Possible place where Jacob wrestled with God

Tulul adh-Dhahab, the site where a group of 10 inscribed stone blocks was found in Jordan, may be used to identify the area with the biblical city of Mahanaim, according to research conducted by the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University.

The research article detailing the discovery, “An Israelite Residence in Mahanaim, Transjordan?”, was published last month in Tel Aviv, the peer-reviewed journal of the TAU Institute of Archaeology.

In a social media post, researcher Israel Finkelstein wrote that he and co-author Professor Tallay Ornan from the Hebrew University “propose that the site of Tulul ed-Dhahab in Transjordan may be the biblical Mahanaim.”

“We analyzed exceptional sculpted stone slabs with lions and banquet scenes, suggesting that they were part of a monumental structure built during the reign of the Kingdom of Israel in the region, about 2,800 years ago,”

wrote Finkelstein. The 10 blocks likely date to the first half of the 8th century B.C.

Mahanaim, which means "two camps," is said to have been named by Jacob after he wrestled with an angel, later considered God, near Jabbok, according to Genesis 32:30.

Mosaic of the synagogue of King David (credit: AVISHAI TEICHER/WIKIPEDIA)

Seven of the blocks revealed “features or iconographic themes that should be considered elements of the public architecture of a palace or an elaborate gate, most likely components of a governmental complex,” the researchers noted.

During the analysis, the researchers also discovered that three of the blocks appear to belong to a banquet scene.

Insights on Israelite residence

The researchers added that the biblical verses connected to the region “may suggest the existence of an Israelite residence to the north” at the site of Tulul adh-Dhahab al-Gharbi, in the valley of the az-Zarqa river, the biblical Jabbok, in Jordan.

The small size, rectangular layout, and possibly the existence of an elevated platform at the site of Tulul adh-Dhahab ash-Sharqi seem to indicate that it may not have been a city, but a complex of temples, according to the report.

The researchers noted that the region of Tulul adh-Dhahab al-Gharbi/Mahanaim was under Israelite control during the prosperous periods of the northern kingdom.

This included the reigns of the Omrides in the 9th century B.C. and the Nimsides, Joash, and Jeroboam II, in the 8th century B.C.

Several textual references support this, such as mentions of Minite and Abel-Shittim as the southernmost Israelite cities in Transjordan and the identification of Mizpah, located at Tall al-Maṣfā, as an Israelite site in the Bible.

The history of Mahanaim

The historic city of Mahanaim is mentioned several times in the Bible: it was there that the second king of Israel, Ishbosheth, son of King Saul, was crowned to briefly rule part of Israel as a rival to King David and where David later found refuge after his son’s rebellion, according to 2 Samuel 17:24 and 2 Samuel 17:27.

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