Zephaniah 1:4. I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests.
The word chemarim, here untranslated, occurs also in 2 Kings 23:5, where it is rendered “idolatrous priests” “and in Hosea 10:5, where it is rendered “priests.” It signifies the priests of idolatrous worship. Keil does not include in the term the priests of Baal, but limits its application to “the priests appointed by the Kings of Judah for the worship of the high places and the idolatrous worship of Jehovah” (Commentary in loco). Gesenius thinks it is derived from kamar, to be burned, to be sad, and that it refers to the black garments worn by priests. Some, however, think this idea too modern for adoption. Keil says that this derivation “is decidedly opposed by the fact, that neither the priests of the idols nor of the high places were ascetics or monks, and in ancient times the priests from India to Gaul wore robes of a white, and if possible of a brilliant white, color. (Compare Bahr's Symbol., 2, p. 87, f, and the works there quoted (Commentary on 2 Kings 23:5).