Ein Gedi, Israel

Ein Gedi is mentioned in the Bible a number of times:

• In Joshua 15:62, Ein Gedi is enumerated among the wilderness cities of the Tribe of Judah in the desert of Betharaba, and in 
• Ezekiel 47:10, it is prophesied that one day, its coastal location will make it into a fishing village, after the water of the Dead Sea has been made sweet:
• Fishing nets will be spread from En-gedi to En-eglaim.[5]


• Fleeing from King Saul, David hides in the strongholds at Ein Gedi (1 Samuel 23:29 and 24:1–2) and Saul seeks him "even upon the most craggy rocks, which are accessible only to wild goats" (1 Samuel 24:2). 
• Saul, the first King of Israel (at this point no longer in Gods favor) is hunting David (the youngest son of Jesse, and Sauls son-in-law) and enters a cave to relieve himself. 
• David, who was hiding in the cave, stealthily cuts off a corner of Saul's cloak. David reproaches himself for it, and confronts Saul. David swears in a monologue that he had never meant to wrong the King, and calls upon the Lord to vindicate him against Saul. 
• When he finishes, Saul breaks down and weeps, and declares that the Lord would reward David generously, and says that he knows now that David will become king. At Saul's request David swears never to destroy his descendants or wipe his name from his father's house.

•  Psalm 63, subtitled a Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah, has been associated with David's sojourn in the desert of En-gedi.[6]

• In 2 Chronicles 20:2 Ein Gedi is identified with Hazazon-tamar,[7] Hazezon Tamar,[8] Hatzatzon-Tamar [9] or Hazezontamar (חַצְצוֹן תָּמָר ḥaṣṣōn tāmār, "portion [of land] of date palms"), on account of the palm groves which surrounded it,[10] where the Moabites and Ammonites gathered in order to fight Josaphat, king of Judah. In Genesis 14:7 Hazazon-tamar is mentioned as being an Amorite city, smitten by Chedorlaomer in his war against the cities of the plain.

• The Song of Songs (Song of Solomon 1:14) speaks of the "vineyards of En Gedi". The words of Ecclesiasticus 24:18, "I was exalted like a palm tree in Cades" (’en aígialoîs), may perhaps be understood as the palm trees of Ein Gedi.

In October 2016 I was there with my daughters as part of our trip to Israel. 

We had a great time and the stop at Ein Gedi, a green oasis in middle of a very dry area, was nice.

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