Negev

The Hebrew noun negev appears about 111x in the OT, and can be understood in two ways. First, it refers to a geographical region; this is clear from Gen 13:1 - "So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him." It can also mean 'the south,' as is clear in Gen 13:14 where Yahweh commands Abram to "lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south (negev), east and west." Scholars though believe this usage is secondary.

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The boundaries of the Negev is indeterminate, though it is generally thought to begin along the line drawn from Beersheba to Gaza on the north and the Arabah on the east. Its southern boundaries merged inperceptably into the Wilderness of Zin and Paran. Estimated to be between 3,500 to 4,500 square miles (9,0600-11,600 sq. km; modern Israel is 20,770 sq. km), the Negev was, in ancient times, largely grazing land divided at times into regions claimed by different tribes and people-groups; this is clearly suggested by terms such as "Negev of Judah," "Negev of Jerahmeel" and "Negev of the Kenites" (1 Sam 27:10). Located here too were a number of important copper mines whose control may have been the cause of the wars between the Amalekites, Edomites and the Israelites, a problem that was resolved only in the time of David who conquered the Edomites and made the Negev safe to Israelites.

During the Inter-Testamental era, the Nabateans took control of the region turning it into a major cross-road for the trades in spices from India and exotic goods from Africa that they had cornered for themselves. Surprisingly, the Negev became a favourite haunt for Byzantine Christians and some 300 Byzantine sites have been identified.