It should seem to be a place of some importance when the Israelites were in possession of Canaan, for lsh-Bosheth, Saul's son, made it the metropolis of his kingdom, (see 2 Samuel 2:8-9.) Here David retreated from the rebellion of Absalom, (2 Samuel 17:24) Jacob gave the name to this spot, from the angels he met there. (See Genesis 32:2) The margin of the Bible renders it, two hosts or camps.