What's In the Name "Negev"?

Etymology - study of word and term origins and associations - is revealing of many things, especially so in the Hebrew language.


http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Negev.html#.WMC4M28rLb0

The name Negev is the modern version of the original name Negeb (the Hebrew letter ב, beth, was once probably pronounced as a B but now as a V; that's why today some people are called Avraham instead of the classic Abraham), but it's not clear when the word נגב (negeb) became a name.

The word נגב (negeb) appears to have several meanings and the chances are excellent that we modern readers of the Bible are simply clueless about the whole compass of this word, and thus the name Negev. In Old Testament times, a country in the political sense would be known by border markers (or border towns) at its extremes and a ruler of sorts at its most pronounced city. A "region" would be known by some distinctly different feature, like mountains or a decidedly different climate. It's a bit of a mystery to which region the name or word נגב (negeb) was applied, and why. The area originally known as the נגב (negeb) appears to have been located somewhere in between Egypt and Canaan but the exact borders are quite unclear (Genesis 13:1-3)

Older versions of the Bible (KJV, Young, Darby, JSP) consistently translate our word with "the south" or "South Land" but modern translations (NAS, NIV) treat this word as a proper name when it seems appropriate. This obviously requires the translator to be insightful enough to know what the author meant to say, which isn't always easy. And the result is an unwanted association with the present day Negev region which is arguably not the same as the area named Negeb back then. And then, to modern readers the word negev is foreign and specific but to a Hebrew audience, it was an ordinary word that meant ordinary things and was used to describe many things other than what we call the Negev.

When this ancient land is studied it is best seen through the eyes of former inhabitants who knew it as a much different place in their times.





Negev Restoration Blog Page Guide

Read First
https://negevrestoration-ezekiel36factor.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-israel-negev-what-happened.html

Read Second
The Israel Negev - What Happened?
https://negevrestoration-ezekiel36factor.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-israel-negev-what-happened.html

Read Third
This Page
https://negevrestoration-ezekiel36factor.blogspot.com/2017/03/whats-in-namel-negev.html


Read Fourth
History of the Negev - Proofs and Evidences
https://negevrestoration-ezekiel36factor.blogspot.com/2017/03/history-of-negev-proofs-and-evidences.html


Read Fifth
On The Occupiers Of The Present Negev
https://negevrestoration-ezekiel36factor.blogspot.com/2017/03/on-occupiers-of-present-negev.html


Read Sixth
The Negev Question - Understanding The Real Garden of Eden Effect
https://negevrestoration-ezekiel36factor.blogspot.com/2017/02/the-negev-question-understanding-real.html


Read Seventh
Negev Farming - Wide Variety of Times & Practice
https://negevrestoration-ezekiel36factor.blogspot.com/2017/03/negev-farming-wide-variety-of-times.html


Read Eighth
Knowing Where The Former Negev Was To See Our Goal Now
https://negevrestoration-ezekiel36factor.blogspot.com/2017/03/seeing-where-former-negev-was-to-know.html