Editing Negev (section)

==={{anchor|Biblical}}Biblical===
====Extent of biblical Negev====
According to Israeli archaeologists, in the [[Hebrew Bible]], the term Negev only relates to the northern, semi-arid part of what we call Negev today; of this, the [[Tel Arad|Arad]]-[[Beersheba]] Valley, which receives enough rain to permit agriculture and therefore sedentary occupation (the "[[desert fringe]]"), is accordingly defined as "the eastern (biblical) Negev".<ref name= BArieh/>

====Biblical reference====
According to the [[Book of Genesis]] chapter 13, [[Abraham]] lived for a while in the Negev after being banished from Egypt ({{bibleverse|Genesis 13:1,3|multi=yes}}). During the [[The Exodus|Exodus journey]] to the Promised Land, [[Moses]] sent [[The Twelve Spies|twelve scouts]] into the Negev to assess the land and population ({{bibleverse|Numbers|13:17}}). Later the northern part of biblical Negev was inhabited by the [[Tribe of Judah]] and the southern part of biblical Negev by the [[Tribe of Simeon]]. The Negev was later part of the [[United Monarchy|Kingdom of Solomon]] (in its entirety, all the way to the Red Sea), and then, with varied extension to the south, part of the [[Kingdom of Judah]].<ref>{{cite book |url= https://archive.org/details/negevchallenge00even |url-access= registration |page= [https://archive.org/details/negevchallenge00even/page/18 18] |title= The Negev: The Challenge of a Desert |first1= Michael |last1= Evenari |first2= Leslie |last2= Shanan |first3= Naphtali |last3= Tadmor |date=8 May 1982 |publisher= Harvard University Press |access-date=8 May 2018 |via=Internet Archive|isbn= 9780674606722 }}</ref>