En Gedi

En Gedi is a site where two valleys of a stream of water provide spring water where the Judean Desert meets the Dead Sea. In Joshua 15:62, Ein Gedi is counted among the cities of the Tribe of Judah in the desert Betharaba.

En Gedi in Hebrew means "spring of the kid" (meaning goat). Throughout En Gedi, one can see mountain goats, otherwise called ibex. This is also the place where David hid in a cave from King Saul as described in I Samuel 24:2: ". . .even upon the most craggy rocks, which are accessible only to wild goats."

Photo: Dr. Skinner and students before our hike at En Gedi.

Photo: Along the way, the students were intrigued with these little critters called hyrax. They were everywhere and about 12" in length. Do you suppose people used to eat them?

Photo: Scriptures come to life when you sit and read excerpts from the Old Testament at the places where events really happened! Looking back in the Old Testament, David slew Goliath, a Philistine, then cut off his head with a sword the priest, Ahimelech of Nob, had given him. David was a man who had been anointed to be Israel’s next king and if you read the entire chapter of I Samuel, it is filled with suspense and has a surprise ending.

Photo: Hannah, a JC student, is such a doll and is always lending a hand to everyone.

Photo: David played the harp and was invited to live at King Saul's palace for a number of years and eventually married Saul's daughter. As David's support grows, Saul becomes increasingly jealous and seeks to take David's life. Saul's son, Jonathan, first warns David and then David's wife, Michal, put an "idol" in the bed so David could escape through a window. Because David is favored by the people, he and his supporters were forced to flee to En Gedi, a place that had many caves.

The story becomes more intense when King Saul finds out that David is in En Gedi with his men. Therefore, Saul takes 3,000 chosen men from Israel to search out and kill him. This was the area where that story took place and it truly came to life as we walked the rugged path and steps leading to caves and waterfalls at En Gedi. 1 Samuel 1:29 - "David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of En Gedi." En Gedi had fresh water, caves for shelter and plenty of ibex for food. David and his men lived there for 16 months.

Photo: It's wonderful to have such great professors to teach and help us learn about the Old and New Testament.

The synopsis of I Samuel 24 states: "David finds Saul in a cave and spares his life -- Saul confesses that David is more righteous than he -- David swears that he will not cut off the seed of Saul" which was the surprise ending. For more detail, read about this in the Old Testament. Summary: En Gedi provided a refuge for David from King Saul and to prove his good intentions, David cut off a corner of the King's robe, rather than kill him.

Photo: Dr. Skinner lecturing. Whenever we go in field trips, each of us are given a monitor with ear buds so that professors can lecture without disturbing other people.

Photo: fossil in limestone.

Photo: Dr. Muhlestein explained that when it rains, the much of the rainfall sinks down through the porous soft limestone until it hits the harder stone shelf, then runs eastward until it emerges in springs in the Rift valley. It doesn't rain often but when it does, it is not uncommon to have lots of flooding. He had been to this area one week prior and said that the water had filled up the gullies and washed out part of some roads.

Photo: Trail to waterfalls.

Photo: Water coming to the bridge.

Photo: Hiking up to a small waterfall.

Photo: Kathy. "I need to rest a minute. It's a good thing I walk lots of stairs each day to prepare for hikes like this."

Photo: Students at the first waterfall.

Photo: I can't imagine living in caves like this.

Photo: Even though there was a trail and steps, at times the walk was a challenge.

Photo: rough hills and trails to walk. Jews re-inhabited En Gedi in the late Roman and early Byzantine eras as archaeologists found several synagogues dating to about AD 600.

Photo: Hiking back. Garth opted to hike to another water fall further up the trail but it was a warm day and I decided to head back with the students since this old gray mare ain't what she used to be!