What is the Significance of Negev in the Bible?

Negev is a place that is mentioned many times throughout the Bible. However, reading names of places in the Word of God can sometimes be boring, because we have a hard time imaging what the land was like. We forget that Negev was an actual place of spiritual significance. The land of Negev is spiritually significant, because it was a place where people settled, although God had more for them. 

The Negev desert is not a fruitful land, instead it is rather barren. Evirmoentally it does not have much to offer, and geographically it is not that large. The Israelites wandered in that area for years, but eventually it was conquered by them, led by Joshua. The prophets had many different prophecies about the land, but ultimately the land has moved hands multiple times throughout history.

Negev is in a desert region in the southern part of Israel today, but in Biblical times it was not highly valuable land. Ultimately the land of Negev was considered difficult to live in, and spiritually it became a place of settling for the people of Israel. 

Meaning of the Name Negev 

The word Negev means, “dry land,” in Hebrew, but in the Bible it is also used to refer to the south land. Both of these descriptors are accurate for the land for their own reasons. Negev was both dry and south of the Holy Land.

Negev got it’s name, because it is incredibly dry. It is a desert, and being so, it does not rain much there. In ancient times 

 The reason for this is that the Negev was south of land of Canaan. The land of Canaan was the promised land that God gave to the Israelites, who were the descendants of Abraham and God’s chosen people. For the Israelites the land of Israel would have been considered the center of their world, so geographically Negev would have been considered the south land. 

Environmental Characteristics of the Region of Negev

As mentioned before, the Negev was a desert region. It was a place where severe famine was likely, because it had little agricultural advantages. 

Beyond that, the all sides of Negev were enclosed with large mountains. The only side that didn’t have mountains was the western region of Negev. 

Only the northern portion of Negev was suitable for raising agriculture. The closer that people got to the land of Canaan, the better the land was for cultivating livestock. It is thought that in the early months, the land would have been good for cultivating livestock. Plus, the abundant ruins of today suggest that it may have been more livable during that time. There would not be ancient ruins unless it was inhabitable at one point, so we can conclude it may have been pastoral land at one point.

We see examples of people raising animals in Negev in many different Bible verses. One of those is 1 Samuel 25:2 that says, “A certain man in Maon, who had property there at Carmel, was very wealthy. He had a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel.” The desert of Negev might have been different during the Biblical events than it is today. The environment might have been more suitable during Biblical history to sustain more living organisms. 

Disparity in Translation of Negev

Negev was not a definite geographical region and it did not receive specific boundaries until recent years. In Biblical times, the Israelites used the word Negev to simply describe the area south of them. 

It is for this reason that Negev does not even appear in the King James Version of the Bible. In the KJV the word Negev is written as south. Whereas in the NIV and ESV the region is given a specific title. Negev was the name given to the land in the NIV and Negeb was the name in the ESV. 

It is interesting that there is a difference here. Luckily it is not a theological issue, and it does not have a major impact on the Biblical narrative. All of the words mean the same thing, they are just being described differently. 

Geographical Location of Negev

The Biblical Negev was not large. It is hard to tell how large the region was but it existed between Beersheba and Kadesh Barnea. Although it looks different now, Negev used to be an hourglass shape. 

Biblical Negev did not have clear or specific boundaries enclosing it, instead it was a general area South of Judah. 

Location in Modern Times

Today Negev is still on the map. Although it is not it’s own country, it is a part of Israel. Negev exists in south Israel, and is bordered by the Jordan River. The Jordan River flows into the Red Sea, where Moses led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. It is the largest region in the modern state of Israel, extending up towards the Dead sea. 

In recent times this area has been under great turmoil. In 2023, the Hamas in the Gaza Strip attacked into Israeli territory. Negev is located just East of the Gaza strip, but Hamas attacked Israel to the northeast.  

Negev in Abraham’s Story

In the book of Genesis there was a man named Abraham. Abraham was chosen by God, and he we called to inherit the land of Canaan. So, God promised Abraham land of Canaan, which was supposed to be an overwhelmingly blessed land. The fertility of Canaan was referenced multiple times throughout Scripture. 

To get to the land that God promised Abraham, Abraham had to embark on a journey. His journey was meticulously recorded in the book of Genesis, and part of his journey was through the land of Negev. In Genesis 12, 13, and 20, Negev is mentioned as a part of Abraham’s quest to inherit the nation of Israel. 

The events of Abraham and his family suggest that the Negev was not a place the was great for settling. They never stayed there long. 

Hagar’s Interaction with Negev

​During Abraham’s journey, God told him that he would have a son, but Abraham’s wife was baren. To solve the problem of not having an heir, Abraham had a child with his wife’s servant, Hagar. Abraham’s wife got jealousy of the servant and her son, so she demanded that Abraham send her away. 

Hagar and her son left the company of Abraham and his wife, only to go alone into the desert of Negev. Hagar and her son both came close to death, but an Angel of the Lord appeared and promised that they would be safe. It is believed that the descendants of Hagar became the Palestinians. 

The Wandering Israelites in Negev

Later in the rich history of the Israelites, they were wandering through the desert, waiting for God’s permission to move into the land of Canaan. During this period of wandering, Negev is mentioned twice. 

At one time, we are told the the Amalekites are living in Negev. The Amalekites were a semi-nomadic military group that had conflict with the Israelites on multiple occasions. The land of the south was shown to be inhabited by the Amalekites in Numbers 13:29.

The second time that Negev is mentioned during this period of time is when we are told that Moses sent spies into the land of Canaan through the north land of the Negev, that was referred to as the wilderness of Zin. That also takes place in Numbers 13. 

The Land of Simeon and Judah

It is unclear which Israelites tribe actually controlled the Negeb once Israel was established. The Bible tells us that the Inheritance of the children of Simeon was in the Negeb, but also that the children of Judah were credited with the cities in the Negeb. The tribes of Judah and Simeon may have both had claim in this land, and Judah might have had a more important city. 

Ziklag, A City in the Negev 

The story of King David also talked about the Negev. David was a king of Israel, but before he was a servant of the prior King Saul. King Saul was a terrible leader, so David had to run away to save his life. The Bible tells us that David went to the city of Ziklag. This is was in the Negev, but later it was raided by the Amalekites. 

The Spiritual Significance of Negev

​Based on all of these things, we can conclude that the Negev has spiritual meaning. Negev in the Bible was a place of waiting mutliple times. Abraham waited for a son there, and the Israelites waited to enter the promised land. David waited to return to Israel after he exiled himself. 

Although it is not explicitly in scripture, the narrative of the Negev is that it is a place where we should not settle. God promises us that He has great plans for our lives, but sometimes we have to wait on those plans. We even might settle for something less than what God has for us, because we are impatient. 

The message is this: don’t settle in the Negev. Keep pushing towards God, and eventually He will take you to your promised land.