Smith's Bible Dictionary.pdf - Online Christian Library

Smith's Bible Dictionary
(city of books). (Joshua 15:15,16; Judges 1:11,12) [Debir]
Kish
(a bow).
•The father of Saul; a Benjamite of the family of Matri. (B.C. 1095.)
•Son of Jehiel and uncle to the preceding. (1 Chronicles 9:36)
•A Benjamite, great-grandfather of Mordecai. (Esther 2:5)
•A Merarite of the house of Mahli, of the tribe of Levi. (1 Chronicles 23:21,22; 24:28,29)
Kishi
(bow of Jehovah), a Merarite, and father of ancestor of Ethan the minstrel. (1 Chronicles 6:44)
Kishion
(hardness), one of the towns on the boundary of the tribe of Issachar, (Joshua 19:20) which
with its suburbs was allotted to the Gershonite Levites. (Joshua 21:28) Authorized Version Kishon.
Kishon
(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.
Kison
(winding), an inaccurate mode of representing the name Kishon. (Psalms 83:9)
Kiss
Kissing the lips by way of affectionate salutation was customary among near relatives of both
sexes, in both patriarchal and later times. (Genesis 29:11; Song of Solomon 8:1) Between individuals
of the same sex, and in a limited degree between those of different sexes, the kiss on the cheek as
a mark of respect or an act of salutation has at all times been customary in the East, and can hardly
be said to be extinct even in Europe. In the Christian Church the kiss of charity was practiced not
only as a friendly salutation, but as an act symbolical of love and Christian brotherhood. (Romans
16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:6; 1 Peter 5:14) It was embodied
in the earlier Christian offices, and has been continued in some of those now in use. Among the
Arabs the women and children kiss the beards of their husbands or fathers. The superior returns
the salute by a kiss on the forehead. In Egypt an inferior kisses the hand of a superior, generally
on the back, but sometimes, as a special favor, on the palm also. To testify abject submission, and
in asking favors, the feet are often kissed instead of the hand. The written decrees of a sovereign
are kissed in token of respect; even the ground is sometimes kissed by Orientals int he fullness of
their submission. (Genesis 41:40; 1 Samuel 24:8; Psalms 72:9) etc. Kissing is spoken of in Scripture
as a mark of respect or adoration to idols. (1 Kings 19:18; Hosea 13:2)
Kite
(Heb. ayyah), a rapacious and keen-sighted bird of prey belonging to the hawk family. The
Hebrew word thus rendered occurs in three passages— (Leviticus 11:14; 14:13; Job 28:7) In the
two former it is translated “kite” in the Authorized Version, in the latter “vulture.” It is enumerated
among the twenty names of birds mentioned in (14:1) ... which were considered unclean by the
Mosaic law and forbidden to be used as food by the Israelites.
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William Smith