En-gedi
A place in the Bible
An oasis with a spring, on the western shore of the Dead Sea, among high rocks.
What happened here
- David in hiding: running away from King Saul, David lived in the strongholds of En-gedi.
- The cave: Saul was looking for him with three thousand men and went into a cave where David was hiding. David quietly cut off the edge of his cloak.
- “The Lord’s anointed”: David would not harm Saul, because he was the Lord’s anointed, and he did not let his men attack him.
Today
It is Ein Gedi, in Israel, by the Dead Sea. It is still an oasis with springs.
Where it appears in the Bible
1 Samuel 24:1-2; 1 Samuel 24:3-5; 1 Samuel 24:7-8
What the Bible says
1 Samuel 24:1-2
1Then David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds of Engaddi. 2And when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, they told him, saying: Behold, David is in the desert of Engaddi.
1 Samuel 24:3-5
3Saul therefore took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went out to seek after David, and his men, even upon the most craggy rocks, which are accessible only to wild goats. 4And he came to the sheepcotes, which were in his way. And there was a cave, into which Saul went, to ease nature: now David and his men lay hid in the inner part of the cave. 5And the servants of David said to him: Behold the day, of which the Lord said to thee: I will deliver thy enemy unto thee, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good in thy eyes. Then David arose, and secretly cut off the hem of Saul’s robe.
1 Samuel 24:7-8
7And he said to his men: The Lord be merciful unto me, that I may do no such thing to my master the Lord’s anointed, as to lay my hand upon him, because he is the Lord’s anointed. 8And David stopped his men with his words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rising up out of the cave, went on his way.
Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain.
Source: Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), “Engaddi”; Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), “Engedi”