1 Samuel 23:29

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

Ver. 29. Dwelt in strong holds at Engedi.] Which was the utmost border of the country, a very rocky and craggy place, And here it is thought he penned the fifty-seventh Psalm.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

23:29 David traveled eastward from the area of Ziph (23:14) and took refuge in the strongholds of En-gedi. These rocky highlands were located on the western shore of the Dead Sea. There was an oasis in this region, making it an ideal place to find water and food.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at En-gedi--that is, "the spring of the wild goats or gazelles"--a name given to it from the vast number of ibexes or Syrian chamois which inhabit these cliffs on the western shore of the Dead Sea (Jos 15:62). It is now called Ain Jiddy. On all sides the country is full of caverns, which might then serve as lurking places for David and his men, as they do for outlaws at the present day [ROBINSON].

Next: 1 Samuel Chapter 24

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 29. Strong holds at En-gedi.] En-gedi was situated near to the western coast of the Dead Sea, not far from Jeshimon: it literally signifies the kid's well, and was celebrated for its vineyards, Son 1:14. It was also celebrated for its balm. It is reported to be a mountainous territory, filled with caverns; and consequently proper for David in his present circumstances.

How threshing-floors were made among the ancients, we learn from CATO, De Re Rustica, chap. 91, and 129. And as I believe it would be an excellent method to make the most durable and efficient barn-floors, I will set it down: -

Aream sic facito. Locum ubi facies confodito; postea amurca conspergito bene, sinitoque combibat. Postea comminuito glebas bene. Deinde coaequato, et paviculis verberato. Postea denuo amurca conspergito, sinitoque arescat. Si ita feceris neque formicae nocebunt, neque herbae nascentur: et cum pluerit, lutum non erit. "Make a threshing-floor thus: dig the place thoroughly; afterwards sprinkle it well with the lees of oil, and give it time to soak in. Then beat the clods very fine, make it level, and beat it well down with a paver's rammer. When this is done, sprinkle it afresh with the oil lees, and let it dry. This being done, the mice cannot burrow in it, no grass can grow through it, nor will the rain dissolve the surface to raise mud."

The directions of COLUMELLA are nearly the same; but as there as some differences of importance, I will subjoin his account: -

Area quoque si terrena erit, ut sit ad trituram satis habilis, primum radatur, deinde confodiatur, permixtis paleis cum amurca, quae salem non accepit, extergatur; nam ea res a populatione murium formicarumque frumenta defendit. Tum aequate paviculis, vel molari lapide condensetur, et rursus subjectis paleis inculcetur, atque ita solibus siccanda relinquatur. De Re Rustica, lib. ii., c. 20. "If you would have a threshing-floor made on the open ground, that it may be proper for the purpose, first pare off the surface, then let it be well digged, and mixed with lees of oil, unsalted, with which chaff has been mingled, for this prevents the mice and ants from burrowing and injuring the corn. Then level it with a paver's rammer, or press it down with a millstone. Afterwards scatter chaff over it, tread it down, and leave it to be dried by the sun."

This may be profitably used within doors, as well as in the field; and a durable and solid floor is a matter of very great consequence to the husbandman, as it prevents the flour from being injured by sand or dust.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

29. at En-gedi] En-gedi (= fountain of the kid), now Ain-Jidy, is situated about half way along the western shore of the Dead Sea. The precipitous cliffs recede from the water’s edge, and enclose a sloping plain watered by the stream which gushes copiously from the limestone rock. Here in the days of Abraham stood the Amorite city of Hazazon-tamar (= pruning of the palm). See Gen_14:7; 2Ch_20:2. It is still an oasis in the limestone desert, and though palm-trees and vineyards (Son_1:14) have vanished, the petrified leaves of the one and the terraces cut on the hills for the other attest its ancient fertility. On all sides the country is full of caverns which might serve as lurking places for David and his men, as they do for outlaws at the present day. See Robinson, Bibl. Res. 1. 508 ff.; Tristram, Land of Israel, p. 277 ff.; Stanley, Sin. and Pal. p. 295 ff., for descriptions of this remarkable spot.

29–24:8. David spares Saul’s life in the cave at En-gedi

This narrative and that in ch. 26 are regarded by some commentators as different accounts of the same event. See Note VII. p. 243, and the notes on ch. 26.

Psalms 57, 142 are referred by their titles to the time when David fled from Saul in the cave; but whether this occasion or his sojourn in the cave of Adullam is meant, must remain uncertain.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And David went up from thence,.... From the wilderness of Maon, having had a narrow escape for his life:

and dwelt in strong holds in Engedi; another place in the tribe of Judah, and which lay in the wilderness of Judah, and from whence that is called the wilderness of Engedi; and here Dr. Lightfoot (w) thinks he penned the sixty third psalm, Psa 63:1, the wilderness about Engedi being the most desert of all other places, that being upon the borders of the dead sea; of this place; see Gill on Jos 15:62.

(w) Works, vol. 1. p. 58.

Next: 1 Samuel Chapter 24

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

En-gedi (the fountain of the kid), anciently called Hazezon-Tamar Gen 14:7 from the palm-trees which used to grow there, still preserves its name in Ain-Djedy. It is about 200 yards from the Dead Sea, about the center of its western shore. It is marked by great luxuriance of vegetation, though the approach to it is through most dangerous and precipitous passes. The country is full of caverns, which serve as lurking places for outlaws at the present day. One of these, a spacious one called Bir-el-Mauquouchieh, with a well in it suitable for watering sheep, close to the Wady Hasasa, may have been the identical cavern in which David cut off Saul’s skirt.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

29. En-gedi — See on Jos_15:62. and 1Sa_23:1 of the next chapter.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.