קִשְׁיוֹן
Kishjon, a place in Palestine
Definition
Kishjon (also spelled Kishion or Keshon) is a proper noun referring to a town in the territory of the tribe of Issachar, located in the Jezreel Valley of ancient Palestine. It is listed among the cities allotted to Issachar in the tribal division of the land (Joshua 19:20). Later, it is designated as one of the Levitical cities given to the Gershonite Levites from the territory of Issachar (Joshua 21:28). The name signifies a place of 'hard ground,' likely describing its physical terrain.
Biblical Usage
The word קִשְׁיוֹן is used exclusively as a geographical place name in two verses within the book of Joshua. It appears in the context of land allotments, first to the tribe of Issachar (Joshua 19:20) and then as a city given to the Levites (Joshua 21:28). There is no variation in its meaning or usage across these occurrences.
Etymology
The name קִשְׁיוֹן (Qishyôn) derives from the Hebrew root קְשִׁי (qĕshî, H7190), meaning 'hardness' or 'stubbornness.' It is a nominal form indicating 'a hard place' or 'hard ground,' likely describing the town's location on firm or difficult soil. This etymology is purely descriptive of the physical landscape.
Semantic Range
As a Levitical city, Kishjon held cultural and religious significance. Levitical cities, as described in Joshua 21, were settlements distributed among the priestly tribe of Levi, who received no tribal territory. These cities provided homes and pasturelands for the Levites, who served religious and instructional functions for all Israel. Kishjon's designation as such a city placed it within a network of towns supporting Israel's worship system.
No direct synonyms as a proper place name. Related conceptually to other Levitical cities like Shechem (H7927) or Hebron (H2275), which were also given to the Levites from different tribal territories.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
Full methodology & sources →