DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan
Kishon
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.)