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כְּסָלוֹן

𐤊𐤎𐤋𐤅𐤍

Kesalon

H3693 noun

SILEX Entry

Root כסל to be stout, firm, fat

Definition

A proper noun designating a specific geographic location—Kesalon—a town mentioned in the Tribal allotments in ancient Israelite territory. The semantic range is limited to the identification of this place name, with possible connotations implied by the root sense but not explicitly attested in narrative or legal texts.

Semantic Range

proper name of place (Kesalon); possible allusion to fertility, stoutness, or firmness in relation to the land

Root / Etymology

Derived from the root כָּסַל (k-s-l), meaning 'to be stout, firm, or fat.' כְּסָלוֹן is formed as a place name, likely denoting 'fertility' or 'stoutness' in a geographic or agricultural sense, possibly referencing either the terrain or productivity of the region. The ending '-ון' is a common locative or diminutive suffix in toponyms.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Kesalon (כְּסָלוֹן) appears in Joshua 15:10 as part of the territorial border for the tribe of Judah. Its precise location is debated but is generally identified with a site in the Judean hill country west of Jerusalem. The meaning 'fertile' is inferred from the root but is not directly evidenced in biblical texts outside this placename. Unlike the term for 'fertility' stemming from other roots (such as דשן, 'to be fat, rich'), כָּסַל as a root often relates broadly to 'firmness' or figuratively to 'folly' (as in כְּסִיל, 'fool'), but this nuance does not appear part of the place-name’s semantic range. English translations sometimes render Kesalon as 'Chesalon,' but this reflects later Greek and Latinized forms. The meaning and function of the name remained consistent from the monarchic to post-exilic periods, mostly as a geographic reference, without evidence of later religious or demographic shifts affecting its meaning. The association with 'fertility' is interpretive and not explicitly addressed in biblical accounts.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from כָּסַל; fertile; Kesalon, a place in Palestine; Chesalon.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

כסל (k-s-l) — stoutness, firmness, fatness

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3684 כְּסִיל in the thick-minded ones
H3685 כְּסִיל thick-headed one
H3687 כְּסִילוּת foolishness
H3688 כָּסַל and they become dull-minded
H3689 כֶּסֶל the loins

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H3693-01 כְסָל֑וֹן khesalon HNp Chesalon Kesalon 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H3693-01 Joshua 15:10 כְסָל֑וֹן khesalon HNp Chesalon Kesalon
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