Who were the Chaldeans in the Bible?

This was strictly the southern part of Babylonia, but the many references in scripture to the Chaldeans show that the inhabitants of the whole of Babylonia are alluded to by that name. Perhaps Ur is the only place in Chaldea proper to which scripture definitely refers. This was apparently a maritime city, which agrees with the country extending to the Persian Gulf; but the Gulf has receded far from where the river once joined it. The land of Shinar adjoined Chaldea on the north, in which were the early cities of Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh. Gen. 10:10. The whole district was situate between the rivers Tigris and the Euphrates, but extended west of the latter. It was anciently well watered by canals, and is judged to have been productive. Herodotus says mounds, were built where the river once spread like a sea through the whole plain. Now all is desolation, some parts very dry, and others a mere swamp, with lines of mounds in various directions. The prophecies declared that it would be so, but as stated above, they refer to the whole of Babylonia. Jer. 1:10; Jer. 51:24, 35; Ezek. 11:24; Ezek. 16:29; Ezek. 23:15-16.

After the mention of Ur of the Chaldees in Gen. 11:28, 31; Gen. 15:7; and the Chaldeans who fell upon Job's camels (Job 1:17) we do not read of them for some fifteen hundred years, when God sent them to punish Judah. 2 Kings 24:2. Then, however, they cannot be distinguished from the Babylonians. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon was called a Chaldean, Ezra 5:12, and on the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar it was the Chaldeans who destroyed the city, 2 Kings 25; and in 2 Chr. 36:17 Nebuchadnezzar is called 'the king of the Chaldees.' It is evident therefore that the Babylonians are called Chaldees; and at one time the Assyrians were associated with the Babylonians. We read "Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness." Isa. 23:13. This passage has been variously interpreted. The meaning appears to be that it was the Chaldeans that were going to destroy Tyre. They were a people that had not been reckoned among the nations until the Assyrians, consolidated them into a nation. They had formerly dwelt in the wilderness (as when they fell upon Job's camels, Job 1:17). This was the people that would bring Tyre to ruin. Lowth translates the verse thus: "Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was of no account; (the Assyrian founded it for the inhabitants of the desert; they raised the watch towers, they set up the palaces thereof): this people hath reduced her to a ruin." Herodotus says "the Assyrians built the towers and temples of Babylon." Isa. 48:14,20; Jer. 21:4, 9,10; Ezek. 23:14; Dan. 5:30; Dan. 9:1.

It has been judged that the Hebrew word Kasdim, translated 'Chaldeans,' is from the Assyrian word Kasadu, 'to conquer,' and is applied to those who 'conquered' the Chaldean plain. The earlier inhabitants had an agglutinative language, such as the descendants of Cush would have: whereas the Chaldeans spoken of in the O.T. were a Semitic race, who then possessed the land. At first they were a number of tribes in South Babylonia, but were afterwards united and increased. They became merged by the mixing of races, intercourse, etc., so as not to be distinguishable from the Babylonians.

These are mentioned repeatedly in Daniel along with magicians, astrologers, and soothsayers. These Chaldeans were a particular class of learned men, forming with others the Magi, or wise men of Babylon. In Dan. 5:11 it is said that Daniel had been made 'master' of them, doubtless because it had been discovered that he had more wisdom than all of them. When the Chaldeans, etc., were called in before the king to interpret the writing on the wall, Daniel was not among them, and we may be sure he kept himself aloof from such. See MAGI.

Josephus states in his Antiq. i. 6, 4 (ed. Hudson i. 19, 20) that Arphaxad gave his name to the Chaldeans. But this is erroneous. For the Chaldim, as they are called in scripture, or Kaldi as they called themselves, were a Cushite race, not Shemitic, and their tongue is said to have closely resembled the Galla or ancient language of the Aethiopians. This appears to have been retained as a learned tongue for erudite and religious purposes, at least; and we may see reference to it in Dan. 1:4, even when the Shemitic type of language had superseded it for ordinary or evil usage as shown in the inscriptions of that region both Assyrian and Babylonian. The predominance of Nabopolassar and of Nebuchadnezzar his son gave the Chaldeans their established supremacy over the various races in Babylon; so that what was an old and special tribe at first got to be the more extensive designation of that conquering people, as well as to mark a peculiar class of learned and scientific religionists, etc., astrologers as we see in Dan. 2 of whom the prophet was constituted chief or master" (Dan. 4:9; 5:11).

The inhabitants of Babylon or its districts. Ezra 4:9; Ezek. 23:15, 17, 23. Thousands of tablets have been discovered which throw great light upon the social life and character of the Babylonians. They were an educated people. Some tablets appear to be Geological, Geographical, and Mathematical; and many others are records of contracts, loans, marriages, dowries, purchase of slaves, etc. Their Astronomy was mixed up with Astrology. Many tablets show that they held that the stars and signs of the heavens foretold events, agreeing with God's message to Babylon "Let now the astrologers, the star-gazers, the monthly prognosticators stand up and save thee." Isa. 47:13. Many magical and incantation tablets show that they were in great fear of evil spirits: they called upon 'the spirit of heaven' and 'the spirit of earth' to deliver them. Their religion has been described as the worst possible form of nature worship, and their gods seem to have been countless. These tablets, made thousands of years ago, now reveal how Satan succeeded in keeping the Babylonians completely under his dominion.

In verse 6 the instrument of chastisement is announced, and afterward described. A new power would arise, the Chaldeans. They would make an invasion, and possess dwelling places which were not theirs, that is, they would set out for a widespread conquest and take away the dwelling place of Judah. They were to be the instrument in the hand of God to mete out judgment to the Jews and humble them, as well as other nations. The Chaldeans, called in Hebrew Hakhadsim were of Semitic origin, springing from Kesed, the son of Nahor, and brother of Abraham (Gen. 22:22). Jeremiah, who also announced the Chaldean invasion, speaks of them in the following manner: "Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from afar, O house of Israel, saith the LORD, it is a mighty nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say. Their quiver is an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men. And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat, they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds, they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees; they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustest, with the sword. Nevertheless, in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make an end of you" (Jer. 5:15-18). Their terrible onslaught is here compared to the swiftness of the leopards, their fierceness with the prowling evening wolves, and their horsemen in their dash with the eagle's flight. They come for violence and know no defeat, for their faces are always forward. They make prisoners like the sand, and mock all attempts to check their advance; kings and princes are ridiculed and all strongholds are quickly reduced.

But as he is victorious the Chaldean becomes proud and forgets that he was but used as an instrument in the hand of God to deal with those who had done evil. As a result, they imputed their power to their own god, and do not give God the honor and the glory. His own might is his god. Then comes the day when the Lord takes the Chaldean in hand for judgment and deals with him, as He dealt with other nations. Nebuchadnezzar, the first great king of Babylon, after his humiliating experience, acknowledged the God of heaven, but his grandson Belshazzar praised the Babylonian idol-gods, at his licentious feast, dishonoring the temple vessels. Then followed the judgment of the Chaldeans in the overthrow of Babylon.

The most important hint to Habakkuk’s time of service and to the date of his book is found in chap. 1:6: “For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation”. Various critics of Habakkuk’s book also wanted to misinterpret the name of the Chaldeans (or Chaldees). But there is no reason to doubt that the Chaldeans are identical to the Babylonians. II Kings 25:1 mentions Nebuchadnezzar as king of Babylon and verse 4 of the same chapter mentions the Chaldees as his soldiers (compare with Is. 13:19; Ez. 12:13).

For the New-Babylonian Empire had been expanding constantly since 625 BC under Nabopolassar (625-605 BC). Nineveh the capital of the already weakening Assyrian Empire was conquered in 612 BC (see details in Nahum) and in 605 BC the battle of Carchemish took place in which the Babylonians defeated the Egyptians (compare with Jer. 46:2). With this the whole East was opened up to the Babylonians. Their cruel reputation was known everywhere. Shortly after this, Nebuchadnezzar attacked the kingdom of Judah (605 BC). In the following first deportation of the Jews to Babylon the princes of the nation were deported (2 Kings 20:18; 24:14; Dan. 1:3). The princes were exactly those who had oppressed the lower part of the population (Hab. 1:2-4). Upon the first attack of the Babylonians followed two more in 597 and 586 BC, which lead to Jerusalem’s destruction and to the Babylonian captivity of Judah. All this however had not yet taken place when the book of Habakkuk was written. Although we have no dates mentioned the time of writing could be pretty fixed between the time of Nineveh’s destruction and the first attack on Judah, which would be between 612 and 605 BC.

In the sixth verse of the opening chapter we read, "For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs." He therefore prophesied at the time when the Chaldeans, or as they are also called the Babylonians, were coming into power, and soon to be used against the house of Judah, as the Assyrian was used in judgment with the house of Israel. He prophesied during the reign of Josiah, that is at the very close of his reign, and a few years before Nineveh was destroyed, which elevated the Babylonians to the place of prominence. Some have put the date into the reign of Manasseh, the father of Josiah, but this is too early. Josiah died on the battlefield, and after his son Jehoahaz had reigned three months, Pharaoh-necho, who had slain Josiah, made Eliakim, the son of Josiah, king over Judah, and gave him the name of Jehoiakim. (See 2 Kings 23:28-37.)

Nabopalassar, founded the new Babylonian empire, which began the period of the Chaldees--as they are chiefly known to us in Scripture. Here we may at once indicate that he was succeeded by his son, Nebuchadrezzar (or Nebuchadnezzar), and he in turn by his son, Evil-merodach, who, after two years' reign, was dethroned by his brother-in-law, Neriglissar. After four years (559-556 B.C.) Neriglissar was succeeded by his youthful son, Laborosoarchod. After his murder, Nabonidos (Nabunit, Nabuna'id) acceded to the government, but after seventeen years' reign (555-539 B.C.) was dethroned by Cyrus. The eldest son of Nabonidos, and heir to the throne, was Belshazzar whom we know from the book of Daniel, where, in a not unusual manner, he is designated as the son, that is, the descendant of Nebuchadrezzar (Dan. 5:2, 11, 18). We infer that, while his father, Nabonidos, went to meet Cyrus, to whom he surrendered, thereby preserving his life, Belshazzar had been left as "king" in Babylon at the taking of which he perished in the night of his feast, described in Holy Scripture. (See The Prophet Daniel, by A.C. Gaebelein.)

This Chaldean, however, this Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, is set up by the Lord, and the sword is committed to him. Power in the earth, for the punishment of evil-doers and for the praise of them that do well, is put into his hand, formally put there, by God, on the glory forsaking the earth, or the Lord, for the present, refusing to take His place as King of Israel.

The third stroke falls upon the camels, the animals used for burden-bearing and for travel, the source of commercial wealth. The agents here are the Chaldeans, from the north of the country of Job — apparently a warlike and numerous people at that day, though not yet in their place of later national supremacy. They clear all away, both of camels and servants, as completely as had the Sabeans.

Isaiah 23. In pronouncing His judgment on Tyre, an ancient city, the Lord shows that He would use a comparatively new power, even the Chaldeans, of whom Jehovah says, “this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness” (verse 13). Although Babel was the beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom, it was not until the days of Nebuchadnezzar that it became a world power to execute God’s judgment upon the nations.