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The Negev Bedouins of Israel

The Negev Bedouins of Israel, numbering approximately 131,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are Arab tribes tracing ancestry to the Hejaz who migrated into the Negev desert between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries, reduced from roughly ninety tribes to nineteen after most fled or were expelled around Israel's 1948 founding. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Eastern Egyptian Bedawi Arabic is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Bedouin, Negev

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Israel
People Cluster: Bedouin, Arabian
Primary Language(s): Eastern Egyptian Bedawi Arabic (avl)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 131,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011755
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Pray for the Negev Bedouins of Israel

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Eastern Egyptian Bedawi Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Arabic, Eastern Egyptian Bedawi Speakers

Media Resources in Eastern Egyptian Bedawi Arabic:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Eastern Egyptian Bedawi Arabic:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Eastern Egyptian Bedawi Arabic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Negev Bedouins:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Pray specifically for the Negev Bedouins of Israel

I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.
readIsaiah 45:5-6

Pray that the lost among them will be delivered from the confusion of false beliefs and come to know the one true God who alone brings light and purpose to their lives.

Moses said, "Please show me your glory." And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy."
readExodus 33:18-19

Pray that many will come to know the glory of God, which is revealed in Jesus Christ, and that they will rejoice in the mercy He offers them.

For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.
read2 Thessalonians 3:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will persevere according to God's command, walk in faith, and be strong so that they can resist the evil one’s deception.

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
readRomans 10:15

Pray that God will call many believers who will obediently go and share the gospel with those who desperately need it.

Bedouin, Levantine Across Countries (ROP3 - 105735) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▲
Eastern BedouinsPG011491Eastern BedouinsEgypt1,330,000Engaged yet UnreachedEastern Egyptian Bedawi ArabicSunni Islam
Negev BedouinsPG011755Negev BedouinsIsrael131,000Unengaged and UnreachedEastern Egyptian Bedawi ArabicSunni Islam
Levantine Bedawi ArabsPG012178Levantine Bedawi ArabsSyria97,000Unengaged and UnreachedEastern Egyptian Bedawi ArabicSunni Islam

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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