The burning sand will become a pool,
Isaiah 35:7
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
Driving north from Eilat, we eventually arrived at the Dead Sea region. Most of the areas around the Dead Sea are rather dry and lifeless. But there are a few places teeming with life. En Gedi is the most famous because David hid there from King Saul. I’ve been there a handful of times. We stopped briefly this time before pushing northward.
Near the northwest corner of the Dead Sea, near Qumran are another set of springs known as En Feshkha or Enot Tzukim (literally “cliff springs”). The park is a combination of archaeological ruins and nature reserve. There was a very small community located here in the first century BC and first century AD. They built a house and industrial complex with a variety of suggestions made as to what they produced. The more permanent residents, however, are the plants and animals.
