vegetation. However, many birds largely subsist on this larval stage of butterflies or moths.

CAUDA

(Cauʹda).

An island off the SW coast of Crete passed by the apostle Paul and Luke on the voyage to Rome in the fall of 58 C.E. Having lifted anchor at Fair Havens, their ship hugged the S coast of Crete until, likely after rounding Cape Matala, they were caught and driven by a tempestuous wind that could have forced the boat into the quicksands off the shores of North Africa. However, they came into the shelter of “a certain small island called Cauda” and the island’s position evidently broke the force of the wind, providing them smoother waters, likely along its SW shore. This gave the crew sufficient time to hoist in the skiff, undergird the boat and lower its gear.—Acts 27:13-17

The Cauda of Luke’s narrative is today called Caudos or Gozzo, an island seven miles (11 kilometers) long by three miles (5 kilometers) broad, lying about forty miles (64 kilometers) W-SW of Fair Havens.

CAVE

An underground hollow or cavern with an opening to the surface. Caves abound in the limestone of Palestine; Mount Carmel and the vicinity of Jerusalem, for example, were undermined with many caves. Accordingly, they are frequently mentioned in Scripture, sometimes in a figurative sense. Some of them were so large as to hold hundreds of persons, and were used for permanent dwellings, as at Petra, or as temporary shelters, burial sites, cisterns, stables and storehouses. Many valuable artifacts have been recovered from these natural shelters.

Caves provided refuge in times of danger. The first mention of such a place concerns Lot and his two daughters living in a cave after leaving Zoar because of fear. (Gen. 19:30) At Makkedah five confederate Amorite kings hid from Joshua in a cave that afterward became their common tomb. (Josh. 10:16-27) Fleeing the Philistines in the days of King Saul, some Israelites hid in caves. (1 Sam. 13:6; 14:11) To escape the wrath of Saul, David took refuge in a cave near Adullam and was there joined by “about four hundred men.” (1 Sam. 22:1, 2) Again pursued by Saul, David concealed himself in a cave in the wilderness of En-gedi, and it was here that David cut off the skirt of Saul’s coat when he “came in to ease nature.” (1 Sam. 24:1-15) It may have been David’s experiences on these two occasions that prompted him to compose Psalms 57 and 142, as their superscriptions show. After David was made king, it seems that the cave of Adullam served as military headquarters during a campaign against the Philistines. (2 Sam. 23:13; 1 Chron. 11:15) When wicked Jezebel attempted to kill off all Jehovah’s prophets, Obadiah fed a hundred of them who were hiding “in a cave.” (1 Ki. 18:4, 13) Elijah also fled from the anger of Jezebel to a cave at Horeb, and it was there that he received divine instructions to return and anoint Hazael and Jehu. (1 Ki. 19:1-17) So from these examples Paul had ample support for writing that men of faith “wandered about in . . . dens and caves of the earth.” (Heb. 11:38) Many years later the catacombs of Rome served as underground refuges and meeting places for persecuted Christians.

The dead were often buried in caves. The very rocky soil in much of Palestine made digging graves difficult. The Bible’s second mention of a cave is concerning the one of Machpelah at Hebron that Abraham bought and used as a burial site, and where Sarah, Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Leah were all buried. (Gen. 23:7-20; 25:9, 10; 49:29-32; 50:13) The memorial tomb of Jesus’ friend Lazarus “was, in fact, a cave.”—John 11:38.

Caves often served as excellent storehouses, especially in times of danger. Thus, to protect their crops from Midianite raiders during the days of Gideon, “the sons of Israel made for themselves the underground store places that were in the mountains, and the caves and the places difficult to approach.” (Judg. 6:2) Similarly, the Dead Sea Scrolls were evidently hidden for safekeeping in caves near the Wadi Qumran NW of the Dead Sea, where they remained undisturbed for many centuries until their discovery began in 1947.

In a figurative sense caves are also referred to. Jesus accused the money changers of making the temple “a cave of robbers.” (Matt. 21:13; Jer. 7:11) The prophecies of both Isaiah and Revelation tell that some will try to escape God’s judgment, “the dreadfulness of Jehovah,” by hiding themselves in “the caves,” but according to Ezekiel the “caves” they make their strongholds will furnish no protection from God.—Isa. 2:19-21; Rev. 6:15-17; Ezek. 33:27.

CEDAR

[Heb., ʼeʹrez].

The cedar trees, and particularly those of Lebanon, were renowned in Bible times and are especially prominent in the account of the temple construction by Solomon.

The cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) is a majestic tree of massive proportions, with deep, strong roots, and thus the Hebrew name, derived from a root word meaning “to be firm,” is very appropriate. Large forests of these cedars once blanketed the mountains of Lebanon, but today only a few small groves remain due to indiscriminate use and failure to replenish the trees by proper conservation and reseeding. The ravages of war doubtless contributed to this depletion as well. (Isa. 14:5-8) However, the remaining trees still present an impressive sight.—Compare Song of Solomon 5:15.

The cedars sometimes reach a height of 120 feet (37 meters) and the trunk may have a circumference of up to 40 feet (12 meters). The long, spreading branches, stretching out horizontally from the trunk, may give a total circumference of as much as 200 to 300 feet (60 to 91 meters). The trees are somewhat pyramid-shaped when young but tend to flatten out on top as they mature. The foliage grows in distinct horizontal tiers or layers (rather than interlacing), the boughs bearing round flowerlike sprays of bright, green needles about half an inch (1.27 centimeters) in length, and tan-colored cones that exude a fragrant resin. The bark is reddish brown in color and quite rough. The trunk becomes gnarled with age.

The wood of the cedar has a warm red tone, is free from knots and was valued highly for building purposes because of its beauty, fragrance, durability and resistance to attack by insects. (Song of Sol. 1:17; 4:11) The Phoenician shipbuilders used it for their masts. (Ezek. 27:5) King Hiram of Tyre supplied men and materials for David when David built a “house of cedars” in Jerusalem. (2 Sam. 5:11; 2 Chron. 2:3) Solomon later used cedarwood in the temple, for the beams (1 Ki. 6:9), for overlaying the altar of incense (1 Ki. 6:20), and for paneling the interior of the temple in its entirety so that “there was no stone to be seen.” (1 Ki. 6:15-18) The “House of the Forest of Lebanon,” constructed later, was probably so named because of its forty-five pillars of cedarwood. (1 Ki. 7:2, 3) Cedar was also used in the Porch of the Throne and in the temple courtyard.—1 Ki. 7:7-12.

Such extensive use of cedarwood required the labor of thousands of workers in cutting the trees, transporting them to Tyre or Sidon on the Mediterranean seacoast, forming them into rafts and floating them down the coast, probably to Joppa. They were then hauled overland to Jerusalem. This was worked out by a contract between Solomon and Hiram. (1 Ki. 5:6-18; 2 Chron. 2:3-10) Thereafter the flow of lumber continued so that it could be said that Solomon made ‘cedarwood like the sycamore tree for quantity’ during his reign.—1 Ki. 10:27; compare Isaiah 9:9, 10.

Following the captivity, cedar timbers from Lebanon were again obtained for reconstruction work on the temple.—Ezra 3:7.

Elsewhere in the Scriptures the majestic cedar is used figuratively to represent stateliness, loftiness and strength, either real or apparent. (Ezek. 31:2-14; Amos 2:9; Zech. 11:1, 2; Job 40:17) Thus, King Jehoash of Israel intended his reply to King Amaziah of Judah to be a withering insult when he compared Amaziah’s kingdom to a “thorny weed” while likening his own kingdom to a mighty cedar of Lebanon. (2 Ki. 14:9; compare Judges 9:15, 20.) The cedar figures dramatically in Ezekiel’s riddle (chap. 17), wherein the king and princes of Judah are likened to the treetop of a cedar of Lebanon carried off by Babylon. (Ezek. 17:1-4, 12, 13) Thereafter the Messiah is prophetically pictured as a twig from the very top of the cedar, which Jehovah then plants on a lofty mountain.—Ezek. 17:22-24; compare Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15; Psalm 2:6; Revelation 14:1; Daniel 4:17.

The cedarwood used in the wilderness by the Israelites was possibly from another type of cedar than that of Lebanon. The brown-berried cedar (Juniperus oxycedrus) is well known in the Sinai desert region. Certain purification rites, including that of a cured leper, required the use of cedarwood, and it may be that, due to its well-known resistance to decay, it was there used to symbolize freedom from corruption or disease.—Lev. 14:2-7, 49-53; Num. 19:6.

That the cedar served figuratively in both an adverse as well as favorable sense is evident. It became a “status symbol” among the unfaithful materialistic kings of Judah and symbolized their self-exaltation and false security. (Jer. 22:13-15, 23; Isa. 2:11-13) Yet, the growth and development of the righteous man is likened to that of the firmly rooted cedar. (Ps. 92:12; compare Isaiah 61:3 with Psalm 92:12; 104:16.) So, while on the one hand Jehovah promises to manifest his power by breaking the mighty cedars of Lebanon and making them ‘skip about the mountains like calves’ (Ps. 29:4-6), on the other hand he foretells the time when he will make the cedar grow even in the wilderness regions (Isa. 41:19, 20) and singles it out among the trees as one of the many creations that will praise his lofty Name.—Ps. 148:9, 13.

CENCHREAE

(Cenʹchre·ae).

The account at Acts 18:18 relates that in Cenchreae Paul had his hair clipped because he had made a vow, and afterward he apparently sailed from Cenchreae to Ephesus accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila (in the spring of 52 C.E.). Writing to Rome about four years later, the apostle referred to “the congregation that is in Cenchreae.” Paul’s letter to the Romans may have been carried to its destination by Phoebe of the city of Cenchreae.—Rom. 16:1, 2.

Cenchreae lay on the Saronic Gulf side of a narrow isthmus about seven miles (11.3 kilometers) E of Corinth, and was linked to that city by a chain of military fortifications. Cenchreae was Corinth’s port for points E of Greece, while Lechaeum, on the opposite side of the isthmus, served as Corinth’s port for Italy and the W. According to Greek geographer Strabo, the mastery of these two ports made Corinth the most splendid commercial city of ancient Greece.

Pausanias, a Greek geographer and traveler of the second century C.E., described Cenchreae as having religious temples on each side of its harbor and a bronze image of the Greek god Poseidon on a jetty running out to sea; coin inscriptions verify this description. Ruins in the area today include buildings and moles near the present village of Kechriais.

CENSER

See FIRE HOLDER.

CENSUS

See REGISTRATION.

CENTURION (ARMY OFFICER)

An officer in command of a hundred soldiers. The Roman legion, regardless of its size, was always divided into sixty centuries, each under the command of a centurion. If the legion shrank below 6,000, still one-sixtieth, even when less than a hundred, was under a centurion. These army officers were nominated by tribunes and were approved by higher government authorities. The office of centurion was the highest rank the common soldier could reach, though there were opportunities for some advancement within the ranks of the centurions themselves.

The centurions were key men and served a most important function in the legion. While they were under the authority of the tribunes and responsible to carry out their orders, the army officer was the real and immediate head of the soldiers. He drilled the soldiers; worked with them; inspected their arms, supplies and food; regulated their conduct. He was the disciplinarian who supervised scourgings and capital punishment, the one who authorized punishment of his troops. The readiness and efficiency of the Roman army, for the most part, depended more on centurions than on anyone else; they were, generally speaking, the most experienced and valuable men in the Roman army.—See ARMY.

On at least five occasions army officers appear in the Christian Greek Scripture narratives.

1. The army officer from Capernaum who sought Jesus’ healing power on behalf of his slave was commended by the Master for his exemplary faith. (Matt. 8:5-13) The statement of the Jews, “He loves our nation and he himself built the synagogue for us,” the centurion’s acknowledgment that “I am not fit to have you come in under my roof,” and Jesus’ comment, “Not even in Israel have I found so great a faith,” all indicate that the army officer was a Gentile. If he was a Roman, this was all the more remarkable, for Romans were not noted for their compassion toward slaves.—Luke 7:1-9.

2. The army officer that headed the four soldiers who put Jesus to death. (John 19:23) This centurion likely had been present when the claim of divine Sonship was discussed before Pilate. (John 19:7) Observing this trial and the other circumstances surrounding the impalement, plus the miraculous phenomena accompanying Jesus’ death, the “army officer began to glorify God,” saying, “Really this man was righteous,” “Certainly this was God’s Son.” (Luke 23:47; Matt. 27:54) Undoubtedly it was of him that Pilate inquired as to whether Jesus was dead before giving the body over for burial.—Mark 15:44, 45.

3. Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian band, stationed in Caesarea, was the first uncircumcised Gentile to become a Christian. (Acts 10:1-48) The fact that he had his own house and attendant soldiers indicates that officers of this rank were allowed to live detached from the regular troops.—See CORNELIUS.

4. Army officers stationed in the Castle of Antonia, together with their soldiers and the military commander, rushed down to the adjoining temple grounds and rescued Paul from a mob, 56 C.E. (Acts 21:32) Later, Paul escaped scourging on the order of the military commander by disclosing to an attending army officer that he was a Roman citizen. (Acts 22:25, 26) Upon learning of a plot against his life, Paul called an army officer to lead his nephew to the military commander with this report. In turn, two army officers were ordered to ready a force of 470 soldiers, cavalry and spearmen to ensure Paul’s safe conduct out of Jerusalem.—Acts 23:17, 23.

5. Julius, an army officer of the band of Augustus (see AUGUSTUS, BAND OF), was responsible for Paul’s passage from Adramyttium to Rome. He treated Paul with kindness, though at first ignoring the apostle’s advice. Eventually, however, this centurion learned to respect Paul’s judgment, and was instrumental in saving the apostle’s life.—Acts 27:1, 6, 11, 31, 43.

CEPHAS

See PETER.

CHAFF

The thin protective covering or husk on the kernels of cereal grains such as barley and wheat. Though the Biblical references to chaff are figurative, they reflect the threshing practices common in ancient