Engedi

Engedi or Ein Gedi or 'Ain Jidy is composed of two Hebrew words, produced from the Hebrew letters AyinNun GimelDelathYod. The word ein which could mean spring and gǝdi has a meaning of goat-kid. It is an oasis with springs and wild goats west of the Dead Sea, near Masada and the Quamran. We see it mentioned in the Bible several times including a prophecy in Ezekiel 47:10:

"And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many."

Several cross references are given in relation to this verse that relate to Jesus calling his disciples to be fishers of men.

There was also a reference to the way that net should be cast.

Other appearances of Engedi in scripture include:

"And Nibshan, and the city of Salt, and Engedi; six cities with their villages".  Joshua 15:62

"And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at Engedi."  1 Samuel 23:29

"And 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."  1 Samuel 24:1

"Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi."  2 Chronicles 20:2

"My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi."  Song of Songs 1:14

The Pulpit commentaries state: "Engedi, עֵין גֶּדִי, meaning "Fountain of the kid;" originally styled Hazezon-Tamar (2 Chronicles 20:2), now called 'Ain Jidy (Robinson,' Bibl. Res.,' 2:214), was situated in the middle of the west coast of the Dead Sea, and not at its southern extremity, as Jerome supposed."

Alternate meanings

The Hebrew letters GimelDelathYod can mean "a kid, young male goat" but as a name it is also said to mean My fortune from a word said to mean good fortune.

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Attacked by Zealots

The Zealot's intolerant nationalism at the time of Christ spawned a group called the Sicarii who became so extreme and violent in their willingness to assassinate any alternate ideological or philosophical opposition which they thought disrupted or contradicted their interpretation of the religious ideology of the Sicarii. The Jewish leadership were in danger and the assassinating of those rulers or even people with a different opinion become a possibility. .

The Sicarii fought the Romans until their defeat and mass suicide at Herod's fortress at Masada. Not far from there, according to the Jewish-Roman historian Josephus Flavius, they had plundered peaceful villages in the area including En Gedi where they ruthlessly drove out the the local defenders killing over seven hundred women and children who were trapped.

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