Genesis 32:1-2

"And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And Jacob said when he saw them, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim."

Twenty years before this event when he was about to journey into the land of his twenty-year bondage, God had appeared to Jacob and strengthened him in the vision of the ladder reaching to heaven, and now, that he was about to enter into a new phase of his life, again God appeared to him, first in this vision of the angels, later in the wrestling event. Apparently, only Jacob saw the heavenly host, just like the occasion when Elisha and his servant were surrounded and threatened by innumerable enemies. Only the prophet saw the angelic host, until Elisha prayed for God to "open his eyes" (2 Kings 6:17).

"He called the name of that place Mahanaim ..." "This word is a dual form meaning, "two hosts" or "bands." The visible band was Jacob and his servants; the invisible band (momentarily visible to Jacob) was that of the angels."[1] "Mahanaim was later a distinguished city, situated just north of the Jabbok, and the name and remains are still preserved in a place called Mahneh."[2] The two great enemies confronted by Jacob were Laban in the land of his long servitude, and Esau in the land to which he returned. The visions at the beginning of each confrontation assured Jacob of God's blessing and protection.