Lexical Summary Qishon: Kishon Original Word: קִישׁוֹן Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Kishon, Kison From qowsh; winding; Kishon, a river of Palestine -- Kishon, Kison. see HEBREW qowsh NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom qush Definition a wadi in the plain of Megiddo NASB Translation Kishon (6). Brown-Driver-Briggs קִישׁוֺן proper name of wady running northwest through plain of Megiddo (Esdraelon), K(ε)ισων (?stream of (god) Kish RSSemitic i. 155; 2nd ed. 170); — always ׳נַחַל ק Judges 4:7,13; Judges 5:21 (twice in verse); Psalm 83:10, also 1 Kings 18:40; modern Nahrel-Mu‡a‰‰a±; see BuhlGeogr. 106, 209, GASmGeogr.382. קִישִׁי see קוּשְׁיָהוּ below קושׁ קַל, קֹל see קלל. (קֹל voice, see קול. Topical Lexicon Geographic setting The Kishon is the principal stream of the Jezreel-Megiddo plain, gathering the runoff of Mount Gilboa, Mount Tabor, the hills of Samaria, and the lower slopes of Mount Carmel before emptying into the Mediterranean at Haifa Bay. Seasonal rains turn its normally placid course into a sudden torrent, a feature that figures prominently in its biblical role as an agent of divine judgment. Old Testament narratives 1. Deliverance through Deborah and Barak 2. Elijah’s victory over Baalism After fire fell on Mount Carmel, Elijah led the people to put the false prophets to death: “Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon and slaughtered them there” (1 Kings 18:40). The brook again functions as a place where Yahweh’s supremacy is sealed in blood, purging idolatry from the land. 3. Psalmic and prophetic recollection Psalm 83 looks back to Judges 4–5 as a pattern for future deliverance: “Deal with them as with Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon” (Psalm 83:9). The Kishon episode becomes a paradigm for praying that God will turn present enemies into past history. Theological themes • Divine control of creation in warfare: By using a river to break an iron-chariot army, the Lord demonstrates that natural elements obey His covenant purposes (cf. Exodus 14, Joshua 10). Ministry and practical application • Trust amid technological or numerical inferiority: The Kishon scenes encourage believers facing superior worldly forces that “victory belongs to the LORD” (Proverbs 21:31). Typological and eschatological notes The river that drowns foes prefigures the final judgment when creation itself will participate in the Lord’s triumph (Revelation 16:12, 20). The cleansing of the land from idolatry anticipates the ultimate purging foretold in Zechariah 13:2. Later Jewish and Christian tradition Rabbinic literature retains Kishon’s memory as a symbol of God’s mercy toward Israel and judgment upon the wicked. Early Christian pilgrims identified the valley as a tangible witness to biblical events, reinforcing the historical reliability of Scripture. See also Mount Carmel; Deborah; Barak; Sisera; Elijah; Wadi; Divine warfare; Revival Forms and Transliterations קִישֽׁוֹן׃ קִישׁ֑וֹן קִישׁ֔וֹן קִישׁ֗וֹן קִישׁוֹן֙ קישון קישון׃ kiShon qî·šō·wn qîšōwnLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Judges 4:7 HEB: אֶל־ נַ֣חַל קִישׁ֗וֹן אֶת־ סִֽיסְרָא֙ NAS: [troops] to the river Kishon, and I will give KJV: unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, INT: about the river Kishon Sisera the commander Judges 4:13 Judges 5:21 Judges 5:21 1 Kings 18:40 Psalm 83:9 6 Occurrences |