6861. tsiqqalon

Lexical Summary

tsiqqalon: Shekel, weight

Original Word: צִקְלֹן
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: tsiqlon
Pronunciation: tsik-kaw-lone'
Phonetic Spelling: (tsik-lone')
KJV: husk
NASB: sack
Word Origin: [from an unused root meaning to wind]

1. a sack (as tied at the mouth)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

husk

From an unused root meaning to wind; a sack (as tied at the mouth) -- husk.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
of uncertain derivation
Definition
perhaps garment
NASB Translation
sack (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

[צִקָּלֹן] noun [masculine] doubtful word; — suffix בְּצִקְנֹוֺ כַרְמֶל 2 Kings 4:42 ᵑ6 ᵑ7 garment; ᵐ5 omitted, but A βακελλεθ, Arm. bakela θ whence Lag^{Armen. Stud. § 333, M. i. 212} reads (plausibly) בִּקְלַעְתּוֺ in his wallet, Arabic , , and so ᵑ9 pera.

I, II, III, IV. צַר, II. צֹר, see I, II, III. צרר.

Topical Lexicon

Occurrence

2 Kings 4:42

Biblical Setting

The single appearance of צִקְלֹן occurs during a time of famine in Israel when Elisha is ministering at Gilgal. A man from Baal-shalishah brings “twenty loaves of barley bread made from the first ripened grain and with some heads of new grain in his sack” (2 Kings 4:42). The sack, or knapsack, is the immediate context for the small but significant gift that God will multiply to feed a hundred men.

Historical and Cultural Background

Knapsacks or grain bags in the Iron Age Levant were typically made of woven goat hair or leather. They were light, durable, and carried by shepherds, travelers, and farmers. Firstfruits normally belonged at the sanctuary (Numbers 18:12; Deuteronomy 18:4). Because the Northern Kingdom’s official worship had been corrupted, faithful Israelites sometimes redirected their offerings to acknowledged prophets (1 Kings 18:4; 1 Kings 19:10). The man from Baal-shalishah thus honors covenant law while recognizing Elisha as the true representative of the LORD.

Symbolic Themes

1. Firstfruits and Faith: The contents of the sack embody trust that God will supply future harvests (Proverbs 3:9-10).
2. Small Means, Great Provision: The ordinary container underscores the contrast between limited human resources and God’s limitless power.
3. Covenant Loyalty in Apostasy: Presenting firstfruits to a prophet in the North tacitly rejects the idolatrous calf cult at Bethel and Dan (1 Kings 12:28-30).

Ministerial Implications

• Giving precedes multiplication. The donor releases what he has before witnessing the miracle, encouraging believers to serve with what is at hand.
• Ministers must distribute, not hoard. Elisha commands, “Give it to the people to eat,” modeling stewardship rather than accumulation.
• God meets physical needs through spiritual leadership. Prophetic ministry encompasses both proclamation and practical care.

Connections to the Wider Canon

• Elisha’s feeding miracle foreshadows Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand where barley loaves again figure prominently (John 6:9-13).
• The principle of firstfruits later finds its ultimate expression in Christ’s resurrection, “the firstfruit of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20).
• The sack recalls other humble vessels God uses—Moses’ staff (Exodus 4:2), David’s shepherd’s pouch (1 Samuel 17:40), and the widow’s jar of oil (2 Kings 4:2-7).

Practical Lessons for Believers

1. Offer the “first and best” to God even in lean times.
2. Expect divine multiplication when resources are surrendered for kingdom purposes.
3. Support faithful gospel workers; God often channels provision through them to bless the wider community.
4. Recognize that simple, everyday objects—like a sack of grain—can become instruments of divine grace when placed in God’s hands.

Forms and Transliterations

בְּצִקְלֹנ֑וֹ בצקלנו bə·ṣiq·lō·nōw bəṣiqlōnōw betzikloNo

Englishman's Concordance

2 Kings 4:42
HEB: שְׂעֹרִ֔ים וְכַרְמֶ֖ל בְּצִקְלֹנ֑וֹ וַיֹּ֕אמֶר תֵּ֥ן
NAS: and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And he said,
KJV: and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said,
INT: of barley and fresh his sack said Give

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 6861
1 Occurrence

bə·ṣiq·lō·nōw — 1 Occ.