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MIDIAN

(Heb. miḏyān)

The fourth son of Abraham and his concubine Keturah; eponymous ancestor of the Midianites (Gen. 21:1; 1 Chr. 1:32). Aside from Isaac, Sarah’s only child, the fate of all of Abraham’s children was to be sent into the Arabian desert where they became the eponymous ancestors of Arab tribes (Gen. 25:6).

The area associated with Midian was the northwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, E of the Gulf of Aqaba. This region was known to classical and medieval Arabic geographers as Madian and Madiana; its modern name is Hejaz. The region was the center of a common material culture which belies a sedentary existence (in contrast to the nomadic lifestyle ascribed to them by former generations of scholars). The indigenous pottery style of the Late Bronze period was reminiscent of Mycenean ware. Pottery kilns were found at Qurayya, one of the major population centers of the region, and at Timna, located in the Arabah (not to be confused with the Timna in the southern Arabian Peninsula). Timna also engaged in copper mining and smelting. The local pottery has been associated with dated Egyptian artifacts from the 19th dynasty (ca. 13th-12th centuries b.c.e.). The Egyptians maintained garrisons here, as part of their Palestinian empire, and an Egyptian temple was discovered at Timna. A third center, Tayma, likewise employed this pottery. Stone irrigation canals have been discovered at Qurayya and Timna, complete with walls surrounding the fields. These three major sites are located near spice trade routes. Thus, there was an urban element, connected by trade (and by military occupation to Egypt) to the rest of the urban ancient Near East.

One would expect the Midianites to be engaged in caravan trade, on the basis of their depiction in the Joseph cycle (Gen. 37:25-36). The inconsistency of the narrative in referring to them alternatively as Ishmaelite (Gen. 37:25, 27) and Midianite (vv. 28, 36) is not immediately evident. Some have suggested that Ishmaelite is a generic term for caravaneers, or for non-Hebrew descendants of Abraham, while the name Midianite is ethnically distinct.

The Midianites figure prominently in the Exodus narratives. Moses flees to Midian, where he enters the status of gēr (“alien”), falling under the protection of Jethro (also called Reuel and Hobab). Moses’ status as gēr is probably attested in the confusion regarding his abandonment of his sons Gershom and Eliezer upon his return to Egypt (Exod. 18:2; however, this is attributed in the following verses to his divorcing his wife; according to 4:18-20 they were with him in Egypt). Clearly, Moses’ status was inferior to his wife Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro, else his sons would have remained in his estate. Jethro helps guide the Israelites (Num. 10:29-32) and suggests to Moses a system of organizing society (Exod. 18:13-27). The Midianites among the Israelites were offered membership in the community, which they declined (Num. 10:29).

The relationship between the religion of Midian and of Israel is the matter of intense speculation. The tradition of the holy mountain in the wilderness gives birth to speculation on the relationship between the religions. A number of texts which scholars consider to be old announce that Yahweh came from the land of Seir, better known as Edom (Hab. 3:3; Deut. 33:2; Judg. 5:4-5). Southern Edom is considered to have been within the territory of the Midianites (compare Num. 22:4, 7; 31:8 with Josh. 13:21; 1 Kgs. 11:1). Moses’ father-in-law was called a priest of Midian (e.g., Exod. 2:16).

Moses is pictured as passive during the events at Baal-peor (Num. 25:6), in contrast to Aaron’s son Phineas, who kills the Israelite male and Midianite female in the midst of an apparent orgiastic ritual, resulting in the Aaronide covenant. Some scholars see Moses’ passivity as a literary seam demarcating a later debate over the priesthood (cf. the passivity of Aaron in the incident of the golden calf in Exod. 32, , perhaps the product of another priestly school). The close relationship with Midian ceases from this point, as the Midianites become just another people to exterminate upon entry into the Promised Land (Num. 31; Josh. 31:21). Gideon’s heroics were set against a Midianite invasion (Judg. 6–8; Isa. 9:4[MT 3]).

Mark Anthony Phelps

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

MIDIAN

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)