Nahal Gerar, also ''Nachal Grar'' ( he, נחל גרר) is a

wadi Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water onl ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, in the

Negev The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southe ...

desert. Its

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

name is Wadi esh-Sheri'a (also Wady el Sharia and other variations). Along this wadi, there are several important ancient

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

archaeological sites. During the Early Iron Age this was an area of

Philistine The Philistines ( he, פְּלִשְׁתִּים, Pəlīštīm; Koine Greek (LXX): Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''Phulistieím'') were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan from the 12th century BC until 604 BC, when ...

settlement.

Geography

Tell-el-Sheria railway bridge in Palestine 1917

Nahal Gerar begins on the border between the northern Negev and the southwest foothills of

Judaean Mountains The Judaean Mountains, or Judaean Hills ( he, הרי יהודה, translit=Harei Yehuda) or the Hebron Mountains ( ar, تلال الخليل, translit=Tilal al-Khalīl, links=, lit=Hebron Mountains), is a mountain range in Palestine and Israel wh ...

, near the village of

Lahav Lahav ( he, לַהַב, ''lit. blade'') is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located around 20 km north of Beersheba and covering 33,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bnei Shimon Regional Council. In it had a population of . Hist ...

(ancient site of

Tel Halif Tel H̱alif, formerly Tel H̱alifa ( he, תל חליף, Arabic name: Tel el-Khuweilifeh) is an archaeological site, a mound ( tell) in northern Negev area, west from kibbutz Lahav, Israel. Albrecht Alt suggested that it is the location of the ...

). Then the wadi flows west near the city of

Lehavim Lehavim ( he, לְהָבִים) is an affluent village in southern Israel. Founded in 1983 and located in the northern Negev around 15 km north of Beersheba, it is a local council. In it had a population of . History Lehavim, originally ...

, and along the southern edge of a large Bedouin town of

Rahat Rahat ( ar, رهط, he, רַהַט) is a predominantly Bedouin city in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel. In it had a population of . As such, it is the largest Bedouin city in the world, and the only one in Israel to ...

. Then it flows west along the northwestern edge of the

towards the town of

Netivot Netivot ( he, נְתִיבוֹת, "''paths''", ar, نتيڤوت) is a city in the Southern District of Israel located between Beersheba and Gaza. In , it had a population of . History Netivot was founded in 1956 and named after the bible: " ...

, an agricultural area. Near the village of

Re'im Re'im ( he, רֵעִים, lit. ''Friends'') is a secular kibbutz in southern Israel, and one of the Gaza Strip, Gaza vicinity villages. Located at the confluence of Besor, Besor Stream and Nahal Gerar, Gerar Stream in the north-western Negev deser ...

, it flows into

Nahal Besor The Besor ( he, נחל הבשור, ''Nahal HaBesor'') is a wadi in southern Israel. The stream begins at Mount Boker (near Sde Boker), and spills into the Mediterranean Sea near Al-Zahra in the Gaza Strip, where it is called Wadi Gaza ( ar, وا� ...

, of which it is the main affluent.

Nature reserve

The lower river area is now part of the

Eshkol National Park Eshkol National Park () is a national park located in Northern Negev, Israel, near Gaza. History The 875-acre park offers lawns and shaded picnic areas and boasts at its centre the largest spring in the Nahal Besor/Wadi Ghazzeh basin, known in ...

, a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

used by tourists. Forest have been replanted there, and hiking trails developed. The reserve consists of two parts. The first has an area of about 2,000 dunams (2 square kilometers) and is located between

and

Tidhar Tidhar ( he, תִּדְהָר, ''lit.'' Plane tree) is a moshav in southern Israel. Located in the north-western Negev between Ofakim and Netivot, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bnei Shimon Regional Council and covers an area of around 1,000 ...

, the other has an area of about 5,500 dunams (5.5 square kilometers) and lies between the villages

Ranen Ranen ( he, רנן, lit. ''Singing'') is a moshav in southern Israel. Located in the north-western Negev two kilometres north of Ofakim, it falls under the jurisdiction of Merhavim Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The mosha ...

and Re'im.

Archaeology

Along Nahal Gerar, there are several important Bronze Age archaeological sites. An archaeological survey and excavation was conducted in 2010 by Noa Shaul on behalf of the

Israel Antiquities Authority The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA, he, רשות העתיקות ; ar, داﺌرة الآثار, before 1990, the Israel Department of Antiquities) is an independent Israeli governmental authority responsible for enforcing the 1978 Law of ...

(IAA). The major settlement of this area started at the time of the

Egyptian Middle Kingdom The Middle Kingdom of Egypt (also known as The Period of Reunification) is the period in the history of ancient Egypt following a period of political division known as the First Intermediate Period. The Middle Kingdom lasted from approximatel ...

, and continued into the

New Kingdom New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, when some significant Egyptian settlements were founded. After the decline of the Egyptian sites, during the Early Iron Age, this area became culturally influenced by the Philistine settlers. The major sites in this area are

Tel Haror Tel Haror (Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It wa ...

/Tell Abu Hareira, and Tel Shera/Tell esh-Sheri'a. Further east along the river, there are also the sites of

Tell el-Khuweilifeh Tel H̱alif, formerly Tel H̱alifa ( he, תל חליף, Arabic name: Tel el-Khuweilifeh) is an archaeological site, a mound ( tell) in northern Negev area, west from kibbutz Lahav, Israel. Albrecht Alt suggested that it is the location of the ...

and

Tell Beit Mirsim Tell Beit Mirsim is an archaeological site in Israel, on the border between the lowlands of Shfela and Mount Hebron. It is located in the eastern region of Lachish about 20 kilometers southwest of Hebron and about 13 kilometers southeast of Lach ...

. Near Tel Haror, in the neighbourhood of the modern town of

, there are numerous historical mounds, some of them not excavated. Some scholars believe that Tel Haror was the ancient

Sharuhen Sharuhen ( he, שָׁרוּחֶן) was an ancient town in the Negev Desert or perhaps in Gaza. Following the expulsion of the Hyksos from Egypt in the second half of the 16th century BCE, they fled to Sharuhen and fortified it. The armies of Pha ...

fortress of the

Hyksos Hyksos (; Egyptian '' ḥqꜣ(w)- ḫꜣswt'', Egyptological pronunciation: ''hekau khasut'', "ruler(s) of foreign lands") is a term which, in modern Egyptology, designates the kings of the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt (fl. c. 1650–1550 BC). T ...

. Where Nahal Gerar flows into Nahal Besor, there's the large ancient site of

Tell Jemmeh Tell Jemmeh ( ar, تل جمه), also known in Hebrew as Tel Gamma (תל גמה) or Tel Re'im (תל רעים), is a prominent mound, or tell (archaeology), tell, located in the region of the northwestern Negev and the southern Israeli coastal plain ...

(Tell Gamma).

Biblical connections

Nahal Gerar is named after the Biblical sites mentioned in the Book of Genesis 20.1: "Abraham went thence into the country of Negeb, and settled between

Kadesh Qadesh, Qedesh, Qetesh, Kadesh, Kedesh, Kadeš and Qades come from the common Semitic root "Q-D-Š", which means "sacred." Kadesh and variations may refer to: Ancient/biblical places * Kadesh (Syria) or Qadesh, an ancient city of the Levant, on ...

and Shur; sojourning in

Gerar Gerar ( ''Gərār'', "lodging-place") was a Philistine town and district in what is today south central Israel, mentioned in the Book of Genesis and in the Second Book of Chronicles of the Hebrew Bible. Identification According to the Internatio ...

."Gerar
-- also known as Tel Haror, Tell Abu Hureireh, Geder -- bibleplaces.com The city of Gerar is now generally believed to be located at

/Tell Abu Hareira.

References

External links