A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W XY Z

Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

KISHON

1. KJV variant of Kishion in Joshua 21:28. See Kishion.

2. River draining the valley of Jezreel. It is a mere 25 miles (40 kilometers) in length but gathers into itself numerous small streams that originate in the hill country to the south and the north along its course. It rises in the north of the Samaritan highlands where the watershed directs some waters north and others west down the plain of Dothan. Numerous small wadis empty into the main watercourse as it moves northwest down the slopes of the north Samaritan hills into the plain of Esdraelon. These upper reaches are dry in summer but in winter (the rainy season) can become torrential. From Jenin to the narrow gap at Tell el-Qassis (the “mound of the priest”), the fall is about 250 feet (76.2 meters). The course of the river follows the Mt Carmel ridge, and numerous streams join the main stream from the Carmel ranges to the south and the hills of Galilee to the north. Because this region has a much better rainfall than the area of the upper reaches of the river, the Kishon becomes a perennial stream for the last part of its course. It flows for the last six miles (9.7 kilometers) of its length beside Mt Carmel and empties into the Mediterranean Sea about two miles (3.2 kilometers) north of Haifa. Just before it reaches the sea, it attains a width of 65 feet (19.8 meters).

The heavy runoff from the hills, especially at the time of the spring rains, combined with the flat terrain of the plain of Esdraelon, produced swampy conditions along its course and provided a serious obstacle to transportation in early times. Its middle course has been largely drained in recent years.

Two important biblical events took place in the region of the Kishon River. The defeat of Sisera by Barak and Deborah took place here. Canaanite chariots were caught in the swamps of the Kishon and were overcome by the Israelite attack (Jgs 4–5). The river was praised in the Song of Deborah (5:21), and the event was recalled in Psalm 83:9 (where it is called Kison in the KJB). Later, the prophets of Baal, humiliated by Elijah on Mt Carmel, were killed along the banks of the Kishon (1 Kgs 18:40). The river is mentioned by the Roman historian Pliny, by Arab writers, and by the Crusaders. In recent years the last part of the river has been deepened and widened so that a channel 984 feet (300 meters) long, 164 feet (50 meters) wide, and 13 feet (4 meters) deep provides an auxiliary harbor for Haifa, especially for fishing vessels.