Dictionaries :: Kishon

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Kishon:

winding, a winter torrent of Central Palestine, which rises about the roots of Tabor and Gilboa, and passing in a northerly direction through the plains of Esdraelon and Acre, falls into the Mediterranean at the north-eastern corner of the bay of Acre, at the foot of Carmel. It is the drain by which the waters of the plain of Esdraelon and of the mountains that surround it find their way to the sea. It bears the modern name of Nahr el-Mokattah, i.e., "the river of slaughter" (1Ki 18:40). In the triumphal song of Deborah (Jdg 5:21) it is spoken of as "that ancient river," either (1) because it had flowed on for ages, or (2), according to the Targum, because it was "the torrent in which were shown signs and wonders to Israel of old;" or (3) probably the reference is to the exploits in that region among the ancient Canaanites, for the adjoining plain of Esdraelon was the great battle-field of Palestine.

This was the scene of the defeat of Sisera (Jdg 4:7,13), and of the destruction of the prophets of Baal by Elijah (1Ki 18:40). "When the Kishon was at its height, it would be, partly on account of its quicksands, as impassable as the ocean itself to a retreating army." (See DEBORAH.)

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

Kishon:

hard; sore

International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia

Kishon:

ki'-shon, kish'on (qishon; Keison): The "watercourse" or "torrent stream" along the banks of which the great battle was fought between Israel, led by Deborah and Barak, and the army of Sisera, in the waters of which so many perished (Jud 4:7, etc.). It is probably mentioned earlier as "the brook that is before Jokneam" (Jos 19:11; see JOKNEAM). It appears again as the scene of Elijah's slaughter of the prophets of Baal (1Ki 18:40). "The torrent" paragraph excellence in the district is the modern el-MuqaTTa‘, a stream which drains all the plain of Esdraelon to the West of the watershed-a line drawn from Iksal to Nain, and thence to el-Fuleh and Zer‘in. All the water East of this line, from the Nazareth hills, Tabor and Little Hermon, flows down Wady esh-Sherrar and Nahr Jalud into the Jordan. The Kishon collects the streams from the western slopes of Gilboa in the rainy season; and the water from the strong spring at Jenin. Contributions also come from the copious fountains in the neighborhood of Megiddo. At Sa‘adiyeh, again, some 3 miles East of Chaifa, its volume is largely increased by springs rising at the base of Carmel, on the edge of the plain of Acre. From Jenin in the Southeast, the deep torrent bed follows a westerly direction, with numerous. windings cutting the plain in two, until it reaches the pass at the northeastern base of Carmel. Through the gorge between the mountain and the hills of Galilee it reaches the plain of Acre. From Sa‘adiyeh it flows in a deep sluggish stream through the marsh-land to the sea near Chaifa. In this part the crocodile is said to have been seen at times.

In the summer season the water from the springs is largely absorbed by irrigation, and the upper reaches of the river are soon dry. The bed runs along the bottom of a trench some 20 ft. deep through the plain. It is easily crossed at the fords by those who know how to avoid the localities of the springs. In time of heavy rains the trench is swiftly filled, and the soft soil of the plain goes to mud. Remembering this, it is easy to understand the disaster that overwhelmed the heavily armed cavalry and chariots of Sisera. The chief ford for long was to the West of the gorge where the stream issues into the plain of Acre, on the highway from Chaifd to Nazareth. Here it is now spanned by a substantial bridge, while the railway crosses a little higher up. At the mouth of the river it is generally easily forded on the sand bank thrown up by the waves beating against the current of the stream. The main traffic here is now carried by a wooden bridge.

The phrase nachal qedhumim in Jud 5:21 is not easy of interpretation. English Versions of the Bible translates, "that ancient river"; G.A. Smith, "torrent of spates"; while others think it may refer to a stream other than the Kishon. Guthe suggests that both names may be derived from those of places adjoining the river. Kishon may possibly mean the "tortuous" stream, referring to the windings of its course.

Written by W. Ewing

Nave's Topical Bible

Kishon: Name Of

Called also Kison

Kishon: Definition Of

A noted river of Palestine emptying into the Mediterranean Sea near the northern base of Mount Carmel

Kishon: Sisera Defeated At

And his army destroyed in,

Jdg 4:7, 13; 5:21; Psa 83:9.

Kishon: Prophets of Baal Destroyed by Elijah At

1Ki 18:40

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Kishon:

(winding) The river, a torrent or winter stream of central Palestine, the scene of two of the grandest achievements of Israelitish history-the defeat of Sisera, Judges 4, and the destruction of the prophets of Baal by Elijah (1 Kings 18:40). The Nahr Mukutta, the modern representative of the Kishon, is the drain by which the waters of the plain of Esdraelon and of the mountains which enclose that plain find their way through the plain of Acre to the Mediterranean. The part of the Kishon at which the prophets of Baal were slaughtered by Elijah was doubtless close below the spot on Carmel where the sacrifice had taken place.