Bible Word Study
כְּסֻלּוֹת
Kᵉçullôwth · Kesulloth, a place in Palestine
כְּסֻלּוֹת
Kesulloth, a place in Palestine
Definition
Kesulloth is a proper noun referring to a specific location in ancient Palestine, mentioned only once in the Bible. It appears in Joshua 19:18 as one of the towns allotted to the tribe of Issachar during the division of the Promised Land. The name itself is the feminine plural form of a passive participle meaning 'fattened' or 'made firm,' which may describe the land's fertility or its established, fortified nature. As a place name, it carries no other distinct biblical meanings or senses beyond this singular geographical reference.
Biblical Usage
This word is used exactly once in the Old Testament, in Joshua 19:18, within a list of cities given to the tribe of Issachar. Its usage is purely geographical, serving to identify a specific town in the context of land allotment following the Israelite conquest. There are no patterns of usage across different books or contexts, as it is a hapax legomenon (a word occurring only once).
Etymology
The word כְּסֻלּוֹת (Kesulloth) is derived from the root כָּסַל (kāsal, H3688), which means 'to be fat, to be foolish, or to be firm.' It is the feminine plural form of the passive participle of this root, literally meaning 'fattened ones' or 'firmed ones.' This likely describes the town's location on fertile, productive land or perhaps its established, secure condition. The KJV transliterates it as 'Chesulloth,' showing a minor variation in vocalization.
Semantic Range
As a place name in ancient Israel, Kesulloth represents the tangible fulfillment of God's promise to give the land of Canaan to the tribes of Israel. Its inclusion in a tribal boundary list (Joshua 19:18) underscores the historical reality of the conquest and settlement. The name's possible connection to fertility ('fattened') might reflect the agricultural value of the territory to the tribe of Issachar, known for its farmers. This differs from a modern understanding of place names, which often lack such descriptive, tangible connections to the land's character. No direct synonyms exist as it is a unique proper noun. For other towns in Issachar's allotment, see: שׁוּנֵם (Shunem, H7766) — another town in Issachar (Joshua 19:18).
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906, public domain). Concordance and morphology data are from the OSHB (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible).
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]