Chaldea
כַּשְׂדִּים · kas.di · H3778Χαλδαῖος · Chaldaios · G54664 other spellings“as demons, or as robbers” Hitchcock's 186990 mentions in 12 books, most in Jeremiah (47)
Where it is
30.96° N, 46.10° E · Located through Ur · region
Coordinates and map: OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding · CC BY 4.0 · drawn without map tiles
Mentioned most in
Counted from 90 references · STEPBible, Tyndale House Cambridge · CC BY 4.0
About this place
Chaldea, also known as Babylonia, was an ancient empire located in southern Mesopotamia, in the region of modern-day Iraq. The Chaldeans were known for their expertise in astrology, astronomy, and other forms of wisdom. In the Bible, the term "Chaldean" is sometimes used synonymously with "Babylonian" or to refer specifically to astrologers and wise men from Babylon.
The Chaldeans played a significant role in the history of Israel, particularly during the Babylonian exile. In 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, conquered Judah and deported many of its inhabitants to Chaldea (2Ki.24.1-2). The prophet Jeremiah warned the people of Judah about the impending Chaldean invasion and the 70-year exile that would follow (Jeremiah 25:11-12).
During the exile, some Jews, such as Daniel and his companions, were chosen to serve in the Chaldean court due to their wisdom and knowledge (Dan.1.3-4). The Chaldeans are also mentioned in connection with the interpretation of dreams and visions (Dan.2.2-10; 4:7; 5:7-11).
The Chaldeans were also known for their military might and their role in the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC (2Ki.25.1-10). However, the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah foretold the eventual downfall of Chaldea at the hands of the Medes and Persians (Isaiah 13:19; 47:1-5; Jeremiah 50:1-51:64).
Article: STEPBible, Tyndale House Cambridge · CC BY 4.0
Every mention
90 references, counted from STEPBible, Tyndale House Cambridge · CC BY 4.0 · verse text: World English Bible (public domain)
Genesis3 mentions
Genesis 11:28Haran died in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldees, while his father Terah was still alive.Genesis 11:31Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of Haran, his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife. They went from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan. They…Genesis 15:7He said to Abram, “I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it.”
2 Kings8 mentions
2 Kings 24:2Yahweh sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, bands of the Syrians, bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to…2 Kings 25:4Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden (now the Chaldeans were against the…2 Kings 25:5But the Chaldean army pursued the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.2 Kings 25:10All the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem.2 Kings 25:13The Chaldeans broke up the pillars of bronze that were in Yahweh’s house and the bases and the bronze sea that were in Yahweh’s house, and carried the bronze pieces to Babylon.2 Kings 25:24Gedaliah swore to them and to their men, and said to them, “Don’t be afraid because of the servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well…2 Kings 25:25But in the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal offspring came, and ten men with him, and struck Gedaliah so that he died, with the Jews and the…2 Kings 25:26All the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and came to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
Nehemiah1 mention
Isaiah7 mentions
Isaiah 13:19Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, will be like when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.Isaiah 23:13Behold, the land of the Chaldeans. This people didn’t exist. The Assyrians founded it for those who dwell in the wilderness. They set up their towers. They overthrew its palaces. They made…Isaiah 43:14Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says: “For your sake, I have sent to Babylon, and I will bring all of them down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships of their…Isaiah 47:1“Come down and sit in the dust, virgin daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, daughter of the Chaldeans. For you will no longer be called tender and delicate.Isaiah 47:5“Sit in silence, and go into darkness, daughter of the Chaldeans. For you shall no longer be called the mistress of kingdoms.Isaiah 48:14“Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear! Who among them has declared these things? He whom Yahweh loves will do what he likes to Babylon, and his arm will be against the Chaldeans.Isaiah 48:20Leave Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! With the sound of joyful shouting announce this, tell it even to the end of the earth; say, “Yahweh has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
Jeremiah47 mentions
Jeremiah 21:4‘Yahweh, the God of Israel says, “Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans who…Jeremiah 21:9He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, but he who goes out and passes over to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he will live, and he will…Jeremiah 22:25I would give you into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of them of whom you are afraid, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the…Jeremiah 24:5“Yahweh, the God of Israel says: ‘Like these good figs, so I will regard the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans, as good.Jeremiah 25:12“It will happen, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,” says Yahweh, “for their iniquity. I will make the land of the Chaldeans…Jeremiah 32:4and Zedekiah king of Judah won’t escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but will surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him mouth to mouth, and his…Jeremiah 32:5and he will bring Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I visit him,” says Yahweh, “though you fight with the Chaldeans, you will not prosper”’?”Jeremiah 32:24“Behold, siege ramps have been built against the city to take it. The city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword, of the famine, and of the…Jeremiah 32:25You have said to me, Lord Yahweh, ‘Buy the field for money, and call witnesses;’ whereas the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.”Jeremiah 32:28Therefore Yahweh says: Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will take it.Jeremiah 32:29The Chaldeans, who fight against this city, will come and set this city on fire, and burn it with the houses on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal, and poured out drink…Jeremiah 32:43Fields will be bought in this land, about which you say, ‘It is desolate, without man or animal. It is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’Jeremiah 33:5‘While men come to fight with the Chaldeans, and to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have killed in my anger and in my wrath, and for all whose wickedness I have hidden my…Jeremiah 35:11But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, we said, ‘Come! Let’s go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians; so we…Jeremiah 37:5Pharaoh’s army had come out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.Jeremiah 37:8The Chaldeans will come again, and fight against this city. They will take it and burn it with fire.”’Jeremiah 37:9“Yahweh says, ‘Don’t deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely depart from us;” for they will not depart.Jeremiah 37:10For though you had struck the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and only wounded men remained among them, they would each rise up in his tent and burn this city with fire.’”Jeremiah 37:11When the army of the Chaldeans had withdrawn from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army,Jeremiah 37:13When he was in Benjamin’s gate, a captain of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are…Jeremiah 37:14Then Jeremiah said, “That is false! I am not defecting to the Chaldeans.” But he didn’t listen to him; so Irijah seized Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.Jeremiah 38:2“Yahweh says, ‘He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live. He will escape with his life and he…Jeremiah 38:18But if you will not go out to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they will burn it with fire, and you won’t escape out of their…Jeremiah 38:19Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.”Jeremiah 38:23They will bring out all your wives and your children to the Chaldeans. You won’t escape out of their hand, but will be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. You will cause this city to…Jeremiah 39:5But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. When they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the…Jeremiah 39:8The Chaldeans burned the king’s house and the people’s houses with fire and broke down the walls of Jerusalem.Jeremiah 40:9Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan swore to them and to their men, saying, “Don’t be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it will…Jeremiah 40:10As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah, to stand before the Chaldeans who will come to us; but you, gather wine and summer fruits and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in…Jeremiah 41:3Ishmael also killed all the Jews who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldean men of war who were found there.Jeremiah 41:18because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor over the land.Jeremiah 43:3but Baruch the son of Neriah has turned you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death or carry us away captive to Babylon.”Jeremiah 50:1The word that Yahweh spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet.Jeremiah 50:8“Flee out of the middle of Babylon! Go out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the male goats before the flocks.Jeremiah 50:10Chaldea will be a prey. All who prey on her will be satisfied,” says Yahweh.Jeremiah 50:25Yahweh has opened his armory, and has brought out the weapons of his indignation; for the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, has a work to do in the land of the Chaldeans.Jeremiah 50:35“A sword is on the Chaldeans,” says Yahweh, “and on the inhabitants of Babylon, on her princes, and on her wise men.Jeremiah 50:45Therefore hear the counsel of Yahweh that he has taken against Babylon; and his purposes that he has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely they will drag them away, even the…Jeremiah 51:1Yahweh says: “Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against those who dwell in Lebkamai, a destroying wind.Jeremiah 51:4They will fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and thrust through in her streets.Jeremiah 51:24“I will give to Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight,” says Yahweh.Jeremiah 51:35May the violence done to me and to my flesh be on Babylon!” the inhabitant of Zion will say; and, “May my blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea!” will Jerusalem say.Jeremiah 51:54“The sound of a cry comes from Babylon, and of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!Jeremiah 52:7Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled, and went out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden. Now the…Jeremiah 52:8but the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.Jeremiah 52:14All the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down all the walls of Jerusalem all around.Jeremiah 52:17The Chaldeans broke the pillars of bronze that were in Yahweh’s house and the bases and the bronze sea that were in Yahweh’s house in pieces, and carried all of their bronze to Babylon.
Ezekiel8 mentions
Ezekiel 1:3Yahweh’s word came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and Yahweh’s hand was there on him.Ezekiel 11:24The Spirit lifted me up, and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to the captives. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.Ezekiel 12:13I will also spread my net on him, and he will be taken in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet he will not see it, though he will die there.Ezekiel 16:29You have moreover multiplied your prostitution to the land of merchants, to Chaldea; and yet you weren’t satisfied with this.Ezekiel 23:14“She increased her prostitution; for she saw men portrayed on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with red,Ezekiel 23:15dressed with belts on their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like princes, after the likeness of the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth.Ezekiel 23:16As soon as she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them into Chaldea.Ezekiel 23:23the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, Koa, and all the Assyrians with them; all of them desirable young men, governors and rulers, princes and men of renown, all of them…
Daniel11 mentions
Daniel 1:4youths in whom was no defect, but well-favored, skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding science, and who had the ability to stand in the king’s palace; and that he…Daniel 2:2Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be called to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.Daniel 2:4Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in the Syrian language, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.”Daniel 2:5The king answered the Chaldeans, “The thing has gone from me. If you don’t make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut in pieces, and your houses will be made a…Daniel 2:10The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on the earth who can show the king’s matter, because no king, lord, or ruler has asked such a thing of any magician…Daniel 3:8Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near and brought accusation against the Jews.Daniel 4:7Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in; and I told them the dream, but they didn’t make known to me its interpretation.Daniel 5:7The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and shows me its…Daniel 5:11There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him.…Daniel 5:30In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean King was slain.Daniel 9:1In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the offspring of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—
What the dictionary says
The southern portion of Babylonia, Lower Mesopotamia, lying chiefly on the right bank of the Euphrates, but commonly used of the whole of the Mesopotamian…
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)
Read the article →Sources
- STEPBible TIPNR · Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References · CC BY 4.0 · github.com/STEPBible/STEPBible-Data
- OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding · CC BY 4.0 · www.openbible.info/geo/
- Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (1869) · Public domain