Chaldea was a region in the southernmost part of Mesopotamia, taking in the marshlands near the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. It grew influential during the first millennium B.C., especially when Chaldean kings took the throne of Babylon during periods of Babylonian weakness, and is associated with the Neo-Babylonian Empire. It appears in the record only within passages of Isaiah quoted by Nephi.
In one passage the Lord declares that he will “do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall come upon the Chaldeans” (1 Nephi 20:14), and calls the people to “Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans” (1 Nephi 20:20). Another passage names Babylon “the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency,” and foretells that it will be “as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah” (2 Nephi 23:19), placing Chaldea within the territory of Babylonia.