Kasdim is the usual designation, for the land and the people living on the lower Euphrates and Tigris. The corresponding Greek form with l substituted for s follows the Assyrian-Babylonian Kaldu, mât Kaldi, “Chaldean, land of the Chaldeans” instead of “Chasdim, land of the Chasdim.” Kasdim is possibly connected with the name of Kesed, nephew of Abraham (Genesis 22:22), and may be derived from the Assyrian-Babylonian root kašādu, “to capture,” suggesting that the Chaldeans were originally tribes of nomadic plunderers (compare Job 1:17).
