{ "schemaVersion": 1, "kind": "event", "id": "heshbon", "era": "exodus-wilderness", "order": 72, "title": "Across the Arnon", "group": "transjordan", "date": { "kind": "approximate", "label": "c. 1406 BC · Before Moses’ speeches in Moab", "earliest": -1406, "latest": -1406, "note": "Dated from 1 Kings 6:1, which places the Exodus 480 years before Solomon began the temple (c. 966 BC). Many scholars instead date the Exodus to about 1260 BC." }, "pin": [ 35.809062, 31.800811 ], "pinConfidence": "Proposed site", "pinPlace": "openbible-abf2fc1", "summary": "Israel requests passage through Sihon’s territory. Sihon, king of Heshbon, comes out to fight at Jahaz; Israel defeats him and takes his cities east of the Jordan.", "context": "Sihon rules from Heshbon, but Numbers 21:23 and Deuteronomy 2:32 locate the battle at Jahaz. Our Heshbon marker represents the royal city, not the battlefield or a camp.", "question": "How does Moses connect these events with the people’s coming task?", "locationNote": "Tell Hesban is a traditional candidate for Heshbon. OpenBible notes a difficulty matching its archaeological remains to Sihon’s period and lists alternatives. The symbol marks the city proposal, not Jahaz or Israel’s camp.", "relatedNote": "Direct recollection: Deuteronomy 2:24–37 directly recalls the Arnon, the request for passage, the battle at Jahaz, and the captured territory.", "passages": [ { "reference": "Numbers 21:21–32", "range": [ 4021021, 4021032 ], "translation": "bsb", "url": "https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers%2021%3A21%E2%80%9332&version=BSB", "availability": "bundled", "verses": [ { "book": "Numbers", "chapter": 21, "verse": 21, "text": "Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying," }, { "book": "Numbers", "chapter": 21, "verse": 22, "text": "“Let us pass through your land. We will not turn aside into any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will stay on the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.”" }, { "book": "Numbers", "chapter": 21, "verse": 23, "text": "But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. Instead, he gathered his whole army and went out to confront Israel in the wilderness. When he came to Jahaz, he fought against Israel." }, { "book": "Numbers", "chapter": 21, "verse": 24, "text": "And Israel put him to the sword and took possession of his land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok—but only up to the border of the Ammonites, because it was fortified." }, { "book": "Numbers", "chapter": 21, "verse": 25, "text": "Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and occupied them, including Heshbon and all its villages." }, { "book": "Numbers", "chapter": 21, "verse": 26, "text": "Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land as far as the Arnon." }, { "book": "Numbers", "chapter": 21, "verse": 27, "text": "That is why the poets say: “Come to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt; let the city of Sihon be restored." }, { "book": "Numbers", "chapter": 21, "verse": 28, "text": "For a fire went out from Heshbon, a blaze from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the rulers of Arnon’s heights." }, { "book": "Numbers", "chapter": 21, "verse": 29, "text": "Woe to you, O Moab! You are destroyed, O people of Chemosh! He gave up his sons as refugees, and his daughters into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites." }, { "book": "Numbers", "chapter": 21, "verse": 30, "text": "But we have overthrown them; Heshbon is destroyed as far as Dibon. We demolished them as far as Nophah, which reaches to Medeba.”" }, { "book": "Numbers", "chapter": 21, "verse": 31, "text": "So Israel lived in the land of the Amorites." }, { "book": "Numbers", "chapter": 21, "verse": 32, "text": "After Moses had sent spies to Jazer, Israel captured its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there." } ] } ], "related": [ { "range": [ 5002024, 5002037 ], "kind": "recollection", "reference": "Deuteronomy 2:24–37", "translation": "bsb", "url": "https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%202%3A24%E2%80%9337&version=BSB" } ], "places": [ { "id": "openbible-abf2fc1", "name": "Heshbon", "coordinate": [ 35.809062, 31.800811 ], "kind": "City", "confidence": "Proposed site", "confidenceSource": "editorial", "sources": [ { "label": "OpenBible · site identifications", "url": "https://www.openbible.info/geo/ancient/abf2fc1/heshbon" } ] } ], "route": [ [ 35.48533, 31.02701 ], "openbible-abf2fc1" ], "mapPeriod": "late-bronze", "further": [ { "label": "OpenBible · site identifications", "url": "https://www.openbible.info/geo/ancient/abf2fc1/heshbon" } ], "provenance": { "sources": [ { "name": "editorial", "ref": "src/data/journey.ts" } ], "review": "reviewed", "reviewedOn": "2026-09-23" }, "eraName": "Exodus & Wilderness", "interactiveUrl": "https://wilderness-scripture-atlas.pages.dev/?event=heshbon", "attribution": [ "Place coordinates from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding Data, CC BY 4.0.", "Teaching stops, summaries and regional extents are original editorial content of this atlas.", "Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain. https://berean.bible/licensing.htm" ], "translation": "bsb", "url": "https://wilderness-scripture-atlas.pages.dev/reference/events/heshbon/", "markdownUrl": "https://wilderness-scripture-atlas.pages.dev/reference/events/heshbon/index.md", "jsonUrl": "https://wilderness-scripture-atlas.pages.dev/reference/events/heshbon/index.json", "cautions": "Narrative order is a reading arrangement, not a proven chronology. Dates retain their stated uncertainty. An identified locality does not establish the exact venue or prove an event. Region extents and routes are illustrative, not surveyed boundaries or ancient roads. Draft material has not completed editorial review.", "revision": "5420a44a66c6a340" }