Mahanaim
מַחֲנָיִם
Where was biblical Mahanaim? At Tulul edh-Dhahab, the twin hills on the Jabbok, in Jordan, about 35 km northwest of Amman. I mark it probable.
Jacob was on his way home to face Esau when angels met him on the road. "This is G-d's camp," he said, and he named the place Mahanaim, two camps.
By Aaron Shaffier, licensed Israel tour guide and mapmaker · About the mapmaker
- Site today
- Tulul edh-Dhahab, the twin hills on the Jabbok, in Jordan
- How sure
- Probable The best case we have, with real alternatives.
- Other names
- Machanayim, Mahanayim, Tell edh-Dhahab el-Gharbi, Tulul edh-Dhahab
- Location
- 32.1897° N, 35.7033° E (Google Maps)
How we know where it was
The text keeps Mahanaim close to the Jabbok. Jacob reached it just before he crossed the river. Joshua puts it on the border between Gad and Manasseh, in Gilead. And it had to be strong. After Saul died, his general Abner made Saul's son Ish-bosheth king here. When Absalom took Jerusalem, David fled across the Jordan to Mahanaim, and old Barzillai fed his men. David sat in its gate waiting for news of the battle, and wept when it came. Under Solomon it was a district capital.
The map follows the leading identification, the twin hills of Tulul edh-Dhahab, the "hills of gold," where the Jabbok loops through a deep gorge. Mahanaim is the larger, western hill. Excavations there uncovered a large Iron Age building, fit for a royal base, with carved stone blocks showing lions and a banquet. A fortress above the Jabbok route fits a town that sheltered two kings.
Look at the setting. Two hills face each other across the river, a fitting ground for a place called two camps. No inscription names the site, but the latest excavation report calls the identification secure.
Older proposals include Tell Hejaj, a few miles south, and Khirbet Mahneh near Ajlun. Mahneh sounds like the name, but it lacks remains from the right period and sits far from the Jabbok.
Visiting today
The twin hills rise above the Jabbok, today's Zarqa River, in Jordan. Excavations continue on the western hill, and there are no visitor facilities.
Read it in the Bible
Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible. In a handful of chapters English Bibles count one verse off.
See Mahanaim on the interactive map →
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- Penuel (Peniel) 1 km east
- Succoth 8 km west
- Adam 18 km southwest
- Jabesh Gilead 23 km north
- Abel Meholah 25 km northwest
- Rabbah of Ammon 33 km southeast