Robert Finley, D.D., and graduated at the College of himself with the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, New Jersey in 1804. After this he studied law three under the Missionary Society of which he labored unyears, but in 1807 he decided definitely in favor of the til 1830, when he became pastor at Cortlandville, N. Y. ministry, and resumed his studies under John Woodhull, He officiated there and at Auburn and Sandbeach, N. D.D., of Freehold, N.J. In August, 1809, he was licensed Y., until 1839, and then served as a domestic missionary by the New Brunswick Presbytery, and was ordained for seven years in Illinois. For the next eleven years and installed pastor of the United First Church of Am- he labored as agent for the Bible and Tract Societies. well, Ringoes, N. J., June 20, 1810, where he continued to In 1857 he transferred his connection from the Reformed labor for fifty-six years. He was one of the founders to the Presbyterian Church, and settled at Yonkers, N. of the Hunterdon County Bible Society (1816), and also Y., devoting the remainder of his life to literary labors. among the earliest and most energetic promoters of the He died August 26, 1866. In addition to numerous contemperance reformation in that county. He died at tributions to the Christian Intelligencer, New York ObRingoes, N. J., May 2, 1866. Dr. Kirkpatrick was a man server, and The Presbyterian, he published Lectures on of a large and generous heart; his preaching was full of the Millennium (New York, 1855):-Universalism Extenderness, pathos, and earnestness; his Christian char- plained (New York, 1856) :—A Plea for the Bible (New acter unassuming, and adorned with meekness and pie-York, 1860; a very popular work and extensively sold): ty.-Wilson, Presb. Historical Almanac, 1867. (J. L. S.) | —Illustrations of the Offices of Christ (New York, 1862; Kirkpatrick, James, a noted minister of the a practical treatise on divine influences); together with Mr. Kirkwood having enjoyed Presbyterian Church in Ireland, was the son of Hugh a selection of sermons. Kirkpatrick, a minister in Lurgan, Scotland, from about the superior advantages of instruction by the distin1686 to the Revolution, when he retired to Dalry, Ire-guished Dr. Dick, was thoroughly and systematically land, where he preached until 1691, then removed to Old trained in the great evangelical doctrines. His preachCumnock, and in 1695 again returned to Scotland, and ing was characterized by a practical scriptural tone. died at Ballymoney in 1712. James was educated at "His only peculiarity of doctrine was his pre-millennial Glasgow, entered the ministry, and became one of the views, in which, however, as his work on this subject most promising Irish Presbyterians in the pulpit. In shows, he was moderate, cautious, and never went to the 1706 he was the preacher of the Second Belfast congre- extreme of fixing the time and seasons, which the Fagation. During the opposition of the House of Parlia- ther hath put in his own power."-Wilson, Presb. Hisment to the Presbyterians, James Kirkpatrick became torical Almanac. (H. C. W.) one of the ablest champions of the Presbyterian cause. In 1713 he published An Historical Essay upon the Loyalty of Presbyterians in Great Britain and Ireland from the Reformation to the present Year (Belfast, 1713, 4to), to which neither he nor the printer dared to affix their names for fear of persecution. He died about 1725.-, Reid and Killen, Hist. Presb. Ch. in Ireland, iii, 91 sq. Kirk-Sessions is the name of a petty ecclesiastical judicatory in Scotland. Each parish, according to its extent, is divided into several particular districts, every one of which has its own elder and deacons to govern it. A Consistory of the ministers, elders, and p, 2 Kings iii, 25; Sept. rò ruxos, Vulgate deacons of a parish form a kirk-session. These meet muri fictiles, Auth. Vers. "Kir-haraseth"), one of the two once a week, the minister being their moderator, but strongly fortified cities in the territory of Moab, the without a negative voice. It regulates matters rela- other being Ar of Moab. Joram, king of Israel, took tive to public worship, elections, catechizing, visitations, the city, and destroyed it, except the walls (2 Kings iii, membership, etc. It judges in matters of less scandal; 25); but it appears from the passages here cited that it but greater, as adultery, are left to the Presbytery, and must have been rebuilt before the time of Isaiah, and in all cases an appeal lies from it to the Presbytery. again ravaged by the Babylonians. In his prophecy The functions of the kirk-session were in former times (xv, 1), the Chaldee paraphrast has put 7 NETE, too often inquisitorially exercised; but this is now less kerakka de-Moab, "the castle of Moab;" and the former frequently attempted, and the danger of it is continu- of these words, pronounced in Arabic karak, kerak, or ally diminishing through the growth of an enlightened public opinion. In former times, also, the kirk-session in krak, is the name it bears in 2 Macc. xii, 17 (Xápaka, Scotland often imposed fines, chiefly for offences against ba), in Ptolemy (v, 17, 5, Xapákwμa, Characoma), in Characa), in Steph. Byzant. (Xapaкpoßa, Characmothe seventh commandment; but this practice had no recognition in civil nor even in ecclesiastical law, and is Abulfeda (Tab. Syr. p. 89), and in the historians of the now wholly relinquished. The kirk-session of the Es-Crusades. Abulfeda (who places it twelve Arabic miles tablished Church in each parish is fully recognised in from Ar-Moab) describes Kerak as a small town, with Scottish law as having certain rights and duties with that one must deny himself even the wish to take it by a castle on a high hill, and remarks that it is so strong respect to the poor, but recent legislation has very much force (comp. 2 Kings iii, 25). In the time of the Crudeprived it of its former importance in this relation.sades, and when in possession of the Franks, it was inBuck, s. v.; Chambers, s. v. Kirkton, JAMES, a Scottish divine, who flourished in the second half of the 17th century, is noted as the author of The secret and true History of the Church of Scotland from the Restoration to 1678, etc. (edited by C. K. Sharpe, Edinb. 1817, 4to), a work which has been highly commended by Sir Walter Scott (London Quart. Review, xviii, 502 sq.). Kirkton died in 1699.—Blackwood's Magazine, ii, 305 sq. Kirkwood, ROBERT, a Presbyterian minister, born in Paisley, Scotland, May 25, 1793, was educated in Glasgow College, and studied divinity with Rev. John Dick, D.D., at Theological Hall, Glasgow. He was licensed in 1828. In response to a pressing call for ministerial workers in New York, he went thither and connected Kir-Mo'äb (Heb. Kir-Moäb', i¬"p. fortress of Moab [see KIR]; Isa. XV, 1; Sept. Tò reixos The Mwaßiridos, Vulg. murus Moab, Auth. Vers. "Kir of Moab"), usually KIR-HERES (Heb. Kir-cheʼres, ➖➖"F brick fortress, Jer. xlviii, 31, 36; Sept. κLOÁČE!, Vulg. murus fictilis; in pause "P, Isa. xvi, 11: Sept. Teixos ô ¿veraivioas, Vulgate murus cocti lateris. Auth. Vers. "Kir-haresh"), or KIR-HARESETH (Hel. Kir-Chare'seth, p, id., Isa. xvi, 7; Sept. ci KATOIKOVVTEC Z, Vulgate muri cocti lateris; in pause vested by Saladin; but, after lying before it a month. he was compelled to raise the siege (Bohæddin, Vita Saladin. p. 55). The Crusaders had erected here a fortress still known as Keruk, which formed one of the centres of operations for the Latins east of the Jordan. On the capture of these at length by Saladin after a long siege, in A.D. 1188, the dominion of the Franks over this territory ceased (Wilken, Kreuzz. iv, 244–247). "It was then the chief city of Arabia Secunda or Petracensis; it is specified as in the Belka, and is distinguished from 'Moab' or 'Rabbat,' the ancient Ar-Moab, and from the Mons regalis (Schultens, Index Geogr. s. v. Caracha; see also the remarks of Gesenius, Jesaia, i, 517, and his notes to the German translation of Burckhardt). The Crusaders, in error, believed it to be Petra, and that The cas name is frequently attached to it in the writings of William of Tyre and Jacob de Vitry (see quotations in Robinson, Bib. Res. ii, 167). This error is perpetuated in the Greek Church to the present day; and the bishop of Petra, whose office, as representative of the patriarch, it is to produce the holy fire at Easter in the Church of the Sepulchre at Jerusalem (Stanley, S. and P. p. 467), is in reality bishop of Kerak (Seetzen, Reisen, ii, 358; Burckhardt, p. 387)" (Smith). The first person who visited the place in modern times was Seetzen, who says, "Near to Kerak the wide plain terminates which extends from Rabbah, and is broken only by low and detached hills, and the country now becomes mountainous, Kerak, formerly a city and bishop's see, lies on the top of the hill near the end of a deep valley, and is surrounded on all sides with lofty mountains. The hill is very steep, and in many places the sides are quite perpendicular. The walls round the town are for the most part destroyed, and Kerak can at present boast of little more than being a small country town. tle, which is uninhabited, and in a state of great decay, was formerly one of the strongest in these countries. The inhabitants of the town consist of Mohammedans and Greek Christians. The present bishop of Kerak ⚫ resides at Jerusalem. From this place one enjoys, by looking down the wady Kerak, a fine view of part of the Dead Sea, and even Jerusalem may be distinctly seen in clear weather. The hill on which Kerak lies is composed of limestone and brittle marl, with many beds of blue, black, and gray flints. In the neighboring rocks there are a number of curious grottoes; in those which are under ground wheat is sometimes preserved for a period of ten years" (Zach's Monatliche Correspond. xviii, 434). A fuller account of the place is given by Burckhardt (Travels in Syria, p. 379-387), by whom it was next visited; and another description is furnished by Irby and Mangles (Travels, p.361–370). From their account it would seem that the caverns noticed by Seetzen were probably the sepulchres of the ancient town. We also learn that the Christians of Kerak (which they and Burckhardt call Kerek) are nearly as numerous as the Mohammedans, and boast of being stronger and braver (see Robinson's Researches, ii, 566-571). On account of the notoriously savage character of its Mohammedan inhabitants, Kerak has not often been visited by travellers. Lieut. Lynch, of the United States expedition to the Dead Sea, penetrated this fastness of banditti, having boldly seized the sheik and detained him as a hostage for their safety. He describes the town as situated upon the brow of a hill 3000 feet above the Dead Sea. The houses are a collection of stone huts, built without mortar. They are from seven to eight feet high; the ground floors about six feet below, and the dat terrace mud-roofs mostly about two feet above the streets; but in many places there were short cuts from street to street across the roofs of the houses. The houses, or rather huts, without windows and without chimneys, were blackened inside by smoke, and the women and children were squalid and filthy. Kerak contains a population of about 300 families; these include about 1000 Christians, who are kept in subjection by the Moslem Arabs. The Moslem inhabitants are wild-looking savages, but the Christians have a mild and hospitable character. The males mostly wear sheep-skin coats, the women dark-colored gowns; the Christian females did not conceal their faces, which were tattooed like the South Sea islanders. The entrance to Kerak is by a steep and crooked ravine, which is completely commanded at the summit by the castle. This latter, partly cut out of and partly built upon the mountain top, presents the remains of a magnificent structure, its citadel cut off from the town by a deep ditch. It seems to be Saracenic, although in various parts it has both the pointed Gothic and the rounded Roman arch, the work doubtless of the various masters into whose hands it has fallen during its eventful history. Its walls are composed of heavy, well-cut stones, with a steep glacis-wall surrounding the whole. It is of immense extent, having five gates, seven wells and cisterns, with subterranean passages, and seven arched store-houses, one above another, for purposes of defence (see Lynch's Narrative, p. 355-359). Mr. De Saulcy also entered this "den of robbers," as he terms it, and he has added some particulars to the above description (Narrative, i, 302–330, 390). His account illustrates the character of the inhabitants, who have for many years been the terror of the vicinity (Porter, Handbook, p. 60; Schwarz, Palestine, p. 216). See also Ritter's Erdkunde, xv, 916, 1215. A map of the site and a view of part of the keep will be found in the Atlas to De Saulcy (La Mer Morte, etc., feuilles 8, 20). See MOAB. Kirwan. See MURRAY, NICHOLAS. and one of the most celebrated and popular preachers of Kirwan, WALTER BLAKE, an eminent Irish divine, the last half of the 18th century, was born at Galway about 1754. He was educated at the college of the English Jesuits at St. Omer; was ordained priest, and was for a time professor of natural and moral philosophy at Louvain. Having embraced Protestantism in 1787, he became successively minister of St. Peter's Church, Dublin; prebendary of Howth, minister of St. Nicholas Without in 1788, and dean of Killala in 1800. He died in 1805. Few preachers of any age have enjoyed such popularity as Walter Blake Kirwan. So great was the throng to listen to his sermons that it was found necessary to defend the entrance of the church where he was to preach with guards and palisades. He was a man of fine feelings, amiable and benevolent, and his irresistible powers of persuasion were chiefly devoted to the lections taken up after his sermons seldom fell short of preaching of charity sermons. It is said that the col£1000. These addresses have been published under the title of Sermons, with a sketch of his life (London, 1814, 8vo). See Darling, Cyclopædia Bibliographica, ii, 1735; Allibone, Dict. of English and Amer. Authors, ii, 1038; to the Edinb. Rev. (Lond. and Glasgow, 1856), i, 104 sq. Lond. Quart. Rev. xi, 130 sq.; Lord Brougham, Contrib. (J. H.W.) Kish (Heb. id.,, a trap, otherwise a horn; Sept. Kɛic or Kiç, N. T. Kiç, Auth. Vers. “Cis,” Acts xiii, 21), the name of five men. 1. The second of the two sons of Mahli (grandson of Levi); his sons married their cousins, heiresses of his brother Eleazar (1 Chron. xxiii, 21, 22). One of thesc sons was named Jerahmeel (1 Chron. xxiv, 29). B.C. cir. 1658. 2. A Benjamite of Jerusalem (i.e. the northern neighborhood of Jebus), third named of the sons of Jehiel (of Gibeon) by Maachah (1 Chron. viii, 30; ix, 36). B.C. apparently cir. 1618. 3. A wealthy and powerful Benjamite, son of Ner (1 Chron. viii, 33; ix, 39), and father of king Saul (1 Sam. ix, 3; x, 11, 21; xiv, 51; 1 Chron. ix, 39; xii, 1; xxvi, 28). He was thus the grandson (1 Sam. ix, 1, "son" [q.v.]) of Abiel (q. v.). See NER. No incident is mentioned respecting him excepting his sending Saul in search of the strayed asses (1 Sam. ix, 3), and that he was buried in Zelah (2 Sam. xxi, 14). B.C. 1093. In Acts xiii, 21 he is called Cis. See SAUL. 4. A Levite of the family of Merari, son of Abdi, and one of those who assisted Hezekiah in restoring the true religion (2 Chron. xxix, 12). B.C. 726. 5. A Benjamite, the father of Shimei, and greatgrandfather of Mordecai (Esth. ii, 5). B.C. considerably ante 598. Kish'i (1 Chron. vi, 44). See KUSHAIAH. Kish'iön (Heb. Kishyon', p, so called from the hardness of the soil; Sept. Koor, Auth. Vers. "Kishon" in Josh. xxi, 28), a city of the tribe of Issachar (Josh. xix, 20, where it is mentioned between Rabbith and Abez), assigned to the Levites of the family of Gershom, and for a place of refuge (Josh. xxi, 28); elsewhere (1 Chron. vi, 72) called KEDESH (q. v.). De Sauley found ruins called Kashaneh (or Kabshaneh), an hour and a half from Kefr-Kenna, commanding the Merj-es-Serbal, north of Mt. Tabor, which he is inclined to identify with the ancient Kishion (Narrat. ii, 325, 326). Schwarz, citing from Astori, places it 2 miles south of Chesulloth (Iksal); but he appears to be misled by the analogy of the name of this place with that of the brook Kishon (Palest. p. 166), which has no connection in origin (see Hamesveld, iii, 241). Ki'shon (Heb. Kishon', JP, winding; Septuag. Kɩov; but in Psa. lxxxiii, 9, Ktoσwv v.r. Ketov, Auth. Vers. "Kison"), a torrent or winter stream (, A. V. "river") of central Palestine, the scene of two of the grandest achievements of Israelitish history-the defeat of Sisera (Judg. iv, 7, 13; v, 21), and the destruction of the prophets of Baal by Elijah (1 Kings xviii, 40). It formed the boundary between Manasseh and Zebulon (Josh. xix, 11). See JOKNEAM. Some portion of it is also thought to be designated as the "waters of Megiddo" (Judg. v, 19). See MEGIDDO. The term coupled with the Kishon in Judg. v, 21, as a stream of the ancients (7217, A. V. "that ancient river"), has been very variously rendered by the old interpreters. 1. It is taken as a proper name, and thus apparently that of a distinct stream-in some MSS. of the Sept. Kadnμeiμ | (see Barhdt's Herapla); by Jerome, in the Vulgate, torrens Cadumim; in the Peshito and Arabic versions, Carmin. This view is also taken by Benjamin of Tudela, who speaks of the river close to Acre (doubtless meaning thereby the Belus) as the source of this river to Mount Tabor (as above by Je- Notwithstanding Shaw's contradiction, the assertion that the Kishon derives its source from Mount Tabor has been repeated by modern travellers as confidently as by their ancient predecessors (Summer Ramble, i, 281). Buckingham's statement, being made with ref7p. It is pos-erence to the view from Mount Tabor itself, deserves atsible that the term may refer to an ancient tribe of Ke- tention. He says that near the foot of the mountain on dumim-wanderers from the Eastern deserts-who had the south-west are "the springs of the Ain es-Sherrar, in remote antiquity settled on the Kishon or one of its which send a perceptible stream through the centre of tributary wadys. See KADMONITES. 2. As an epithet the plain of Esdraelon, and form the brook Kishon of of the Kishon itself: Sept. xeμáppovę apxaiwv; Aquila, antiquity." Further on, the same traveller, on reachKavσwvwv, perhaps intending to imply a scorching wind ing the hills which divide the plain of Esdraelon from or simoom as accompanying the rising of the waters; that of Acre, saw the pass through which the river Symmachus, aiyiwv or aiywv, perhaps alluding to the makes its way from the one plain to the other (Travels swift springing of the torrent (ałyɛç is used for high in Palestine, i, 168, 177). Schwarz also states that the waves by Artemidorus). The Targum, adhering to the sources of the Kishon are at a village called Sheik Absignification" ancient," expands the sentence-"the tor-rik, south-west of Tabor (Palest. p. 166). On further inrent in which were shown signs and wonders to Israel of old;" and this miraculous torrent a later Jewish tradition (preserved in the Commentarius in Canticum Debbora, ascribed to Jerome) would identify with the Red Sea, the scene of the greatest marvels in Israel's history. The rendering of the A.V. is supported by Mendelssohn, Gesenius, Ewald, and other modern scholars. The reference is probably to exploits among the aboriginal Canaanites, as the plain adjoining the stream has always been the great battle-ground of Palestine. See ESDRA ELON. quiry, and more extensive comparison of observations made at different times of the year, it will probably be found that the remoter source of the river is really in Mount Tabor, but that the supply from this source is cut off in early summer, when it ceases to be maintained by rains or contributory torrents; whereas the copious supply from the nearer springs at Ras el-Kishon, with other springs lower down, keep it up from that point as a perennial stream, even during the drought of summer. (See Kitto's Pict. Hist. of Palestine, p. exci.) Mariti (ii, 112) mentions the case of the English dragoman who was drowned, and his horse with him, in the attempt to cross this temporary stream from Mt. Tabor, in Feb. 1761. During the battle of Mount Tabor, between the French and Arabs, April 16, 1799, many of the latter were drowned in their attempt to cross a stream coming from Deburieh, which then inundated the plain (Burckhardt, Syria, p. 339). Monro, who crossed the river early in April (in its lower or perennial part), in order to ascend Mount Carmel, describes it as traversing the plain of Esdraelon. The river, where he crossed it, in a boat, was then thirty yards wide. In the plain from Solam to Nazareth he crossed "a considerable brook, and afterwards some others, which flow into a small lake on the northern side of the plain, and eventually contribute to swell the Kishon" (Rumble, i, 55, 281). Dr. Robinson says that this account corresponds with channels that he observed (Biblical Researches, iii, 230). Prokesch also, in April, 1829, when travelling directly The Kishon is beyond all doubt the river now called from Ramleh to Nazareth, entered the plain of EsdraeNahr el-Mokattah (or Mukatta), which, after travers-lon at or near Lejjun, where he came upon the Kishon, ing the plain of Acre, enters the bay of the latter name flowing in a deep bed through marshy ground; and afat its south-east corner. It has been usual to trace the ter wandering about for some time to find his way For the Kishon of Josh. xxi, 28, see KISHION. By Josephus the Kishon is never named, neither does the name occur in the early Itineraries of Antonius Augustus, or the Bordeaux Pilgrim. Eusebius and Jerome dismiss it in a few words, and note only its origin in Tabor (Onomast. Cison), or such part of it as can be seen thence (Ep. ad Eustochium, § 13), passing by entirely its connection with Carmel. Benjamin of Tudela visited Akka and Carmel. He mentions the river by name as "Nachal Kishon," but only in the most cursory manner. Brocardus (eir. 1500) describes the western portion of the stream with a little more fulness, but enlarges most on its upper or eastern part, which, with the victory of Barak, he places on the east of Tabor and Hermon, as discharging the water of those mountains into the Sea of Galilee (Descr. Terræ S. cap. 6, 7). This has been shown by Dr. Robinson (Bib. Res. ii, 364) to allude to the wady el-Bireh, which runs down to the Jordan a few miles above Scythopolis. through the morass, he was at last set right by an Arab, who pointed out the proper ford (Reise ins H. Land, p. 129). The scriptural account of the overthrow of Sisera's host manifestly shows that the stream crossed the plain, and must have been of considerable size. The above arguments, to show that it did so, and still does so, are confirmed by Dr. Robinson, who adds that "not improbably, in ancient times, when the country was perhaps more wooded, there may have been permanent streams throughout the whole plain." The transaction of the prophet Elijah, who, after his sacrifice on Carmel, commanded the priests of Baal to be slain at the river Kishon, requires no explanation, seeing that it took place at the perennial lower stream. This also explains, what has sometimes been asked, whence, in that time of drought, the water was obtained with which the prophet inundated his altar and sacrifice. The Kishon is, in fact, the drain by which the waters of the plain of Esdraelon, and of the mountains which inclose that plain, namely, Carmel and the Samaria range on the south, the mountain of Galilee on the north, and Gilboa, "Little Hermon" (so called), and Tabor on the east, find their way to the Mediterranean. Its course is in a direction nearly due north-west along the lower part of the plain nearest the foot of the Samaritan hills, and close beneath the very cliffs of Carmel, breaking through the hills which separate the plain of Esdraelon from the maritime plain of Acre, by a very narrow pass, beneath the eminence of Harothieh or Harti, which is believed by some still to retain a trace of the name of Harosheth of the Gentiles. It has two principal feeders: the first from Deburieh (Daberath), on Mount Tabor, the north-east angle of the plain; and, secondly, from Jelbûn (Gilboa) on the south-east. It is also fed by the copious spring of Lejjun, the stream from which is probably the "waters of Megiddo" (Porter, Handbook, p. 385). The highest source of the Kishon on the south-east is the large fountain of Jenîn, the ancient En-gannim, the water from which, increased by a number of the streamlets from the surrounding hills, flows westward across the plain through a deep channel during the winter months; but in summer this channel, like the northern one, is perfectly dry (Van de Velde, Traces, i, 362). The two channels unite at a point a few miles north of the site of Megiddo. The channel of the united stream is here deep and miry, the ground for some distance on each side is low and marshy, and the fords during winter are always difficult, and often, after heavy rain, impassable; yet in summer, even here, the whole plain and the river bed are dry and hard (Robinson, ii, 364). These facts strikingly illustrate the narrative of the defeat of Sisera. The battle was fought on the south bank of the Kishon, at Megiddo (Judg. iv, 13; v, 19). While the battle raged a violent storm of wind and rain came on (Judg. v, 4, 20; comp. Josephus, Ast. v, 5, 4). In a short time the hard plain was turned into a marsh, and the dry river-bed into a foaming torrent. The Canaanites were driven back on the river by the fiery attack of Barak and the fury of the storm; for "the earth trembled, the heavens dropped . . . the stars in their courses fought against Sisera." The warhorses and chariots dashing madly through the marshy ground made it much worse; and the soldiers, in trying to cross the swollen torrent, were swept away. But, like most of the so-called "rivers" of Palestine, the perennial stream forms but a small part of the Kishon. During the greater part of the year (as above noted) its upper portion is dry, and the stream confined to a few miles next the sea. The sources of this perennial portion proceed from the roots of Carmel-the "vast fountains called Sa'adiyeh, about three miles east of Chaifa" (Thomson, Land and Book, ii, 140), and those, apparently still more copious, described by Shaw (Robinson, ii, 365), as bursting forth from beneath the eastern brow of Carmel, and discharging of themselves "a river half as big as the Isis." It enters the sea at the lower part of the bay of Akka, about two miles east of Chaifa, "in a deep, tortuous bed, between banks of loamy soil some fifteen feet high, and fifteen to twenty yards apart" (Porter, Handbook, p. 383). Between the mouth and the town the shore is lined by an extensive grove of date-palms, one of the finest in Palestine (Van de Velde, i, 289). The part of the Kishon at which the prophets of Baal were slaughtered by Elijah was loubtless close below the spot on Carmel where the sacrifice had taken place. This spot is now fixed with all but certainty as at the extreme east end of the mountain, to which the name is still attached of El-Mahraka, "the burning." See CARMEL. Nowhere does the Kishon run so close to the mountain as just beneath this spot (Van de Velde, i, 324). It is about 1000 feet above the river, and a precipitous ravine leads directly down, by which the victims were perhaps hurried from the sacred precincts of the altar of Jehovah to their doom in the torrent bed below, at the foot of the mound, which from this circumstance may be called tell Kusis, the hill of the priests. Whether the Kishon contained any water at this time we are not told; that required for Elijah's sacrifice was in all probability obtained from the spring on the mountain side below the plateau of El-Mahraka. At the mouth of the river are banks of fine sand, which any unusual swell in the river converts into dangerous quicksands (Van de Velde, i, 289). The modern name Nahr el-Mukatta some have thought means "the river of slaughter," in allusion to the slaughter of the prophets of Baal on its banks; but the name may also signify "river of the ford," from another meaning of the same root (compare Robinson, ii, 365); the latter is the interpretation given of the name by the people of the country.-Kitto; Smith. See further in Hamesveld, i, 522 sq.; Schwarz, Palestine, p. 49: Hackett, Illustra. p. 321-323; Ritter, Erdk. xvi, 704; Maundrell, Early Travels, p. 430; Pococke, East, II, i, 55; G. Robinson, Palest. i, 203 (Par. 1835); Thomson, Land and Book, i, 492; Stanley, Sinai and Pal. p. 347; Wilson, Lands of Bible, ii, 86; Tristram, Land of Israel, p. 95, 494. Kishshu. See CUCUMBER. Kisker, JOHANN JUSTUS, a German theologian, was born at Rödinghausen in 1660, and was educated at the universities of Jena and Giessen. In 1694 he became professor of philosophy at Rinteln University, and the year following professor of theology. He died March 25, 1714. For a list of his writings, mainly dissertations, see Döring, Gelehrte Theologen Deutschlands des 18'en und 19ten Jahrh. ii, 102. Ki'son (Psa. lxxxiii, 9). See KISHON. Kiss (P, nashak'; Gr. qıλéw, to love, and derivatives). Originally the act of kissing had a symbolical character, as a natural species of language, expressive of tender affection and respect. It appears from the case of Laban and Jacob (Gen. xxix, 13) that this method of salutation was even then established and recognised as a matter of course. In Gen. xxvii, 26, 27, a kiss is a sign of affection between a parent and child; in Cant. viii, 1, between a lover and his bride. It was also, as with some modern nations, a token of friendship and regard bestowed when friends or relations met or separated (Tobit vii, 6; x, 12; Luke vii, 45; xv, 20; Acts xx, 37; Matt. xxvi, 48; 2 Sam. xx, 9); the same custom is still usual in the East (Tischendorf, Reise, i, 255). The Church of Ephesus wept sore at Paul's departure, and fell on his neck and kissed him. When Orpah quitted Naomi and Ruth (Ruth i, 14), after the three had lifted up their voice and wept, she "kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clave unto her." of the beard (Lane, ii, 9, 10; comp. Irby and Mangles, p. 116; Chardin, Voyage, iii, 421; Burckhardt, Notes, i, 369; Russell, Aleppo, i, 240). The passage of Job xxxi, 27, "Or my mouth hath kissed my hand," is not in point (see Menken, Dissert. in p. 1., Lipsia, 1711; Doughtai, Analect. i, 211; Kieseling, in the Nov. Miscell. Lips. ix, 595; Böttiger, Kunstmythol. i, 52), and refers to idolatrous usages (see L. Weger, De osc. manus idolatrica, Regiom. 1698), namely, the adoration of the heavenly bodies (comp. Cicero, Ver. iv, 43; Gesenius, Comment, on Isa. xlix, 23). See ADORATION. It was the custom to throw kisses towards the images of the gods, and towards the sun and moon (1 Kings xix, 18; Hos. xiii, 2; comp. Minuc. Felix, ii, 5; Tacit. Hist. iii, 24, 3; Lucian, De Salt. c. 17; Pliny, Hist. Nat. xxviii, 5). The kissing of princes was a token of homage (Psa. ii, 12; 1 Sam. x, 1; Xenophon, Cyrop. vii, 5, 32). So probably in Gen. xli, 40, "Upon thy mouth shall all my people kiss," where the Auth. Vers. interpets, "According to thy word shall all my people be ruled" (see Gesenius, Thesaur. | Heb. p. 923). We may compare the Mohammedan custom of kissing the Kaaba at Mecca (Burckhardt, Trar. i, 250, 298, 323; Crichton, Arabia, ii, 215). Xenophon says (Agesil. v, 4) that it was a national custom with the Persians to kiss whomsoever they honored; and a curious passage to this effect may be found in the Cyropædia (i, 4, 27). Kissing the feet of princes was a token of subjection and obedience, which was sometimes carried so far that the print of the foot received the kiss, so as to give the impression that the very dust had become sacred by the royal tread, or that the subject was not worthy to salute even the prince's foot, but was content to kiss the earth itself near or on which he trod (Isa. xlix, 33; Micah vii, 17; Psa. lxxii, 9; comp. Gen. xli, 40; 1 Sam. xxiv, 8; Matt. xxviii, 9; see Dion Cass. lix, 27; Seneca, De Benef. ii, 12). Similar usages prevail among the Orientals to the present day (see Wilkinson, Anc. Eg. ii, 203; Layard, Ninev. i, 274; Harmer, Obs. i, 336; Niebuhr, Travels, i, 414; comp. Assemani, Bibl. Or. i, 377; Otho, Lex. Rab. p. 233; Barhebr. Chron. p. 148, 189, 569). The Rabbins, in the meddlesome, scrupulous, and falsely delicate spirit which animated much of what they wrote, did not permit more than three kinds of kisses-the kiss of reverence, of reception, and of dismissal (Breshith Rabba on Gen. xxix, 11). It was usual to kiss the mouth (Gen. xxxiii, 4; Exod. iv, 27; xviii, 7; 1 Sam. xx, 41; Prov. xxiv, 26). Kissing the lips by way of affectionate salutation was not only permitted, but customary among near relatives of both sexes, both in patriarchal and in later times (Gen. xxix, 11; Cant. viii, 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. Mention is made of it (1) between parents and children (Gen. xxvii, 26, 27; xxxi, 28, 55; xlviii, 10; 1,1; Exod. xviii, 7; Ruth i, 9, 14; 2 Sam. xiv, 33; 1 Kings xix, 20; Luke xv, 20; Tobit vii, 6; x, 12); (2) between brothers, or near male relatives or intimate friends (Gen. xxix, 13; xxxiii, 4; xlv, 15; Exod. iv, 27; The peculiar tendency of the Christian religion to 1 Sam. xx, 41); (3) the same mode of salutation be- encourage honor towards all men, as men, to foster and tween persons not related, but of equal rank, whether develop the softer affections, and, in the trying condifriendly or deceitful, is mentioned (2 Sam. xx,-9; Psa. tion of the early Church, to make its members intimatelxxv, 10; Prov. xxvii, 6; Luke vii, 45 [1st clause]; xxii, ly known one to another, and unite them in the closest 48; Acts xx, 37); (4) as a mark of real or affected con- bonds, led to the observance of kissing as an accompanidescension (2 Sam. xv, 5; xix, 39); (5) respect from an ment of that social worship which took its origin in the inferior (Luke vii, 38, 45, and perhaps viii, 44). In very cradle of our religion. (See Coteler, Ad constitut. other cases the kiss is imprinted on the beard (see Ar- Apost. ii, 57; Fessel, Advers. sacr. p. 283.) Hence the vieux, iii, 182); sometimes on the hair of the head (see exhortation, "Salute each other with a holy kiss" (Rom. D'Orville, Ad Chariton, viii, 4), which was then taken xvi, 16; see also 1 Cor. xvi, 20; 2 Cor. xiii, 12; 1 Thess. hold of by the hand (2 Sam. xx, 9). Among the Arabs v, 26; in 1 Pet. v, 14 it is termed "a kiss of charity”). the women and children kiss the beards of their hus- "It might, perhaps, be understood among the members bands or fathers. The superior returns the salute by a of the Church that the kiss was to be exchanged bekiss on the forehead. Kissing the hand of another ap- tween persons of the same sex only, though no direc pears to be a modern practice. In Egypt an inferior tion to this effect is found in the apostolic epistles, and kisses the hand of a superior, generally on the back, but it is known that in process of time the heathen took ocsometimes, as a special favor, on the palm also. To tes-casion from the practice to reproach the Christians for tify abject submission, and in asking favors, the feet are often kissed instead of the hand (Luke vii, 38). "The son kisses the hand of his father, the wife that of her husband, the slave, and often the free servant, that of the master. The slaves and servants of a grandee kiss their lord's sleeve, or the skirt of his clothing" (Lane, Mod. Eg. ii, 9; compare Arvieux, Trav. p. 151; Burckhardt, Trav. i, 369; Niebuhr, Voy. i, 329; ii, 93; Layard, Nin. i, 174; Wellsted, Arabia, i, 341; Malcolm, Sketches of Persia, p. 271). Friends saluting each other join the right hand, then each kisses his own hand, and puts it to his lips and forehead, or breast; after a long absence they embrace each other, kissing first on the right side of the face or neck, and then on the left, or on both sides looseness of manners. On this account care was taken (as appears from the Apostolical Constitutions) to maintain in respect to it the distinction of sexes; but the practice itself was kept up for centuries, especially in connection with the celebration of the Supper. It was regarded as the special token of perfect reconciliation and concord among the members of the Church, and was called simply the peace (εipηvn), or the kiss of peace (osculum pacis). It was exchanged in the Eastern Church before, but in the Western after the consecration prayer. Ultimately, however, it was discontinued as a badge of Christian fellowship, or a part of any Christian solemnity" (Fairbairn). (See Apost. Constit. ii, 57; viii, 11; Just. Mart. Apol. i, 65; Palmer, On Lit. |