Michmash, a town in Benjamin where Saul camped (1Sa.13.2, 5, 11, 16, 23) and near which Jonathan defeated a Philistine garrison (1Sa.14.5, 31).
Also known as Mikmash
Michmash was a town in the territory of Benjamin, located about 7 miles north of Jerusalem. It is first mentioned in the Bible as the place where Saul gathered his troops to fight against the Philistines (1Sa.13.2). The Philistines had a garrison at Michmash, and their troops were encamped there (1Sa.13.5, 11, 16, 23). Jonathan, Saul's son, launched a daring attack on the Philistine garrison near Michmash, which led to a great victory for Israel (1Sa.14.5, 31). After the Babylonian exile, some people from Michmash returned to resettle in their hometown (Ezra 2:27; Nehemiah 7:31; 11:31). The prophet Isaiah mentions Michmash in his prophecy about the advance of the Assyrian army, indicating that it was on the route from the north to Jerusalem (Isaiah 10:28).
Approximate location: 31.870, 35.279 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
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-Suweinit (“valley of the little thorn-tree” or “the acacia”), and now bears the name of Mukhmas. This wady is called “the passage of Michmash” (1 Sam. 13:23). Immediately facing Mukhmas, on the opposite side of the ravine, is the modern representative of Geba, and behind this again are Ramah and Gibeah. This was the scene of a great battle fought between the army of Saul and the Philistines, who were utterly routed and pursued for some 16 miles towards Philistia as far as the valley of Aijalon. “The freedom of Benjamin secured at Michmash led through long years of conflict to the freedom of all its kindred tribes.” The power of Benjamin and its king now steadily increased. A new spirit and a new hope were now at work in Israel. (See SAUL.)
(hidden), a town which is known to us almost solely by its connection with the Philistine war of Saul and Jonathan. (1 Samuel 13:1; 1 Samuel 14:1) ... It has been identified with great probability in a village which still bears the name of Mukhmas, about seven miles north of Jerusalem. The place was thus situated in the very middle of the tribe of Benjamin. In the invasion of Sennacherib in the reign of Hezekiah, it is mentioned by Isaiah. (Isaiah 10:28) After the captivity the man of the place returned. (Ezra 2:27; Nehemiah 7:31) At a later date it became the residence of Jonathan Maccabaeus and the seat of his government. 1 Macc. 9:73. In the time of Eusebius and Jerome it was “a very large village, retaining its ancient name, and lying near Ramah in the district of AElia (Jerusalem), at ten miles distance therefrom.” Immediately below the village the great wady spreads out to a considerable width—perhaps half a mile; and its bed is broken up into an intricate mass of hummocks and mounds, two of which, before the torrents of three thousand winters had reduced and rounded their forms, were probably the two “teeth of cliff”—the Bozes and Seneh of Jonathan’s adventure.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
11 verses in 4 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H4363
He chose for himself three thousand men of Israel: Two thousand were with Saul at Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. And the rest of the troops he sent away, each to his own home.
Now the Philistines assembled to fight against Israel with three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven.
“What have you done?” Samuel asked. And Saul replied, “When I saw that the troops were deserting me, and that you did not come at the appointed time and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash,
Now Saul and Jonathan his son and the troops with them were staying in Geba of Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Michmash.
And a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Michmash.
One cliff stood to the north toward Michmash, and the other to the south toward Geba.
That day, after the Israelites had struck down the Philistines from Michmash to Aijalon, the people were very faint.
the men of Michmash, 122;
the men of Michmash, 122;
The descendants of Benjamin from Geba lived in Michmash, Aija, and Bethel with its villages;
Assyria has entered Aiath and passed through Migron, storing their supplies at Michmash.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.