City
En Gedi
en-GHE-dee · Modern Ein Gedi, Israel (nature reserve and kibbutz on the western shore of the Dead Sea) · Also called Ein Gedi, Engedi
En Gedi is a city of the biblical world, known today as Ein Gedi, Israel (nature reserve and kibbutz on the western shore of the Dead Sea).
What is known
- David hid from Saul among the strongholds and caves of En Gedi, and in one of them famously cut off a corner of Saul's robe rather than kill him (1 Samuel 24)
- The oasis was renowned in the ancient world for its balsam groves, a rare and costly perfume ingredient; Song of Solomon 1:14 refers to its henna blossoms
- A monumental Chalcolithic (Ghassulian) temple enclosure, dated to roughly 3500 BC, sits on a terrace above the oasis between the Ein Gedi spring and the spring in Nahal David — discovered by Yohanan Aharoni in a 1956 survey and excavated in 1962 by a Hebrew University expedition (Benjamin Mazar directing, with D. Ussishkin publishing the final report), it stands apart from any settlement and has been linked by some scholars to the copper hoard from the nearby Nahal Mishmar 'Cave of the Treasure'
- Tel Goren (Tell el-Jurn), a separate mound roughly a half-kilometer south of the temple terrace, was excavated 1961-65 by Benjamin Mazar, Trude Dothan, and Immanuel Dunayevsky; its earliest settlement dates to the Iron Age (mid-7th century BC), and it is generally identified with the En-Gedi of the Hebrew Bible, with occupation continuing through the Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods
- Today En Gedi is a nature reserve fed by four springs with waterfalls, recognized for its unique desert-oasis ecosystem
History
- Founded
- Settled since the Chalcolithic period (c. 4000 BC); an Iron Age Judahite settlement grew around its freshwater spring
- Population
- Small oasis settlement; modern kibbutz founded 1956
- Industry
- Famous in antiquity for balsam and henna production, prized luxury export goods; also dates and other oasis agriculture
- Coordinates
- 31.4618° N, 35.3894° E
Scripture references
- 1 Samuel 23:29
- 1 Samuel 24:1-4
- Song of Solomon 1:14
- Joshua 15:62
- Ezekiel 47:10
- 2 Chronicles 20:2
On a modern map
Further reading
Reflect
In a cave at En-gedi, David spared the man who was hunting him — is there someone you have the power to hurt and the chance to spare?
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