often called Latin Christians, to distinguish them from the Greek, Armenian, and other communions.

The "Land of the Chaldees" has long been a scene of "perpetual desolation." Its "storehouses" are empty, its "treasures❞ are robbed, the "abundance of its treasures" has disappeared, and the country is now so dry and barren that it cannot be tilled. The ancient cities it contained are either desolate, or their sites cannot be discovered, and the whole country" is strewed over with the débris of Grecian, Roman, and Arabian towns, confounded in the same mass of rubbish." CHARAN, a singing, calling out, or the heat of wrath. See HARAN.

CHARASHIM, VALLEY OF, lay along the river Jordan, in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin, 1 Chron. iv. 14.

CHEBAR, strength, or power, the scene of one of Ezekiel's visions, Ezek. x. 15, 20, is a river of Assyria, the exact locality or course of which is uncertain.

CHEMARIM, or CHAMERIM, a name given to the idolatrous priests of Baal, or the worshippers of fire, Zeph. i. 4. The term is derived from the Hebrew word chamar, which signifies black or blackness, and is generally translated the priests of the idols, or priests clothed in black. Some commentators allege that the word chamarim may mean the idols or objects of worship, which became black by being exposed to the sun.

CHEMOSH, as handling or stroking, or as withdrawing or taking away, a name applied to the Moabites, Numb. xxi. 29, who worshipped an idol so called, Jer. xlviii. 46. As the Israelites were often called by the name of the true God, 2 Chron. vii. 14, the Moabites were designated the people of Chemosh, and the other idolatrous nations in like manner, Mic. iv. 5. St Jerome says the idol was the same with Baal-Peor.

CHEPHAR-HAAMMONAI, a town which belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, Josh. xviii. 24.

CHEPHIRAH, a city belonging to the Gibeonites, Josh. ix. 17, afterwards assigned to the tribe of Benjamin.

CHERETHITES, or CHERITHIM, who cut, who tear away and exterminate, are names used to designate the Philistines, 1 Sam. xxx. 14; Ezek. xxv. 16; Zeph. ii. 5. King David had guards styled Cherethites and Pelethites, who were commanded by Benaiah, 2 Sam. viii. 18; 1 Chron. xviii. 17. Stackhouse conjectures that they were constant guards about the king's person, and acted as household troops. "It is probable," says Lewis (Origines Hebrææ, or the Antiquities of the Hebrew Republic), "that they were selected out of a particular people or family, as the Cherethites were a people inhabiting a part of Palestine, and the Pelethites, it is supposed, were a family in Israel, for we find two of the name of Peleth mentioned in Scripture, one of the tribe of Reuben and another of Judah. The number of them may be conjectured from the targets and shields of gold which Solomon made, which were five hundred, and for the use of his guard. They were properly the king's domestics, and lay in a guard-chamber at the entrance of the palace, to be ready at the least notice and on the most sudden occasions." It is not unlikely that they were David's own subjects, who had accompanied him in all the transactions of his eventful life, and had continued with him among the Philistines under the protection of Achish; and they received the name of Cherethites from that people, the circumstance being not uncommon for companies of soldiers to be designated from the place of their residence.

CHERITH, cutting, piercing, slaying, the name of a rivulet on the banks of which the Prophet Elijah concealed himself from the resentment of Ahab, and where he was miraculously fed by ravens, which "brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the brook," 1 Kings xvii. 3-7. Dr Wells says that nothing is known concerning this rivulet except that it ran into the Jordan, and from the command given to Elijah it was probably east of that river.

CHERMON. See HERMON.

or the Stony Province. Cilicia Proper is described as an extensive plain, well cultivated, and producing great quantities of timber. Tarsus, the birth-place of St Paul, was its capital, and near it is the tomb of Julian the Apostate. The Cilicians enriched themselves by piratical excursions before they were conquered by Pompey, and are represented as having been cruel, dishonest, and barbarous in their manners. Cicero presided over the country as consul, and it was reduced to a province by Vespasian. Josephus says that this country was first peopled by Tarshish, the son of Javan, after whom the whole country was called Tarsis.

Cilicia is repeatedly mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, and it is probable that St Paul himself introduced the gospel into his native country. We find the Cilicians, among others, disputing with St Stephen, Acts vi. 9; and we find St Paul, in company with Silas, proceeding "through Syria and Cilicia confirming the churches," Acts xv. 41. Christianity continued to flourish in this country until the eighth century, when it fell into the hands of the Saracens, by whom, and especially by the Turks, it was almost extinguished. It is at present a province of the Turkish Empire.

CINNERETH, or CHINNEROTH, the name of one of the "fenced cities" belonging to the tribe of Naphtali, Josh. xix. 35. It is supposed to have stood on the site afterwards occupied by Tiberias, and to have originated the name Gennesareth, by which the Sea of Tiberias,. or of Galilee, is often designated.

CIS, a hill of Palestine, in the tribe of Judah, situated at the north-west of the Dead Sea, at some distance from the mouth of the brook Cedron.

CLAUDA, a broken voice, a lamentable voice, called Cauda in the Vulgate, a small island near the south-west coast of Crete, which St Paul passed in his tempestuous voyage to Italy, Acts xxvii. 16. It is now called Gozo.

CNIDUS, a town and promontory of Caria, in Asia Minor, which is merely mentioned in the account of St Paul's

voyage to Rome, Acts xxvii. 7, and its subsequent history is of little importance. It is now a heap of ruins, and is designated the promontory of Cape Crio. This city contained a famous statue of Venus, made by the sculptor Praxiteles, and was the birth-place of Eudoxus, Theopompus, and Ctesias the historian.

COLOSSE, punishment, correction, from the old word xona, to punish, the name of a large and important city in Phrygia, situated on the river Lycus, now called Diocbunar, to which St Paul addressed one of his Epistles. One of the first Christian churches was planted here, and the members having heard of St Paul's imprisonment at Rome, sent Epaphras thither to inform him of the state of their affairs, and to inquire after his welfare. In return for this attention, St Paul, who was still in prison, wrote the Epistle to the Colossians, and sent it to them by Tychicus and Onesimus, Epaphras having been also thrown into prison immediately after his arrival at Rome for zealously preaching the gospel. The city perished by an earthquake about two years after St Paul sent his Epistle, but it was rebuilt, and became a flourishing place. Its name was subsequently changed to Chonæ, which remains in that of the present village of Conus, south-east of the ancient site, and the existence of Colosse is now preserved chiefly in the Epistle written to its Christian citizens.

It has been alleged by some commentators that St Paul never was at Colosse, and that consequently he was personally unacquainted with the Christian society there. This opinion is founded on what the Apostle says in the first verse of the second chapter :-" For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh." These words certainly appear to indicate that St Paul had never been either at Colosse or Laodicea, nor can it be ascertained by whom the Colossian church was founded. Some have concluded that Epaphras first preached the gospel in this city, from the following

admissions of St Paul himself in the Epistle :-" As ye also learned of Epaphras, our dear fellow-servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ, who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit," (i. 7, 8); "Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayer that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God," (iv. 12). But these passages do not prove that Epaphras originally converted the Colossians, although they indicate that he had been an active minister among them, and the expression, Epaphras, who is one of you, places him in the same situation with the other Colossians, and is scarcely consistent with the opinion that he was the honoured agent in converting them to the faith of the gospel. Dr Lardner, arguing from the testimony of Theodoret, who lived in the fifth century, alleges a variety of very satisfactory reasons to prove that the church of Colosse was planted by St Paul himself, and that the Christians there were his own converts. Three facts are deduced from these considerations first, that St Paul was twice in Phrygia, in which were Colosse, Laodicea, and Hierapolis, for we are expressly told that the Apostle and his attendants went "throughout Phrygia and Galatia,” Acts xvi. 6, and it is not likely that a great and important city like Colosse would have been overlooked; second, the Apostle in the first chapter of the Epistle almost says in direct terms that the Golossians were converted by himself; and third, the style and language of the Epistle evidently prove that it was not written to strangers, but to intimate acquaintances and personal friends.

The Epistle to the Colossians resembles that to the Ephesians both in sentiment and expression. After saluting the Colossian Christians in his own name, and in that of Timothy, says the learned Bishop Tomline, St Paul assures them that since he had heard of their faith in Christ Jesus, and of their zealous attachment to the church in general, he had not ceased to return thanks to God for

them, and to pray that they might increase in spiritual knowledge and abound in every good work. He describes the dignity of Christ, and declares the universality of the gospel dispensation, which was formerly a hidden mystery, but now made manifest; and he mentions his own appointment, through the grace of God, to be the Apostle of the Gentiles. He expresses a tender concern for the Colossians and other Christians of Phrygia, and cautions them not to be seduced from the simplicity of the gospel by the subtility of Pagan philosophers, or the supersti tious follies of Judaizing Christians. The Colossians are farther directed to set their affections on things above, to avoid every appearance of licentiousness, to observe and practise the Christian virtues of meekness, veracity, humility, chastity, and devotion. The Apostle enforces the duties of wives, husbands, children, fathers, servants, and masters; he inculcates the necessity of prayer, and of prudent behaviour towards unbelievers: and after adding the salutations of several persons then at Rome, and desiring that the Epistle might be read in the church of their neighbours the Laodiceans, he concludes with a salutation written as usual with his own hand.

COOS, or Cos, an island in the Archipelago, mentioned in Acts xxi. 1, in which was a city of the same name, from which Hippocrates the celebrated physician, and Appelles the painter, were named Coi. It is now called Stan-Co, aud presents to the view fine plantations of lemon trees, intermixed with stately maples. The inhabitants of Cos were a Dorian colony. St Paul merely sailed past this island, and it does not appear that Christianity was professed in it till a considerable period afterwards. The island contains upwards of 8000 inhabitants, of whom about 5000 are stated to have been Turks, and 3000 Greeks, with about fifty Jews. "The Greek religion," says Mr Turner (Tour of the Levant, 1815), " is farmed by the bishop of Cos from the Patriarch of Constantinople; he pays 3300 piastres a-year for his post,