En-gedi

En-gedi is a lush spring-fed oasis on the western shore of the Dead Sea, where waterfalls and vineyards break suddenly out of some of the harshest desert on earth. Among its cliffs and caves David hid from Saul with six hundred men - and there occurred one of Scripture's great tests of character: Saul entered the very cave where David's men lay hidden, and David, urged to kill him, instead crept forward and cut off the skirt of the king's robe, and even then his heart smote him. Holding up the cloth from the cave mouth, he proved to Saul he had spared the life he could have taken, and the hunting king wept: 'Thou art more righteous than I.' The Song of Solomon remembers the oasis differently - 'a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of En-gedi' - an image of beauty in barren country.

0:00

Details

Region: Judean Wilderness
Modern Location: Ein Gedi oasis, Israel

Strongest connections in Scripture

1 Samuel 24 Song of Solomon 1

Key Passages

David Spares Saul in the Cave

1 Samuel 24:1-7

Handed a perfect opportunity for vengeance dressed as providence, David refuses to touch the LORD's anointed - kingship renounced by force is kingship received by faith.

A¹nd it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.

² Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. ³ And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. ⁴ And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily. ⁵ And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt. ⁶ And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD. ⁷ So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way.

The Vineyards of En-gedi

Song of Solomon 1:14

The oasis blooming out of dead wilderness becomes a natural image of love's beauty - En-gedi as metaphor as well as refuge.

M¹⁴y beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi.

Did You Know?

En-gedi means 'spring of the young goat,' and ibex still climb its cliffs today exactly as in David's time - 'the rocks of the wild goats.'

The oasis drops nearly 2,000 feet in waterfalls through one of the driest deserts on earth - a natural fortress of water in a waterless land.

Ezekiel prophesied that fishermen would one day spread nets at En-gedi beside a healed Dead Sea - a vision of resurrection for the saltiest water on the planet.

Key Chapters

1 Samuel 24 David Spares Saul 4 min read Song of Solomon 1 The Bride's Longing 2 min read