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 of a ...
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 against t ...
, 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
The Tulul adh-Dhahab (Arabic: تلول الذهب; lit. "the hills of gold") is an archaeological site in Jordan. The site features two neighboring tells, separated by the Zarqa River (the biblical River Jabbok), an affluent of the Jordan River. T ...
tells, is one proposed identification.
Biblical narrative
In the Biblical narrative, the first mentioned of Mahanaim occurs in the
Book 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. J ...
, returning from
Padan-aram
Paddan Aram or Padan-aram ( he, , ''Padan ʾĂrām'') was a region referring to the northern plain of the former kingdom Aram-Naharaim. Paddan Aram in Aramaic means ''the field of Aram'', a name that distinguishes the flatland from the mountainou ...
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 include ...
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 Isra ...
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 to ...
(, ; 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, now ...
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 United Monarchy () in the Hebrew Bible refers to Israel and Judah under the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon. It is traditionally dated to have lasted between and . According to the biblical account, on the succession of Solomon's son Re ...
'', the city was a stronghold that had been adapted to serve as a sanctuary for important fugitives (
2 Samuel
The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Book ...
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 tri ...
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
Ab ...
, 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
Absalom ( he, ''ʾAḇšālōm'', "father of peace") was the third son of David, King of Israel with Maacah, daughter of Talmai, King of Geshur.
2 Samuel 14:25 describes him as the handsomest man in the kingdom. Absalom eventually rebelled ag ...
; 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
Absalom ( he, ''ʾAḇšālōm'', "father of peace") was the third son of David, King of Israel with Maacah, daughter of Talmai, King of Geshur.
2 Samuel 14:25 describes him as the handsomest man in the kingdom. Absalom eventually rebelled ag ...
'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 to
Gaston 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 bib ...
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 Pi ...
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
{{JewishEncyclopedia, url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=M&artid=67, article=Mahanaim
Book of Genesis
Book of Joshua
Books of Chronicles
Books of Samuel
Books of Kings
Song of Songs
Torah places
Levitical cities
Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)