Michmash was a town in the mountains of Ephraim. It was near the wilderness that slopes down toward the Jordan Valley. The town was in the land of the tribe of Benjamin, but it is not listed with other Benjamite towns in Joshua 18:21–28.
Today, the old name survives in the Arab village of Mukhmas. This village sits on a narrow ridge east of the Wadi Suweinit (also called the Valley of Zeboim). This valley is deep and has steep sides. Michmash is about 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) northeast of Geba (modern Jaba’), which lies on the other side of the valley.
Two roads went near Michmash. One went east to Jericho. The other followed the top of the ridge north and south. This second road was not the main road, but it could still be used as another route to travel through the area. The main road was the highway west of Bethel.
Michmash in Saul’s Time
Michmash was important in the time of King Saul. When Saul prepared for war, he kept some of his soldiers with him in Michmash. His son Jonathan took the rest to Gibeah (1 Samuel 13:2). Jonathan attacked a Philistine commander in nearby Geba. The Philistines then sent a large army and camped at Michmash (1 Samuel 13:5). Saul had moved to Gilgal to gather more troops. Later, he returned to Geba, across the valley from the Philistines. From Michmash, the Philistines sent out raiding groups in several directions—north to Ophrah, west to Beth-horon, and southeast along the edge of the valley of Zeboim (1 Samuel 13:11, 16, 17–18). This shows how important Michmash was for travel and control of the land.
The Philistines also set up a guard post south of Michmash, across from the Israelites (1 Samuel 13:23). Jonathan and his armor bearer crossed the canyon between two cliffs called Bozez(near Michmash) and Seneh (near Geba). They surprised the Philistines, who ran back to Michmash (1 Samuel 14:1–23). The Israelites then attacked, and the Philistines ran away through the Aijalon Valley road. The Israelites followed them and kept up the attack (1 Samuel 14:31).