Home/Places/Heshbon

Heshbon

Kingdom of Sihon (Amorite)

City in Kingdom of Sihon (Amorite) · today Tell Hesban, Jordan

Meaning: “Reckoning, account

The royal city of Sihon king of the Amorites, captured by Israel east of the Jordan.

Location

Overview

Heshbon was the capital of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who ruled the tableland east of the Jordan between the Arnon and the Jabbok. Its fall gave Israel its first conquered territory.

Sihon refuses passage

Israel asked to pass peacefully along the highway, but "Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass... and Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel" (Numbers 21:23).

The fall of Heshbon

Israel defeated him and "possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok... And Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the villages thereof" (Numbers 21:24–25). An old ballad celebrating Heshbon is even quoted in the text (Numbers 21:27–30).

A city of the tribes

Heshbon was assigned to Reuben and Gad and made a Levitical city (Numbers 32:37; Joshua 21:39), and the prophets later mourned it when it passed back to Moab (Isaiah 15:4; Jeremiah 48:2).

Events Here

1407 BC

Israel defeats Sihon and takes Heshbon and the Amorite cities

Numbers 21:25

Scripture References

37 verses
Numbers8 verses

Numbers 21:25

And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the villages thereof. villages: Heb. daughters

Numbers 21:26

For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon.

Numbers 21:27

Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared:

Numbers 21:28

For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon.

Numbers 21:30

We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon, and we have laid them waste even unto Nophah, which reacheth unto Medeba.

Numbers 21:34

And the LORD said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.

Numbers 32:3

Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon,

Numbers 32:37

And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim,

Deuteronomy8 verses

Deuteronomy 1:4

After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, which dwelt at Astaroth in Edrei:

Deuteronomy 2:24

Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle. begin: Heb. begin, possess

Deuteronomy 2:26

And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,

Deuteronomy 2:30

But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.

Deuteronomy 3:2

And the LORD said unto me, Fear him not: for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.

Deuteronomy 3:6

And we utterly destroyed them, as we did unto Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children, of every city.

Deuteronomy 4:46

On this side Jordan, in the valley over against Bethpeor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote, after they were come forth out of Egypt:

Deuteronomy 29:7

And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them:

Joshua9 verses

Joshua 9:10

And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth.

Joshua 12:2

Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and from the middle of the river, and from half Gilead, even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon;

Joshua 12:5

And reigned in mount Hermon, and in Salcah, and in all Bashan, unto the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and half Gilead, the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.

Joshua 13:10

And all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, unto the border of the children of Ammon;

Joshua 13:17

Heshbon, and all her cities that are in the plain; Dibon, and Bamothbaal, and Bethbaalmeon, Bamothbaal: or, the high places of Baal, and house of Baalmeon

Joshua 13:21

And all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses smote with the princes of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, which were dukes of Sihon, dwelling in the country.

Joshua 13:26

And from Heshbon unto Ramathmizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim unto the border of Debir;

Joshua 13:27

And in the valley, Betharam, and Bethnimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, Jordan and his border, even unto the edge of the sea of Chinnereth on the other side Jordan eastward.

Joshua 21:39

Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer with her suburbs; four cities in all.

Judges2 verses

Judges 11:19

And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place.

Judges 11:26

While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover them within that time?

1 Chronicles1 verse

1 Chronicles 6:81

And Heshbon with her suburbs, and Jazer with her suburbs.

Nehemiah1 verse

Nehemiah 9:22

Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.

Song of Solomon1 verse

Song of Solomon 7:4

Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.

Isaiah3 verses

Isaiah 15:4

And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him.

Isaiah 16:8

For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah: the lords of the heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof, they are come even unto Jazer, they wandered through the wilderness: her branches are stretched out, they are gone over the sea. stretched: or, plucked up

Isaiah 16:9

Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for the shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen. the shouting: or, the alarm is fallen upon, etc

Jeremiah4 verses

Jeremiah 48:2

There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee. be cut: or, be brought to silence pursue: Heb. go after thee

Jeremiah 48:34

From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate. desolate: Heb. desolations

Jeremiah 48:45

They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of the force: but a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones. tumultuous: Heb. children of noise

Jeremiah 49:3

Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together. their king: or, Melcom

Archaeology & History

Heshbon is usually identified with Tell Hesban in Jordan, north-east of the Dead Sea, where excavations have uncovered Iron Age and later remains on the Madaba plateau. Its strategic position on the King's Highway tableland made it a prize contested between Amorites, Israel, and Moab.

People who appear here

Sihon21×
Og4×
Moses3×

Frequently asked about Heshbon

Where is Heshbon today?

Today, Heshbon corresponds to Tell Hesban, Jordan.

What does the name Heshbon mean?

The name Heshbon means “Reckoning, account”.

What happened at Heshbon in the Bible?

Key biblical events at Heshbon include israel defeats sihon and takes heshbon and the amorite cities.

Where is Heshbon first mentioned in the Bible?

Heshbon is first mentioned in Numbers 21:25.

How often is Heshbon mentioned in the Bible?

Heshbon is mentioned in 37 verses across 9 books: Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1 Chronicles, Nehemiah, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah.

Who ruled Heshbon?

Sihon, king of the Amorites, whose kingdom lay between the Arnon and the Jabbok. Israel captured Heshbon when Sihon refused them passage and attacked.

Where is Heshbon?

East of the Jordan on the Madaba plateau in Jordan, identified with Tell Hesban.