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Chiun

Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia

(meaning uncertain) (Amos 5:26) - an idol worshiped by the Israelites with Moloch during their wilderness wandering. The Septuagint renders the name Remphan, as Acts 7:43 reads, suggesting that Remphan and Chiun were different names for the same idol. Fürst identified Chiun with Saturn and related it to Arabic, Persian, and Syriac Kaiwan, with similar names among Phoenicians, Babylonians, Numidians, and Egyptians. The name may denote an idol image or a portable stand used to carry it, perhaps including Saturn's star. The source follows Winer and other commentators in understanding it as an image of Saturn.

Scripture cited

Amos 5:26Acts 7:43

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