David's sadness
The
contest between the two men will not end until the rout of Saul who
meets his death with his sons in a battle against the Philistines.
They are beheaded; their bodies are mutilated and hung on a wall and
their weapons are exhibited in the pagan temples. When David hears
the news, he composes an elegy, grieved by the cruel death of his
rival and of his son, Jonathan, with whom he had a special relationship:
Oh! Pride of Israel!
Lying dead upon your heights! How the brave fell! Do not announce
it in Gat, do not publicize it in the streets of Ashkelon; the daughters
of the Philistines will rejoice, they will be exultant, the daughters
of the impure! Gilboa Mountains, no more dew, no more rain, no more
rich fields! For they witnessed the dishonor of the heroes' shield,
the shield of Saul who will never again be anointed! Before the blood
of the wounded, before the fat of the warriors, Jonathan's bow did
not recoil, Saul's sword did not lack victims. Saul and Jonathan,
loved and cherished throughout their lives, were not to have been
separated by death, swifter than the eagles, more courageous than
the lions! Daughters of Israel, weep for Saul who dressed you richly
in crimson, who embellished your finery with jewels of gold! How the
courageous fell in mid-battle, Jonathan fell dead on your high places!
Jonathan, my brother, the loss of you overwhelms me; you were so dear
to me! Your love was more wonderful than that of women. How the courageous
fell, lost, the weapons of war!
II Samuel I, 19 - 27
In addition,
Ein Gedi was the site that would shelter the renowned passion of Solomon,
David's son and successor, for the Shulamite. In his own manner, this
king would extol the aphrodisiac properties of the luxuriant flora of
this oasis in the Song of Songs:
The Most Beautiful Among Women
That
your lips cover me with kisses,
For your kisses are more delicious to me than wine,
Your scent sweeter than perfume,
and your name overcomes me like an aroma -
for this reason so many maidens are in love with you.
So take me away, let's run away!
You, my king, will lead me to your palace,
Where we will know joy and happiness,
praising our revelry more than wine -
There is reason to love you!
I am black and beautiful, oh daughters of Jerusalem,
like the tents of Qedar,
like Solomon's pavilions.
Do not be mistaken,
my complexion is tanned by the sun.
Taunted by my mother's sons,
I was compelled to look after their vineyards,
neglecting my own vineyard!
Tell me, you whom my soul loves,
where does (your flock) graze,
How do you mark the mid-day break?
Why should I cover myself to look for you
among your companions' flocks?
- If you do not know, oh most beautiful among women,
follow the path of the sheep
and lead your kids to the shepherds' huts.
I compare you, my dear,
to a mare harnessed to Pharaoh's chariots.
Your cheeks framed in pearls,
your neck adorned with necklaces are delightful.
We will offer you chains of gold studded with silver.
- While my king was reclining on his couch,
my spikenard exhaled its aroma.
My beloved is to me
like a sachet of myrrh
that I keep between my breasts,
My beloved is to me
like a cluster of privet
in the vineyards of Ein Gedi.
Song of Songs I, 1 - 15
The
Ein Gedi Source soon attracts inhabitants who set up a network of
aqueducts, cultivating crops on terraces and erecting fortresses with
control towers. The site will develop especially from the 7th century
B.C.E. on, sheltering the first perfume ateliers - a worldwide center
for the production of balm, perhaps the mysterious and expensive balsam.
The Babylonians first destroyed it in 582 - 581 B.C.E and the Romans
destroyed it a second time during the repression of the Great Revolt
(66 - 70). Bar Kokhba, who launches a new rebellion against the latter
(132 -135), used it as one of his fortresses. The oasis will continue
to shelter a Jewish community until the 4th century.
Archeological excavations uncovered the vestiges of five successive
cities: the Israeli city (625 -580 B.C.E.), the Persian city (5th
to 4th centuries), the Hellenistic city (3rd to 2nd centuries) and
a late Hasmonean city (100 B.C.E. - 70 A.D.) The last city, which
dates back to the Roman-Byzantine period (of the 3rd and 4th centuries),
was to leave us the pavement of a synagogue with images of peasants
foraging clusters of grapes. An eighteen-line inscription invokes
a curse upon " ...whosoever provokes a dispute, is guilty of public
condemnation, robs his neighbor or reveals the secret of the city
to the Gentiles..." The author was perhaps referring to the recipe
used to prepare the balsam.
An excursion path leads to a first waterfall: David's Waterfall. From
there, the path scales the cliff to a second waterfall. The reserve
shelters gazelles, ibexes, oryxes, fox, jackals and two or three leopards
that would fight over a poor female. The canyon, Nahal Arugot, more
than two kilometers to the south, also offers an excursion path that
runs along a river and leads to a waterfall. Kibbutz Ein Gedi, established
in 1953, cultivates date-palm trees, bananas and a number of other
tropical fruits.
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