Genesis 12:9

toward the South Heb. Negeb, the southern tract of Judah. Negebmeans "the dry land," "the land of thin soil." It was applied especially to the country in the southernmost region of Canaan, described in Joshua 15:21-32, and spoken of in Numbers 13:17; Numbers 13:22; Numbers 13:26. The Israelite, dwelling in Palestine, was accustomed to speak of the south as the "negeb" quarter, just as he spoke of the west as the "sea" quarter, of the compass. The R.V. prints the word "South" with a capital, when it denotes the region between Hebron and the wilderness. It is found in the form Ngbin an Egyptian writing of the reign of Thothmes III (1479 1447 b.c.) as a name for S. Palestine (Müller's Asien u. Europa, p. 148).