This Aramaic term appears in Daniel and Ezra referring to Chaldeans. In some contexts it denotes ethnic Chaldeans, the Neo-Babylonian empire's dominant people. In Daniel it often refers to a learned class of diviners and astrologers, similar to how the term developed in Babylonian usage to mean the priestly-scholarly caste. The textual variants (Ketiv/Qere) in both occurrences show scribal attention to proper form, while the dual meaning reflects historical reality - the Chaldean people became so associated with learning and divination that their ethnic name became a professional designation.