7053. qilleshon

Lexical Summary

qilleshon: Fork, pitchfork

Original Word: קִלְּשׁוֹן
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: qillshown
Pronunciation: kil-leh-SHON
Phonetic Spelling: (kil-lesh-one')
KJV: fork
Word Origin: [from an unused root meaning to prick]

1. a prong, i.e. hay-fork

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

fork

From an unused root meaning to prick; a prong, i.e. Hay-fork -- fork.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
of uncertain derivation
Definition
perhaps fine point
NASB Translation
forks* (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

קִלְּשׁוֺן doubtful word, in phrase ׳וְלִשְׁלשׁ ק 1 Samuel 13:21 (possibly would be fine point, compare Aramaic קלשׁ be thin, hence ׳ק ׳שׁ tridens, E.V. forks, but against analogue, see especially Dr).

קָמָה see קום.

Topical Lexicon

Physical Description and Agricultural Function

קִלְּשׁוֹן denotes a multi-pronged agricultural fork. In the Iron Age agrarian economy of Israel it was indispensable for lifting cut grain onto threshing floors, turning straw for drying, and clearing ashes from hearths. Made of wood with iron tips, it required regular sharpening, explaining why its only biblical mention appears in a passage about metalworking services supplied by Philistine smiths.

Historical Setting in 1 Samuel 13: Israel under Philistine Oppression

During the early reign of Saul, the Philistines exercised monopolistic control over ironworking. “So all Israel had to go to the Philistines to sharpen their plowshares, mattocks, axes, and forks” (1 Samuel 13:21). The presence of the קִלְּשׁוֹן in this list highlights three realities:

1. Economic subjugation—the Israelites depended on their enemies even for routine farm maintenance.
2. Military vulnerability—access to sharpened implements was limited, curbing the production of weapons.
3. Divine intervention—despite technological inferiority, the upcoming victories of Israel (1 Samuel 14) display the sufficiency of the LORD, not the arsenal of the nation.

Symbolic and Theological Reflections

Sharpening an ordinary fork under foreign oversight becomes a picture of spiritual readiness under trial. As Israel’s implements were rendered fit for the harvest, so God refines His people for His purposes (Proverbs 27:17; 2 Timothy 2:21). Moreover, a fork designed to separate straw from grain prefigures the winnowing imagery later applied to Messiah’s judgment: “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor” (Matthew 3:12). Thus the קִלְּשׁוֹן quietly foreshadows the ultimate separation between the righteous and the wicked.

Practical Ministry Applications

• Dependence on God amid scarcity: The text challenges believers to trust divine provision when resources are controlled by hostile powers.
• Stewardship of ordinary tools: Even mundane instruments become significant when enlisted in God’s redemptive plan; ministry often advances through faithful use of everyday skills.
• Spiritual sharpening: Regular “sharpening” through Scripture, fellowship, and prayer equips the church for effective service, just as the fork required periodic honing.

Related Biblical Imagery

Though קִלְּשׁוֹן itself occurs only once, similar motifs reinforce its lessons:
• Judges 6:11 – Gideon threshes wheat in secret, portraying deliverance through humble labor.
• Isaiah 41:15 – “I will make you into a threshing sledge,” emphasizing God-given effectiveness.
• Jeremiah 15:7; Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17 – The winnowing fork as an emblem of judgment and purification.

In sum, the solitary appearance of קִלְּשׁוֹן magnifies the biblical theme that God works through commonplace objects and challenging circumstances to accomplish His sovereign purposes.

Forms and Transliterations

קִלְּשׁ֖וֹן קלשון killeShon qil·lə·šō·wn qilləšōwn

Englishman's Concordance

1 Samuel 13:21
HEB: וְלָ֣אֵתִ֔ים וְלִשְׁלֹ֥שׁ קִלְּשׁ֖וֹן וּלְהַקַּרְדֻּמִּ֑ים וּלְהַצִּ֖יב
INT: the mattocks three fork and the axes fix

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 7053
1 Occurrence

qil·lə·šō·wn — 1 Occ.