Cherubim, the plural of cherub. The first mention that we have of cherubim is in Genesis 3:24, when Adam was driven out of Eden, and a flaming sword kept the way of the tree of life. They were here evidently associated with the righteous judgment of God as to man. Figures of the cherubim were also made out of the two ends of the mercy-seat of the same piece with the mercy-seat (the blood-sprinkled propitiatory), which “declares God’s righteousness” (comp. Exodus 37:8; Leviticus 16:14,15; Romans 3:25). When Hezekiah appeals to Jehovah to execute righteous judgment upon Sennacherib, he calls upon Him as He that “dwelleth between the cherubim.” (comp. 2 Kings 19:15; Psalms 80:1; 99:1-4; 89:14; 97:2). The cherubim, or living creatures, are fully described in Ezekiel (ch. 1 and 10), where they are again connected with God’s righteous judgment of Israel; and also in Revelation 4:6-8, where they ascribe holiness to the Lord God Almighty, “which was, and is, and is to come.” In Revelation 6 it is one of the four “living creatures” (or cherubim) that calls for judgment, and, in chapter 15:7, gives the “seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth forever and ever,” to the seven angels. In the mercy-seat their number is two (a competent testimony as declaring God’s righteousness); and in Ezekiel and Revelation it is four, which number seems connected with life, and is employed continually in the types and figures of Him who is THE LIFE (see Exodus 25:12, 26, 34; 26:1, 7, 14, 32; 27:1, 4:16; 28:1; 30:2, 23, 34; 40:21, 22, 24, 26. Comp also the features of the four living creatures, Revelation 4:6-8, with the four Gospels, where Christ Jesus is set forth in Matthew as the Lion of the tribe of Judah; in Mark as the Perfect Servant; in Luke as Son of Man; and in John as Son of God, John 1:1-3).
Chestnut-tree (mentioned Genesis 30:37, and Ezekiel 31:8) is supposed to be properly the Plane-tree, which is a native of Western Asia. In favorable situations it becomes a very noble tree, and has the reputation of being one which affords the best shade in summer and most readily admits the sun’s rays in winter, on which account it was planted near palaces and public buildings.
Cher’ethites and Pelithites. — David’s body-guards (2 Sam. 8:18; 15:18; 23:23; 1 Chron. 18:17; compare 1 Sam. 30:14).
Cherith. — The brook or river on the banks of which Elijah dwelt, probably in one of the many caverns which abound in Palestine, and where, by God’s wondrous power and goodness, he was daily fed by ravens, a bird that will feed till he cannot fly (1 Kings 17:1, 3; Psa. 147:9). But although the Lord had commanded Elijah to hide himself there, “it came to pass, after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.” Now God could have caused it to flow on in spite of the drought, as He made the stream from the rock to flow through the desert (1 Cor. 10:4); but He was pleased to show His servant Elijah that His resources are not confined to time or place. Wherefore He sent him to the widow of Zarephath, and there He not only sustained him, and the widow, and her son, by a daily miracle, but made His servant a blessing to the poor Gentile by leading her, who, in common with all Gentiles then, had no doubt been a worshipper of idols, to the knowledge of the truth, first by His word: “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel (1 Kings 5:14), and then by giving her to know Himself as “God that raiseth the dead” — the living God (17-24; 2 Cor. 1:9; 4:14; Heb. 11:17-19).
Children. — This word is not confined in Scripture to persons under adult age, but has several other meanings and applications. For instance, it is sometimes used for inhabitants, or people (Gen. 29:1, margin), and very frequently for descendants (Num. 13:28; Deut. 2:9; 9:2; Josh. 22:9; Judg. 4:6; 14:16, &c.). By “children of Belial” and “children of wickedness,” &c. (Deut. 13:13; 1 Sam. 10:27; 2 Sam. 7:10; 1 Kings 21:13) is meant wicked persons, or followers of Belial. In this sense it has very much the same meaning as disciple, so also in the term, “children of the prophets” (2 Kings 9:1; 2:3, 5, 7, 15). Moreover, as children inherit the nature and property of their parents, the word is often used in the sense of inheritors, or belonging to (Job 41:34; Isa. 57:4; Matt. 8:12; 13:38; Eph. 2:3).
Chi’os (Acts 20:15). — One of the largest islands of the Archipelago, and distant about eight miles from the nearest point of Asia Minor. It is thirty miles long and ten miles broad, and very fertile in fruit, cotton, and silk. Its chief town was also called Chios, and had a good harbor. It is now called Khio by the Greeks, and Scio by the Italians.
Chittim. — A name applied to the coasts and islands of the Mediterranean sea, because, according to Jewish tradition, Kittim, son of Javan (Gen. 10:4), possessed the island of Cyprus, from which circumstance the whole region was afterward called Kittim or Chittim. As the Roman empire included these islands and coasts, “the ships of Chittim” (Dan. 11:30) mean the vessels of that people (Num. 24:24).
Chlo’e. — A Christian woman at Corinth (1 Cor. 1:11).
Chora’zin was, according to Jerome, a village of Galilee two miles from Capernaum (Matt. 11:21; Luke 10:13). No place of that name has been noticed in history since his day, and its very site is now unknown.
Chrysop’rasus (Rev. 21:20). — This name literally means “leek-green stone,” and the Chrysoprasus is of a greenish-golden color.