Heshbon

Heshbon in the Bible

Heshbon first appears in Numbers 21. According to Numbers 21:26, Heshbon was the royal city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had earlier fought against the king of Moab and taken this land from him. Israel asked Sihon for permission to pass through his territory, promising, "we will go along by the king's high way" (Numbers 21:22). Sihon refused and came out with his army, but he was defeated at Jahaz, and Israel took Heshbon and its surrounding villages (Numbers 21:23–25). Numbers 21:27–30 preserves a song that begins, "Come into Heshbon." Deuteronomy 2:24–37 retells the same events as Moses recalls them.

After the conquest, Heshbon is recorded as one of the cities built by the children of Reuben (Numbers 32:37) and was included in the inheritance of the tribe of Reuben (Joshua 13:17). It is also listed among the cities from the territory of Gad given to the Merarite Levites (Joshua 21:39). In Judges 11:26, Jephthah rebuts the Ammonite king's territorial claim by pointing out that Israel had dwelt in Heshbon for three hundred years.

In the prophetic books, Heshbon reappears as a Moabite city and becomes the subject of oracles of judgment (Isaiah 15:4; Isaiah 16:8–9; Jeremiah 48:2; Jeremiah 48:34; Jeremiah 48:45). In Jeremiah 49:3 it is mentioned within the oracle against Ammon. Song of Solomon 7:4 compares the bride's eyes to "the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim."

Background

Heshbon was a city on the plateau east of the Jordan River, north of the plains of Moab. Because it lay near a north–south route, control of the area appears to have changed hands several times among Moab, the Amorites, Israel, and Ammon.

Tell Hesban, southwest of Amman in present-day Jordan, is commonly identified as Heshbon. However, excavations there have not yielded clear remains that can be dated to the period of the Exodus. For this reason, some scholars identify a different site as the Heshbon of that time, and the discussion remains bound up with the question of how the conquest narratives are dated.

The name is commonly explained as related to a Hebrew root meaning "to think, to reckon." The phrase in Jeremiah 48:2, "in Heshbon they have devised evil against it," is read as a wordplay on this root.

Significance Across Scripture

The victory over Sihon and Og, king of Bashan, is repeatedly recalled as a signal instance of God granting Israel victory before its entry into Canaan. Rahab of Jericho (Joshua 2:10) and the inhabitants of Gibeon (Joshua 9:10) are said to have been afraid when they heard this news, and Nehemiah 9:22, Psalms 135:11, and Psalm 136:19 also celebrate this victory.

In the era of the prophets, Heshbon is portrayed not as an Israelite city but as a Moabite one. Jeremiah 48:45 reuses the expression of Numbers 21:28, "there is a fire gone out of Heshbon," to proclaim judgment on Moab.

Heshbon is not mentioned directly in the New Testament.

Interpretation and Debated Points

• Sihon's obstinacy: Deuteronomy 2:30 states that God hardened Sihon's spirit. Traditions place different emphases on what this verse implies about the relationship between divine providence and human responsibility. The Reformed tradition tends to highlight God's sovereignty, while the Wesleyan tradition tends to stress Sihon's responsibility for his prior refusal.
• The account of utter destruction: Interpretations diverge on how to read the record of total destruction in Deuteronomy 2:34. Some read it literally as God's judgment, others as the hyperbolic idiom of ancient war accounts, and still others as a limited event within redemptive history.
• The song of Numbers 21:27–30: Regarding the song's origin, some view it as an Israelite victory song, while others regard it as a quotation of a song originally celebrating Sihon's victory over Moab.
• Song of Solomon 7:4: Some interpreters read this verse literally as poetry celebrating a beloved's beauty, while a traditional interpretation reads it as an allegory of the relationship between Christ and the church.