Heshbon
“Intelligence, reckoning, or device”
Summary
Heshbon was the royal city of Sihon king of the Amorites, conquered by Israel under Moses, famous for its pools praised in Song of Solomon, and subject to prophetic judgment oracles.
☩Conquest Under Moses
Heshbon was the capital of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had taken the region from Moab. When Sihon refused Israel passage through his territory, Moses defeated him and Israel occupied his land, including Heshbon. The Israelites sang a taunt song commemorating how Sihon had taken Heshbon from Moab, only to lose it himself to Israel.
☩Location and Features
Heshbon sat on the western border of the high plain (Mishor) east of the Jordan, about twenty miles east of the Jordan River at the northern end of the Dead Sea. The city was famous for its pools or reservoirs, which the Song of Solomon uses as an image of beauty: "Your eyes are like the pools of Heshbon." These pools are still visible among the ruins.
Related Verses39 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Heshbon," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IV (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.George Morrish, "Heshbon," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 3.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Heshbon," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).
- 4.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Heshbon," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).