Al Kebh?

[Cushan]

Why is Ka'aba only mentioned twice in the entire Quran and only in one Surah? I'm not talking about the Meccan shrine, but rather the word.

Could it be a late development, i.e. it wasn't called that until it was rebuilt as a cube?

It seems to be directly related to animal sacrifice, whereas the rest of the time it's only called a house.

Does 597 really conflate the Ka'aba with the Beit, or is it referring to two separate things?

[Wakas]

Background reading
http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9837.0

[Cushan]

Hey, thanks.

[Cushan]

&

I know these words are different by a qaf and kaf, but could they be at all connected? Could the Kebh in the Quran refer to the hill of the bayt?