Page 59 - Bible Geography and Near East Studies - Textbook w videos short

luxuriant garden of life provides a ready source of fresh water, shade and produce. People and wildlife
have been drawn to En Gedi for centuries.

The historian Josephus praised En Gedi for its palm and balsam trees 2,000 years ago.

In the Bible, there are numerous references to the oasis. The prophet Ezekiel, for instance, predicted
that fishermen would one day line the shores of the Dead Sea “from En Gedi to En Eglaim.” (Ezekiel
47:10).

Most famously, David hid from King Saul at En Gedi. When David and his men
were hiding in a cave there, Saul came into the cave to relieve himself. David
slipped over and cut off the corner of Saul’s robe (1 Samuel 24), thus ending
the chase and giving temporary relief to both men.

In another text, an enemy army marching against Jerusalem was camped at
En Gedi when King Jehoshaphat first heard the bad news (2 Chronicles 20). God provided a miraculous
deliverance in the battle that followed, but it is little wonder why the enemy had camped at En Gedi.
That’s the location of the only fresh water for many miles around, in any direction.

Beersheba
Beersheba means the “well of seven.” In Genesis 21:31, Abraham and Abimelech took an oath of
witness that the former had dug the well and seven ewe lambs were offered in sacrifice. Isaac took an
oath here and on the same day found water. He called it Shibah.

Beersheba marked the southern limit of Judah, though theoretically this extended to the “river of Egypt”
(Gen 15:18). South of Beersheba begins a great desert Negev, so it is the extreme border of cultivated
land. “From Dan to Beersheba” was proverbial expressions identifying the northern and southern
borders of Israel

Ziklag
It was a Biblical town located in the Negev region in Southern Judah.
It was a provincial town within the Philistine Kingdom of Gath when
Achish was king. This town was given to David who appeared to be
acting as a vassal of the Philistines while David was fleeing from Saul.
David used the city as his home base. According to I Sam. 30, while
David was encamped with the Philistine army in the Jezreel Valley,
the Amalekites attacked the town burning the buildings and
capturing the population, including David’s two wives and children.
When David’s men discovered that their families had been captured, they went in pursuit but a third of
them were too exhausted to continue. Finding an abandoned slave, David gave him a fig cake, a raisin
cake, and water, and persuaded him to lead them to the Amalekite raiders. David found raiders feasting
and celebrating, so David engaged in battle with them for a night and day and ultimately became
victorious.

Two days after return from this expedition, David received tidings of the disastrous battle at Mt. Gilboa
and the death of Saul and his sons (2 Sam 1:1-16). He left Ziklag and returned to Hebron, along with his
band of 600 men and all their families. It was in Hebron that David was made King of Judah.

58