Michmash

Michmash

Michmash - "Laid Up [that is, concealed] Place"; a town of Benjamin,[1] east of Bethel and south of Migron, on the road to Jerusalem.[2]

Contents

Location

Michmash lay on the line of march of an invading army from the north, on the north side of the steep and precipitous Wady es-Suweinit ("valley of the little thorn-tree" or "the acacia"), and now bears the name of Mukhmas.

Biblical account

The town is known by its connection with the Philistine war of Saul and Jonathan. In 1 Samuel 13 ‘And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in Gibeah of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash.’ According to the Bible, King Saul's son Jonathan was able to beat the Philistines by finding a secret path around the town and flanking them, which caused panic throughout and a Philistine rout.[3]

It tells how Jonathan and his armor-bearer crossed over during the night ‘to the Philistines’ garrison’ on the other side, and how they passed two sharp rocks: ‘there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez and the name of the other Seneh.’[4] They clambered up the cliff and overpowered the garrison ‘within as it were an half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plough.’ The main body of the enemy awakened by the mêlée thought they were surrounded by Saul’s troops and ‘melted away and they went on beating down one another.’[5]

A divinely sent earthquake, the effects of which were noted by Saul’s watchmen, threw the Philistine camp into turmoil. By the time Saul and his men came on the scene, many of the Philistines had slaughtered one another in confusion and the rest had taken to flight.

Sennacherib's invasion

In the invasion of Sennacherib in the reign of Hezekiah, it is mentioned by Isaiah.[6] After the captivity the man of the place returned.[7] At a later date it became the residence of Jonathan Maccabaeus and the seat of his government.

Michmash has also been the scene of various modern wars fought at the town.

World War I

During World War I, British forces under the command of General Allenby were to face the Turks at the same location. One night, Major Vivian Gilbert of the British army was contemplating the situation against the Ottoman forces. He remembered a town by the name of Michmash written somewhere in the Bible. He found the verses, and discovered that there was supposedly a secret path around the town. Incredibly, he managed to find that secret path, and with the British forces using this path to outmanoeuver the Ottomans, the British took the town.[8]

References

Against All Odds - Israel survives / Miraculous True Stories, DVD, 95 min., ISBN 1-59464-265-6, a dramatized documentary, produced by American Trademark Pictures. Distributed by Questar Inc., Chicago, Illinois.

  1. ^ Ezra 2:27
  2. ^ Isa. 10:28
  3. ^ 1 Sam. 14
  4. ^ 1 Sam. 14:4
  5. ^ 1 Sam. 14:14-16
  6. ^ Isa 10:28
  7. ^ Ezr 2:27; Ne 7;31
  8. ^ The Romance of the Last Crusade, 1923, Major Vivian Gilbert, pages 183-6



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  • Michmash —    Something hidden, a town of Benjamin (Ezra 2:27), east of Bethel and south of Migron, on the road to Jerusalem (Isa. 10:28). It lay on the line of march of an invading army from the north, on the north side of the steep and precipitous Wady es …   Easton's Bible Dictionary

  • MICHMASH or MICHMAS — (Heb. מִכְמָשׁ, מִכְמָס, מִכְמָשׂ), city of the tribe of Judah, originally belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, situated between Jerusalem and Beth El in a strong strategic position north of the deep Wadi al Suwaynīt. Saul gathered part of his… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Michmash — A village about 11 km. (7 miles) north of Jerusalem between Bethel and Jericho, where Jonathan won a great victory over the Philistines (1 Sam. 14:13–15) …   Dictionary of the Bible

  • Saul —    Asked for.    1) A king of Edom (Gen. 36:37, 38); called Shaul in 1 Chr. 1:48.    2) The son of Kish (probably his only son, and a child of prayer, asked for ), of the tribe of Benjamin, the first king of the Jewish nation. The singular… …   Easton's Bible Dictionary

  • 1 Samuel 13 — 1 Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, 2 Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin:… …   The King James version of the Bible

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  • Jonathan Maccabaeus — was leader of the Hasmonean Dynasty of Judea from 161 to 143 BCE. He is called also Apphus (Ἀπφοῦς (Syriac, image )) = the dissembler or the diplomat , in allusion to a trait prominent in him; 1 Maccabees ii. 5).Leader of the JewsJonathan… …   Wikipedia

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