Hebrew word · H5872

עֵין גֶּ֫דִי

'ein

Engedi

A place name meaning "Spring of the Kid (young goat)." It is an oasis on the western shore of the Dead Sea, fed by a strong, steady spring, with steep limestone cliffs and ravines behind it.

Appears 12 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

En-gedi = "fount of the kid"

a town in the wilderness of Judah on the western shore of the Dead Sea

Also named: chats.tson ta.mar (חַצֲצֹן תָּמָר "Hazazon-tamar" H2688)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 1 Samuel 23:29

Range of meaning

A place name meaning "Spring of the Kid (young goat)." It is an oasis on the western shore of the Dead Sea, fed by a strong, steady spring, with steep limestone cliffs and ravines behind it.

Against the English

English versions simply write out the name, so the picture inside it is lost. A Hebrew hearer would hear "Goat-Kid Spring," a fitting name for a wild place of rocky heights full of ibex.

Used elsewhere in the period

It is listed as a town of Judah "in the wilderness" (Joshua 15:62). It is identified with Hazazon-tamar (2 Chronicles 20:2) and praised for its vineyards and henna (Song of Songs 1:14). Ezekiel 47:10 pictures fishermen there when the Dead Sea is healed. The modern site at Tel Goren and the oasis are well known to archaeologists. Josephus mentions its palms and balsam.

Where it appears

Joshua · 2

  1. Joshua 15:62 וְעֵ֣ין גֶּ֑דִי and En, Gedi

    Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En-gedi—six cities, along with their villages.

1 Samuel · 4

  1. 1 Samuel 23:29 עֵֽין־ גֶּֽדִי׃ En, Gedi

    And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En-gedi.

    Here: First part of the place name. ʿayin means "spring" (literally "eye"). Here it is the strong freshwater spring that rises at the foot of the cliffs above the Dead Sea.

  2. 1 Samuel 24:1 עֵ֥ין גֶּֽדִי׃ ס En, Gedi

    After Saul had returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the wilderness of En-gedi.”

2 Chronicles · 2

  1. 2 Chronicles 20:2 עֵ֥ין גֶּֽדִי׃ [is] En, Gedi

    Then some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the Sea; they are already in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, En-gedi).

Song of Songs · 2

  1. Song of Songs 1:14 עֵ֥ין גֶּֽדִי׃ ס En, Gedi

    My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of En-gedi.

Ezekiel · 2

  1. Ezekiel 47:10 מֵעֵ֥ין גֶּ֙דִי֙ from En, Gedi

    Fishermen will stand by the shore; from En-gedi to En-eglaim they will spread their nets to catch fish of many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.