Kishon, a river in northern Israel, where Deborah and Barak defeated Sisera's army (Judges 4:7, 13; 5:21).
The Kishon River is mentioned several times in the Bible, primarily in the context of military conflicts. It is located in northern Israel, near the city of Megiddo. In the time of Deborah and Barak, the Canaanite army led by Sisera was defeated near the Kishon River (Judges 4:7, 13; 5:21). The river is described as sweeping away the enemy forces. Later, during the reign of King Ahab, the prophet Elijah had the prophets of Baal slaughtered at the Kishon River after the contest on Mount Carmel (1Ki.18.40). The river is also mentioned in a prayer for God's intervention against Israel's enemies (Psalm 83:9).
Approximate location: 32.762, 35.064 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
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” (comp. 1 Kings 18:40). In the triumphal song of Deborah (Judg. 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 (Judg. 4:7, 13), and of the destruction of the prophets of Baal by Elijah (1 Kings 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.)
(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.
KISHON (bending, curved), or in one place, Ps 83:9, KISON, the present Nahr Mukutta, a river which drains the plain of Esdraelon, passes through the plain of Acre, and falls into the Mediterranean. Only the lower part of it is perennial, fed by some springs at the foot of Mount Carmel. The upper part, rising on Tabor and Little Hermon, is dry in the summer, but becomes a torrent in the winter, rushing along with great impetuosity and transforming parts of the plains it traverses into swamps. The total defeat of Sisera, Jud 4:7, Jud 5:21, and the executions of the idol priests by Elijah, 1 Kgs 18:40, took place on the shores of this river.
KISHON (bending, curved), or in
one place, Ps 83:9, KISON, the present Nahr Mukutta, a river which drains the plain of Esdraelon, passes through the plain of Acre, and falls into the Mediterranean. Only the lower part of it is perennial, fed by some springs at the foot of Mount Carmel. The upper part, rising on Tabor and Little Hermon, is dry in the summer, but becomes a torrent in the winter, rushing along with great impetuosity and transforming parts of the plains it traverses into swamps. The total defeat of Sisera, Jud 4:7, Jud 5:21, and the executions of the idol priests by Elijah, 1 Kgs 18:40, took place on the shores of this river.
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.
5 verses in 3 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H7028
And I will draw out Sisera the commander of Jabinʼs army, his chariots, and his troops to the River Kishon, and I will deliver him into your hand.’”
he summoned all nine hundred of his iron chariots and all the men with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the River Kishon.
The River Kishon swept them away, the ancient river, the River Kishon. March on, O my soul, in strength!
Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.
Do to them as You did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon,
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.