Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, March 28th, 2024
Maundy Thursday
There are 3 days til Easter!
Attention!
Partner with StudyLight.org as God uses us to make a difference for those displaced by Russia's war on Ukraine.
Click to donate today!

Bible Encyclopedias
Heshbon

The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia

Search for…
or
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Prev Entry
Herzog, Jakob
Next Entry
Ḥeshwan (Marḥeshwan)
Resource Toolbox
Additional Links

Town originally belonging to Moab; mentioned in Numbers 21:25 et seq.; Deuteronomy 1:4, 3:6, 4:26, 29:7; Joshua 9:10; 12:2 et seq.; 13:10,21; Isaiah 15:4; 16:8,9; Jeremiah 48:2; Song of Solomon 7:5 (A. V. 4); Judith 5:15; by Josephus ("Ant." 12:4, § 11; 13:15, § 4; 15:8, § 5; "B. J." 2:18, § 1; 3:3, § 3), and in the "Onomastica Sacra" (117, 29 et seq., 253, 24 et seq.). Heshbon, at one time the chief city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, was, when captured by the Israelites, assigned to the tribe of Reuben (Numbers 32:3,37; Joshua 13:10,17,21). However, the hold of the Israelites upon the territory of Moab was very insecure. It became a Jewish possession in the time of Alexander Jannæus (Josephus, "Ant." 13:15, § 4). Jerome mentions Heshbon, under the name "Esbus," as "a notable city of Arabia in the mountains in front of Jericho, twenty Roman miles from the Jordan." Heshbon is mentioned also in the Talmud (Yer. Shebu. 6:1; see Neubauer, "G. T." pp. 11, 21). At the modern Haṣban, in the Wadi Haṣban, are found remains of a castle, temple, and large reservoir; to the last Song of Solomon 7:5 (A. V. 4) compares the eyes of the bride of Solomon.

Bibliography:
  • Hastings, Dict. Bible;
  • Cheyne and Black, Encyc. Bibl.;
  • Hamburger, R. B. T.;
  • Reland, Palestina ex Monumentis Veteribus Illustrata;
  • Tristram, Land of Moab, p. 340;
  • Buhl, Geographie des Alten Palästina, p. 123.
E. G. H.
M. Sc.
Bibliography Information
Singer, Isidore, Ph.D, Projector and Managing Editor. Entry for 'Heshbon'. 1901 The Jewish Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/​encyclopedias/​eng/​tje/​h/heshbon.html. 1901.
adsFree icon
Ads FreeProfile