Mahanaim
마하나임
Named at Genesis 32:2: “When he saw them, Jacob said, ‘This is God’s army.’ He called the name of that place Mahanaim.” Joshua 13:24–26 names “from Mahanaim to the border of Debir” in the border Moses gave to the children of Gad according to their families, 13:29–30 says of the half-tribe of Manasseh, “Their border was from Mahanaim, all Bashan”, and 21:34–38 names “Mahanaim with its pasture lands” among the cities given out of the tribe of Gad to the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites. 2 Samuel 2:8–9 says that Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul’s army, had taken Ishbosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim, and made him king; 2:12 says that Abner and the servants of Ishbosheth went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon; and 2:29 says that Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah, passed over the Jordan, went through all Bithron, and came to Mahanaim. 2 Samuel 17:24 says, “Then David came to Mahanaim. Absalom passed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him”; and 17:27–29 says that when David had come to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash, Machir the son of Ammiel and Barzillai the Gileadite brought beds, basins, earthen vessels, wheat, barley, meal, parched grain, beans, lentils, roasted grain, honey, butter, sheep, and cheese of the herd, for David and for the people who were with him to eat.
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- 1CH 6:77–81, engwebp
77To the rest of the Levites, the sons of Merari, were given, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmono with its pasture lands, and Tabor with its pasture lands;
78and beyond the Jordan at Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, were given them out of the tribe of Reuben: Bezer in the wilderness with its pasture lands, Jahzah with its pasture lands,
79Kedemoth with its pasture lands, and Mephaath with its pasture lands;
80and out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its pasture lands, Mahanaim with its pasture lands,
81Heshbon with its pasture lands, and Jazer with its pasture lands.
- 1KI 2:5–9, engwebp
5“Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, even what he did to the two captains of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war on his sash that was around his waist and in his sandals that were on his feet.
6Do therefore according to your wisdom, and don’t let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.
7But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table; for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother.
8“Behold, 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 LORD, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’
9Now therefore don’t hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood.”
- 1KI 4:7–19, engwebp
7Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for a month in the year.
8These are their names: Ben Hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;
9Ben Deker, in Makaz, in Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan;
10Ben Hesed, in Arubboth (Socoh and all the land of Hepher belonged to him);
11Ben Abinadab, in all the height of Dor (he had Taphath, Solomon’s daughter, as wife);
12Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth Shean which is beside Zarethan, beneath Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as beyond Jokmeam;
13Ben Geber, in Ramoth Gilead (the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, belonged to him; and the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars, belonged to him);
14Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
15Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife);
16Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth;
17Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar;
18Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin;
19Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer who was in the land.
- 2SA 2:8–11, engwebp
8Now Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul’s army, had taken Ishbosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim.
9He made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over all Israel.
10Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.
11The time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
- 2SA 2:12–17, engwebp
12Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
13Joab the son of Zeruiah and David’s servants went out, and met them by the pool of Gibeon; and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool and the other on the other side of the pool.
14Abner said to Joab, “Please let the young men arise and compete before us!” Joab said, “Let them arise!”
15Then they arose and went over by number: twelve for Benjamin and for Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of David’s servants.
16They each caught his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his fellow’s side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place in Gibeon was called Helkath Hazzurim.
17The battle was very severe that day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before David’s servants.
- 2SA 2:29–32, engwebp
29Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah; and they passed over the Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and came to Mahanaim.
30Joab returned from following Abner; and when he had gathered all the people together, nineteen men of David’s and Asahel were missing.
31But David’s servants had struck Benjamin and Abner’s men so that three hundred sixty men died.
32They took up Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was in Bethlehem. Joab and his men went all night, and the day broke on them at Hebron.
- 2SA 17:24–26, engwebp
24Then David came to Mahanaim. Absalom passed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.
25Absalom set Amasa over the army instead of Joab. Now Amasa was the son of a man whose name was Ithra the Israelite, who went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah, Joab’s mother.
26Israel and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead.
- 2SA 17:27–29, engwebp
27When David had come to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,
28brought beds, basins, earthen vessels, wheat, barley, meal, parched grain, beans, lentils, roasted grain,
29honey, butter, 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, weary, and thirsty in the wilderness.”
- 2SA 19:31–39, engwebp
31Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim; and he went over the Jordan with the king to conduct him over the Jordan.
32Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even eighty years old. He had provided the king with sustenance while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very great man.
33The king said to Barzillai, “Come over with me, and I will sustain you with me in Jerusalem.”
34Barzillai said to the king, “How many are the days of the years of my life, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem?
35I am eighty years old, today. Can I discern between good and bad? Can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Can I hear the voice of singing men and singing women any more? Why then should your servant be a burden to my lord the king?
36Your servant will just go over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king repay me with such a reward?
37Please let your servant turn back again, that I may die in my own city, by the grave of my father and my mother. But behold, your servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king; and do to him what shall seem good to you.”
38The king answered, “Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him that which shall seem good to you. Whatever you request of me, that I will do for you.”
39All the people went over the Jordan, and the king went over. Then the king kissed Barzillai and blessed him; and he returned to his own place.
- GEN 32:1–12, engwebp
1Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
2When he saw them, Jacob said, “This is God’s army.” He called the name of that place Mahanaim.
3Jacob sent messengers in front of him to Esau, his brother, to the land of Seir, the field of Edom.
4He commanded them, saying, “This is what you shall tell my lord, Esau: ‘This is what your servant, Jacob, says. I have lived as a foreigner with Laban, and stayed until now.
5I have cattle, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.’”
6The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”
7Then Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed. He divided the people who were with him, along with the flocks, the herds, and the camels, into two companies.
8He said, “If Esau comes to the one company, and strikes it, then the company which is left will escape.”
9Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD, who said to me, ‘Return to your country, and to your relatives, and I will do you good,’
10I am not worthy of the least of all the loving kindnesses, and of all the truth, which you have shown to your servant; for with just my staff I crossed over this Jordan; and now I have become two companies.
11Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and strike me and the mothers with the children.
12You said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which can’t be counted because there are so many.’”
- JOS 13:24–28, engwebp
24Moses gave to the tribe of Gad, to the children of Gad, according to their families.
25Their border was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, to Aroer that is near Rabbah;
26and from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir;
27and in the valley, Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, the Jordan’s bank, to the uttermost part of the sea of Chinnereth beyond the Jordan eastward.
28This is the inheritance of the children of Gad according to their families, the cities and its villages.
- JOS 13:29–31, engwebp
29Moses gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh. It was for the half-tribe of the children of Manasseh according to their families.
30Their border was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the villages of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities.
31Half Gilead, Ashtaroth, and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were for the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, even for the half of the children of Machir according to their families.
- JOS 21:34–40, engwebp
34To the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its pasture lands, Kartah with its pasture lands,
35Dimnah with its pasture lands, and Nahalal with its pasture lands: four cities.
36Out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its pasture lands, Jahaz with its pasture lands,
37Kedemoth with its pasture lands, and Mephaath with its pasture lands: four cities.
38Out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for the man slayer, and Mahanaim with its pasture lands,
39Heshbon with its pasture lands, Jazer with its pasture lands: four cities in all.
40All these were the cities of the children of Merari according to their families, even the rest of the families of the Levites. Their lot was twelve cities.
- SNG 6:11–13, engwebp
11I went down into the nut tree grove, to see the green plants of the valley, to see whether the vine budded, and the pomegranates were in flower.
12Without realizing it, my desire set me with my royal people’s chariots.
13Return, return, Shulammite! Return, return, that we may gaze at you. Lover Why do you desire to gaze at the Shulammite, as at the dance of Mahanaim?
AI-assisted, human review pending, 2026-09-26
Machine comparison on 2026-10-07: the wording raised none of the 3 rules against the passages this entry cites. No person has read it.
Geographic sources & candidates
Matched to OpenBible.info’s “Mahanaim” by name and 15 shared verses. The coordinate of its leading identification, Tell edh Dhahab el Gharbi (confidence 654 of 1000), is adopted as a sourced approximation: not verified here, and not the place of any particular event.
AI-assisted source review; human approval pending, 2026-09-29
- Tell edh Dhahab el Gharbi
OpenBible.info confidence 654 of 1000 (current scholarship)
32.18575, 35.68667
OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding Data, “Mahanaim” (CC BY 4.0)
Original editorial notes; linked source texts retain their own rights. Candidate lists are not exhaustive.
All 5 relationships: AI-assisted, human review pending
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Narrated location (5) — Mahanaim, and the message sent to Esau, Abner brings Ishbosheth the son of Saul over to Mahanaim and makes him king, Abner goes all night to Mahanaim, and Asahel is buried in his father’s tomb in Bethlehem, David comes to Mahanaim, and Absalom sets Amasa over the army instead of Joab, Shobi, Machir, and Barzillai bring beds and food at Mahanaim for David and the people who were with him
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Verses tagged with this entry
Names in the World English Bible text that carry this entry’s tag. They are carried over from the tags on the Korean Revised Version, which are matched by name inside chapters that already have collected evidence, and a verse where the English says “he” carries none. All await human review. They are a separate list from the source passages above. An empty list does not mean the entry is absent from the text.
When he saw them, Jacob said, “This is God’s army.” He called the name of that place Mahanaim.
and from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir;
Their border was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the villages of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities.
Out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for the man slayer, and Mahanaim with its pasture lands,
Now Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul’s army, had taken Ishbosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim.
Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah; and they passed over the Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and came to Mahanaim.
Then David came to Mahanaim. Absalom passed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.
When David had come to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,
Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even eighty years old. He had provided the king with sustenance while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very great man.
“Behold, 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 LORD, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’
Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
and out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its pasture lands, Mahanaim with its pasture lands,
Return, return, Shulammite! Return, return, that we may gaze at you. Lover Why do you desire to gaze at the Shulammite, as at the dance of Mahanaim?
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[Bibliadatum entry report] Entry: Mahanaim (place-mahanaim) Address: https://bibliadatum.org/en/wiki/place/mahanaim Current wording: Named at Genesis 32:2: “When he saw them, Jacob said, ‘This is God’s army.’ He called the name of that place Mahanaim.” Joshua 13:24–26 names “from Mahanaim to the border of Debir” in the border Moses gave to the children of Gad according to their families, 13:29–30 says of the half-tribe of Manasseh, “Their border was from Mahanaim, all Bashan”, and 21:34–38 names “Mahanaim with its pasture lands” among the cities given out of the tribe of Gad to the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites. 2 Samuel 2:8–9 says that Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul’s army, had taken Ishbosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim, and made him king; 2:12 says that Abner and the servants of Ishbosheth went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon; and 2:29 says that Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah, passed over the Jordan, went through all Bithron, and came to Mahanaim. 2 Samuel 17:24 says, “Then David came to Mahanaim. Absalom passed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him”; and 17:27–29 says that when David had come to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash, Machir the son of Ammiel and Barzillai the Gileadite brought beds, basins, earthen vessels, wheat, barley, meal, parched grain, beans, lentils, roasted grain, honey, butter, sheep, and cheese of the herd, for David and for the people who were with him to eat. Cited evidence: 1CH 6:77–81, engwebp / 1KI 2:5–9, engwebp / 1KI 4:7–19, engwebp / 2SA 2:8–11, engwebp / 2SA 2:12–17, engwebp / 2SA 2:29–32, engwebp / 2SA 17:24–26, engwebp / 2SA 17:27–29, engwebp (and 6 more of 14) Review state: ai-assisted / human-review-pending What looks wrong: (not written yet) --- This collection records what the text says and does not settle interpretation. A report about a reading that divides opinion may be registered as an unresolved issue rather than corrected.