Chesalon, also known as Mount Jearim, was a landmark on the northern boundary of Judah, near Bethshemesh.
Also known as Kesalon · Jearim Mount · Mount Jearim
Chesalon, also referred to as Mount Jearim, was a place mentioned as one of the landmarks on the western part of the northern boundary of Judah (Joshua 15:10). It was situated beyond Mount Seir and was apparently located on the shoulder or side of Mount Jearim, which means "Mount of Forests." Although Mount Jearim was in close proximity to Kirjath-jearim, the two were not necessarily connected.
Chesalon was the next landmark after Bethshemesh in the description of Judah's border. The exact location is uncertain, but it has been identified with the modern village of Kesla, located about six miles northeast of Ain Shems (Bethshemesh) in the western mountains of Judah. In the 4th century AD, Eusebius and Jerome described Chesalon as a very large village.
The name Chesalon may be derived from the Hebrew verb "kasal," which can mean "to be confident," often in a foolish or stupid way. However, due to the lack of context, the exact meaning and significance of the name remain unclear.
Approximate location: 31.781, 35.051 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
Strength; confidence, a place on the border of Judah, on the side of Mount Jearim (Josh. 15:10); probably identified with the modern village of Kesla, on the western mountains of Judah.
(hopes), a place named as one of the landmarks on the west part of the north boundary of Judah, (Joshua 15:10) probably Kesla, about six miles to the northeast of Ainshems, on the western mountains of Judah.
CHES'ALON (strength), a place on the north-west of Judah, Josh 15:10; probably. Kesla, 8 miles west of Jerusalem.
CHES'ALON (strength), a place on the north-west of Judah, Josh 15:10; probably. Kesla, 8 miles west of Jerusalem.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
1 verse in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H3693
The border curled westward from Baalah to Mount Seir, ran along the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), went down to Beth-shemesh, and crossed to Timnah.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.