Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of a 2,800-year-old palace at a site where a Biblical prophet is said to have wrestled with God.
Stone blocks depicting lions and lavish celebrations have been uncovered at the site of Tulul ed-Dhahab in Transjordan. Researchers believe this could be ‘the Biblical Mahanaim’.
It is said that Mahanaim was the place where Jacob, one of the fathers of the Jewish nation, wrestled with God from sunset to sunrise.
The ruins are likely from the Kingdom of Israel, which fits with Scripture suggesting that ancient Israelites once controlled the region.
Although the palace has not yet been fully excavated, the team believes it was a rectangular residence built on a platform by Jeroboam II, Israel’s 13th king, who is also mentioned in the Bible.
A total of ten blocks were uncovered at the site, one of which shows a man carrying a goat as part of a banquet scene, and another with two standing lyre players.
Others were etched with horses and date palm trees, and one was carved into the head of a lion.
Professor Israel Finkelstein of the University of Haifa said the newly found ruins provide more clues as to why important foundational Bible stories were set in this area.
Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of a 2,800-year-old palace at the site where Jacob is said to have wrestled with God
The research also suggested that the two blocks with the lion heads were probably at the entrance to the house, protecting the gate
Mentioned thirteen times in the Old Testament, Mahanaim has profound significance in Biblical stories.
The name means ‘two camps’ in Hebrew and first appears in Genesis 32:2.
“When Jacob saw them, he said, ‘This is the camp of God!’ Therefore he called that place Mahanaim,” the verse reads.
Archaeologists worked on two nearby mounds on the Zarka River, which historians believe was the biblical Jabbok.
The western hill, now called Tall adh-Dhahab al-Gharbi, contains remains of an ancient city that was active during several historical periods.
Archaeologists have also uncovered part of a Herodian period building, which may have been part of the Hellenistic and Roman site known as Amathus, indicating that the site remained important well into Roman times.
The adjacent hill, Penuel, is said to be the spot where Jacob wrestled an angel and named the spot after seeing the ‘face of God’.
Seven of the blocks revealed “iconographic features or themes that should be considered elements of the public architecture of a palace or an elaborate gate, most likely part(s) of a government building,” the researchers noted.
It is said that Mahanaim was the place where Jacob, one of the fathers of the Jewish nation, wrestled with God from sunset to sunrise
Blocks 4 and 5 contained motifs that were part of war or hunting themes, often associated with banquet scenes.
The research revealed that similar scenes were found with three motifs from Kuntillet ʿAjrud, a late 9th to early 8th century BC site in the northeastern part of Sinai.
‘The fourth visual theme from Tall adh-Dhahab al-Gharbi that should be compared with the images of Kuntillet ʿAjrud is the Voluted Tree incised in block 7, on which only two clear horizontal branches with inward turns of the tree are preserved remained,” the researchers shared.
Although the palace has not yet been fully excavated, the team believes it was a rectangular residence built on a platform by Jeroboam II, the 13th king of Israel, who is also mentioned in the Bible.
A total of ten blocks were uncovered at the site, one of which shows a man carrying a goat as part of a banquet scene, and another with two standing lyre players.
One of the slabs showed images of a lion’s mane stretching across the sandstone
‘The thematic visual associations between the incised statues of Tall adh-Dhahab al-Gharbi and the painted pottery sketches and murals of Kuntillet ʿAjrud are consistent with the attribution of these sites as built by Jeroboam II.’
The reign of Jeroboam II is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:23–29, along with the books of Amos and Hosea.
The research also suggested that the two blocks with the lion heads were probably at the entrance to the house, protecting the gate.
Similar discoveries have been made at two locations in southern Syria and Jordan.
“The incised blocks found at Tall adh-Dhahab al-Gharbi, the site of the biblical Mahanaim, must have come from an extensive Iron Age building that served as a residence for the elite,” the study reads.
‘The features of Tall adh-Dhahab ash-Sharqi – its small size, its rectangular layout and possibly the existence of a raised platform – seem to show that it was not a city, but perhaps a temple complex.’
The researchers emphasized that their work does not prove that Biblical stories are true, but that the discoveries show that Israelites lived in the region for thousands of years and provide reasons why Bible writers used Mahanaim as a location for stories.