Bible Strands
1 Samuel 23:29
And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En-gedi.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records David’s relocation after Saul abandons his pursuit to confront the Philistines. The account places David in the fortified caves of the desert region near the Dead Sea.
The words — The Hebrew verbs יַ֥עַל (ya‘al, “he went up”) and יֵ֖שֶׁב (yēšēḇ, “he dwelt”) mark a deliberate transition from flight to temporary settlement. מְצָד֥וֹת (mṣāḏōṯ, “strongholds” or “fortresses”) denotes the fortified caves where David sought refuge.
The thread — En-gedi appears again in Joshua 15:62 as a Judahite city, in 2 Chronicles 20:2 as a strategic location near the wilderness, and in Song of Solomon 1:14 as a pastoral backdrop. The geographic marker anchors David’s flight within Israel’s broader territorial history.
Why it lands — The text records a factual relocation without commentary, requiring the reader to track how temporary refuge functions within a narrative of pursuit. It demands attention to the physical reality of survival amid political and military pressure.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at En–gedi.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 20:2 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).
- Joshua 15:62 Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En-gedi—six cities, along with their villages.
- Song of Solomon 1:14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of En-gedi.
- Ezekiel 47:10 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.
- Genesis 14:7 Then they turned back to invade En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.
- 1 Samuel 24:1 After Saul had returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the wilderness of En-gedi.”