Cab. — A measure containing 2 5/6 pints English corn measure. It was the 18th part of an ephah (2 Kings 6:25).
Ca’bul (unpleasing). — This was the name given-by Hiram to a district in the land of Galilee, comprising 20 cities which King Solomon gave to him for his services in the building of the temple (1 Kings 9:10-14).
Cea’sar, the title of the emperors of Borne from Augustus, who was the first Caesar, down to Romulus Augustulus, who was the last.
The Cæsars mentioned in the New Testament are Augustus (Luke 2:1)3 Tiberius (Luke 3:1, 20-22); Claudius (Acts 11:28); Nero (Acts 25:8); but Caligula, who succeeded Tiberius, is not referred to Cæsare’a. Two towns of this name are mentioned in the New Testament, both being so called in honor of the Roman emperors.
1. Cæsare’a Palestina, so-called to distinguish it from the other Caesarea. This was the Roman metropolis of Palestine, and where the procurator resided. Herod the Great built it, about 22 years before the birth of Christ, and took up his residence there, after having greatly beautified it, and built a mole of a semicircular form, so as to protect the port of the city in such a manlier that a whole fleet could ride at anchor in perfect safety in all weathers. This mole was constructed of immense blocks of stone sunk in the sea at a depth of 20 fathoms, and formed one of the most stupendous works of ancient times. This Cæsarea is mentioned in Acts 10:1, 21-23, 21:8, 24 It is about 35 miles north of Joppa and 55 from Jerusalem, and is still called Kaiseriah; but it is now desolate, and its ruins are inhabited by jackals, wild boars, lizards, snakes, and scorpions.
Caesarea Philippi, which was originally called Banias, was enlarged and beautified by Philip the Tetrarch who then named it Caesarea in honor of Tiberius, adding his own name to distinguish it from Cæsarea Palestina. It was about 120 miles north of Jerusalem (Matt. 16:13; Mark 8:27). It was afterward called Neronias, after Nero, and it was here that Titus, after his conquest at Jerusalem, compelled his Jewish prisoners to fight as gladiators in the public games. It is now a mean village, and is known by its more ancient name of Banias. The ruins of the castle of Banias, which seems to have been built by the Saracens, on the summit of a mountain, has a wall of 10 feet in thickness; and a substantial bridge, leading to another ruined castle on the south of the village, bears an Arabic legend of the date of the Crusades.
Cai’aphas, high priest in the reign of Tiberius Caesar (Luke 3:2), succeeded Simon, the son of Camith about A.D. 27, and continued in office for about nine years. He was deposed A.D. 38. His wife was the daughter of Annas, who had been high priest at some time previously, and thus Luke calls both high priests, as the high priesthood was properly till death (Num. 35:25; Heb. 7:23). Thus the Lord Jesus was taken first to Annas and then to Caiaphas (John 18:12-24).
It was Caiaphas who prophesied that Jesus should die, not for that nation only, but that He should gather together the children of God which were scattered abroad (John 11:49-52). It was he also who rent his clothes and condemned the Lord as guilty of blasphemy for answering his solemn adjuration in truth (Matt. 26:57-65). Caiaphas was deposed A.D. 38, but what became of him is not known.
Cain, (acquisition or possession), the first son of fallen Adam, and the firstborn of sin (Gen. 4). His entire history is that of lawlessness. This is seen in his approaching God with the fruit of the curse (vs. 3), in his wrath against Him (5), his rejection of the sin-offering (7), the murder of his brother (8), his rebellious answer against God (9), his going out from the Lord’s presence (16), and in his building a city (17), so that he might be settled and stationary where the Lord had said he should be a fugitive and a vagabond. His descendants became chiefly remarkable as artificers and musicians, thus evading the sentence which the Lord had pronounced, as to the ground not yielding her strength to the tilling of Cain, and seeking to beautify a world stained by his brother’s blood (21, 22).
Cai’nan (possessor), the son of Enos, son of Seth. Another Cainan is mentioned in Luke 3:36, which is found in the Septuagint version of Genesis 10:24, 11:12, but is wanting in the Hebrew.
Ca’lah, or Calach, a city of Assyria, built by Ashur or Nimrod (Gen. 10:11), or perhaps a street of the city of Nimock (see marginal reading)
Ca’leb (dog or rabid), son of Jephunneh, of the tribe of Judah. He and Joshua were the only two of all the men who came out of Egypt that entered the land of Canaan (Num. 14:22-24).
Calf. — While Moses was in the mount with God, the Israelites induced Aaron to make them a golden calf, so that before they received the law, they had already broken it, by the worship of the molted image which they had made (Exod. 32). Long after this Jeroboam, the king of Israel, set up two calf idols, the one in Dan, and the other in Bethel (see BETHEL).
Cal’neh, or Chalneh, one of Nimrod’s cities, and supposed to be the Calno of Isaiah 10:9, and the Canneh of Ezekiel 27:23. It was afterward called Ctesiphon, and stood on the banks of the Tigris opposite Celeucia. It was for a time the capital of the Parthians, but was conquered by the Assyrians (Isa. 10:9). Its site was afterward occupied by El-Madian, or the two cities, now in ruins.
Cal’vary (a skull), the Latin name for Golgotha (see GOLGOTHA).
Camby’ses (AHASUERUS).
Camel. —Of this useful animal there are two species. First, the Bactarian camel, which is large and robust, possessed of two hunches, and a native of the highest table-lands of Central Asia, where wild specimens may still be found. Second, the Arabian camel, or dromedary, which has but one hunch, and is of Western-Asiatic or African origin. Among these there are two races or kinds, one being slow and able to carry burdens from five to seven hundredweight, traveling at the rate of about twenty-four miles a day, and the other sort being lighter and bred for the saddle. The fleetest of these can travel about two hundred miles in twenty-four hours, but the trotting motion is so hard that the rider needs severe training to endure it. The camel has four stomachs, one of which contains cells capable of holding an extra provision of water, so that the animal can subsist four or more days without drinking. They are also small feeders, so that, when on the march, about a pound weight of dates, beans, or barley will suffice for twenty-four hours, with such thistles and thorny plants as they can snatch at with their long necks in passing.
The hunch on the back assists in sustaining them. This grows and fills with fatty substance when the animal is well fed, and supplies the want of sustenance when traveling in regions where no vegetation is to be met with. The camel is of lofty stature, very agile, has keen sight and sense of smell—often of great service to the traveler in the desert—is very patient, and able to endure both heat and cold. The dense hair or wool which grows on the skin is useful to the owner both for clothing and shelter, and the female supplies him with milk. The Arabs say, “Job’s beast is a monument of God’s mercy.”
Camphire (occurs in Song of Solomon 1:14, 4:13). — The Hebrew word is kopher. Its meaning is not certain. Camphire (which is old. English for camphor) is a substance which does not seem to have been known to the ancients. Some suppose it to be the Greek kupros, a plant greatly esteemed in the east from the earliest times on account of the fragrance of its flowers and the coloring properties of its leaves. The Arabs call it alcana or henna. The leaves are used by women in a powdered state and mixed with the juice of citrons to dye the nails and palms of the hands and the soles of the feet of an iron-rust color. The plant is not unlike the English privet.
Ca’na, a town in Galilee, near Capernaum, where the Lord Jesus Christ turned water into wine (John 4:46). This Cana is not named in the Old Testament; but Josephus mentions it as a village of Galilee, and the present Kefr-Kenna is supposed to be the site of the ancient Cana. Kefr-Kenna is a small place about four miles north-east of Nazareth. A ruined place called Kana-el-Jelil, eight miles north-east of Nazareth, is thought by some to have been the site of Cana.