Mahanaim

It should seem to be a place of some importance when the Israelites were in possession of Canaan, for lsh - Bosheth, Saul’s son, made it the metropolis of his kingdom, (see Sam. 2: 8, 9.) Here David retreated from the rebellion of Absalom, (2 Sam. 17. 24.) Jacob gave the name to this spot, from the angels he met there. (See Gen. xx2: 2.) The margin of the Bible renders it, two hosts or camps.

a city of the Levites, of the family of Merari, in the tribe of Gad, upon the brook Jabbok, Jos 21:38; Jos 13:26. The name Mahanaim signifies “two hosts,” or “two fields.” The patriarch gave it this name because in this place he had a vision of angels coming to meet him, Gen 32:2. Mahanaim was the seat of the kingdom of Ishbosheth, after the death of Saul, 2Sa 2:9; 2Sa 2:12. It was also to this place that David retired during the usurpation of Absalom, 2Sa 17:24; and this rebellious son was subdued, and suffered death, not far from this city.

Mahana´im (two hosts), a place beyond the Jordan, north of the river Jabbok, which derived its name from Jacob’s having been there met by the angels on his return from Padanaram (Gen 32:2). The name was eventually extended to the town which then existed, or which afterwards arose in the neighborhood. This town was in the territory of the tribe of Gad (Jos 13:26; Jos 13:30), and was a city of the Levites (Jos 21:39). It was in this city that Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, reigned (2Sa 2:8), probably because he found the influence of David’s name less strong on the east than on the west of the Jordan. The choice, at least, seems to show that Mahanaim was then an important and strong place. Hence, many years after, David himself repaired to Mahanaim when he sought refuge beyond the Jordan from his son Absalom (2Sa 17:24; 2Sa 17:27; 1Ki 2:8). We only read of Mahanaim again as the station of one of the twelve officers who had charge, in monthly rotation, of raising the provisions for the royal establishments under Solomon (1Ki 4:14). The site has not yet been identified.

Two hosts, a place so named because a host of angels here met the host of Jacob, on his return from Padan-aram, Gen 32:1-2 . It lay north of the Jabbok and near Penuel, and afterwards became a Levitical city in the tribe of Gad, Jos 21:38 . It was apparently a town of some strength; for Ishbosheth lived there during his short reign, and David took refuge there during Absalom’s rebellion, 2Sa 2:8 17:24,27.\par

Mahana’im. A town on the east of the Jordan. The name signifies two hosts or two camps, and was given to it by Jacob, because he there met "the angels of God." Gen 32:1-2. We next meet with it, in the records of the conquest. Jos 13:26; Jos 13:30. It was within the territory of Gad, Jos 21:38-39, and therefore, on the south side of the torrent Jabbok.

The town with its "suburbs" was allotted to the service of the Merarite Levites. Jos 21:39; 1Ch 6:80. Mahanaim had become in the time of the monarchy a place of mark. 2Sa 2:8; 2Sa 2:12. David took refuge there when driven out of the western part of his kingdom by Absalom. 2Sa 17:24; 1Ki 2:8.

Mahanaim was the seat of one of Solomon’s commissariat officers, 1Ki 4:14, and it is alluded to in the song which bears his name. Son 6:13. There is a place called Mahneh among the villages of the part of Jordan, through its exact position is not certain.

("Two camps or hosts".) A place on the Jabbok so-called by Jacob from the two angelic hosts which appeared to him when returning from Padan Aram to Canaan. (See JACOB.) The two may refer to Jacob’s own camp and that of the angels, or rather his division of his party into two, corresponding to which were the two angelic companies, one to guard each. The Speaker’s Commentary less probably makes it, the angels were on his right and his left. Mahanaim was in Gad; assigned to the Levites (Jos 21:38-39). Now Mahneh, on a tributary of the Yabis, which Paine identifies with the Jabbok. The correspondence is striking between the human and the divine, the visible and the invisible agencies in this remarkable history. Jacob’s two companies answer to the two heavenly ones, the face of God and the face of Esau; seeing that first prepares Jacob for seeing this; the messengers of God and those of Jacob; and the name Jabbok, i.e. wrestling, marking the scene of the patriarch’s wrestling with the Lord.

Here Abner fixed the seat of Ishbosheth’s kingdom, being unable to wrest the towns of Ephraim or Benjamin from the Philistines (2Sa 2:8-9). Here Ishbosheth was murdered (2Sa 4:5). Here David fled from Absalom, for it was then Walled and large enough to contain David’s "hundreds" and "thousands." It had its gates and watchmen (2Sa 17:24; 2Sa 18:1-4; 1Ki 2:8). One of Solomon’s commissariat officers was at Mahanaim (1Ki 4:14.) The Shulamite, i.e. Solomon’s bride, the church, is compared to "the company of two armies" (margin, "Mahanaim," Son 6:13). Though "one" (Son 6:9) she is nevertheless "two," the family of Jesus Christ in heaven and that on earth, that militant and that triumphant. Her strength, like Jacob’s at Mahanaim, is Christ and His hosts enlisted on her side by wrestling prayer.

Mahanaim (mâ’ha-nâ’im), two camps. A town east of the Jordan, named by Jacob. Gen 32:1-2. It was assigned to the Levites, Jos 13:26; Jos 13:30; Jos 21:38; 1Ch 6:80, and lay within the territory of Gad, north of the torrent Jabbok. Mahanaim became in the time of the monarchy a place of mark. 2Sa 2:8; 2Sa 2:12; 2Sa 19:32. Abner fixed Ishbosheth’s residence there, and David took refuge in it when driven out of the western part of his kingdom by Absalom. 2Sa 17:24; 1Ki 2:8. Mahanaim was the seat of one of Solomon’s commissariat officers, 1Ki 4:14, and it is alluded to in his Son 6:13. Dr. Merrill locates Mahanaim in the Jordan valley, six miles north of the Jabbok, at a ruin called Suleikhat.

[Mahana’im]

The spot on the east of the Jordan where Jacob met ’the angels of God.’ He exclaimed ’This is God’s host,’ and named the place Mahanaim, ’two hosts or camps.’ It is mentioned as on the border of both Gad and Manasseh, which connects it with the brook Jabbok. It fell to the lot of Gad, and a city was built there which was given to the Levites. It was where Ish-bosheth was made king, and where he was murdered. David fled to this city when Absalom revolted, and remained there till his son’s death. Gen 32:2; Jos 13:26; Jos 13:30; Jos 21:38; 2Sa 2:8; 2Sa 2:12; 2Sa 2:29; 2Sa 17:24; 2Sa 17:27; 2Sa 19:32; 1Ki 2:8; 1Ki 4:14; 1Ch 6:80. Identified by some with ruins at Mahneh, 32° 23’ N, 35° 42’ E; but this is far from the Jabbok, and could scarcely have been in the lot of Gad. In the monument of Shishak at Karnak occurs the name of Ma-ha-n-ma, which is judged to refer to Mahanaim. It is mentioned with Beth-shean, etc.

By: Isidore Singer, Frank Knight Sanders

City on the east of the Jordan, near the River Jabbok; first mentioned as the place where Jacob, returning from Aram to southern Canaan, had a vision of angels (Gen. xxxii. 1-2). This implies that Mahanaim was a sanctuary at a very early period. In the records in the Book of Joshua of the allotments to the tribes Mahanaim is accounted a part of the inheritance of the tribe of Gad (xxi. 38). Apparently it was on the border between Gad and Manasseh, and it was assigned as a Levitical city (Josh. xiii. 26, 30; xxi. 38; comp. I Chron. vi. 80).

Mahanaim gained a temporary prominence in the days of the beginnings of the kingdom. It was then a stronghold, adapted to serve as a refuge for fugitives of importance (II Sam. xviii. 24). To it Abner, Saul's general, brought Ish-bosheth, Saul's son and successor (II Sam. ii. 8); during his brief and illstarred reign Mahanaim was his capital. To Mahanaim David fled at the time of Absalom's rebellion (II Sam. xvii. 24, 27; I Kings ii. 8), and made it his residence until his recall to Jerusalem. Later on it was the headquarters of one of Solomon's commissary officers (I Kings iv. 14). According to Maspero ("The Struggle of the Nations," p. 773), Mahanaim was among the cities plundered by Shishak during his invasion (I Kings xiv. 25) of Israelitish territory. There is no subsequent reference to the city in the annals. It is not improbable that a vigorous resistance to Shishak or to some other invader brought about its utter demolition. The form of the name appears to be dual, hence the common rendering "two companies" or "camps." The narrator of Jacob's plan (Gen. xxxii. 7) for avoiding the loss of all his property so understood the name. Many scholars at the present day prefer to regard the termination in this case as the expansion of a shorter ending rather than as a sign of the dual.

The exact location of Mahanaim is very uncertain, the Biblical data being inconclusive. The city was certainly in northern Gilead and in a situation which commanded an extensive view (II Sam. xviii. 24); it was approached from the south by way of the Jordan valley and probably through a wadi that debouched into it (II Sam. ii. 29). Most explorers agree in placing it at or near the wadi 'Ajlun.

Bibliography:

Conder, Heth and Moab;

Merrill, East of the Jordan;

Van Kasteren, in Z. D. P. V. xiii. 205 et seq.;

Buhl, Geographie des Alten Palästina, p. 257;

G. A. Smith, Hist. Geog. pp. 586-588.

MAHANAIM (‘two camps’ or ‘two hosts’ [if the Heb. word is really a dual, which is very doubtful]).—An important city E. of Jordan on the frontier of Gad and Manasseh (Jos 13:25; Jos 13:30); it was a Levitical city within the territory of Gad (Jos 21:38; Jos 21:40). It was clearly N. of the Jabbok, as Jacob travelling S. reached it first (Gen 32:2; Gen 32:22). Here Abner made Ish-bosheth, son of Saul, king (2Sa 2:8), and here David took refuge from his rebel son Absalom (2Sa 17:24-27; 2Sa 19:32). Solomon put Abinadab in authority in this city (1Ki 4:14). There is apparently a reference to Mahanaim in Son 6:13 (see RV [Note: Revised Version.] and AVm [Note: Authorized Version margin.] ). The site of Mahanaim is quite uncertain. A trace of the name appears to linger in Mahneh, the name of a mass of ruins in the Jebel Ajlûn N.W. of the village Ajlûn. Merrill suggests a ruin called Suleikhat in the Wady Ajlûn, near its entrance to the Jordan valley; others consider the site of Jerash, which is first mentioned, as Gerasa, in the time of Alexander Jannæus, as a likely spot for so prominent and, apparently, so attractive a city.

B. W. G. Masterman.

mā-ha-nā´im (מחנים, maḥănayim; the Greek is different in every case where the name occurs, Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus also giving variant forms; the dual form may be taken as having arisen from an old locative ending, as, e.g. ירוּשׁלים, y^erūshāla(y)im from an original ירוּשׁלם, y^erūshālēm. In Gen 32:21 maḥăneh is evidently a parallel form and should be rendered as a proper name, Mahaneh, i.e. Mahanaim): The city must have been one of great strength. It lay East of the Jordan, and is first mentioned in the history of Jacob. Here he halted after parting from Laban, before the passage of the Jabbok (Gen 31:2), “and the angels of God met him.” Possibly it was the site of an ancient sanctuary. It is next noticed in defining the boundaries of tribal territory East of the Jordan. It lay on the border of Gad and Manasseh (Jos 13:26, Jos 13:30). It belonged to the lot of Gad, and was assigned along with Ramoth in Gilead to the Merarite Levites (Jos 21:38; 1Ch 6:80 - the former of these passages affords no justification to Cheyne in saying (EB, under the word) that it is mentioned as a “city of refuge”). The strength of the place doubtless attracted Abner, who fixed here the capital of Ishbosheth’s kingdom. Saul’s chivalrous rescue of Jabesh-gilead was remembered to the credit of his house in these dark days, and the loyalty of Mahanaim could be reckoned on (2Sa 2:8, etc.). To this same fortress David fled when endangered by the rebellion of Absalom; and in the “forest” hard by, that prince met his fate (2Sa 17:24, etc.). It was made the center of one of Solomon’s administrative districts, and here Abinadab the son of Iddo was stationed (1Ki 4:14). There seems to be a reference to Mahanaim in Son 6:13 the Revised Version (British and American). If this is so, here alone it appears with the article. By emending the text Cheyne would read: “What do you see in the Shulammite? A narcissus of the valleys.”

It is quite clear from the narrative that Jacob, going to meet his brother, who was advancing from the South, crossed the Jabbok after leaving Mahanaim. It is therefore vain to search for the site of this city South of the Jabbok, and Conder’s suggested identification with some place near el-Buḳei‛a, East of es-Salṭ, must be given up.

On the North of the Jabbok several positions have been thought of. Merrill (East of the Jordan, 433 ff) argues in favor of Khirbet Saleikhat, a ruined site in the mouth of Wādy Saleikhat, on the northern bank, 3 miles East of Jordan, and 4 miles North of Wādy ‛Ajlūn. From its height, 300 ft. above the plain, it commands a wide view to the West and South. One running “by the way of the Plain” could be seen a great way off (2Sa 18:23). This would place the battle in the hills to the South near the Jordan valley. Ahimaaz then preferred to make a detour, thus securing a level road, while the Cushite took the rough track across the heights. Others, among them Buhl (GAP, 257), would place Mahanaim at Miḥneh, a partly overgrown ruin 9 miles East of Jordan, and 4 miles North of ‛Ajlūn on the north bank of Wādy Maḥneh. This is the only trace of the ancient name yet found in the district. It may be assumed that Mahanaim is to be sought in this neighborhood. Cheyne would locate it at ‛Ajlūn, near which rises the great fortress Kal‛ater-Rabaḍ. He supposes that the “wood of Mahanaim” extended as far as Miḥneh, and that “the name of Mihneh is really an abbreviation of the ancient phrase.” Others would identify Mahanaim with Jerash, where, however, there are no remains older than Greek-Roman times.

Objections to either ‛Ajlūn or Miḥneh are: (1) The reference to this Jordan” in Gen 32:10, which seems to show that the city was near the river. It may indeed be said that the great hollow of the Jordan valley seems close at hand for many miles on either side, but this, perhaps, hardly meets the objection. (2) The word kikkār, used for “Plain” in 2Sa 18:23, seems always elsewhere to apply to the “circle” of the Jordan. Buhl, who identifies Mahanaim with Miḥneh, yet cites this verse (GAP, 112) as a case in which kikkār applies to the plain of the Jordan. He thus prescribes for Ahimaaz a very long race. Cheyne sees the difficulty. The battle was obviously in the vicinity of Mahanaim, and the nearest way from the “wood” was by the כּכּר, kikkār, “or, since no satisfactory explanation of this reading has been offered by the נחל, naḥal, that is to say, the eager Ahimaaz ran along in the wady in which, at some little distance, Mahanaim lay” (EB, under the word). The site for the present remains in doubt.