Chemarim

Chemarim (Hebrew kemarim, meaning black ones — possibly for their black garments) is the term used in Zephaniah 1:4 for the idolatrous priests whom the Lord declared he would cut off from Jerusalem alongside the priests of Baal. The same Hebrew word is rendered idolatrous priests in 2 Kings 23:5, where Josiah's reform eliminated those whom previous kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense at the high places in the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem, as well as those who burned incense to Baal, the sun, the moon, the constellations, and all the host of heaven. Hosea 10:5 uses the word for the priests who mourned the exile of the calf idol from Bethel. The term thus designates non-Levitical priests of false worship throughout the monarchy period.