Carchemish in the Bible — Hidden Meaning & Symbolism

Carchemish, cär'-che-mlsh (Heb.)-- fortress of Chemosh; citadel of the vanquisher; the defense of concealment. A strongly fortified city of the Hittites, on or near the Euphrates River. It was taken by Neco, king of Egypt; later he was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (II Chron. 35:20; Jer. 46:2). (Chemosh means subduer, vanquisher, concealed, evil, dark star, and was a national god of the Moabites.) Meta. A thought center that is strongly established (fortress, citadel) in an opposing, resistant, carnal attitude of mind (a city of the Hittites). This darkened, error attitude of mind apparently is so strong that it carries all before it (citadel of the vanquisher). Its seemingly great strength lies in concealment. It hides the material and carnal, and therefore the destructive aspect of what it is, under the deceptive belief that its expressions are natural to man and are of God (the defense of concealment).