מַחֲנֶה214 H4264
Camp, encampment; a temporary dwelling-place of tents, especially Israel's wilderness camp, and by metonymy the army or host encamped there.
Machaneh is the word that defines Israel's wilderness identity — a people on the move, dwelling in tents, organized around the tabernacle at the center of the camp. From Exodus through Numbers, the camp is a sacred space with strict purity regulations: the unclean must be sent 'outside the camp' (Num 5:2-3), and God himself walks 'in the midst of the camp' (Deut 23:14). The word extends naturally to military encampments, where armies pitch camp before battle (Josh 10:5; Judg 7:15), and occasionally the physical place-name gives way to the people themselves — the 'camp' that trembles means the army that trembles. Arabic mu'askar, Korean jinying (진영), and Swahili kambi all capture the temporary-dwelling-for-a-collective sense that lies at the word's heart.
2. army or military host — By metonymy, the army or military host encamped in a place — 3 occurrences where machaneh refers not to the physical location but to the fighting force itself. In 2 Chronicles 14:13 the Ethiopians are defeated 'before the LORD and before his camp' (meaning his army); Psalm 27:3 declares 'though a camp encamp against me' (meaning a hostile force); Ezekiel 1:24 compares a sound to 'the noise of a camp' (a military host). Arabic jaysh ('army') and Korean gundae (군대) shift to military-force vocabulary here rather than spatial-camp terms, confirming the metonymic transfer from place to people. The distinction matters theologically: in Ps 27:3 the threat is not a place but an armed host. 3×
AR["جَيشِهِ","جَيْشٍ","مُعَسْكَرٌ"]·ben["তাঁর-শিবিরের","সৈন্য","সৈন্যদলের"]·DE["Lager","ein-Lager"]·EN["an-army","camp","his-camp"]·FR["camp","de-camp"]·heb["מחנה","מחנה-ו"]·HI["छावनी-उसकी","सेना"]·ID["tentara","tentara-Nya"]·IT["accampamento","campo"]·jav["kamah","pasukan","wadyabalanipun"]·KO["군대의","그의-군대","진영-이"]·PT["acampamento","seu-acampamento","um-exército"]·RU["войско","стана","станом-Его"]·ES["campamento","campamento-su"]·SW["jeshi","jeshi-lake"]·TR["gürültünün","ordu","ordusunun"]·urd["اُس-کے-لشکر-کے","لشکر","لشکر-کی"]
▼ 2 more senses below
Senses
1. camp or encampment — A camp or encampment — the overwhelmingly dominant sense at 212 occurrences. Covers the Israelite wilderness camp organized around the tabernacle (Exod 16:13; 19:17; 32:26-27), military encampments before battle (Josh 10:5; Judg 7:15; 1 Sam 4:3), and caravan camps during travel (Gen 32:8, 21). The camp functions as both physical space and social-sacred boundary: being 'in the camp' means inclusion in the covenant community, while being sent 'outside the camp' signals exclusion (Num 5:2-3; 12:14-15). Arabic mu'askar, Spanish campamento, Korean jinying (진영), and Swahili kambi all select temporary-collective-dwelling vocabulary, confirming a unified sense covering wilderness sojourning, military bivouac, and traveling encampment alike. 212×
AR["-المَحَلَّةِ","-المُخَيَّمِ","الـمَحَلَّةِ","المَحَلَّةِ","الْ-مَحَلَّةِ","الْمَحَلَّةَ","الْمَحَلَّةِ"]·ben["-শিবিরের","শিবির","শিবিরে","শিবিরের","শিবিরের-প্রতি","সেই-শিবিরে","সেই-শিবিরের"]·DE["der-Lager","zu-der-Lager"]·EN["the-camp","to-the-camp"]·FR["le-camper","à-le-camper"]·heb["ה-מחנה","ל-ה-מחנה","ל-מחנה"]·HI["छावनी","छावनी-के","होगा"]·ID["perkemahan","perkemahan.","perkemahan;"]·IT["a-il-accamparsi","il-accamparsi","il-campo"]·jav["kemah","pakemahan","pakemahan,","pakhèman","palèrenan"]·KO["그-진영","그-진영-밖에","그-진영-밖으로","그-진영-에","그-진영-의","그-진영을","그-진영의","진영에","진영의"]·PT["o-acampamento","o-acampamento.","o-acampamento;","para-o-acampamento"]·RU["стан","стана","стану"]·ES["el-campamento"]·SW["kambi","kambini","ya-kambi"]·TR["-e-ordugâh","ordugaha","ordugahın","ordugâh","ordugâha","ordugâhtan","ordugâhı","ordugâhın"]·urd["-خیمہ-گاہ","-خیمہ-گاہ-کے","خیمہ-گاہ","خیمہ-گاہ-سے","خیمہ-گاہ-کے","لشکرگاہ","لشکرگاہ-سے","لشکرگاہ-کے"]
Exod 16:13, Exod 16:13, Exod 19:17, Exod 32:19, Exod 32:26, Exod 33:7, Exod 33:11, Lev 4:12, Lev 4:21, Lev 6:11, Lev 8:17, Lev 9:11 (+38 more)
3. sense 3 — A dual or divided camp in a specific poetic-symbolic context — a single occurrence at Song of Solomon 6:13 referring to 'the dance of the two camps' (kemecholat hammachanayim). The dual form echoes the place-name Mahanaim ('two camps,' from Gen 32:2 where Jacob named the site after encountering God's angelic camp alongside his own). The rendering is debated: is this a specific dance named after the place Mahanaim, or a symbolic reference to two encamped hosts? Spanish los dos campamentos and French des deux camps preserve the literal dual, while the theological resonance with Jacob's angelic encounter gives this hapax usage a symbolic depth beyond its surface meaning. 1×
AR["هَ-مَّحَنَيِم"]·ben["-দুই-শিবিরের?"]·DE["[המחנים]"]·EN["the-two-camps"]·FR["des-deux-camps."]·heb["ה-מחניים"]·HI["महनैम-के"]·ID["-Mahanaim"]·IT["il-il-two-camps"]·jav["Mahanaim"]·KO["그-두-진영들-의"]·PT["Mahanaim"]·RU["Маханаима."]·ES["los-dos-campamentos"]·SW["ya-kambi-mbili"]·TR["Mahanayim'in"]·urd["دو-لشکروں-کے"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
מַחֲנֶה214 n.m. Gn 33:8 + 16 times and f. ψ 27:3; 1 Ch 11:15 (on Gn 32:9a v. Di) encampment, camp—abs. מ׳ Gn 32:9(×2) + 126 times (incl. Ez 1:24, del. Co); cstr. מַחֲנֵה Gn 32:3 + 56 times; sf. מַחֲנֵהוּ Nu 1:52 + 5 times; מַחֲנֶיךָ Dt 23:15; 29:10, מַחֲנֶךָ Dt 23:15, מַחֲנֵיכֶם Am 4:10, מַחֲנֵיהֶם Nu 5:3 Ju 8:10 (cf. infr., and on form of noun c. sf. vid. Ges§ 93, 3, R 3); pl. abs. מַחֲנוֹת Gn…