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HESHBON
Important Transjordanian city about 50 miles (80 kilometers) due east of Jerusalem. It had originally been Moabite but was conquered by Sihon, the Amorite king, and became the capital of his kingdom (Nm 21:25-30). The city was captured when Israel advanced into Canaan, and this portion of the Amorite territory was placed under Reubenite control (Nm 32:37; Jos 13:17). However, its position on the boundary between Reuben and Gad (Jos 13:26) resulted in its being occupied by the tribe of Gad. The Moabites soon contested Israel’s claim to the territory, and in the period of the judges it changed hands at least once (Jgs 3:12; 1 Sm 12:9-11). Israel controlled Heshbon until around 853 BC, when it was occupied by Mesha, king of Moab. Subsequently, it was mentioned in preexilic prophetic censures of the Moabites (cf. Is 15:4; 16:8-9; Jer 48:2, 33-34). Jeremiah 49:3 seems to indicate that Heshbon was finally occupied by the neighboring Ammonites.
It was an important Nabatean city in the Greek period, and it was conquered by the Jews in the campaigns of Alexander Janneus (103–76 BC). In the Roman period it was incorporated into the province of Syria.