Rehovot-in-the-Negev (English), from Rehovot ba-Negev (רחובות בנגב, modern Hebrew name), derived from Khirbet Ruheibeh (Arabic, 'Ruheibeh Ruins'), is an archaeological site in the Wadi er-Ruheibeh area of the central Negev in Israel,[1] containing the remains of an ancient town. Apparently founded in the first century CE by the Nabateans, it was a thriving city by the fifth century during the Byzantine period, when it grew to more than 10,000 inhabitants, thanks to its being on the Arabian incense trade route.[citation needed]
רחובות בנגב 'Rehovot ba-Negev' (Hebrew) 'Khirbet Ruheibeh' (Arabic) | |
  Shown within Israel | |
| Location | Southern District, Israel |
|---|---|
| Region | central Negev |
| Coordinates | 31°01′54″N 34°33′54″E / 31.0317°N 34.5650°E |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Founded | 1st century |
| Abandoned | 7th century |
| Cultures | Nabataean, Roman, Byzantine |
| Site notes | |
| Archaeologists | Yoram Tsafrir |
| Condition | In ruins |
| Public access | Yes |
By population, Rehovot-in-the-Negev was the second largest of the Byzantine-period "Negev towns".[2]
The city was repeatedly hit by earthquakes, the major 7th-century seismic event which destroyed Avdat also lead to the abandonment of this city.[3]
No biblical connection
Easton's Bible Dictionary, published in 1893-97, tentatively associated the well dug by Isaac in Gerar and called by him Rehoboth (see Genesis 26:22) with a site "in Wady er-Ruheibeh, some 20 miles south of Beersheba."[4] Modern archaeology, however, dismisses the identification of Ruheibeh (Rehovot-in-the-Negev) with Isaac's Rehoboth, because the site contains no remains older than the Roman period.[1]