Hesh'bon (Hebrew Cheshbon', 'ilSuin, intelligence, as in Eccles. vii, 25, etc. ; Sept. 'E(Tf/3wv ; Joseplius), a town in the southern district of the Hebrew territory beyond the Jordan, on the western border of the high plain {Mishor, Josh, xiii, 17). It originally belonged to the IMoabites, but when the IsraeUtes arrived from Egj'pt it was foimd to be in the possession of the Amo- rites, whose king, Sihon, is styled both king of the Amo- rites and king of Heshbon, and is expressly said to have " reigned in Heshbon" (Josh, iii, 10 ; comp. Numb, xxi, 26 ; Deut. ii, 9). It was taken by Moses (Numb, xxi, 23-26), and eventually became a Levitical city (Josh. xxi, 39 ; 1 Chron. vi, 81) in the tribe of Reuben (Numb. xxxii, 37 ; Josh, xiii, 17) ; but, being on the confines of Gad, is sometimes assigned to the latter tribe (Josh. xxi, 39; 1 Chron. vi, 81). After the Ten Tribes were sent into exile, Heshbon was taken possession of by the Moabites, and hence is mentioned by the prophets in their declarations against Moab (Isa. xv, 4 ; Jer. xlviii, 2, 34, 45). Under king Alexander Jannteus we find it again reckoned as a Jewish city (Josephus, A nt. xiii, 15, 4). Pliny mentions a tribe of Arabs called Eshoniiee {Hist. Nut. V, 11 ; comp. Abulfeda, Tab. Syr. p. 11). In the time of Eusebius and Jerome {Oi.omast. s. v. 'Eaat- j3ojv) it was still a place of some consequence under the name of Esbus (E(T(3ovg), but at the present day it is known by its ancient name, in the slightly modified form of Tlesbnn. The region was first visited in modern times by Seetzen. The site is twenty miles east of the Jordan, on the parallel of the northern end of the Dead Sea. The ruins of a considerable town stiU exist, cov- ering the sides of an insulated hill, but not a single edi- fice is left entire. The view from the summit is very extensive, embracing the ruins of a vast number of cit- ies, the names of some of which bear a strong resem- blance to those mentioned in Scripture. These envi- rons, occupying the elevated plam between the moun- tains of Jazer and the Jabbok, seem to be referred to in Josh, xiii, 16. There are reservoirs connected with this and the other towns of this region. These have been supposed to be the "fish-pools" (nir'HS, cisterns) of Heshbon mentioned by Solomon (Cant, vii, 4) [see Batii-r.vbbiji] ; but, say Irby and Mangles, " The ruins are uninteresting, and the only pool we saw was too in- significant to be one of those mentioned in Scripture" (p. 472). In two of the cisterns among the ruins they found about three dozen of human skulls and bones, ■which they justly regarded as an illustration of Gen XXX vii, 20 {Travels, p. 472; see also George Robinson, lord Lindsay, Schwarz, Tristram, etc.). — Kitto. Dr. Macmichael and his party went to look for these pools, but they fomid only one, which was extremely insignif- icant. This is probably the reservoir mentioned by Burckhardt (Syria, p. 3G5) . INIr. Buckingham, however, says, " The large reservoir to the south of the town, and about half a mile from the foot of the hiU on which it stands, is constructed with good masonrj', and not un- like the cisterns of Solomon, near Jerusalem, to which it is also nearly equal in size." Towards the western part of the hill is a singular structure, whose crumbling ruins exhibit the workmanship of successive ages — the massive strne^ of the Jewish period, the sculptured cor- nice of the Roman rera, and the light Saracenic arch, all grouped together (Porter, Ilandb.for Palest, p. 298).
Hesh'mon (Heb. Ckeshmon', "ITSdn./fftocss; Sept. 'Aatuwv), a city on the southern border of Judah (Sim-
eon), near IdumaBa, mentioned between Hazor-Gaddah and Beth-Palet (Josh, xv, 27) ; hence probably some- where between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean. It is possibty the same as the Azjiox (q. v.) elsewhere (Josh. XV, 4) located in this vicinity. See Hazar- ad- da r.
Hess, Johann, one of the German Reformers, was born in Nuremberg about 1490, studied at Leipzig from 1506 to 1510, and at Wittenberg from 1510 to 1512. In 1513 he became secretary to the bishop of Breslau. Af- ter travelling and studying in Italy, he returned in 1529 to Wittenberg, and there became connected with Luther and Melancthon. Returning to Breslau with reforma- tory views, he found no opposition from his bishop, who was imbued with the new humanistic learning, and was a friend of Erasmus. But the bishop (Turzo) died in 1520, and his successor (Jacob of Salza) was a strenuous Romanist. He left Breslau for a time, but the seed had taken root, and the magistrates recalled Hess as pastor in 1523. Thenccfonvard he was the soul of the Refor- mation in Breslau. In 1525 he married, and continued his labors in reforming the Church and the schools, and in providing institutions for the relief of the poor. He died in 1547. — Herzog, Real-EncyUopadie, xix, 642.
Hess, Johann Jakob, an eminent Swiss divine, was born at Zurich Oct. 21, 1741, where he studied the- ology with his uncle, the pastor of Neftenbach, to whom he became assistant in 1760. In 1777 he was called to the church of Notre Dame in Zurich; and in 1795 (con- trary to his own wishes) he was chosen, in preference to La\ater, antistes or president of the clergy of the can- ton. He died Jlay 29, 1828. His long life was faith- fully devoted to his work as a pastor, and to literary la- bor. " Hess was to Switzerland what Reinhard was to the Saxon Chiurch, and Storr to that of ^^'iirtemberg. His clear and mild, yet fixed and safe convictions, as expressed in his writings on Biblical histor}', and espe- cially on the life of oiu: Lord, found a hearty reception in many a pious domestic circle in Germany, and in the sold of many a yomig theologian" (Hagenbach, Hist, of the Church in I8th and 19lh Centuries, transl. by Hurst, ii, 409). In 1767 he published a Geschichte der drei letz- ten Lehcnsjahre Jesu (Zurich, 6 vols.). This work was adapted to the use of Roman Catholics by J. A. von Krapf (Minister, 1782, 2 vols.). Hess continued to study the subject, and wrote Jugendgeschichte Jesu (Zurich, 1773), and finally his Leben Jesu (1823, 3 vols.). His other works are Von clem Reiche Gottes (Zurich, 1774, 2 vols. ; 5th edit. 1826) : — Gesch. u. Schriften der Apostel Jesu (Zurich, 1775, 3 vols.; 4th ed. 1820-1822): this work was also adapted to the use of Roman Catholics (Mini- ster, 1794, 2 vols. ; 3d ed. Salzbiu-g, 1801) -.—Geschichte d. Israeliten vor d. Zeiten Jesu (Zurich, 1776-1788, 12 vols.) : — Gesch. Josua (Zurich, 1779, 2 vols.) : — Predigtcn ii. d. Apostelgesch. (Zurich, 1781-1788), a collection of 50 ser- mons : — Ueber die Lehre, Thaten, unci Schicksale unseres Herrn (Zurich, 1782, 2 a-oIs. ; 4th ed. 1817) -.—Gesch. Da- vid's u. Seilomo's (Zurich, 1785, 2 vols.) -.—Bibl. d. hciligen Gesch. (Zurich, 1791-1792, 2 vols.) -.—Gesch. el Menschen (Zurich, 1701-1792. 2 vols.; later ed. \S-B)-.— Ueber die Volks V. };il<rhinihli,hr J, si, (Winterthur, 1794) -.—Der Christ hit CcJ'iihnii i!. Vtiti rlandes, a collection of ser- mons (Zurich, 1 799-1 80O, 3 vols.). See Ersch u. G ruber, Encyldeipddie ; Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, xxiv, 575.