Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, April 25th, 2024
the Fourth Week after Easter
Attention!
For 10¢ a day you can enjoy StudyLight.org ads
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!

Bible Encyclopedias
Carites

The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia

Search for…
or
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Prev Entry
Carinthia
Next Entry
Carlos, David Cohen
Resource Toolbox
Additional Links

People mentioned in 2 Kings 11:4,19. The Kari (R. V., "Carites"; margin, "executioners", A. V., "captains") are mentioned between the captains over hundreds and the "runners" (e., satellites) as body-guards of the king. In 2 Samuel 20:23, where the well-known troop of the Cherethites (A. V., "Keri") and Pelethites is mentioned, the text reads "Kari" (R. V. margin, "Carites") for "Cherethites." The most plausible explanation is that, in all three passages, there is only an abridged orthography for the usual "Kerethi(m)"—Cherethite(s) (compare Vulgate, the Hexapla, etc.; Targ. [except 2 Kings 11:4, "heroes"]). Others (e.g., Driver, on 2 Samuel 20) consider that the reading "Carite(s)" (2 Samuel 11:4) is intended, and they assume that, instead of the Philistine mercenaries here, a similar troop of Carians, the famous pirates and mercenaries of earlier Greek antiquity, is mentioned, as by Herodotus 2:152,171; Thucydides, 4:8; Hesychius, under "Karitai" and "Archilochus." This might also point to affinity with the Philistines who came from the same quarter of the Ægean Sea. The Septuagint understands "Chorî" not as collective singular, but as the name of an officer.

E. C.
W. M. M.
Bibliography Information
Singer, Isidore, Ph.D, Projector and Managing Editor. Entry for 'Carites'. 1901 The Jewish Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/​encyclopedias/​eng/​tje/​c/carites.html. 1901.
adsFree icon
Ads FreeProfile