The Heshbon Expedition is the name commonly used to refer to five seasons of archaeological excavations looking for biblical Heshbon at Tall Hisban in Jordan . The excavations were carried out by a team of archaeologists from Andrews University between 1968 and 1976. The first three campaigns (1968, 1971, and 1973) were led by Siegfried H. Horn of the Theological Seminary at Andrews University and Roger S. Boraas of Upsala College and last two (1974, 1976) by Lawrence T. Geraty , Horn's successor at Andrews, and Boraas.
24-561: The Madaba Plains Project , or MPP , was founded by veterans of the Heshbon Expedition to continue archaeological survey and excavations research in the hills and plains between Amman and Madaba . MPP is notable for its longevity and influence on archaeology in Jordan. An estimated 2,000 plus students, volunteers and professors have participated in MPP's projects over the past fifty years and MPP
48-550: A consistent priority of MPP, notably at Tall Hisban. The project has also contributed significantly to developing community archaeology , working with the local community under the direction of Maria Elena Ronza to develop Hisban into an archaeological park. In addition to regular preliminary reports in various journals, final reports have been published on a steady basis reporting on findings from Hisban and Tall al-Umayri. A total of 20 volumes have been released so far. Heshbon Expedition There are 38 references to Heshbon in
72-600: A revisionist history of the origins of Israel. For still others this story is best understood as an example of cultural memory. More recently, it has been argued that the Israelites were nomadic and would not have left significant material remains. The Heshbon Expedition was the first excavation of a multi-millennial archaeological tall in Jordan. The expedition was notable for its scientific rigor and meticulous excavation of all periods. Led by Chief Archaeologist Roger Boraas, stratigraphic excavation techniques were used to uncover
96-536: A sense of responsibility over his brothers (since he was the eldest), and as having become angry when he discovers that Joseph had gone missing as a result of his brothers selling him to Ishmaelites (textual scholars attribute this version of the narrative to the Yahwist ) or Joseph being found and taken by Midianites (textual scholars attribute this version of the narrative to the Elohist ). The rabbinical sources argue that
120-591: A stone of Bohan, the son of Reuben marked a point along the boundary of the land allocated to the tribe of Judah . There is a tradition that Reuben was buried at a shrine in the former village of Nabi Rubin ; the site was a place of pilgrimage and an annual festival before the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948. The ruins of the shrine containing the Tomb of Reuben and those of an adjacent mosque , nowadays abandoned, are today part of Palmachim Beach ,
144-452: A total of nineteen stratigraphic horizons spanning over three millennia of human occupation and accumulated archaeological remains. The expedition led to three very consequential developments for the archaeology of Jordan. The first was a ground-breaking study of the pottery of Hisban by James Sauer that included not only biblical and classical layers, but, significantly, also the more recent and not well-known Islamic layers. The second
168-541: Is considered Jordan's longest ongoing archaeological project. The partnership was organized between 1980 and 1981 at Andrews University during a year-long National Endowment for the Humanities -sponsored workshop devoted to planning the final publication series of the Heshbon Expedition. The initial founders of the group were Lawrence T. Geraty , Oystein S. LaBianca , and Larry Herr . The three started and directed
192-641: The Hesban North Church Project , Tall Jawa , Tall Balua , Abila of the Decapolis , Umm el Jimal . Reuben (son of Jacob) Reuben or Reuven ( Hebrew : רְאוּבֵן , Standard Rəʾūven , Tiberian Rŭʾūḇēn ) was the first of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's oldest son), according to the Book of Genesis . He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Reuben . The text of
216-679: The Old Testament , most of which recall in various ways the conquest by the Israelite tribes of Sihon , king of the Amorites at Heshbon, and the subsequent rebuilding of the town by the tribe of Reuben . The Heshbon Expedition failed to find clear archaeological evidence proving the Biblical account or existence of a King Sihon at Tall Hisban. This has led some scholars to look for other locations for biblical Heshbon. Others have welcomed it as support for
240-679: The Torah gives two different etymologies for the name of Reuben , which textual scholars attribute to various sources: one to the Yahwist and the other to the Elohist ; the first explanation given by the Bible is that the name refers to Yahweh having witnessed Leah's misery, concerning her status as the less-favourite of Jacob's wives, implying that the etymology of Reuben derives from Hebrew : רָאָה בְּעָנְיִי , romanized : He has seen my misery ;
264-406: The MPP's first project outside Tall Hisban , Tall al-Umayri , south of Amman. Douglas Clark joined the leadership team in 1982, and Walla Walla College became a sponsoring institution of the work at Tall al-Umayri. Randall Younker joined the project in 1990 and expanded MPP to include excavations at Tall Jalul , east of Madaba. Larry Geraty became president of La Sierra University in 1993, and
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#1732869681024288-538: The Ottoman Era (1600–1900 AD) as a window on these periods. Research by Bethany Walker also expanded on the abundant, but still poorly understood, Early and Middle Islamic history and material culture. The legacy of the original Heshbon Expedition had a significant influence on projects under the MPP umbrella. Many of the leadership team have stayed with the project for decades. The project continued to standardize techniques for excavation and recording data and has been at
312-439: The cause of his mother, Leah, by harming of Bilhah, angering Jacob; in these sources, it is argued that after the death of Rachel , Jacob's favourite wife, Jacob sought to give the precedence to Bilhah, as he had formerly preferred her as his mistress. Reuben removed Bilhah's bed from where Jacob wished to have it. The classical rabbinical texts argue that Reuben immediately showed contrition for his actions regarding Bilhah and thus
336-534: The expedition has been noted include its prompt publication of preliminary reports and the ambitious and broad scope of its final publication series; its providing a training ground and field school for a large number of Jordanian and international students and scholars; its many spin-off projects, notably the launching of the Madaba Plains Project at Tall al-Umayri and Tall Jalul and eventually again at Tall Hisban, but including many others as well such as
360-592: The extent that he gave Reuben's birthright (as firstborn) to Joseph: a comment within 1 Chronicles 5 :1 makes the same point. Classical rabbinical sources argue that the birthright had included the right of his descendants, the tribe of Reuben, to become ruler over the tribes and the priests, a right transferred to the Tribe of Judah and the Levites , respectively. However, some of these sources argue that Reuben had not had sexual activity with Bilhah but instead had simply supported
384-640: The final consonant may originally have been an l similar to an n in the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet , and Josephus rendered the name as Reubel ; it is thus possible that Reuben's name is cognate with an Arabic term meaning "wolves". In the Book of Genesis , Reuben is briefly described as having had sexual activity with Bilhah , his stepmother 's maid and father's concubine in 35:22. On his deathbed, Jacob declares that Reuben "will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father's bed, onto my couch and defiled it" in 49:4. Reuben's behaviour angered Jacob to
408-522: The first Cities of Refuge were located in the territory of the tribe of Reuben since their eponym had tried to save Joseph from the mob of his brothers. Classical rabbinical sources argue that Reuben was born on 14 Kislev , and died at the age of 125. The Sefer haYashar argues that when he died, Reuben's body was placed in a coffin and was later taken back to Israel , where it was buried. According to Genesis 46:9 , Reuben had four sons: Hanoch, Phallu , Hezron, and Carmi. According to Joshua 15:6 ,
432-416: The forefront of adopting new technologies, including ground-penetrating radar, photogrammetry, and drone-assisted photography . A new level of statistical comparability of the hinterlands of Tall Hisban, Tall al-Umayri, and Tall Jalul was achieved by completing a random square survey in the region within 5 km of eh site—all findings recorded utilizing Arch-Info GIS software. Ethnoarchaeology has been
456-446: The second explanation is that the name refers to Leah's hope that Reuben's birth will make Jacob love her, and thus his name means "He will love me". Another Hebrew phrase to which Reuben is particularly close is "Behold, a son!", which is how classical rabbinical literature interpreted it. Some of these sources argue that Leah used the term to make an implied distinction between Reuben and Esau , his uncle. Some scholars suspect that
480-642: The teams to work in the Bronze and Iron Age contexts they were best prepared for academically. Tall al-Umayri proved to be a very productive site, significantly expanding understanding of the Bronze and Iron Ages in Jordan . The later excavations at Tall Jalul found an Iron Age site with notable Islamic and Late Ottoman overlay. Explorations at Tall Hisban under the MPP umbrella restarted in 1996. The new expedition shifted focus to periods of “low-intensity settlement,” using
504-456: The tribe of Reuben Hosea as a member, and Reuben was given a reward in the future world . Although part of the plot against Joseph , it is Reuben who persuades the others not to kill Joseph, tries to rescue him, and who later concludes that the trouble the brothers run into in Egypt was divine punishment for the plot. In classical rabbinical literature, Reuben is described as being motivated by
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#1732869681024528-609: The university joined Andrews and Walla Walla as an institutional sponsor of the Madaba Plains Project. The formation of MPP was a significant evolution in the research agendas of the veterans of the Heshbon Expedition. While the prior Heshbon Expedition primarily endeavored to expand knowledge of biblical and classical periods, MPP aimed to further understand the Islamic and recent archaeological records as well. The choice of Tall al-Umayri and Tall Jalul for archaeological work allowed
552-427: Was the "first penitent " initially, according to these sources, Reuben practiced penitence by secretly meditating , and also by abstaining from meat and wine, but when Judah confessed to the matter of Tamar , Reuben admitted what he had done, lest his other brothers might be suspected of his deed and punished for it. The classical sources go on to state that in honour of this voluntary penance and confession, God gave
576-479: Was the introduction of the methods and procedures of the New Archaeology by anthropologist Oystein S. LaBianca with strong support from Roger Boraas and Lawrence Geraty. The third was the development of standardized terminology and procedures for collection and recording of archaeological finds in the form of a dig manual authored by Larry Herr and other members of the team. Other accomplishments for which
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