Meaning & use
Negeb
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Meaning
proper nounproperregionalreligion
The dry southern region of Israel, a desert area mentioned often in the Bible.
Grammar: Used as a name, so it takes no article: travelers crossed the Negeb, not 'the Negeb region of the the'.
Patterns
- the Negeb
- in the Negeb
- across the Negeb
The Negeb stretches from the hills of Judah down to the Gulf of Aqaba.
Several stories in the book of Genesis are set in the Negeb.
Modern maps of Israel usually label this dry southern area the Negev.
Common combinations
- the Negeb desert
- The Negeb desert receives very little rain each year.
- in the Negeb
- Abraham's family lived for a time in the Negeb.
- the Negeb region
- The Negeb region is rocky and thinly populated.
- cross the Negeb
- Traders once crossed the Negeb with camels.
Synonyms and how they differ
- Negev
- The usual modern spelling of the same place name; choose it for geography and news writing.
- the wilderness
- A general word for wild, empty land; it does not name this specific region.
Word family
- Negev proper noun
- The standard modern spelling of this desert region in southern Israel.
Commonly confused: Negeb or Negev?
Negeb vs Negev
Same place, different spelling. Negev is the form used today; Negeb appears mainly in older Bible translations.
Practice
Which sentence uses the name correctly?
Choose one answer.
A proper place name takes no article and has no plural, so 'into the Negeb' is correct. 'A Negeb' wrongly treats it as a countable common noun, and 'the Negebs' invents a plural.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Negeb”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.