Maacah was a small Aramean city-state located south of Mount Hermon in the northern part of the Golan Heights; in the OT it is often closely associated with Geshur, another small kingdom south of it (Jos 12:5; 13:11, 13).
Jos 13:13 suggests that Israel intended to conquer it but was unable to. As a result of this, the two small kingdoms became hemmed in by Israel, explaining why Jos 13:13 speaks of them as living "among the Israelites." Many of its citizens served among David's 'mighty men' (2 Sam 23:34) and many more seemed to have married Israelite women (1 Chron 4:19) and became visible members of the affairs of Israel (2 Ki 25:23; Jer 40:8). Ammon also seemed to have taken advantage of the Maacathite's reputation as mercenaries and hired them to fight David; the two armies met near Medeba where the Ammonite contingent was routed (2 Sam 10:6-14).
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