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The Negev is a region of land extending southwards from the border of Judah in Old Testament days. The region is approximately 45 miles in length, and anywhere from 10-20 miles in width. Today, the modern term Negev includes all the southern part of Israel, from slightly north of Beersheba down to Elath. This is a region that is semi-arid, with only 12 inches of rain in the northern regions, and 4 inches of rain in the southern regions of the Negev.
The Negev in Biblical times was of little economic importance, primarily due to its typography and its isolation form other Biblical regions as a result of the wadis (dry river beds) and makhtesh (eroded craters, with Makhtesh Ramon being a few thousand feet deep) which formed serious obstacles for transportation. For this reason, no important international trade routes traversed the Negev from north to south. These two major international routes, the Via Maris and the King's Highway, skirted this region.
The Negev and its soil characteristic consist of a very fine, yellow-brown dust or soil which is carried by the wind called Loess. If adequately irrigated, this soil provides good conditions for crops. But if the soil is not correctly irrigated, then a crust forms which only results in water run-off.
This run-off, which occurs frequently after sudden and heavy rains, is referred in the Bible as "the water-courses in the Negev." (Psalm 126:4). Occasionally whereas heavy rains fall, severe flooding can take place due to the crusty soil conditions. As the rain collects in the wadis, fierce and dangerously flowing rivers may result, devastating anything in its path. Due to the limited rain fall in especially the southern areas of the Negev, ancient people in Biblical times constructed their cities in a round formation, with circular streets built for the purpose of catching the rain water and thus collecting it in cisterns. One can see the circular street patterns at such cites as Arad and Beersheba.
Archaeological surveys and excavations of the Negev have revealed that agriculture as practiced in the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze periods as well as in the Iron Age. Of greater economic importance was the establishment, in the period of the Israelite Kingdom, of commercial relations with the South Arabia Kingdoms, inaugurated by the visit of the Queen of Sheba. This trade route as still used in the times of King Jehosophat and Azariah (I Kings 22:48-49; II Kings 14:21-22).
The economic value of the Negev increased in the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods. The Nabataeans (see "Petra") in the beginning of the 3rd C.B.C. established a spice trade with southern Arabia and India and for this purpose they founded a network of caravan routs in the Negev. It was the Nabataeans who established a more permanent settlement in the Negev.
In a latter phase (the 1st C.A.D.), they began to develop a form of agriculture based on draining the rainwater from large catchment area to small parcels of land. This system was further developed by the Byzantines.
The major wadis of the region include Wadi Esh-Shari'ah (the Biblical Valley of Gerar), the Wadi Shallaleh (Biblical Besor), and the Wadi Beersheba. Reference to these wadis and other cities in the Bible (in addition to Arad and Beersheba...see below) include the following:
Nahal Besor:
I Samuel 30:9f. After David destroys Ziglag and the Amalekites, he decides to chase the enemy. David and his men were so tired that they stopped at the Brooke of Besor. David leaves 200 men at this brooke (wadi) and with the help of an Egyptian servant of the Amalekites, David finds the remaining Amalekite troops.
Gerar:
Genesis 10:19 The border of the Canaanites was "from Sidon, as you come to Gerar, unto Gaza.
Genesis 20:1-18 Abram journeyed from there toward the Negev and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and traveled and stayed in Gerar. This passage records the story between Abimelech, Abram, and Sarah (whom Abram calls his sister).
Genesis 26:1-16 There as a famine in the land. Therefore Isaac goes to Abimelech in Gerar. Isaac lies about his wife, Rebekah. But Abimelech protects them and allows Isaac to dwell in the Valley of Gerar and digs wells.
II Chron. 14:13-14 King Asa chases Ethiopians to Gerar and destroys them.
Ziglag:
I Samuel 27:6 David, during his flight from King Saul, is given the city of Ziglag. He stayed here 1 year and 4 months.
I Samuel 30:1f David does not go north with the Philistines, but stays behind only to see the Amalekites burn Ziglag and take his family.
II Samuel 4:10 Ishbosheth is murdered in Ziglag. His head is brought to David at Hebron.
I Chron. 12:1 After David is anointed as king, he uses Ziglag as a southern base.
Hormah:
Numbers 21:1-3 King Arad, a Canaanite, hears of the Israelite spies. So he fights against Israel. The Israelites destroy the Canaanites, and their cities. Therefore, they called this one place Hormah.Archeological Sites and "Regions"
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