The Negev is a desert region in southern Israel that is mentioned numerous times in the Bible. Here is an overview of the significance of the Negev in the biblical narrative:
The Negev as Part of the Promised Land
When God first promised the land of Canaan to Abraham, the boundaries were described as stretching “from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates” (Genesis 15:18). This encompassed the Negev region. Later, when the boundaries of the Promised Land were reiterated to Moses, the southern border was more specifically delineated as extending to the “wilderness of Zin” and over to Kadesh Barnea (Numbers 34:3-4), putting the Negev within the limits of the land the Israelites were to inherit.
The Wilderness Wanderings
After the Exodus from Egypt, the Israelites spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness before entering Canaan. Much of this time was spent in the Negev region, especially Kadesh Barnea, which served as a base camp (Deuteronomy 1:46). It was from Kadesh that the 12 spies were sent out to scout the Promised Land (Numbers 13:26). The Negev wilderness was where the older faithless generation died off and the new generation was toughened up for the conquest of Canaan.
Settlement by the Tribe of Judah
When the Promised Land was divided among the 12 tribes of Israel, the Negev region was allotted to the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:1-12). Cities in the northern Negev like Beersheba, Arad, and Kedesh were given to Judah. However, they had trouble occupying portions of their land allotment:
As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the people of Judah could not drive them out…But the Judaeans did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer…Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer…Yet the Manassites could not take possession of those towns, but the Canaanites continued to live in that land…But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Beth-shean and its villages…Nor did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor. (Judges 1:21, 29-30, 27-28, 33)
Thus, parts of the Negev remained only loosely controlled by Judah in the early settlement period.
The Wilderness as a Place of Refuge
When David was on the run from King Saul, he took refuge in desert strongholds in the Negev. For instance, he hid in the cave of Adullam (1 Samuel 22:1), the forest of Ziph (1 Samuel 23:14-15), the wilderness of Maon (1 Samuel 23:24-25), and the strongholds of En Gedi (1 Samuel 23:29). The arid wilderness provided isolation and natural defenses.
Agricultural Development
While often portrayed as dry and barren, parts of the Negev were agriculturally developed and supported cities. Beersheba was an important settlement in the northern Negev due to the underground aquifers that allowed wells to be dug there. Isaac re-dug wells there that had been covered up by the Philistines (Genesis 26:18).
Solomon also built settlements in the Negev, establishing cities and agriculture:
And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and took control of it. He built Tadmor in the wilderness and all the store cities that he built in Hamath. He also built Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon, fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars…Solomon also had those who were in Hamath, in the land of Judah, and in the Negeb, in the land of Simeon. (2 Chronicles 8:3-5, 7)
Exile to the Negev
During times of exile, Israelites were sometimes forcibly resettled in the Negev by foreign powers. When Judah was conquered by the Babylonians, “all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans” (2 Kings 25:26). However, a remnant of “the poorest of the land” were left behind “to be vinedressers and plowmen” (2 Kings 25:12). Jeremiah was among those taken to the Negev stronghold of Mizpah (Jeremiah 40:5-6).
The Negev in Prophecy
The prophets envisioned a renewal of the Negev in the glorious future return of Israel to the land. Isaiah proclaimed:
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; Like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. (Isaiah 35:1-2)
Ezekiel spoke of repopulating deserted cities of the Negev after the return from exile:
O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD…I will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt. And I will multiply on you man and beast…I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I am the LORD. I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel. And they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer bereave them of children. (Ezekiel 36:4, 10-12)
This prophetic hope looked to a future day when a revived nation of Israel would once again inhabit and cultivate the Negev wilderness.
The Negev in the Gospels
The Negev region briefly features in the Gospels’ birth narratives about John the Baptist and Jesus:
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord…Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. (Luke 1:5-6, 8-9)
Zechariah’s division of priests were on duty at the temple in Jerusalem, but he and his wife Elizabeth lived in the Negev hill country village of Ein Karem (Luke 1:39-40). John the Baptist would be born to them there. Similarly, Mary went to visit Elizabeth in Ein Karem after finding out she would bear Jesus (Luke 1:39-56). Ein Karem was about 70 miles from Nazareth, a several days journey through the Negev region.
Jesus’ Temptation in the Wilderness
After his baptism, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil before starting his ministry (Matthew 4:1). The traditional site believed to be the “wilderness” where Jesus fasted 40 days is in the Negev between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, near where Qumran is located. Early monastic communities like the Byzantine monastery of St. George also inhabited this area to commemorate Jesus’ time of testing there.
Transition to the Negev
The Negev gradually diminished in importance in the intertestamental and New Testament periods. Political instability and wars had depopulated the region. But with the Zionist settlement of the 20th century, a concerted effort was made to “make the desert bloom” again through innovative farming, repopulating the region with hundreds of new kibbutzim and moshavim agricultural communities.
Today, nearly 1 million Israelis live in Beersheba and other Negev cities. The desert comprises over 60% of Israel’s land area. The Negev’s modern resettlement represents a partial fulfillment of the biblical prophecies about God’s people returning to the land and reviving its most arid regions.