Mahanaim

Mahanaim is a town east of the Jordan in Gilead whose name preserves a moment of Jacob's pilgrimage and that later becomes a Levitical city, a tribal boundary marker, and a refuge for kings under pressure. Its story stretches from the patriarchal era through the early monarchy.

The Name and Its Origin

Returning toward Canaan to meet Esau, Jacob is met by angels, and the place where he sees them takes its name from his exclamation: "And Jacob said when he saw them, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim" (Gen 32:2).

A Town in Gad

In the allotment east of the Jordan, Mahanaim sits on the border of the tribe of Gad. The territory is described running "from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim to the border of Lidebor" (Jos 13:26), and the same boundary is traced again in the next paragraph: "And their border was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, threescore cities" (Jos 13:30).

A Levitical City

When the Levites receive their portion among the tribes, Mahanaim is one of the towns set apart for them out of Gad: "And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its suburbs--the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Mahanaim with its suburbs" (Jos 21:38).

The Seat of Ishbaal

After Saul's death, Mahanaim becomes the political center for the surviving Saulide line. Abner takes Saul's son across the Jordan and installs him there: "Now Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, had taken Ishbaal the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim; and he made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel" (2Sa 2:8-9). Ishbaal reigns two years from this base while Judah follows David at Hebron, and it is from Mahanaim that Abner sets out for the confrontation at Gibeon (2Sa 2:10-12).

David's Refuge in Absalom's Rebellion

A generation later the same town becomes David's refuge when Absalom's revolt drives him from Jerusalem. As David crosses the Jordan, Mahanaim's hospitality is itemized in unusual detail: "And it came to pass, when David came to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim, brought beds, and basins, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and meal, and parched [grain], and beans, and lentils, and parched [pulse], and honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of the herd, for David, and for the people who were with him, to eat: for they said, The people are hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness" (2Sa 17:27-29).

The journey to Mahanaim leaves another trace as well. On his deathbed David recalls Shimei's curse to Solomon: "And, look, there is with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite, of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by [the Speech of] Yahweh, saying, I will not put you to death with the sword" (1Ki 2:8).