
Hesebon
FREE Catholic Classes
(A.V. HESHBON; Greek Esebon, Esbous ; Latin Esbus).
A titular see of the province of Arabia, suffragan of Bostra. It is the ancient Hesebon beyond the Jordan, the capital of Sehon, King of the Amorrhites ( Numbers 21:26 ). Hesebon was taken by the Israelites on their entry to the Promised Land, and was assigned to the tribe of Ruben (Num. xxxii, 37); afterwards it was given to the tribe of Gad ( Joshua 21:37 ; 1 Chronicles 6:81 ). The Canticle of Canticles (vii, 4) speaks of the magnificent fish-pools of Hesebon. The Prophets mention it in their denunciations of Moab ( Isaiah 15:4 , 16:8, 9 ; Jeremiah 48:2, 34, 45 ). Alexander Jannaeus (106-79 B.C.) took it, and made it a Jewish town, and Herod established a fort there (Josephus, Ant., XV, viii, 5). It occurs in Josephus very often under the form Esbonitis or Sebonitis (Antq., XIII, xv, 4., XII, iv, 11; Bell. Jud., II, xviii, 1) After the Jewish War (A.D. 68-70) the country was invaded by the tribe that Pliny calls (Hist. Nat., V, xii, 1) Arabes Esbinitae . Restored under the name of Esboús or Esboúta, it is mentioned among the towns of Arabia Petraea by Ptolemy (Geogr. V, xvi). 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 centuty and it was from Hesebon that the milestones on the Roman road to Jericho were numbered.
Christianity took root there at an early period. Lequien (Orient Christ., II, 863-64), and Gams (Series Episcoporum, 435) mention three bishops between the fourth and seventh centuries. Gennadius, present at Nicaea (Gelzer, Patrum Nicaen. Nomina, p. lxi); Zosius, whose name occurs in the lists of Chalcedon, and Theodore, champion of orthodoxy against Monothelism, who received (c. 649) from Martin I a letter congratulating him on his resistance to the heresy and exhorting him to continue the struggle in conjunction with John of Philadelphia. To the latter the pope had entrusted the government of the patriarchates of Antioch and Jerusalem. Eubel (Hierarchia Catholica, II, 168) mentions two Latin titulars of Hesebon in the latter part of the fifteenth century. At the beginning of the Arab domination Hesebon was still the chief town of the Belka, a territory corresponding to the old Kingdom of Sehon. It seems never to have been taken by the Crusaders. The ruins are to be seen at Hesbân, to the north of Mâdaba, on one of the highest summits of the mountains of Moab.
To all our readers,
Please don't scroll past this. We interrupt your reading to humbly ask you to defend Catholic Online School's independence. 98% of our readers don't give; they look the other way. If you are an exceptional reader who has already donated, we sincerely thank you. If you donate just $10.00, or whatever you can, Catholic Online School could keep thriving for years. Most people donate because Catholic Online School is useful. If Catholic Online School has given you $10.00 worth of knowledge this year, take a minute to donate. Show the world that access to Catholic education matters to you. Thank you.Help Now >

Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.
-
-
Mysteries of the Rosary
-
Saint of the Day for Sunday, July 3rd, 2022
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
-
Bible
-
Unfailing Prayer to St. Anthony
-
St. Elizabeth of Portugal
-
The Apostles' Creed
-
St. Thomas
-
Female / Women Saints
-
St. Maria Goretti
What does ranching have to do with Catholic education?
-
Montana Ranch and Cattle: Sustainable ranching is what we do
-
Is there anything we can do to get you to support FREE Catholic education?
-
Pope Francis' World Meeting of Families' Message
-
On the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary: Mary and the Early Fathers
Daily Catholic
Daily Readings for Monday, July 04, 2022
St. Elizabeth of Portugal: Saint of the Day for Monday, July 04, 2022
Consecration of America: Prayer of the Day for Monday, July 04, 2022
- Daily Readings for Sunday, July 03, 2022
- St. Thomas: Saint of the Day for Sunday, July 03, 2022
- A Prayer of Gratitude for God's Blessings - Acts of Thomas: Prayer of the Day for Sunday, July 03, 2022
To all our readers,
Please don't scroll past this. We interrupt your reading to humbly ask you to defend Catholic Online School's independence. 98% of our readers don't give; they look the other way. If you are an exceptional reader who has already donated, we sincerely thank you. If you donate just $10.00, or whatever you can, Catholic Online School could keep thriving for years. Most people donate because Catholic Online School is useful. If Catholic Online School has given you $10.00 worth of knowledge this year, take a minute to donate. Show the world that access to Catholic education matters to you. Thank you.Help Now >
Copyright 2021 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2021 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.
Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.