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en-gannim
Enelow’s four-volume edition of Israel *Al-Nakawa’s
Menorat ha-Ma’or (1929–32) was an important contribution
to Jewish scholarship. His thesis that this work served as the
model for Isaac *Aboab’s work of the same name was widely
discussed though not universally accepted. Of equal importance
is Enelow’s edition of Mishnat Eliezer (or Midrash of 32
Hermeneutic Rules, with an English introduction and full apparatus,
1933). A collection of manuscripts was presented in
his memory to the Jewish Theological Seminary, New York,
by his friend Mrs. Nathan Miller. His private library of over
20,000 volumes was also willed to the Seminary.
Bibliography: Philipson, in: AJYB, 36 (1934), 25–53; Rivkind,
in: Essays … L.R. Miller (1938), 69–83 (Heb. sect.); Kressel, Leksikon,
1 (1965), 127–8.
EN-GANNIM (Heb. םיּנִ ּג ַ ןיע). ֵ
(1) A locality in the territory of Judah, about 2 mi. (3 km.)
south of Beth-Shemesh, that is mentioned in the Bible together
with Zanoah (Josh. 15:34). Its identification with ʿAyn
Faṭīr near Beit Jimal has been proposed.
(2) A levitical city in the territory of Issachar (Josh. 19:21;
21:29). This has been identified by various scholars with the
modern Jenin on the southern extremity of the Jezreel Valley,
which Josephus mentions (Wars, 3:48) as Ginaea, on the
northern border of Samaria. Jenin, however, is probably the
biblical Beth-ha-Gan (“gardenhouse,” II Kings 9:27), and a
more plausible identification is Khirbat Beit (Bayt) Jann near
Jabneel on the northern border of Issachar.
Bibliography: G. Dalman, Sacred Sites and Ways (1935), 211;
Abel, Geog, 2 (1938), 317; Albright, in: ZAW, 44 (1926), 231f.; A. Saarisalo,
in: Boundary between Issachar and Naphtali (1927), 37–39.
[Michael Avi-Yonah]
EN-GEDI (Heb. יִ דֶ ּג ןיע). ֵ
(1) An oasis on the western shore of the Dead Sea and
one of the most important archaeological sites in the Judean
Desert. En-Gedi (En-Gaddi in Greek and Latin; ʿAyn Jiddī in
Arabic) is actually the name of the perennial spring which
flows from a height of 656ft. (200 m.) above the Dead Sea. In
the Bible, the wasteland near the spring where David sought
refuge from Saul is called “the wilderness of En-Gedi” and
the enclosed camps at the top of the mountains, the “strongholds
of En-Gedi” (I Sam. 24:1–2). En-Gedi is also mentioned
among the cities of the tribe of Judah in the Judean Desert
(Josh. 15:62). A later biblical source (II Chron. 20:2) identifies
En-Gedi with Hazazon-Tamar but this is rejected by most
scholars. In the Song of Songs 1:14 the beloved is compared
to “a cluster of henna in the vineyards of En-Gedi”; the “fishers”
of En-Gedi are mentioned in Ezekiel 47:10.
In later literary sources, Josephus speaks of En-Gedi as
the capital of a Judean toparchy and tells of its destruction
during the Jewish War (Wars, 3:55; 4:402). From documents
found in the “Cave of the Letters” in Naḥal Ḥever, it appears
that in the period before the Bar Kokhba War (132–135), the
Jewish village of En-Gedi was imperial property and Roman
garrison troops were stationed there. But in the time of Bar
Kokhba, it was under his control, and was one of his military
and administrative centers (see *Judean Desert Caves). In the
Roman-Byzantine period, the settlement of En-Gedi is mentioned
by the Church Fathers; Eusebius describes it as a very
large Jewish village (Onom. 86:18). En-Gedi was then famous
for its fine dates and rare spices, and for its balsam.
After surveys of the area, five seasons of excavations were
conducted at En-Gedi by B. Mazar, T. Dothan, and I. Dunayevsky
between the years 1961–62 and 1964–65. The settlement
of En-Gedi was found to have been established only in
the seventh century B.C.E. with no evidence of occupation in
the time of David (tenth century B.C.E.). Excavations showed
that Tell Goren (Tell el-Jurn), a small hill above the southwestern
part of the plain near Naḥal Arugot, was one of the main
centers in the oasis beginning with the Israelite and especially
in the Iron II, Hellenistic, and Roman-Byzantine periods. Surveys
of the area revealed that the inhabitants of En-Gedi had
developed an efficient irrigation system and engaged in intensive
agriculture. The combination of abundant water and
warm climate made it possible for them to cultivate the palm
trees and balsam plants for which En-Gedi was renowned. The
settlement was apparently administered by a central authority
which was responsible for building terraces, aqueducts, and
reservoirs, as well as a network of strongholds and watchtowers
along the road linking En-Gedi with Teqoa.
Five periods of occupation were uncovered on Tell Goren.
The earliest settlement, Stratum V, was a flourishing town
which had spread down the slopes of the tell dating from the
Judean kingdom (c. 630–582 B.C.E.). Various installations,
especially a series of large clay “barrels” fixed in the ground,
together with pottery, metal tools, and ovens indicated that
workshops had been set up for some special industry. This
discovery conforms with various literary sources (Josephus
and others) which mention En-Gedi as a center for the production
of opobalsamon (“balsam”). It can thus be assumed
that En-Gedi was a royal estate which ran this costly industry
in the service of the king. This first settlement was apparently
destroyed and burned by Nebuchadnezzar in 582/1 B.C.E.
The next town on the tell (Stratum IV) belongs to the Persian
period (fifth–fourth centuries B.C.E.). Its area was more
extensive than the Israelite one and its buildings were larger
and well-built. A very large house, part of it two-storied, which
contained 23 rooms, was found on the northern slope of the
tell. En-Gedi at this time was part of the province of Judah
as attested by the many sherds inscribed “Yehud,” the official
name of the province.
Stratum III belongs to the Hasmonean period. Its famous
dates are mentioned in this period by Ben Sira (Ecclus. 24:14).
En-Gedi flourished, especially at the time of Alexander *Yannai
and his successors (103–37 B.C.E.). A large fortress on the
tell was probably destroyed in the period of the Parthian invasion
and the last war of the Hasmoneans against Herod.
The next occupation (Stratum II) contains a strong fortress
on the top of the tell surrounded by a thick stone wall
406 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 6