Kishon

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).

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.”