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Mahanaim ( he, מַחֲנַיִם ''Maḥănayīm'', "camps") is a place mentioned a number of times by the
Mahanaim ( he, מַחֲנַיִם ''Maḥănayīm'', "camps") is a place mentioned a number of times by the Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...
said to be near Jabbok
The Zarqa River ( ar, نهر الزرقاء, ''Nahr az-Zarqāʾ'', lit. "the River of the Blue ity) or Jabbok River (Hebrew: נַחַל יַבּוֹק ''Nahal Yabōq'') is the second largest tributary of the lower Jordan River, after the Yarmou ...
, in the same general area as Jabesh-gilead
Jabesh-Gilead ( ''Yāḇēš Gīlʿāḏ''), sometimes shortened to Jabesh, was an ancient Israelite town in Gilead, in northwest Jordan. Jabesh is mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible primarily in connection with King Saul battles agai ...
, beyond the Jordan River
The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...
. Although two possible sites have been identified, the precise location of Mahanaim is uncertain. Tell edh-Dhahab el-Gharbi, the western one of the twin Tulul adh-Dhahab tells, is one proposed identification.
Biblical narrative
In the Biblical narrative, the first mentioned of Mahanaim occurs in theBook of Genesis
The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning" ...
as the place where Jacob
Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam ...
, returning from Padan-aram to southern Canaan
Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...
, had a vision of angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inc ...
s (). Believing it to be "God's camp", Jacob names the place Mahanaim (Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
for "Two Camps", or "Two Companies") to memorialize the occasion of his own company sharing the place with God's. Later in the story, Jacob is moved by fear at the approach of his brother Esau
Esau ''Ēsaû''; la, Hesau, Esau; ar, عِيسَوْ ''‘Īsaw''; meaning "hairy"Easton, M. ''Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', (, , 2006, p. 236 or "rough".Mandel, D. ''The Ultimate Who's Who in the Bible'', (.), 2007, p. 175 is the elder son o ...
(whom he has reason to fear) and as a result divided his retinue into ''two hosts'' (two companies), hence the town built on the site took ''two hosts'' as its name.
According to the Book of Joshua
The Book of Joshua ( he, סֵפֶר יְהוֹשֻׁעַ ', Tiberian: ''Sēp̄er Yŏhōšūaʿ'') is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, and is the first book of the Deuteronomistic history, the story of Isr ...
and 1 Chronicles
The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sect ...
it became a Levitical city
In the Hebrew Bible, the Levitical cities were 48 cities in ancient Israel set aside for the tribe of Levi, who were not allocated their own territorial land when the Israelites entered the Promised Land.
Numbers 35:1-8 relates God's command ...
(, ; cf. ), having been located at the southern boundary of Bashan
Bashan (; he, הַבָּשָׁן, translit=ha-Bashan; la, Basan or ''Basanitis'') is the ancient, biblical name used for the northernmost region of the Transjordan during the Iron Age. It is situated in modern-day Syria. Its western part, no ...
until the conquest of Canaan
Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...
by the Israelites
The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan.
The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
().
In the Biblical narrative, around the start of the '' United Monarchy'', the city was a stronghold that had been adapted to serve as a sanctuary for important fugitives ( 2 Samuel 18:2); the narrative states that after King Saul
Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered t ...
died, Abner
In the Hebrew Bible, Abner ( he, אַבְנֵר ) was the cousin of King Saul and the commander-in-chief of his army. His name also appears as "Abiner son of Ner", where the longer form Abiner means "my father is Ner".
Biblical narrative
...
, the commander of Saul’s army, established Saul’s son, Ish-bosheth
Ish-bosheth ( he, , translit=ʼĪš-bōšeṯ, "man of shame"), also called Eshbaal (, ; alternatively spelled Ishbaal, "fire of Baal") was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the second monarch of the Kingdom of Israel who succeeded his father, Sau ...
, in Mahanaim as king of Israel (2 Samuel 2:8).
Mahanaim is the location to which David is described as fleeing while at war with his son Absalom; having arrived at Mahanaim (2 Samuel 17:24), David is described as having sheltered with a man named Barzillai, and having mustered forces there to combat Absalom's army. It is also the location that the Bible states was the place where David was informed about his victory over Absalom, and the death of his son.
The "dance of Mahanaim" is mentioned in Song of Songs 6:13.
Historical analysis
According toGaston Maspero
Sir Gaston Camille Charles Maspero (23 June 1846 – 30 June 1916) was a French Egyptologist known for popularizing the term "Sea Peoples" in an 1881 paper.
Maspero's son, Henri Maspero, became a notable sinologist and scholar of East Asia.
...
(''The Struggle of the Nations'', p. 773), Mahanaim was among the cities plundered by Shishak
Shishak, Shishaq or Susac (, Tiberian: , ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, an Egyptian pharaoh who sacked Jerusalem in the 10th century BCE. He is usually identified with the pharaoh Shoshenq I.Troy Leiland Sagrillo. 2015.Shoshenq I and b ...
during his invasion (1 Kings 14:25) of Israelitish territory, also Champollion, Rosellini Rosellini refers to:
* Albert Rosellini (1910–2011), former governor of Washington State, USA
**''Governor Albert D. Rosellini–Evergreen Point Bridge'', official name of the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge in Washington State, USA
* Ferdinando ...
and Budge share his view identifying Ma'hanema' with Mahanaim. There is no subsequent reference to the city in the annals, and it is not improbable that a vigorous resistance to Shishak or to some other invader brought about its utter demolition.
References