Original Word: נֶגֶב
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: negeb
Pronunciation: neh'-gheb
Phonetic Spelling: (neh'-gheb)
KJV: south (country, side, -ward)
NASB: south, Negev, southward, south side, southern
Word Origin: [from an unused root meaning to be parched]

1. the south (from its drought)
2. specifically, the Negeb or southern district of Judah, occasionally, Egypt (as south to Israel)

south country, side,

From an unused root meaning to be parched; the south (from its drought); specifically, the Negeb or southern district of Judah, occasionally, Egypt (as south to Palestine) -- south (country, side, -ward).

Word Origin
from an unused word
Definition
south country, the Negeb, south
NASB Translation
Negev (36), South (11), south (45), south side (2), south* (3), southeast* (1), southern (2), southward (9).

נֶ֫גֶב noun [masculine]] south-country, Negeb, south (compare Lag^{BN 78}); — ׳נ absolute Genesis 20:1 +; construct Joshua 11:2 +; נֶ֫גְבָּה Genesis 13:14 +; —

1 south-country, i.e.

a. specifically the region south of Judah, boundaries not exactly defined (see cities in it Joshua 15:21-32), but with from hills south of Hebron to Kadesh, ׳אֶרֶץ הַנּ Genesis 20:1 (E), Genesis 24:62 (J), Numbers 13:29 (JE), Judges 1:15; Joshua 15:19; almost = proper name ׳הַנּ, הַנֶּ֫גְבָּה, Genesis 12:9; Genesis 13:1; Numbers 13:17,22; Numbers 21:1 (all J), Deuteronomy 34:3 (JE), Deuteronomy 1:7; Joshua 10:40; Joshua 11:16; Joshua 12:8 (all D), Numbers 33:40; Joshua 15:21 (both P), Judges 1:9; 1 Samuel 20:41 (but read הָאַרְגָּב, i.e. the mound ᵐ5 (ἀργαβ) Th We Klo Dr Kit Bu HPS), Jeremiah 13:19; Jeremiah 17:26; Jeremiah 32:44; Jeremiah 33:13; Zechariah 7:7; Obadiah 20; Psalm 126:4 (simile), Ezekiel 21:3a (= Judah); ׳נ (no article) Genesis 13:3 (J), 1 Samuel 30:1; Isaiah 30:6 (compare Di); of particular districts in the Negeb: עֲרָד ׳נ Judges 1:16 (compare GFM), יהוּדָה ׳נ etc. 1 Samuel 27:10 (3 t. in verse) (compare Dr), 1 Samuel 30:14 (twice in verse); 2 Samuel 24:7; 2Chronicles 28:18; see also Zechariah 14:10; ׳רָמַת נ Joshua 19:8, ׳רָמוֺת נ 1 Samuel 30:27; collective with plural verb = people of south-land Obadiah 19..

b. land south of Babylon Isaiah 21:1 (compare Di).

c. = Egypt Daniel 11:5,6,9,14,15,25 (twice in verse); Daniel 11:29,40 (see Meinh Bev Behrm, compare Daniel 11:43).

2 hence south (opposed to north, east, west) Genesis 13:14; Genesis 28:14 (both J), Joshua 17:10 (P), 1 Kings 7:25 2Chronicles 4:4; 1 Chronicles 9:24; 1 Chronicles 26:15,17 (compare 1 Chronicles 26:14; 1 Chronicles 26:16; 1 Chronicles 26:18), Ezekiel 21:3b; Ezekiel 21:9; Daniel 8:4,9, further 1 Kings 7:39; Zechariah 14:4; מְּאַת נֶ֫גְבָּה תֵּימָ֫נָה Exodus 26:18, compare Exodus 27:9; Exodus 36:23; Exodus 38:9; Exodus 40:24 (of south side of tabernacle); ׳שַׁ֫עַר נ Ezekiel 46:9 (twice in verse); ׳מְּאַת נ south side or border Numbers 34:3; Numbers 35:5; Joshua 18:15 (all P), Ezekiel 47:19, cf Ezekiel 47:19; Ezekiel 48:16,28,33; ׳גְּבוּל נ south boundary Numbers 34:3; Joshua 15:2,4; Joshua 18:19 (all P), compare מִנֶּ֫גֶב לְ (הַגְּבוּל) on the south of Numbers 34:4 (twice in verse); Joshua 15:3 (לְ ׳אֶלמִֿנּ), Joshua 15:3; Joshua 15:7; Joshua 18:3 (all P), Judges 21:19; ׳מִנּ absolute on the south Joshua 18:5 (JE), Joshua 19:34 (P), 1 Samuel 14:5; Ezekiel 40:2; ׳כֶּ֫תֶף הַיְבוּסִי מִנּ Joshua 15:8, compare Joshua 18:13,16 (all P); נֶ֫גְבָּה Joshua 15:1,2; Joshua 18:14 (twice in verse); Joshua 18:19 (all P), 2 Chronicles 4:10; Ezekiel 21:2 (Co; HCT נגב) Ezekiel 48:10,17; נֶ֫גְבָּה לְ Joshua 17:9 (P). — For בִּנְּרוֺת ׳נ Joshua 11:2 read נֶגֶד (ᵐ5 Di).

Geographical Profile

The Negev is the broad, semi-arid expanse that lies south of the hill country of Judah and west of the Arabah. Bordered by the Mediterranean on the west and the wilderness routes to Sinai on the south, its climate ranges from sparse pastureland in the north to true desert in the south. Principal wadis (dry riverbeds) channel flash-flood waters toward the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean. Beer Sheba, Kadesh Barnea, and Arad appear as its best-known cities, with caravan routes linking Egypt, the Gulf of Aqaba, Edom, and the coastal plain.

Distribution of Occurrences

Approximately one-third of the one hundred eleven Old Testament occurrences designate the physical region; the balance serve as the ordinary Hebrew word for “south” or “southward.” Context determines whether the writer is orienting the reader on a map (for example, Exodus 26:18; Ezekiel 48:33) or describing the particular territory south of Judah (Genesis 12:9). The spectrum of texts moves from patriarchal wanderings to prophetic oracles, giving the Negev a significant narrative arc in Scripture.

Patriarchal Journeys

Genesis anchors early covenant history in the Negev. “Then Abram journeyed on toward the Negev” (Genesis 12:9). After the detour in Egypt, Abram returns the same way (Genesis 13:1-3), signaling the Negev as both frontier and land-bridge into Canaan. Isaac “was living in the Negev” (Genesis 24:62), and Jacob sent Joseph to check the family flocks there (Genesis 37:14). The region therefore frames the life of the patriarchs as they await the full realization of God’s promise.

Israel’s Wilderness Sojourn and Conquest

At Kadesh, on the northern edge of the Negev, Israel paused almost two years (Numbers 13:26; Deuteronomy 1:46). Moses directed the spies, “Go up through the Negev” (Numbers 13:17). Amalekites, Kenites, and Canaanites inhabited this frontier (Numbers 13:29; 1 Samuel 15:6). When Israel refused to enter the land, they suffered defeat “in the Negev and in the lowland” (Numbers 14:45). Later, the conquest campaigns swept “from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza, and all the land of Goshen as far as Gibeon” (Joshua 10:41), enfolding the Negev into Israel’s inheritance.

Allotment in the Tribal Inheritances

Joshua 15:1-4 delineates Judah’s southern border through the Negev to the Brook of Egypt. Town lists for Judah (Joshua 15:21-32) and Simeon (Joshua 19:1-9) show dense settlement pockets around Beer Sheba, Hormah, and Ziklag. Pastureland, seasonal water, and caravan taxation made these sites strategic. By the monarchy, Beer Sheba had become a proverbial marker of Israel’s extent: “from Dan to Beer Sheba” (Judges 20:1).

Davidic Activity and the United Monarchy

David protected and later raided Negev clans while living among the Philistines (1 Samuel 27:10-12). The Amalekites who burned Ziklag had come “from the Negev of the Kerethites, from the Negev of Judah, and from the Negev of Caleb” (1 Samuel 30:14). Solomon’s administrative district “Baaloth” (likely a Negev site) supplied his court (1 Kings 4:16). Fortified cities such as Arad, Aroer, and Beersheba guarded Judah’s southern approach (2 Chronicles 28:18-19).

Prophetic Imagery and Hope

Prophets employ the Negev’s barrenness as a canvas for judgment and restoration:
• “An oracle concerning the beasts of the Negev” warns of “a land of distress and anguish” (Isaiah 30:6).
• Jeremiah laments, “The cities of the Negev have been shut tight; no one can open them” (Jeremiah 13:19).
• Obadiah foretells that exiles will possess “the Negev” (Obadiah 1:19-20).
• Ezekiel lists the Negev in the renewed tribal allotments (Ezekiel 48:28-29).

Streams in dry riverbeds picture the sudden reversals of God’s grace: “Restore our captives, O LORD, like streams in the Negev” (Psalm 126:4).

Post-Exilic Reflections and Later History

Zechariah 7:7 notes that when Judah flourished, “the Negev and the Shephelah were inhabited.” Archaeology confirms Persian-period resettlement around Beer Sheba and Edomite intrusion farther south. Nabataean caravan routes later revived limited agriculture through advanced water-capture systems, echoing the imagery of Isaiah 35:1, “The desert and parched land will be glad.”

Symbolic and Theological Themes

1. Covenant Pilgrimage: The Negev’s open spaces remind believers that the life of faith includes seasons of wandering yet under promise (Hebrews 11:8-9).
2. Judgment and Mercy: Dryness portrays sin’s consequences, while sudden floods illustrate divine renewal (Psalm 126:4; Isaiah 44:3).
3. Frontier Mission: The region stands at crossroads of nations; Abraham’s sojourn and later trade routes preview the gospel’s advance “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
4. Spiritual Orientation: When biblical writers say “toward the Negev,” they orient the reader southward; likewise, Scripture orients believers toward God’s purposes amid cultural deserts.

Lessons for Faith and Ministry

• Cultivate perseverance: Like Abraham, press on through arid seasons, trusting God’s promises.
• Expect transformation: God can turn the driest soul into a riverbed of living water.
• Engage the margins: Ministry to forgotten frontiers reflects the Lord’s concern for peripheries symbolized by the Negev.
• Hold the whole counsel: From Genesis to the Prophets, the Negev testifies to Scripture’s unified story—one Lord, one land, one redemptive plan.

בְּנֶ֣גֶב בַּנֶּ֑גְבָּה בַּנֶּ֔גֶב בַּנֶּ֖גֶב בַּנֶּ֙גֶב֙ בַּנֶּֽגֶב׃ בַנֶּ֑גֶב בַנֶּגֶב֮ בנגב בנגב׃ בנגבה הַנֶּ֑גֶב הַנֶּ֔גֶב הַנֶּ֖גֶב הַנֶּ֗גֶב הַנֶּ֙גֶב֙ הַנֶּ֛גֶב הַנֶּ֜גֶב הַנֶּ֥גֶב הַנֶּֽגְבָּה׃ הַנֶּֽגֶב׃ הַנֶּגֶב֮ הנגב הנגב׃ הנגבה׃ וְהַנֶּ֖גֶב וְהַנֶּ֥גֶב וְהַנֶּ֨גֶב וְהַנֶּגֶב֮ וְנֶ֕גְבָּה וְנֶ֖גְבָּה וָנֶ֑גְבָּה וָנֶ֖גְבָּה וָנֶ֗גְבָּה וָנֶֽגְבָּה׃ וּבַנֶּ֑גֶב וּבַנֶּ֖גֶב וּמִנֶּ֖גֶב ובנגב והנגב ומנגב ונגבה ונגבה׃ לַנֶּ֥גְבָּה לנגבה מִנֶּ֔גֶב מִנֶּ֖גֶב מִנֶּ֗גֶב מִנֶּ֜גֶב מִנֶּ֥גֶב מִנֶּֽגֶב׃ מנגב מנגב׃ נֶ֑גְבָּה נֶ֑גֶב נֶ֔גְבָּה נֶ֔גֶב נֶ֕גְבָּה נֶ֕גֶב נֶ֖גְבָּה נֶ֖גֶב נֶ֗גְבָּה נֶ֙גֶב֙ נֶ֛גֶב נֶ֣גְבָּה נֶ֣גֶב נֶ֤גֶב נֶ֥גְבָּה נֶ֥גֶב נֶ֧גֶב נֶֽגְבָּה׃ נֶֽגֶב־ נֶֽגֶב׃ נֶגְבָּה֒ נֶגֶב֩ נגב נגב־ נגב׃ נגבה נגבה׃ ban·ne·ḡeḇ ḇan·ne·ḡeḇ ban·neḡ·bāh banNegbah banneḡbāh banneḡeḇ ḇanneḡeḇ banNegev bə·ne·ḡeḇ bəneḡeḇ beNegev han·ne·ḡeḇ han·neḡ·bāh hanNegbah hanneḡbāh hanneḡeḇ hanNegev lan·neḡ·bāh lanNegbah lanneḡbāh min·ne·ḡeḇ minneḡeḇ minNegev ne·ḡeḇ ne·ḡeḇ- neḡ·bāh Negbah neḡbāh neḡeḇ neḡeḇ- negev ū·ḇan·ne·ḡeḇ ū·min·ne·ḡeḇ ūḇanneḡeḇ ūminneḡeḇ uminNegev uvanNegev vaNegbah vanneGev vehanNegev veNegbah wā·neḡ·bāh wāneḡbāh wə·han·ne·ḡeḇ wə·neḡ·bāh wəhanneḡeḇ wəneḡbāhInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts