To the Bible student of the 19th to mid 20th centuries, the Negev stories of the first book of Samuel seemed strange and hardly plausible. I Samuel tells about events that happen in the Negev, presenting a picture of ancient life in a flourishing area, dotted with numerous settlements and humming with activity.  Since, in modern times, before the establishment of the State of Israel, there were only about five big Arab villages between Hebron and Beersheba, while the rest of the surface was actually a huge desert, the Bible student of those days could barely imagine the reality of the Negev of biblical periods. Today, after the resurrection of the Negev that the last two generations have experienced, we are much more qualified to feel the spirit of the biblical story concerning the Negev. This essay describes the Negev during David's rule.

Geographical Area
Settling the land