Bible Dictionary
Chaldees
Chaldees can mean the inhabitants of Babylonia or, especially in Daniel, the learned class associated with magic, astronomy, and interpretation.
Definition
Chaldees, or Chaldeans, can mean the inhabitants of Babylonia. In Daniel the term is used especially for a learned class associated with magicians, astronomers, science, religion, and a distinctive language.
Biblical Usage
The name refers to Babylonians in historical and prophetic passages and to learned men in Daniel. These Chaldeans possessed a special “learning” and “tongue” and were ranked with magicians and astronomers.
Historical Background
Their learned language was an ancient Cushite dialect, while the common civil language had become Semitic under Assyrian influence. The Chaldeans formed a priestly and learned class, later associated with divination.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Or Chaldeans, the inhabitants of the country of which Babylon was the capital. They were so called till the time of the Captivity (2 Kings 25; Isa. 13:19; 23:13), when, particularly in the Book of Daniel (5:30; 9:1), the name began to be used with special reference to a class of learned men ranked with the magicians and astronomers. These men cultivated the ancient Cushite language of the original inhabitants of the land, for they had a “learning” and a “tongue” (1:4) of their own. The common language of the country at that time had become assimilated to the Semitic dialect, especially through the influence of the Assyrians, and was the language that was used for all civil purposes. The Chaldeans were the learned class, interesting themselves in science and religion, which consisted, like that of the ancient Arabians and Syrians, in the worship of the heavenly bodies. There are representations of this priestly class, of magi and diviners, on the walls of the Assyrian palaces.