3694. Kesulloth
Lexical Summary
Kesulloth: Kesulloth

Original Word: כְּסֻלּוֹת
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: Kcullowth
Pronunciation: keh-soo-LOTH
Phonetic Spelling: (kes-ool-loth')
KJV: Chesulloth
NASB: Chesulloth
Word Origin: [feminine plural of passive participle of H3688 (כָּסַל - foolish)]

1. fattened
2. Kesulloth, a place in Israel

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Chesulloth

Feminine plural of passive participle of kacal; fattened; Kesulloth, a place in Palestine -- Chesulloth.

see HEBREW kacal

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from kasal
Definition
a place in Issachar
NASB Translation
Chesulloth (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
כְּסֻלּוֺת proper name, of a location in the tribe of Issachar Joshua 19:18, = כִּסְלֹת תָּבֹר (loins or flanks of Tabor), on the western foot of Mt. Tabor, Joshua 19:12; = תָּבוֺר Joshua 19:22; 1 Chronicles 6:62; = modern Iksâl RobBR iii. 182, Memi. 365 BuhlG. § 113, p. 216.

Topical Lexicon
Geographical Setting

Chesulloth lay on the south-western slope of Lower Galilee, just south of Mount Tabor and on the north-eastern rim of the broad Jezreel Valley. The modern village of Iksal, about five kilometers south-east of Nazareth, preserves the ancient name and positions the site on an important east-west corridor that linked the coastal plain with the Jordan Valley.

Biblical Occurrence

“And their territory included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem” (Joshua 19:18). Chesulloth appears only once, listed third among the sixteen towns allotted to the tribe of Issachar when Joshua completed the division of the land.

Historical Context

1. Tribal Identity: Issachar’s inheritance fell between Manasseh to the west and the Jordan to the east. Chesulloth helped anchor Issachar’s northern border near Mount Tabor, giving the tribe a foothold in fertile agricultural land and access to major travel routes.
2. Strategic Value: Overlooking both the Plain of Esdraelon and approaches to Mount Tabor, Chesulloth occupied high ground that could monitor armies moving between Galilee and Samaria. The valley later became the stage for battles involving Deborah and Barak (Judges 4:6-16) and Gideon (Judges 7:1-25); although Chesulloth is not named in those narratives, its proximity placed it within earshot of Israel’s great deliverances.
3. Continuing Occupation: Extra-biblical sources from the Roman and Byzantine periods mention a Jewish community at Xaloth (Iksal), indicating unbroken settlement from Joshua’s day into the early Christian centuries.

Theological Themes

Covenant Faithfulness: The listing of Chesulloth under Issachar testifies to God’s fidelity in giving every tribe its promised portion (Joshua 21:43-45). Each obscure town, however rarely mentioned, embodies the larger narrative of the Lord’s trustworthiness.

Every Member Significant: Though overshadowed by famous neighbors such as Jezreel, Chesulloth reminds readers that “God has arranged the members of the body, every one of them, as He desired” (1 Corinthians 12:18). The unnoticed places of Scripture still contribute to the account of redemption.

Prophetic and Messianic Connections

Isaiah foresaw glory coming to “Galilee of the Gentiles” (Isaiah 9:1-2), a region that included Issachar’s highlands. The Messiah’s ministry in nearby Nazareth (Luke 4:16) and throughout Galilee fulfilled that promise. While Chesulloth itself is not cited in the Gospels, its hills formed part of the landscape across which Jesus “went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues” (Matthew 4:23). Thus, a village named only once in Joshua belonged to the broader ground where the Light dawned.

Archaeological and Scholarly Notes

• Surface pottery at Tel Iksal ranges from the Late Bronze Age through the Byzantine era, supporting continuous habitation.
• A rock-cut winepress and cisterns attest to the viticulture and agrarian economy hinted at in Genesis 49:14-15, where Issachar is compared to a strong donkey “lying down between the burdens”—a metaphor often linked to farm labor in fertile valleys.
• Roman milestones found near Iksal demonstrate its location on a branch of the Via Maris, confirming Chesulloth’s role in regional commerce.

Ministry Applications

1. Encouragement to Small Churches: Chesulloth shows that even a congregation in an unheralded location participates in God’s unfolding plan.
2. Stewardship of Inheritance: Just as Issachar was to cultivate Chesulloth’s fields, believers are called to cultivate the spiritual territories entrusted to them (1 Peter 4:10).
3. Watchfulness in Strategic Places: Overlooking a crossroads, Chesulloth illustrates the importance of spiritual vigilance where cultural currents intersect (Ephesians 6:18).

Summary

Chesulloth stands as a silent witness to God’s meticulous allotment of the Promised Land, the strategic realities of Israel’s tribal era, and the eventual redemptive work that would radiate from Galilee. Though mentioned only once, its hilltop presence links the conquest under Joshua to prophetic hope and to the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, underscoring that in Scripture no detail is forgotten and no place is without purpose in the divine narrative.

Forms and Transliterations
וְהַכְּסוּלֹ֖ת והכסולת vehakkesuLot wə·hak·kə·sū·lōṯ wəhakkəsūlōṯ
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Englishman's Concordance
Joshua 19:18
HEB: גְּבוּלָ֑ם יִזְרְעֶ֥אלָה וְהַכְּסוּלֹ֖ת וְשׁוּנֵֽם׃
NAS: was to Jezreel and [included] Chesulloth and Shunem,
KJV: was toward Jezreel, and Chesulloth, and Shunem,
INT: their territory Jezreel and Chesulloth and Shunem

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 3694
1 Occurrence


wə·hak·kə·sū·lōṯ — 1 Occ.

3693
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