

(a) the children of a city or country (see Jeremiah 2:16; Matthew 23:37), and this designates those who belong to that particular city or country;

(b) children of wisdom (Matthew 11:19 the King James Version; Luke 7:35), and these are the ones whose lives are dominated by wisdom. Westcott and Hort, The New Testament in Greek adopted ergon for teknon in Matthew 11:19, but this seems to be without any good reason;

(c) children of obedience (1 Peter 1:14), and these are the ones who are eager to obey;

(d) children of light (Ephesians 5:8), and this designates those whose souls are illumined by the light.

(6) Those who are liable to some particular fate. Thus, we have

(a) children of cursing, or those who are exposed to cursing (2 Peter 2:14), and

(b) children of wrath or those who are exposed to wrath (Ephesians 2:3).

(7) Moral likeness or spiritual kinship (Galatians 3:7 the King James Version; compare John 8:39; "the children of Abraham"). See secs. (3), (4).

A. W. Fortune

Childhood, Gospels Of The

child'-hood.

See APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS.

Children Of Eden

e'-d'-n (bene `edhen): In 2 Kings 19:12; Isaiah 37:12 "the children of Eden that were in Telassar" are mentioned in connection with "Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph" as having been destroyed by the Assyrians who were before the time of Sennacherib. The expression, "the children of Eden that were in Telassar," undoubtedly referred to a tribe which inhabited a region of which Telassar was the center. Telassar means "the hill of Asshur" and, according to Schrader, it was a name that might have been given to any place where a temple had been built to Asshur. Inasmuch as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph were in Mesopotamia it would seem probable that "the children of Eden that were in Telassar" belonged to the same locality. The "children of Eden" is quite probably to be identified with the Bit `Adini of the inscriptions and this referred to a district on the middle Euphrates. According to the inscriptions Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and Bit `Adini were destroyed by Sennacherib's forefathers, and this is in accord with the account in 2 Kings and Isaiah.

The "Eden" of Ezekiel 27:23 is usually taken as the name of a place in Mesopotamia with which Tyre had commercial relations, and probably belongs to the region of "the chilrden of Eden," discussed above.

Some writers think the "Beth-eden" of Amos 1:5 the Revised Version, margin (the American Standard Revised Version "Aven") is to be identified with the Bit `Adini of the inscriptions and hence, with "the children of Eden," but this is doubtful. This was perhaps in Syria in the neighborhood of Damascus.

A. W. Fortune