An Iron Age settlement known as Mahanaim was part of the Kingdom of Israel (late 10th to late 8th century BCE), and an archaeological team believes it has identified the city mentioned in the Bible, along with the remains of a building that may have been used by elites, possibly Israelite officials, National Geographic magazine reports.
Today, the site thought to be Mahanaim is called Tall adh Dhahab al Gharbi, archaeologists Israel Finkelstein of Tel Aviv University and Talai Ornan of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem write in an article published in Tel Aviv magazine. They base their conclusions largely on archaeological remains found at the site and an analysis of biblical passages mentioning Mahanaim.
The Bible states that Mahanaim was located next to another city called Penuel.
A smaller archaeological site known as Tall adh Dhahab esh Sharqi, which may be Penuel, is located near Tall adh Dhahab al Gharbi, which may be Mahanaim, the study authors wrote. Biblical texts suggest that Penuel was the site of a temple, and the remains of a rectangular platform that may have been the foundation of the temple have been found at Tall adh Dhahab esh Sharqi.
Tal adh Dhahab al Gharbi was excavated by a German archaeological team between 2005 and 2011, who discovered the remains of stone blocks containing various engraved images, including images of people playing the lyre; a lion; a date palm tree; and a man carrying a goat, possibly “intended as food for a feast.”
The archaeologists also noted that the style of the engravings is similar to that of wall paintings from the 8th century BCE. at an archaeological site in the northeastern Sinai Desert of Egypt, excavations of which show that the site was controlled by the Kingdom of Israel in the 8th century BCE. This suggests that the blocks found at Tal adh Dahab al-Gharbi also date to the 8th century BCE and were the work of Israelite artists.
In the study, Finkelstein and Ornan say that these blocks are likely the remains of a building used by Israelite caretakers. Finkelstein notes that the Bible also mentions that an Israelite king named Ishbosheth lived in Mahanaim during his short reign, and that David fled to Mahanaim when one of his sons, Absalom, rebelled against him.
The researchers add that Mahanaim and Penuel were built by Jeroboam II, a king of Israel who ruled in the 8th century BCE.
Illustration: Gad Territory on an 1852 map – Mahanaim can be seen in the northeast corner of the pink-shaded Gad area. This beautiful hand-colored map is an engraved steel plate of Israel/Palestine or the Holy Land. It depicts the region as it would have been during the period of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. There are numerous notes that refer to wells, caravan routes, and biblical locations. Dated “Liverpool, Published by George Philip and Sons 1852.”
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First published in this link of The European Times.
