Mahanam was a settlement east of the Jordan in Gilead.
Jacob met angels there and named the place “the camp of God.” He divided his household and possessions into two camps. This was to keep from losing everything when he confronted Esau (Genesis 32:1–11). Mahanaim means “two camps” in Hebrew.
The city was along the border between Manasseh and the tribes of Gad (Joshua 13:26, 30). Joshua gave it to the Levites for an inheritance (Joshua 21:38; 1 Chronicles 6:80). After the defeat of Saul at Mount Gilboa, Ishbosheth, his son, fled to Mahanaim to set up a capital in exile. He managed to control much of Israel from there until Recab and Baanah assassinated him (2 Samuel 2:8, 12, 29; 4:5–7).
David fled to this city when Absalom rebelled against him. Here he received supplies from Barzillai and some Gileadites (17:24–27). At this city gate, he wept as he received the news of the death of Absalom. Solomon chose the city for the capital of his seventh district and established Ahinadab as its governor (1 Kings 4:14).
The Bible places Mahanaim somewhere near the Jabbok River in central Gilead. In the past, some people thought it was located at Khirbet al-Makhna, about 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) north of Aijalon. Most recently, however, scholars think it may be at the twin hills of Tulul al-Dhahab along the Jabbok River. One expert, Yohanan Aharoni, suggested that the western hill was Mahanaim and the eastern hill was Penuel.