Judges 4:7

To the river Kishon. — This word rendered “river” is nachal, which means rather “a torrent-bed” or “water-course,” the Arabic wady, the Italian fiumara — such as the bed of the Kedron and the Rhinocolura. (LXX. cheimarrous, Vulg. torrens.) The river is always prominently mentioned in connection with this great victory (Psalms 83:9), because the overwhelming defeat of Canaan was due in great measure to the providential swelling of the torrent-waters, which turned its banks into a morass and rendered the iron chariots worse than useless. It contributed in the same way to the defeat of the Turks in the battle of Mount Tabor, April, 1799. The river is now called the Mukatta, i.e., “the river of slaughter.” It rises partly in Mount Tabor and flows into the Bay of Acre, under Mount Carmel. (Comp. 1 Kings 18:40.) The plain of Jezreel (Esdraelon), through which it flows, has been in all ages the battle-field of Palestine.