{N}THE NEGEB{/}

From a strictly geographical standpoint, and keeping in mind the landscape, the climate, and the hydrography, the northern boundary of the Negeb would be located along the series of plains that stretch between Beersheba and Arad. The Negeb is a semi-desert region with a triangular shape. It borders to the east, on the Valley of Arabah which follows the Jordan-Israel frontier, and to the west, on an artificial boundary which separates it from Egypt.
The Negeb takes its name from a Hebrew root, which means "the dry," but in the Old Testament, it designates all of southern Palestine, with particular names according to the places: "the Negeb of Judah, the Negeb of Jarahmeel or the Negeb of the Kenites" [1S_27,10]; and also Negeb of the Calebites, people related to the Philistines [1S_30,14], or Negeb of the Cherethites. According to the Bible, this arid region extends northwards to the foothills of Hebron. In its northern part we find the {N}midbar{/}, a Hebrew word that designates a steppe where sparse and short vegetation grows. It separates the crop areas from the arid desert land. The midbar is often translated in our bibles as "desert".

{K}THE "MAKHTESH"{/}
The High Negeb is a mountainous area that occupies the central part of this sector. Upon the drift of the tectonic plates -the African and the Arabic plates- the large passage was originated, where the River Jordan and the Dead Sea are lodged. This whole sector contracted and the soil folded, thus increasing the number of rifts which were taken up by water and wind. By their erosive action, the elements opened up large hollows which filled with the seas. Here the oldest geological layers were laid bare. The spectacle they present to our eyes is breathtaking: multicolor surfaces in various tones, sand, gypsum or limestone deserts, petrified forests, or rocky walls spread with fossils. The praise from the Psalm gains here a special emphasis: "{C}For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain heights"{/} [Ps_95,3] - [Ps_95,4].

{K}AN INHABITED DESERT{/}
Long before the age of the patriarchs, nomadic shepherds already lived in this desert. Close to the Egyptian border, on top of mount Harif, some traces of habitat have been found belonging to the VIII millennium, like funereal mounds surrounded by stones, flint tools, huts like those used by the clans that lived by hunting and harvesting. For instance, men from the Neolithic period hunted antelopes using traps based on the creel net principle: an alley flanked by lateral walls that converged toward each other, rising at the same time, and ended in a pit which left no way of escape to the trapped animal. This type of trap has been found in the region of Elath.
During the III and II millennium B.C., there were shepherd villages along the valleys where winter torrents flowed, named oueds or {N}wadis{/}. The buildings are characterized by a central post supporting the roof of a single room housing at the same time a place for people and a place for livestock.

{N}THE KINGS WATCH THEIR FRONTIER{/}
Since the early times of the monarchy, many small forts were built all along the southern frontier of the kingdom. Due to their proximity, communication by signals was possible between them. These buildings had a triple purpose:
- To protect spring water sources, wells, and cisterns. In a desert environment, water turns out to be the most valuable good and also the most coveted one.
- To promote agricultural development. This was a concern of Solomon and subsequently of Uzziah, king of Judah (781-740 B.C.), who built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns because they were interested in agriculture [2Chr_26,10].
- To survey the routes that crossed the Negeb.
Most of those surveillance posts were destroyed by pharaoh Sisac, who led a campaign against the kingdom of Judah about 925 B.C., after Solomon's death. The frontier, that stretched from the south of the Dead Sea to Kadeshbarnea, going through the Desert of Zin and Avdat, was displaced northwards, along the Beersheba basin. Some of these small forts were later destroyed upon the invasion of the kingdom of Judah by Sennacherib (701 B.C.). The last fortified points in the Negeb were then definitely abandoned. From that moment until the arrival of the Nabataeans at the end of the IV century B.C., there were no more permanent settlements on the Negeb.


{K}- (TELL) ARAD{/}
On a small hill, seven km. west of the present-day city of Arad, in the semi desert surroundings of the Northern Negeb, some impressive ruins, visible from a long distance, stand out to such an extent that the Bedouin tradition named it Tell Arad, which in Arabic means "the bunker hill". The city walls belong to an old Israelite fortress located on top of the hill from where it dominates the old Canaanite town. Two fortress cities, in fact, share this site. The Canaanite town is found in the lower sector, dating five thousand years back. In the upper sector is found a kind of citadel, dating from the times of the monarchy, which was repeatedly occupied in the course of several centuries.
The site remained abandoned for approximately 1800 years, the period between the lower city of the Old Bronze Age (2900-2650 B.C.), and the upper city of the X century B.C.  At a time when civilization was advancing and the cities all over the Near East were thriving, the arrival of the Israelites meant a setback: this is the time to remember that Israel's originality lies on a different level.

{K}THE GREAT CITY FROM THE OLD BRONZE AGE{/}
The 10-hectare fortified city, successor to a shepherd village, could very likely house 5,000 inhabitants within its walls. A stone wall 2.40 meters thick followed the outline of the crest surrounding the hollow at the center of which the water reserve was located. From there, the control over the accesses from Judah and the hills of Hebron, toward the Negeb and the Arabah was assured. Narrow alleys formed the grid of the city starting from the sector where the water reserve was located.
The great public buildings from the Canaanite period are attributed to a prefect, a governor, or a king, depending upon their importance. The Bible mentions the king of Arad (in [Jos_12,14] in a list of the cities defeated by the Israelites under Joshua's command.
One of these public buildings opened up toward the market at a level with the western gate, an access which might look rather narrow, but it was wide enough to allow the passage of carts pulled by recently domesticated oxen or asses.
Diversified economic activity - agricultural, industrial, metallurgical - insured the prosperity of the city. Arad became an important copper trade center. Due to the fact that it participated in the development of the copper mines in the Sinai, it was able to control their production, which was dispatched to southern Palestine. There it was exchanged with other products, like asphalt and salt from the Dead Sea. Moreover, the commercial trade with Egypt, either by sea or land, provided a source of wealth for these city-states of Palestine.

{K}THE RELIGIOUS COMPLEX{/}
A sacred enclosure delimited this complex, where two temples of twin construction arose. They had a great hall, facing the East, which opened toward a courtyard. In the courtyard of the northern temple, there was a basin and a very beautiful altar made of uncut stone. Very likely, this altar was nothing more than a table for the offerings, where the first fruits of the harvest were laid to assure the blessings of some deity of nature. On a stele, two human figures could be appreciated with extended arms, separated fingers, and wheat sheaves in place of heads.
The large hall of the southern "temple" was surrounded by low benches. At one end, there was a raised stone. Here one could ask what the purpose of these benches could be: Were they by chance  used to place offerings there? Or were they perhaps part of a refectory used for ritual meals where people ate before God [Dt_12,7]? In this last case, the practice of the communion {N}sacrifices{/} which were later practiced in the Israelite sanctuary of Silo [1S_1,4] - [1S_1,9] and regulated by law, could have been rooted in the ancient traditions. In this way, in accordance with the mysterious plan of God, the day was being prepared, in which men would understand these words: take and eat, this is my body; take and drink, this is my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant.
This city was destroyed and finally abandoned around 2650 B.C., after some  disaster or epidemic occurred.

{K}A VILLAGE OF THE KENITES{/}
In the time of the Judges, a fortified village was developed in the upper sector, not far from there, around a tile-paved sacred space, where a square altar stood. It was the high place (or {N}high temple{/}) of the Kenite families established in the region, as can be gathered from a verse in the book of Judges: "{C}The descendants of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, also went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms to that part of the desert of Judah  on the boundary of the Negeb near Arad, and they settled there with them."{/} [Jdg_1,16].
Therefore, entire clans of Madianites and Kenites settled all over the southern boundary of the country. They subsequently became a part of the tribe of Judah.

{K}THE ROYAL FORTRESS{/}
This village was replaced with a square fortress during the reign of Solomon. It quickly became an administrative and military stronghold, used to control the routes to the country of Moab, Edom, and the Arabah. At about this same time, an Israelite sanctuary was located in the northwestern corner of the citadel. Nevertheless, both of them were destroyed by Pharaoh Sisac in his campaign over Palestine in 925 B.C.
During the IX century, a new fortress was built. The water feeding the cisterns excavated in the rock, came from the well dug in the ancient Canaanite pool. The water was lifted up to the fortress on the back of donkeys. The numerous "ostraka" found in this site indicate that the city of Arad stood as an important market in the heart of an agricultural region. It distributed the local products and was used as a departing station towards Hebron. It supplied flour, oil, and wine to the mercenaries of the Jewish army who patrolled to avoid the Nomadic and Edomite incursions.
After the exile to Babylon, the Persians and the successors of Alexander, and finally the Romans, established their fortresses on this hill.

{K}THE ISRAELITE TEMPLE{/}
The fortress of Arad kept the only provincial sanctuary discovered until that time in Judah. It was oriented to the east as was also the Temple of Jerusalem. It consisted of a courtyard, a large room, and the Holiest Place (or Holy of Holies). In the middle of the great courtyard, the altar, built with uncut stones, complied with the norms written in the book of Exodus [Ex_20,25]. The entrance to the Holy of Holies (Holiest Place) was flanked by two altars of different dimensions for the placing of perfumes.
These faced the  two "massebot" (standing stones), the bigger of which is painted in red. These two standing stones, of enormous size, could symbolize the God of Israel and its "ashera", which was a trunk (or sacred tree) that symbolized the divine gift of life and fertility.
Finally, while the excavations were going on, several "ostraka" were found on which were written the names of priestly families, linked to the temple of Arad, and found in the Bible, like Pashur [Jer_20,1] - [Jer_20,6] and Meremoth [Ne_12,3].

{K}THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE OF ARAD AND THE REFORM OF JOSIAH{/}
At the beginning of the VIII century B.C. King Hezekiah was dismayed about the destruction of the Northern Kingdom by Assyria. This event was considered a divine punishment for their infidelity to the Covenant. Therefore, Hezekiah removed the sanctuaries on the hills, demolished the standing stones, and cut down the sacred pillars [2K_18,4]; at Arad, he ordered the destruction of the altar of holocausts. He also started a reform that was to be continued by King Josiah between 620 and 609 B.C.
Taking advantage of the weakening of Assyria, and directly inspired in the Deuteronomy, Josiah carried out his religious program summarized in this tripartite formula: one God, one people, one sanctuary. To concretize it, it was necessary to destroy the provincial sanctuaries as was the case in Arad.

{K}- BEERSHEBA{/}
Beersheba, present-day capital of the whole southern district of Israel, was already the main city of the Negeb in ancient times. In the biblical tradition, it was linked to the history of the Patriarchs. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob traveled to Beersheba to call upon the one God.
To the east of the modern city, the biblical site of Tell Sheva is a beautiful architectural example of a small Israelite city, as it was planned during the times of the unified monarchy, about a thousand years before the Christian era. The most astonishing discovery was an altar with horns that surprisingly belonged to the Israelite temple.
From the IV millennium, first the nomads and then the shepherds, came to settle at the basin of the wadi Sheva, attracted by this fertile and virgin land. In this semi-deserted zone, where the yearly rainfall remained bellow 200 mm, the scarce cultivable soils allowed some crops like wheat, barley, and lentils to be harvested.
To cope with the problem of water during the year, they dug superficial wells on the bottom of the wadis. This agricultural and cattle population settled in small underground villages distributed around the watercourses, such as Beersheba. However, some of them engaged in industrial activities.
At the gates of Beersheba a workshop was found where the local craftsmen worked the ivory imported from Asia and Africa; about a hundred meters from there, in Abu Matar, they specialized in the metallurgy of copper, extracted from the lodes of the Arabah; others yet, still in the vicinity of Beersheba, worked the turquoise and the fresh water shells imported from Egypt.
The underground houses provided protection from the sand storms and the extreme temperature changes between day and night. The early houses used the same technique employed for the excavation of wells. They had a small sunken courtyard and an underground room with a silo and some shallow pools. Later on, the houses were dug beyond the layer of clay and adopted the form of an underground gallery with small oval rooms, lined up and connected by a tunnel. Lastly, adobes and stones taken from the oueds or the wadis, were used to build circular half-buried dwellings before coming to the construction of surface houses. The Beersheba site was abandoned about 3300 B.C. for reasons so far unknown.

{K}A STAGE IN THE ROUTE OF THE PATRIARCHS{/}
The three great patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, bearers of the promise of the land, took a break in their migration journey and stopped over in Beersheba. According to the book of Genesis, the three arrived in the region in order to worship the only God; but we know that the purpose of this family grouping is to highlight the union of the tribes. In fact, Abraham's feat took place in the region of Hebron, and Jacob's in Trans-Jordan.
The dispute about the well located between Gerar and Beersheba is an interesting example of divergence and fusion between several ancient traditions. Two etymologies have been proposed to explain the name of Beersheba.
{C}Abraham then took sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech and the two men made a treaty. Abraham set aside seven ewe lambs from the flock. Abimelech said to him: "Why have you put aside seven ewe lambs?" Abraham replied, "Accept these seven lambs from my hand as evidence that I dug this well"{/}. {C}Therefore, that place was named Beersheba{/} (that is, Well of the seven, or Well of the Oath) because the two men took an oath there [Gen_21,27] - [Gen_21,31].
However, in Gen 26 only the "oath" is mentioned: {C}He called it Shibeah, and that is why the name of the town has been Beersheba {/}(Well of the Oath){C} to this day {/}[Gen_26,33].

{K}THE PATRIARCHS IN BEERSHEBA{/}
Upon his arrival in Canaan, Abraham came across a religious universe dominated by El Olam, meaning the Eternal God [Gen_21,33]. This does not mean that they worshiped only one god, but rather that this was the supreme god that dominated above all the other gods and was linked to the Canaanite sanctuary of Beersheba. Abraham placed his faith and confidence in the God who called him, not yet fully understanding what was expected of him but feeling that He was the living God, the personal God who wished to establish a true relationship with people.
If the name of Abraham and the traditions related to him are closely linked to the holy site of Hebron-Mamre, Beersheba is the point of union of the tribes related to Isaac; it is there that God renewed the promise to him.
{C}From there Isaac went to Beersheba, and Yahweh appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of Abraham, your father; do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and increase your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham" {/}[Gen_26,23].
Hagar looked for refuge in the softly undulating desert to the south of the city. Dismissed because of the jealousy of Sara, the barren wife, the Egyptian slave was saved by the intervention of God who heard the cries of her son Ismael. He would become the ancestor of the tribes of Northern Arabia.
On his part Elijah, the prophet who rose like fire [Sir_48,1] against the idolatry of Israel, and who was persecuted by Queen Jezebel for having massacred the prophets of Baal on top of Mount Carmel, took refuge in the desert of Beersheba. Feeling discouraged, he was fed and comforted by the angels, then he departed toward Horeb to meet there with God.

{K}TELL-SHEBA, THE ISRAELITE CITY{/}
Equipped with administrative, commercial and military abilities, this city received a general layout that could harmonize these abilities, and was maintained throughout the four centuries of occupation of the place.
A circular street stretched around the fortifications within which the houses were built. Some of the houses, of typical Israelite design, consisted of four rooms. In the courtyards were found clay ovens, basaltic millstones for the grain, as also simple and shallow double casks, that were probably used as winepresses. Near the entrance of the city, three royal warehouses were used to store cereals, oil and wine,.

{K}AN ENIGMATIC ALTAR{/}
Among the stones that were used to build the warehouses, some painstakingly cut blocks were discovered which, properly mounted and assembled, constituted an altar with horns. The presence of an altar like this in the heart of a royal Israelite city, reveals the permanence of the provincial hill sanctuaries and confirms the fact that the unity of the sanctuary of the only God, a law that the Bible attributes to Moses, was not in vigor until the reform of Josiah. This can be equally verified in Tell Arad. Taking into account Amos' invectives (the prophet from Judah who exercised his ministry in the Northern Kingdom in the middle of the VIII century B.C.), we can surmise that the cult practiced in the provincial sanctuaries was rather ambiguous, and that the pagan deities, the Baals, were worshipped there along with Yahweh, the God of Israel: {C}"Yahweh says this to the nation of Israel, 'Seek me, that you may live, but not in Bethel nor come to Gilgal, nor pass through to Beersheba... Seek Yahweh, that you may live, or he will rush like fire on the nation of the Joseph and raze it' " {/}[Am_5,4] - [Am_5,6]{C}.{/}
It is clear, then, that the Israelites from the Northern Kingdom did not hesitate to cross the entire country of Judah to go down in pilgrimage up to the boundaries of the Negeb, in order to sacrifice in Beersheba in compliance with the specific and ever living traditions of the God of Isaac. But these sanctuaries had been profaned, and the prophet announced their ruin and even worse: {C}It will be tough on those who say: "Long life to the god of Dan, long life to the god of Beersheba!" They shall fall, never to rise again" {/}[Am_8,14].
The horned altar of Beersheba did not withstand the religious reform of Hezekiah around 715 B.C. The royal city was destroyed some years later by Sennacherib.

{K}- ENGEDI{/}
Located between the shores of the Dead Sea, scorched by the sun most of the year, and the arid surface of the desert of Judah, the oasis of Engedi appears as a natural, fresh paradise thanks to its permanent water spring. It is constantly stirred up by wildlife blooming everywhere, with its ever present fauna, birds of a thousand colors, conies sun bathing in the crevices of the rocks, gazelles and mountain goats standing guard in the summit of the rocky cliffs.
The fountain of Engedi (in Hebrew "Fount of the kid goat") looks down on the Dead Sea, from about 200 m., in the middle of an exuberant vegetation. Contemplating the spectacle of the water that gushes forth in successive waterfalls, the heart and the lips of the believer spontaneously evoke the verses of the Psalm:
{C} "As the deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God." [Ps_42,2] - [Ps_42,3].{/}
The book of Songs [Song_1,14], [Ezk_47,10], and Sirach [Sir_24,14], evoke this paradise. In contrast, the names of the mountains, canyons, valleys, and surrounding fountains, evoke the history of Saul and David: Who could not recall the passage of the book of Samuel where the author leads us to envisage the irresistible rise of David? [1S_24,1].


{K}- MASADA{/}
Masada and its story are very close to legendary. A giddy fortress occupies the eight hectares of a small rocky meseta practically inaccessible due to its abrupt slopes. Herod the Great, the builder king who liked to build his fortress-palaces on top of the hillocks that dominated the desolate extension of the desert, found this eagle's nest and built there an architectonic complex, as refined as it was sumptuous, and surrounded it with solid fortifications.
In May of the year 73 B.C., the 960 inhabitants of the fortress, besieged by the roman army during the first Jewish uprising, committed collective suicide. This tragic story was immortalized by Flavius Josephus, the only historian who registered this heartrending event, in his book "War of the Jews." Masada was then the last stronghold of the Jewish resistance against the Romans after the fall of Herodion and Macheront. 

{K}HEROD THE GREAT IN MASADA{/}
Those who favored the Roman occupation wanted to repel far into Asia the Parthians whom Antigonus had asked for help in taking over the throne of Judea. The Parthians then took possession of Jerusalem and crowned Antigonus. In view of this, Herod had to escape and decided to take his family to a safe place. He crossed the Judean desert and settled his fiancee in Masada, along with his mother, his brother and sister with a garrison of 800 men. Herod left his family there for two years during which Antigonus unsuccessfully tried to take the fortress.
Back from Rome, where he had gone in search of support to obtain the crown, Herod decided to occupy the place both as a military fortress and as a refuge in case of danger. In fact, a Jewish revolt was still possible and also the beautiful and ambitious Cleopatra could dream of usurping his throne. Thus, he prepared the rocky plateau as a true fortified citadel provided with a sumptuous residence.

{K}THE HERODIAN FORTRESS{/}
Herod took again the ancient Hasmonean fortifications surrounding the rocky area and built a wide wall with casemates, reinforced with 110 towers and opened at three points. The "Path of the Snake" led to the eastern gate from where one could see the fascinating landscape of the Dead Sea and the mountains of Moab. The western gate was more easily accessible. It could be reached going up a long staircase. Finally, the water gate ended up over the cisterns.
Perched on a giddy hill dominating the vertical fall of the cliff, the northern palace spreads out in a series of steps onto three natural superposed terraces. The place is very nicely oriented: its arrangement is ideal to enjoy the shade of the cliff and the northern breeze during the terrible heat of this deserted zone.
The upper terrace, a circular platform with a structure of four paved rooms arranged around a courtyard, constituted the royal residence. The lower terraces were used to host distinguished guests. The lower palace contained the private Roman thermae. Everywhere one could see the pavement made up exclusively of black and white marble. Remarkable were also the columns and the walls decorated with frescos or gypsum painted to imitate marble.
Herod, who had come to like roman customs, had great thermae built on the upper level, adjacent to his palace, following the classical model of the Roman baths: an apodyterium or dressing room decorated with mosaic pavement, a frigidarium (cold bath), a tepidarium (lukewarm bath), and a caldarium (hot bath).
In preparation for a possible siege, there were several vast storehouses; there they could stock up in amphorae oil, flour, wine, dates, olives, etc.... Using again one of Herod's buildings with double colonnade, the Jews barricaded during the resistance, prepared there a synagogue, oriented toward Jerusalem and furnished with stone benches attached along the walls.
A large pool and a big cistern occupied the southern part; however, the water supply for the population was actually assured by twelve large water tanks dug in the rock in the northeast flank of the rift. In this desert region devoid of water sources and with scarce rainfalls, it became necessary to make use of the seasonal floods of the oueds by means of dams and then carrying the water in large earthen jars by horse back to the outer cisterns. From there the water was taken inside the fortress.
Upon Herod's death, Masada was probably abandoned and later occupied by a Roman garrison. In 66 A.D. it was seized by several hundreds of Jews who, once they occupied the fortress, heroically resisted the Roman invader.

{K}ZEALOTS AND HITMEN{/}
Who were these brave fighters that resisted such a siege, entrenched behind the walls of the fortress where they all willingly died -if we believe the narrative of Flavius Josephus- rather than surrender to the enemy? At first they were called "sicarii", that is bandits or rippers, since they were armed with a "sica," a sort of curved dagger. Flavius Josephus calls them "Zealots" only from the year 66 A.D., at the beginning of the Jewish insurrection. Zealots and sicarii shared the same convictions regarding the sanctity of the Temple, obedience to the law, and intolerance towards everything that could bring shame on the land given by God to their ancestors. However, apparently the Zealots did not carry out an armed resistance against the Romans, at least during the first half of the first century of our era.
Their action was mainly addressed against the "heretical" Jews, who were unfaithful to the Law of Moses. They never formed an organized and fanatic resistance group like that of the sicarii, with their nationalist and political messianism. After Herod's death, they gathered around Judah the Galilean who, at the time of the census, had attracted after himself a large crowd [Acts_5,37]. They formed an isolated group, a kind of military community, which settled in Masada under the command of two chiefs, Menahem and Eleazar Ben-Yair.
They stayed out of the generalized revolt of the Jewish nation, waiting for the day when they could establish again the hereditary Hasmonean dynasty and recover a messianic royalty of universal dimension. Saint Paul was almost wrongfully taken as one of those violent and fanatic nationalists during the episode of the riot that ended with his arrest in the temple of Jerusalem [Acts_21,38].
After the fall of Jerusalem and the burning of the Temple in 70 A.D., the Herodian fortresses fell one by one. The survivors took shelter in Masada and formed an organized group, determined to continue the fight.

{K}THE MANUSCRIPTS OF MASADA{/}
The occupants of the fortress constituted a religious community of strict observance, performing ritual baths and keeping a place of worship. Several fragments of manuscripts have been found in this site, corresponding to various books of the Bible. The most interesting discovery is a scroll of Sirach in Hebrew, which confirms the authenticity of the Hebraic manuscripts formerly found in El Cairo and Qumran. The existence of a "Rule of the songs for the holocaust of the Sabbath," identical to the one found in Qumran, proves that the {N}Essenes{/}, after the destruction of their redoubts, allied themselves with the rebels of Masada.

{K}THE SIEGE OF MASSADA{/}
In the year 73, the tenth Roman legion arrived at the walls of the fortress. For the Romans installed on the foothills of the cliff, the time was limited: The climate demanded that the siege operations end before the hot season. They built eight barricaded encampments using the Jews captured in the conquest of Jerusalem as labor force. Five of the encampments were connected by a ring wall, which surrounded the rocky mass for almost four kms. A mobile tower and a battering ram were mounted on an enormous dirt ramp built on the western side, and stabilized by means of wooden beams. This battering ram opened a breach, still visible, in the wall surrounding the fortress. Hundreds of heavy stone balls, launched by the catapults, went with the Roman attack. Finally, seeing that the fire was razing the rooms, the besieged decided to commit suicide. According to the version of Flavius Josephus, only two women escaped from the collective suicide and testified to these events.


{K}- THE DEAD SEA
THE WATER AND THE SALT{/}
The Dead Sea, also known as "Sea of Salt" or "Sea of Arabah," is located in the hollow of Ghor, which makes up the northern end of the Syrian-African rift. This sea is the last remainder of a great lake that occupied a large part of the Ghor during a period of almost twenty thousand years. The scarce rainfall that began approximately some forty thousand years ago, caused a regression of the lake, due to the severe evaporation.
Indeed, numerous watercourses feed the Dead Sea, such as the Jordan, the Cedron and other smaller ones. But these remain dry for the whole summer and do not compensate for the evaporation of the water in this encased and overheated hollow. Therefore, it has the extraordinary level of salinity of 26%, while in the open seas of the planet this rate never exceeds 3 to 5%.
Presently, the Dead Sea stretches along 76 km with an average width of 17 km, and its depth in the basin sector reaches a maximum of 392 m., while in the southern sector the sea floor is never deeper than 5 meters from the surface level.
No life is possible in these waters due to the high content of asphalt, chlorides, and bromides. The salt and asphalt or bitumen of Judea were the only natural resources exploited from ancient times. The asphalt was used to cover and decorate the skulls of the dead since the VIII millennium. The Nabataeans carried the asphalt to Egypt where it was also used to waterproof the hull of the ships. 
At present there are several mines of potassium, bromide, and magnesium around the present-day Sodom. However, no trace remains of the old biblical city.

{K}THE TRAGEDY OF SODOM{/}
The mountain of Sodom or Yebel Usdum is an immense block of salt, covered by gypsum and calcareous rock, and is perforated by huge quarries. Dust, sand, and salt seem to have spread a white thin layer over the valley that separates Sodom from the hills of Judea. When the irritating and dry southern wind blows (also known as Hamsin), the reliefs are blurred over with the uniform ocher of the sand, and the sea adopts a milky look. Because of the unusual contours formed by the solidified salt, the sidereal-looking scenery in this site naturally gave origin to the story of Sodom that has been used to illustrate the divine judgment that rules nations and people: {C}Now the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against Yahweh{/} [Gen_13,13]. 
They ignored hospitality, rejected foreigners, and practiced sodomy. As for the rest, this popular tradition emphasized more the social and collective nature of sin and its form of violence than its sexual aspect.
Abraham's intervention in favor of the city gave way to an admirable prayer of intercession in which man's respect before Yahweh does not at all diminish his unbreakable trust both to claim for God's justice and to appeal to his mercy. {C}Abraham  went forward and said, "Will you really let the just perish with the wicked?. Perhaps there are fifty good people in the town. Are you really going to let them perish? Would you not spare the place for the sake of these fifty righteous people? It would not be at all like you to do such a thing and you can't let the good perish with the wicked, nor treat the good and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the judge of all the earth be just?" Yahweh said, "If I find fifty good people in Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake{/}." [Gen_18,23] - [Gen_18,26].
However, all of the inhabitants, except Lot, were sinners, and punishment was unavoidable. {C}Then Yahweh rained on Sodom and Gomorrah burning sulphur out of the heavens from Yahweh, and he completely destroyed those towns and all the valley and all the inhabitants of the towns and everything that grew there.{/} [Gen_19,24] - [Gen_19,25].
In the book of Ezekiel, the living water flowing from the Temple of Jerusalem flowed toward the valley, became a river and later a torrent of living water that brought about fertility and life right in the middle of this sea that is named "dead". "{C}This water goes to the east, down to the Arabah, and when it flows into the sea of foul-smelling water, the water will become wholesome. Wherever the river flows, swarms of creatures will live in it; fish will be plentiful and the sea water will become fresh. Wherever it flows, life will abound. Fishermen will stand on the banks and spread nets from En Gedi to En Eglaim"{/} [Ezk_47,8] - [Ezk_47,12].


{K}- THE NABATAEANS{/}
This people that appeared in the history of the Near East toward the end of the IV century B.C., attained and for a long while maintained a preponderant place in commercial and mercantile activities in the area with the silk, perfume, and spice trade. After a long time of crossing the oriental international routes with their caravans, thanks to the domestication of camels and the establishment of inns equipped with great cisterns in the midst of semi-desert places, they were finally displaced from the trade monopoly by the Roman navy, and they were forced to return to agricultural labor. After losing their independence under the empire of Trajan, they were left under the vicissitudes of Rome and later of Byzantium and, more specially, of the province of Arabia to which that part of the Negeb was annexed. 
The domestication of the camel was seemingly a fact at around the end of the second millennium B.C. But the Nabataeans knew how to take advantage of the exceptional capacity of this animal to survive many days without food and water. On the other hand, as they were well familiarized with the Negeb and were experts in the art of cistern construction, they marked out their routes with these cisterns. These cisterns were bell-shaped, dug in the ground, thoroughly caulked, fitted with a narrow and well concealed orifice. They could contain between three and four thousand cubic meters of water, thus guaranteeing the life and activity of the Nabataeans in this region of such low rainfall.

{K}GOOD AND BAD LUCK{/}
Very soon they secured the trade monopoly of the spices from the Indies, the incense and myrrh from Arabia, and they became the importers to the West of the silk brought in by the Chinese merchants to the border of the Parthian kingdom, since the II century B.C, under the reign of the Hans. Already in the III century, the caravans that arrived at Petra, the capital, followed a route through Avdat and Elusa and into Gaza, its principal port center in the Mediterranean. The route to Jerusalem departed from Elat, crossed along the Arabah and passed through Mamshit and Hebron.
This commercial activity brought prosperity to the Nabataeans in the II century B.C. They took advantage of the decline of the Hellenistic kingdoms to organize themselves as an independent state. But the sacking of Gaza, carried out by Alexander Janeo, brought about the stagnation of this prosperity in the first years of the following century and would not begin to change until the days of Herod the Great. Antipater, acting in the name of Hircanus II, had already established agreements with the Nabataeans, before the arrival of Pompey to Palestine, and from amongst them, he chose Kypros as his wife. When, in due course, Herod became ruler of the land and could extend his authority over the coastal plain, he did not hesitate to encourage merchants who were carrying their goods through the ports of Gaza, Raphia, and Rinocolura: The taxes received then would be very welcomed for the realization of his ambitious construction program.

{K}THE LARGE CARAVANS{/}
It was necessary to ensure the protection of the caravans; the farther their destination, the more and greater were the risks. From the moment they left the populated centers, they were exposed to the uncontrollable bands of raiders who were constantly stalking them for their valuable merchandise. For this reason, they quickly passed from being a craft based structure to a commercial organization of considerable scope that administered the caravans (men, animals, and valuable cargo), the escort guards, and the various services that were necessary for the supply of convoys and the departure of the transported products. It was necessary to build shelters or lodgings, (caravansaries where one could stay overnight in safety), and to construct forts to guard the water spots that to this day mark out desert routes.
This type of "capitalist" economic system assured for a long time the wealth of the Nabataean kingdom and of their great families. However, the hour of decline arrived. After his naval victory over Mark Antony and Cleopatra en Actium, Octavian, all powerful in Rome, became heir to Egypt and decided to revitalize its economy.  Because of this, he proposed to seize the oriental commerce from the Nabataeans. Some years later, under the reign of Tiberius (14-37), a Greek marine named Hippalos discovered the cycles of air called "monsoon"; this discovery opened to Rome a new maritime route that ruined the caravan commerce of the Nabataeans.
Throughout this time relations between the Herodian dynasty and the Nabataeans deteriorated considerably. King Aretas IV, using as pretext the repudiation suffered by his daughter, who was married to Herod Antipas, initiated a campaign against his tactless son-in-law, and inflicted upon him a severe punishment. He also took this occasion to recover the northern part of Trans-Jordan that had been taken away from him by Augustus.


- {N}KADESH BARNEA{/}
{C}I told you this but you did not listen. You disobeyed the order of Yahweh... So you were to remain at Kadesh for many days; and you know how long it was{/} [Dt_1,43] - [Dt_1,46].
Kadeshbarnea was a decisive phase in the route of Exodus; the children of Israel stayed there a long time. One can imagine the happiness of these people at discovering this oasis in the convergence of the Zin and the Faran deserts, with its abundant springs and its comforting freshness, after crossing the large, arid spaces, scorched by the sun. Not a single trace has been left of this period of Exodus, because the Israelites were still nomads and only used light and easy-to-carry utensils.
The name Kadesh has its origin in the Hebraic root for "holiness". In fact, this stage of the divine revelation is under the sign of conflict and punishment from God: one whole generation perished in the desert; a punishment all the more severe because the crisis took place after the event of Sinai in which God manifested his love for the gift of the law.

{K}THE SUPERIMPOSED FORTRESSES OF KADESH-BARNEA{/}
They can be observed from a vantage point set on the Israelite route running along the border with Egypt. Located very near the fountain of En-Qudeirat, they occupy a strategic site at the crossroads of the caravan routes that the kings of Judah had to protect. They constitute a perfectly passable region, thanks to the installation of successive, very low-inclined terraces on the slope. In this way, the water from the scarce, but violent rains could filter through the land and maintain the humidity needful for the vegetation, instead of flowing down the slopes and getting lost in the oueds.
The first occupation of the place could be dated in the X century B.C. At that time an oval fortress was built on the rock, according to the standard plan of the forts of the Negeb. It consisted of a central courtyard surrounded by a wall of casemates. To the west of the fort, some silos and a complex of more important buildings could have served as the administrative center. It was destroyed like the other cities of the region during pharaoh Sisac's campaign; this one, however, was the only city that managed to rise from its own ashes.
In the VIII century B.C., under the reign of Azariah, king of Judah, an important fort was built with a totally new layout. Destroyed in the VIII century, it was to be later rebuilt by king Josiah of Judah.

{K}THE REVOLT OF KADESH{/}
Although the long period of Israelite stay does not seem to have left any trace, the place is rich in memories of the Exodus and the dramatic situation originated by the ascent from the desert to the Promised Land.
Under a divine command, Moses sent explorers to survey what the country of Canaan, object of the promise, truly was. Upon their return, the emissaries brought wonderful fruits from the region of Hebron, but they also brought bad news describing the cities as huge and fortified, and the inhabitants as a race of giants. Revolt of the people...
Thanks to Moses' intercession, God did forgive. However, there was a punishment in proportion to the fault committed: all the emissaries died at once in the presence of Yahweh, except Caleb and Joshua, who had not scorned the country that God had chosen for his people [Num_14,37].
In the same way, the divine justice condemned the unfaithful generation to die in the desert. The new generation, born in the desert, was protected. They represented all the future generations that, like themselves, never witnessed the fundamental events of Exodus.

{K}- ROUTES AND FORTRESSES{/}
Due to the rough surface of the central area of the Negeb, no international commercial route could cross it in a straight line from the Gulf of Akaba. The "Via Maris" on the east and the royal path running along the Valley of Arabah were connected by means of a network of secondary paths. Thanks to the biblical stories and to the signs that represent traces of the fortresses, it is possible to imagine the layout of the first routes followed by the Israelites as they left the Sinai.

{K}THE WAY OF THE ATARIM{/}
This name makes reference to the story of the explorers sent by Moses from Kadeshbarnea to reconnoiter the country of Canaan [Num_13,1]. It is the main road between Kadesh and Arad. In the time of the monarchy, several fortresses and a good number of caravansaries were built in this route. Both types of facilities were installed in strategic passes and close to the water points.

{K}THE ROUTE OF EDOM{/}
It started from Arad, extended through the southern part of the Dead Sea and the mountain of Sodom leading to Tomar, and there it connected with the transversal path, named for the Arabah.

{K}THE ROUTE OF SHUR{/}
This route started in Beersheba, crossed the regions of Elusa, Nizzana, Kadeshbarnea, and the Sinai, to reach the present-day Egyptian port of Ismailia.

{K}THE ROUTE OF ARABAH{/}
After crossing the northern region of Sinai, it passed through Kadesh, went along the border of Makhtesh-Ramon to the north, first reaching the height of Oboth (or Hazeba), to the South of the Dead Sea and finally arriving at Punion in Jordan.

{K}THE ROUTE OF THE AMORITES {/}
These people lived in northern Syria and Mesopotamia in the III millennium, and later moved to the northern part of the Negeb. The route that connected Kadeshbarnea with the south of the Arabah, was named after them.
Under the Nabataeans, the Negeb was crossed by means of a network of caravan-ways which were later used again by the Romans. One of the paths started from Petra, capital of the Nabataean kingdom, heading toward Gaza. Another one, starting from Elat, crossed the Arabah to Oboth, then to reach Mamshit through the Ascent of the Scorpions (Maale Aqrabbim). In Mamshit, it branched off, eastwards to reach Beersheba and Gaza, and northwards to reach Jerusalem via Hebron.

{K}THE ASCENT OF THE SCORPIONS{/}
It is mentioned in the Bible as the southern boundary of Canaan. "Yahweh spoke to Moses and said: {C}Give the people of Israel this order: 'When you go into the land of Canaan, this territory will be your inheritance. This is the land of Canaan with its boundaries:
The southern part of your country will stretch from the wilderness of Zin along the borders of Edom. It will start on the east at the southern end of the Salt Sea. It will then turn south toward the Ascent of the Scorpions and go through Zin as far as Kadeshbarnea'" {/}[Num_34,1] - [Num_34,4].
This zigzag path, still marked out with triangular stone markers dating from the Roman period, first climbs and then descends in Mamshit. From this path the Makhtesh Haqatan, that is, the small makhtesh, can be seen. Its dimensions and rounded shape make it easy to see its totality: here, better than in any other place, one can understand the geological phenomenon leading to the formation of these cavities.
After 38 years of wandering in the desert, Moses commanded the community to re-start their way toward the Promised Land; but Edom occupied the northern part of the Negeb up to Nahal Tsin, near the Ascent of the Scorpions, and blocked  the passage. Israel then had to border the Edomite territory, walking through the Valley of Nahal Tsin, to reach Trans-Jordan, after having crossed the Arabah: "{C}The Israelites set out from Kadesh, and the whole community came to Mount Hor" {/}[Num_20,22].{C} {/}"{C}...and Aaron died there on top of the mountain" {/}[Num_20,28].
Due to the obscurity of the text, together with its contradictions, it is rather difficult and almost impossible to follow the geographical indications found in the biblical geographical stories. Therefore, any mapping out of routes or paths from the Exodus implies only approximations that perhaps may some time be confirmed or rejected according to the progress of the archaeological excavations.


{K}- EZION-GEBER{/}
Elath and Ezion-geber are mentioned side by side in the Bible as stages of the Exodus in [Dt_2,8]. However, no vestiges have been found there previous to the arrival of the tribes to Canaan. Because of their position in the Gulf of Akaba, near the mouth of the Red Sea, they were the access gates to Arabia, Africa and the Indies. The site of Ezion-geber is identified as the Tell-el-Kheleifech located between the present-day cities of Akaba in Jordan and Elath in Israel.

{K}SHIPYARD IN THE RED SEA{/}
{C}"King Solomon built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, near Elath in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the Land of Edom{/}" [1K_9,26]. Dreaming of the wonderful wealth in the country of Ophir, Solomon built a fleet with the cooperation of Hiram, king of Tyre, who also provided an expert crew. Thanks to these great expeditions to the Happy Arabia, the ships of Hiram and Solomon returned loaded with gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks [1K_10,22], but also with {C}algum{/} wood, sandal wood from the Indies, perfumes, and precious stones. These fabulous expeditions corresponded to a period of economic prosperity and expansion. However, although Solomon's wisdom exceeded his magnificence, the people, overwhelmed by the taxes caused by his grand tasks, were already preparing the schism that would, after his death, split the kingdom that David had unified.
Salomon had also built a fortress in Ezion-geber, to enssure the protection of such an important seaport, separated from Israel by a vast desert, thus also protecting the administrative center that impelled his commercial trade.
Destroyed by Sisac, the fortress was built again in the IX century B.C. by Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, who also built {N}ships{/} of {N}Tarshis{/} to go to Ophir for gold. But the ships were wrecked at Ezion-geber, and the expedition failed [1K_22,49]. The accident was probably due to strong winds that lashed though the Valley of the Arabah. After this shipwreck, the Bible does not mention again this fortress-city, which fell several times under different rulers, as it was being alternatively conquered by Edom or Judah, whenever any of them took temporary control of the Negeb. However, the commercial relations with Arabia never stopped.


{K}- TIMNA{/}
Before focusing our attention on some decisive periods of the human adventure, such as the coming of metallurgy around the end of the prehistory, and the expansion of Egyptian civilization in the Near East, the site of Timna (25 km north of Elath) reminds us of another adventure, that of our planet. From its birth, more than four and a half billion years ago, its transformations have never stopped. In the same way, it has never stopped allowing the emergence and diversification of life since three billion years ago.

{K}A HYMN TO CREATION{/}
The wonderful poem, through which God questioned Job, sings about the unfathomable wealth of the universe, that never ceases to dazzle and probe man. In this sense, the site of Timna allows us to contemplate all the beauty of this universe created by God.
{C}Where were you when I founded the earth?
Answer, and show me your knowledge.
Do you know who determined its size,
who stretched out its measuring line?
On what were its bases set?
Who laid its cornerstone,
while the morning stars sang together
and the sons of God shouted for joy?{/} [Job_38,4] - [Job_38,7].

{K}AN ADMIRABLE GEOLOGY{/}
In the center of the semicircle formed by the hills of Timna, the mount of the same name rises as a witness of that primordial time in which the oxygen that gradually enriched the atmosphere, facilitated the emergence of seaweed of calcareous crust, followed by jellyfish and worms. The following period was the Precambrian some two billion years ago. The amphiboles that formed part of the composition of rocks, provided the dark green color of the massif. In addition to this, the metamorphism undergone by the original magma that was emerging slowly in a process taking millions of centuries, indicates its antiquity. In front of Timna, more than anywhere else, this verse from the Psalm invites us to acknowledge the lowliness of our condition: "{C}For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night{/}" [Ps_90,4]. "... with the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like one day" [2P_3,8]
The large semi-circular cliff that closes the horizon to the west, is much younger since the grains of its sandstone are settled entrapping the sedimentary rocks of marine origin. This makes the cliff contemporary with the attempts of animal life to invade the firm ground, freeing itself of the aquatic milieu in which it was enclosed since the beginning of the Primary Age.
As we climb the slopes of the cliff, we are taken back millions of years into the past, because the different limestone layers, cretaceous and dolomite, were formed in the time when the big reptiles of well-known names like the diplodocus, tyrannosaur, brontosaur, and other dinosaurs dominated the rest of the living species due to their large size. However, at the end of the Secondary Age a global cooling spread over the planet. The great reptiles disappeared at the same time that marine limestones covered like a veil older rocks of the cliff.
A long time had yet to pass before the earth's mantle broke open; the African plate and the Arabic plate started to separate. The first began to slide southwards, separating itself from its neighbor, while the second began to move northwards pivoting counterclockwise. 
It is easy to understand that the site of Timna that was located to the west, on the edge of this evolving rift, has suffered the consequences of such tectonic movement, which even today shows its scars. The famous {C}columns of Solomon{/} are in fact the result of the erosion that has sculptured the sandstone terrace thanks to its friability.

{K}THE DAWN OF METALLURGY{/}
There is a silver mine
and a place where gold is refined.
Iron is taken from earth
and copper is smelted from ore.
Man tries to conquer darkness,
piercing to the uttermost depths
in darkness for the gloomy stone. {/} [Job_28,1] - [Job_28,3]
It is very likely that this passage of the book of Job referred to the mines of Timna, the most important together with those of the Sinai, at the time when the author wrote his poem. These mines, known in other times as "Mines of Solomon," were already exploited long before he reigned, in the IV millenium B.C. Long before the Israelite period, the pharaohs had set up expeditions towards the Arabah. They made use of the local experience and labor force, using Kenites, Madianites, and Amalecites. Thus, it could be thought that the assertion of Genesis regarding the descendants of Cain, whose son was the one who forged all types of tools in copper and iron [Gen_4,22] simply echoed this situation.
The place was exploited again during the Roman-Byzantine period in the II and III centuries A.D. After its extraction, the mineral was taken to the south of Timna, to the copper processing complex of Beer-Ara.

{K}THE FIRST MINES{/}
In this IV millennium B.C. the inhabitants of this region of the Negeb acquired true expertise in the mining and metallurgy of copper, doubtless after long attempts, many of which were disappointing. Here, their work is inscribed on the floor: the entrances to the mineshafts leading to the underground galleries dug out in several levels are still visible. Some of these galleries are still passable by foot. On the surface it is still possible to find at times some small fragments of a remarkable green-color mineral. The early tools used were probably made of diorite, but the fast development of new techniques made it possible to have them replaced by metal drills and picks.
It is difficult to form an accurate idea of the working conditions and the social status of the miners. At first it seems that the processing of copper was a privileged activity of some clans in which some member of the community contributed his expertise without harming traditional social relations. However, with the Egyptian expeditions, the local population might have experienced the fist of the colonizers. It is indeed known that in ancient Egypt, mines, quarries and the exterior commerce were under the direct authority of the pharaoh who was at the same time the only beneficiary. From that time on, the miners were put into slavery and locked in that natural enclosure, where they were watched by the garrisons of the forts that surrounded them.
The drawings on rock, discovered a little to the north of the mines, show armed Egyptian soldiers riding on chariots pulled by oxen. It can be thought  that these men were in charge of the safety of the transportation of the minerals and also of assuring the profitability. A group of nomads can be seen there, armed with bows and daggers, probably to insinuate the dangers threatening the miners and the correct operation of the enterprise.

{K}THE MINING INSTALLATIONS{/}
Two important installations give us an idea of the life of the miners. The northern installation is, no doubt, a little older than that of the south. It might have belonged to the Kenite and Madianite clans. There were two courtyards surrounded by several rooms, which served to store the minerals and the tools. In the middle of the courtyard, there was an area where the minerals could be crushed in preparation for smelting, by adding iron and magnesium oxides before inserting the mineral in the ovens located on the west of both courtyards. On the south of the site, a sacred area had been installed, provided with an altar and low benches to receive the offerings.
The second complex dates from the Egyptian period. It lies over a small hill to the east of the mines. If the volume of slag found on the hill is enough to form an idea of the importance of the installation, a text from Sirach perfectly evokes the laborious condition of the forger{C}: So, too, is the smith standing beside the anvil intent on forging iron; his face is scorched by flames from the fire and he struggles in the heat of the furnace; the clang of the hammer is deafening; his eyes are fixed on the model to be copied, he makes every effort to work well and spends time at night in bringing his task to perfection" {/}[Sir_38,28].

{K}THE BRONZE SNAKE{/}
Nearby, a copper snake with a golden head has been discovered in the temple of Hator. It immediately brings to mind the biblical episode of Moses and the Bronze Snake.
Moses pleaded for the people and Yahweh said to him, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; whoever has been bitten and then looks at it shall live ." So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a standard .Whenever a man was bitten, he looked towards the bronze serpent and he lived [Num_21,8] - [Num_21,9].
