Heshbon

Map of Jordan with mark showing location of Heshbon
Heshbon
Location of Heshbon in modern-day Jordan

Heshbon (also Hesebon, Esebon, Esbous, Esebus; Hebrew: חשבון‎‎; Latin: Esebus; Arabic: حشبون‎‎) was an ancient town located east of the Jordan River in the modern kingdom of Jordan and historically within the territories of Ammon and Ancient Israel. Today, it is a ruin, bearing its old namesake, Tell Ḥesbān, located ca. 9 kilometers (5.6 mi) north of Madaba.

Biblical references

Ancient Heshbon was beyond, i.e. east of, the Jordan. The city was taken by the Israelites on their entry to the Promised Land, and was assigned to the tribe of Reuben;[1] afterwards it was given to the Tribe of Gad [2] and became a Levitical city for the Merarites.

Heshbon is mentioned in the Tanakh in the Books of Numbers and Deuteronomy as the capital of Amorite king, Sihon (also known as Sehon).[3] The biblical narrative records the story of the Israelite victory over Sihon during the time of the Exodus under the leadership of Moses. Heshbon is highlighted due to its importance as the capital of Sihon, King of the Amorites:

"For Heshbon was the city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon."[4]

Similar passages appear in Deuteronomy and Joshua, with the primary emphasis being the victory of the Israelites over King Sihon at the site of Heshbon. Moses died soon after the victory, after viewing the "promised land" from the top of Mount Nebo.

Following the death of Moses, Heshbon became a town at the border between the lands allocated to the Tribe of Reuben and the Tribe of Gad. Further biblical evidence suggests that the town later came under Moabite control, as mentioned by Isaiah [5] and Jeremiah [6] in their denunciations of Moab.

Heshbon also appears in the Song of Solomon, where the poet likens his love's eyes to "the pools of Heshbon", which refers to the magnificent fish-pools of Heshbon.[7]

Historical references

It occurs in Josephus very often under the form Esbonitis or Sebonitis.[8] According to Josephus, Heshbon was in the possession of the Judeans since Alexander Jannaeus the Maccabee (106–79 B.C.) took it and made it a Jewish town. Herod the Great is also said to have had jurisdiction over the town and established a fort there.[9]

After the Great Revolt (A.D. 68–70) the country was invaded by the tribe that Pliny calls Arabes Esbonitae, meaning "Arabs of (H)esebon".[10] Restored under the name of Esboús or Esboúta, it is mentioned among the towns of the Roman Arabia Petraea by Ptolemy.[11]

Under the Byzantine domination, as learned from Eusebius' Onomasticon, it grew to be a town of note in the province of Arabia; George of Cyprus refers to it in the seventh century and it was from Hesebon that the milestones on the Roman road to Jericho were numbered.

At the beginning of the Arab domination Hesebon was still the chief town of the Belka, a territory corresponding to the old Kingdom of Sihon. It seems never to have been taken by the Crusaders.

The town is believed to have been located at the ruin called Hesbân or Hisban, about 20 km (12 mi) southwest of Amman, and 9 kilometers (5.6 mi) to the north of Mâdaba, on one of the highest summits of the mountains of Moab. A large ruined reservoir is located east of the place, and below the town there is a fountain. In the 4th century BCE, the town marked the furthest extent eastward of Jewish settlement, made-up by those who returned from the Babylonian exile, and is mentioned in the 3rd century CE Mosaic of Rehob.

Archaeological excavations

In 1968, archaeological excavations were undertaken at the site of Tell Hesban (alternatively spelled Tall Hisban). This excavation was the beginning of what became called the "Heshbon Expedition". This archaeological work was sponsored by Andrews University and under the authority of the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR). The Heshbon Expedition continued with excavation seasons through 1976. The lack of evidence for occupation during the Bronze Age led excavators to conclude that the site is not Sihon's Heshbon; however, classical period remains confirmed its status as the Roman-period city of Esbus. Following the cessation of Heshbon Expedition excavations, archaeological work at the site continued in 1996 under the Madaba Plains Project consortium. The site continues to be excavated into the 2010s; work is also ongoing to support archaeological tourism at the site.[12]

Two churches have been discovered from the Byzantine era, and both churches produced impressive remains of mosaic floors.[13] Particularly interesting is the nilotic (using motifs originating in the environs of the river Nile) mosaic of the presbytery of the North Church where the mosaicists have created a motif of a turtledove set on a nest made of an imaginary flower.[14]

Ecclesiastical history

Hesebon is a titular see of the ecclesiastical province of Arabia, suffragan of Bostra.

Christianity took root there at an early period. Michel Le Quien (Oriens christianus II, 863-64), and Pius Bonifacius Gams (Series Episcoporum, 435) mention three bishops between the fourth and seventh centuries:

Konrad Eubel (Hierarchia Catholica, II, 168) mentions two Latin titulars of Hesebon in the latter part of the fifteenth century.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Numbers 32:37
  2. ↑ Joshua 21:37; 1 Chronicles 6:81
  3. ↑ Numbers 21:21-35, Deuteronomy 2:24 and Deuteronomy 29:7
  4. ↑ Numbers 21:26
  5. ↑ Isaiah 15:4, 16:8-9
  6. ↑ Jeremiah 48:2, 48:34, 48:45
  7. ↑ Sol 7:4
  8. ↑ Antq., XIII, xv, 4., XII, iv, 11; Bell, Jud., II, xviii, 1.
  9. ↑ Josephus, Ant., XV, viii, 5.
  10. ↑ Hist. Nat., V, xii, 1.
  11. ↑ Geogr. V, xvi.
  12. ↑ "Tall Hisban overview". Madaba Plains Project. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  13. ↑ Preservation and Restoration Archived December 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ↑ Basema Hamarneh, "The River Nile and Egypt in the Mosaics of the Middle East" christusrex.org

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Hesebon". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton. 

Coordinates: 31°48′03″N 35°48′32″E / 31.80083°N 35.80889°E / 31.80083; 35.80889

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