January, Dictionary of the Bible.

Chamois. —This name is given (Deut. 14:55The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois. (Deuteronomy 14:5)) to an animal which, as the chamois properly so-called is not a native of Syria, is supposed to be a species of wild sheep found in rocky places in the neighborhood of Cairo in Egypt, in Sinai, and also eastward in Stony Arabia, where it is called Kebsch.
Chariots. —These are often mentioned in Scripture, and were anciently used both in war and on state occasions. A light pole was suspended by harness between two horses and fixed to the axle-tree, on which were two wheels. A frame, often made of iron (Josh. 17:1616And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Beth-shean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel. (Joshua 17:16); Judg. 1:19; 4:319And the Lord was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. (Judges 1:19)
3And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. (Judges 4:3)), open behind, and floored for the warrior and his driver to stand upon, was firmly fixed on the axle, which was also occasionally armed with scythes or hooks. The bow, the quiver filled with arrows, and the dart case hung around the sides of the chariot, which, together with the harness, was often richly colored and ornamented. This was especially the case with the royal chariots (Gen. 41:4343And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. (Genesis 41:43)). When a person of rank traveled, he was attended by a number of running footmen, one of whom hastened on before to announce his coming (Mal. 3:11Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 3:1)). Another carried a stool to enable his master to dismount; a third was in readiness to take the reins, when, as was frequent, the person drove himself. Others ran beside the horses to clean the way or add to the appearance of state, as is still the custom in China when rich men travel. Sometimes a slave stood in the chariot behind his master, holding a colored umbrella over his head, to protect from the heat of the sun (1 Sam. 8:1111And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. (1 Samuel 8:11); 2 Sam. 15:11And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. (2 Samuel 15:1); 1 Kings 18:46,46And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. (1 Kings 18:46) &c.). Before gunpowder was invented or bayonets known, war chariots were very destructive. Being driven furiously against the foe, they broke the ranks and caused great confusion. The terrible havoc produced by war chariots in the streets of Nineveh is described by Nahum (ch. 2), where, as they gallop furiously to and fro, they are compared to lamps or torches of fire flashing hither and thither, while their riders were dyed with the blood of those they had slain with dart and spear.
Charity (1 Cor. 13, &c.) is the same word (agape) as that rendered “love” in John 15 and other scriptures of the New Testament.
Chebar, the name of a river of Mesopotamia, now called Khabour, and anciently by the Greeks Chaboras. It is formed by a number of brooks which take their rise near the ruined town of Ras-el-Ain, whence it flows into the Euphrates at Carchemish, now called Kerkesia (2 Chron. 35:2020After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him. (2 Chronicles 35:20); Ezek. 1:1-3; 3:15-23; 10:15-221Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity, 3The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him. (Ezekiel 1:1‑3)
15Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days. 16And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 17Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. 18When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 19Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. 20Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 21Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul. 22And the hand of the Lord was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee. 23Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face. (Ezekiel 3:15‑23)
15And the cherubims were lifted up. This is the living creature that I saw by the river of Chebar. 16And when the cherubims went, the wheels went by them: and when the cherubims lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also turned not from beside them. 17When they stood, these stood; and when they were lifted up, these lifted up themselves also: for the spirit of the living creature was in them. 18Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims. 19And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord's house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. 20This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they were the cherubims. 21Every one had four faces apiece, and every one four wings; and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. 22And the likeness of their faces was the same faces which I saw by the river of Chebar, their appearances and themselves: they went every one straight forward. (Ezekiel 10:15‑22).)
Chedorlao’mer, the king or ruler of Elam, who led the three kings, Tidal, Amraphel, and Arioch, to the invasion of Canaan, in the days of Abraham (Gen. 14). Having conquered the king of Sodom and the four kings that were confederate with him, they carried off a number of prisoners, among whom was Lot, Abraham’s nephew. One who had escaped, went and told Abraham; who, with only 318 household servants, pursued them to Dan, where he attacked and defeated them by night, putting them completely to the rout, and pursuing them to Hobah, near Damascus. Aner, Eshcol, and Mature, were confederates with him, and helpful in the pursuit and recovery of the prisoners and booty; but the attack appears to have been made in the first instance by Abraham and his little band alone (15). It was after this remarkable victory that Melchizedec met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him, bringing forth bread and wine, the symbols of that earthly blessing which is still to come (Psa. 104:1515And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart. (Psalm 104:15)). Although Lot had suffered thus through companionship with the wicked, he did not take warning, but after his deliverance, returned to dwell in Sodom. “Evil communications corrupt good manners.” The kings and people of Sodom, Gomorrah, &c., appear also to have been untouched by the gracious deliverance God had given them out of the hands of their enemies until the measure of their iniquity was full (Gen. 19:2424Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; (Genesis 19:24)).
Chemosh, the national idol of the Moabites (called the people of Chemosh, Numbers 21:2929Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh: he hath given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon king of the Amorites. (Numbers 21:29)), and also of the Ammonites. Solomon, through his marriage with “strange wives,” brought in the worship of this idol among the Israelites. Whom or what this god was intended to represent is undecided, but as it was the universal custom in ancient times for nations to deify their ancestors, it is most likely that Chemosh is intended for Lot, from whom the Moabites and Ammonites were descended. According to Jewish tradition, Chemosh was worshipped under the symbol of a black star, a striking figure of one whose light as a righteous man was so utterly darkened as Lot’s became when he “chose him all the plain of Jordan,” and “pitched his tent toward Sodom” (Gen. 13:10-1310And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. 11Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. 12Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. 13But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly. (Genesis 13:10‑13); Judg. 11:2424Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the Lord our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess. (Judges 11:24); 1 Kings 11:77Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. (1 Kings 11:7); 2 Kings 23:1313And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile. (2 Kings 23:13); Jer. 48:77For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together. (Jeremiah 48:7)).
Chenani’ah (God’s goodness), the leader or instructor in the singing on the removal of the ark from the house of Obed-edom to Jerusalem (1 Chron. 15:2222And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for song: he instructed about the song, because he was skilful. (1 Chronicles 15:22)).