Heshbon

Heshbon (meaning invention; industry) was the royal city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, east of the Jordan River. When Israel requested passage through Sihon's territory and he refused, Moses led Israel against him and defeated the Amorites at Jahaz, capturing Heshbon and all its cities (Num. 21:21–26). The city was subsequently assigned to the tribe of Reuben (Num. 32:37) and later to Gad, and designated a Levitical city (Josh. 21:39). The Song of Solomon invokes the "pools of Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim" (Song 7:4) as an image of beauty. By Jeremiah's time Heshbon had come under Moabite control and was an object of prophetic lament (Jer. 48:2, 34, 45; 49:3). The site is identified with modern Tell Hesbān, where excavations have revealed occupation from the Iron Age through the Islamic period.