 | This articlemay need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia'squality standards.You can help. Thetalk page may contain suggestions.(January 2025) |
Midian | |
|---|---|
מִדְיָן | |
 Detail fromThe migration of Abraham and his relatives to Canaan (1850) byJózsef Molnár | |
| Personal life | |
| Children | Ephah,Epher,Enoch,Abida, andEldaah |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Abrahamic religions |
Midian (/ˈmɪdiən/;Hebrew:מִדְיָן,romanized: Mīḏyān;Arabic:مَدْيَن,romanized: Madyan;Ancient Greek:Μαδιάμ,romanized: Madiám;[a]Taymanitic:𐪃𐪕𐪚𐪌,romanized: MDYN) was a son ofAbraham and his wifeKeturah, as well as the epynomous ancestor of theMidianites.[1] The name also refers to a geographical region inWest Asia mentioned in theTanakh and theQuran.William G. Dever states that biblical Midian was in the "northwestArabian Peninsula, on the east shore of theGulf of Aqaba on theRed Sea",[2] an area which contained at least 14 inhabited sites during theLate Bronze andearly Iron Ages.[3][4]
Traditionally, knowledge about Midian and the Midianites' existence was based solely upon Biblical and classical sources,[5] but in 2010 a reference to Midian was identified in aTaymanitic inscription dated to before the 9th century BC.[6]
Some scholars have suggested that the name "Midian" does not refer to geographic places or to a specific tribe,[7][8] but to a confederation or "league" of tribes brought together as a collective for worship purposes.Paul Haupt first made this suggestion in 1909,[9] describing Midian as a "cultic collective" (German:Kultgenossenschaft) or anamphictyony, meaning "an association (German:Bund) of different tribes in the vicinity of asanctuary".Elath, on the northern tip of theGulf of Aqaba was suggested[by whom?] as the location of the firstshrine, with a second sanctuary located atKadesh.[citation needed]
Later writers have questioned the identified sanctuary locations but supported the thesis of a Midianite league.George Mendenhall suggests that the Midianites were a non-Semitic confederate group,[10] andWilliam Dumbrell maintains the same:
We believe that Haupt's proposal is to be adopted, and that Midian, rather than depicting a land, is a general term for an amorphous league of theLate Bronze Age, of wide geographical range, who, after a series of reverses, the most prominent of which are recorded inJudges 6–7, largely disappeared from the historical scene...[11]
Otherwise, the land of Midian roughly corresponds to what is now theregion ofTabuk inSaudi Arabia.[12]
The area ofTimna valley contains large deposits of copper that had been mined from the prehistoric times onward. Copper was mined here by the Egyptians during the reign of PharaohSeti I at the end of the 14th century BCE.[13]
It is uncertain which deities the Midianites worshipped. Given their apparent religio-political connection with theMoabites[14] they are thought to haveworshipped a multitude, includingBaal-peor andAshteroth. According toKarel van der Toorn, "[b]y the 14th century BC, groups of Edomites and Midianites worshippedYahweh as their God"; this conclusion relies on identifying the Midianites with theShasu.[15]
Scholars have noted the Midianite connections to metallurgy at Timna. Large amounts of Midianite ceramic ware has been discovered at these mining sites.[16]
An Egyptian temple ofHathor at Timna (Site 200) was first discovered duringBeno Rothenberg's excavations.[17]
The site also continued in use during the Midianite occupation in the area, which is usually dated to terminal Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age.
The Midianites transformed the Hathor mining temple into a desert tent-shrine.[19] In addition to the discovery of post-holes, large quantities of red and yellow decayed cloth with beads woven into it, along with numerous copper rings/wire used to suspend the curtains, were found all along two walls of the shrine.
Beno Rothenberg,[20] the excavator of the site, suggested that the Midianites were making offerings to Hathor, especially since a large number of Midianite votive vessels (25%) were discovered in the shrine. However, whether Hathor or some other deity was the object of devotion during this period is difficult to ascertain.
A small bronze snake with a gilded head was also discovered in thenaos of the Timna mining shrine, along with a hoard of metal objects that included a small bronze figurine of a bearded male god, which according to Rothenberg was Midianite in origin. Michael Homan observes that the Midianite tent-shrine at Timna provides one of the closest parallels to the biblicalTabernacle.[21]
Midian was the son of Abraham.[22] Abraham's great-grandsonJoseph, after being thrown into a pit by his brothers, was sold to either Midianites orIshmaelites.[23]
Moses spent 40 years in self-imposed exile in Midian after killing an Egyptian.[24] There, he marriedZipporah, the daughter of Midianite priestJethro[25] (also known asReuel). Jethro advised Moses on establishing a system of delegated legal decision-making.[26] Moses askedHobab, the son of Reuel, to accompany the Israelites travelling towards thePromised Land because of his local knowledge, but Hobab preferred to return to his homeland.[27] A number of scholars have proposed that the biblical description of devouring fire on Mount Sinai refers to an erupting volcano in the land of biblical Midian identified asHala-'l Badr in northwestern Saudi Arabia.[28]
During theBaal-Peor episode, when Moabite women seduced Israelite men,Zimri, the son of aSimeonite chief, got involved with a Midianite woman calledCozbi. The couple were speared byPhinehas.[29] War against Midian followed.Numbers 31 reports that all but the virgin females were slain and their cities burned to the ground.[30] Some commentators, for example thePulpit Commentary andGill'sExposition of the Bible, note that God's command focused on attacking the Midianites and not the Moabites,[31] and similarly Moses inDeuteronomy directed that the Israelites should not harass the Moabites.[32] A modern-day movement, thePhineas Priesthood, has interpreted this story as a prohibition againstmiscegenation, despite the Midianites being closely related to the Israelites as descendants of Abraham, and Moses being married to a Midianite.[33]
During the time of theJudges, Israel was oppressed by Midian for seven years[34] untilGideon defeated Midian's armies.[35]Isaiah speaks of camels from Midian andEphah coming to "cover your land", along with the gold and frankincense fromSheba.[36] This passage, taken by theGospel of Matthew as a foreshadowing of theMagi's gifts to the infantJesus, has been incorporated into theChristmas liturgy.[citation needed]
The people of Midian are mentioned extensively in theQuran. The word 'Madyan' appears 10 times in it. The people are also calledʾaṣḥabu l-ʾaykah (Arabic:أَصْحَابُ ٱلْأَيْكَة,lit. 'Companions of the Wood').[37][38][39][40] The lands of Midian are mentioned in suraAl-Qasas (The Stories), verses 20–28, of the Quran as the place whereMusa (Moses) escaped upon learning of the chiefs conspiring to kill him.[41]
Surah 9 (Al-Tawbah), verse 70 says "Has not the story reached them of those before them? – The people ofNūḥ (Noah),ʿĀd andThamud, the people ofIbrahim (Abraham), the dwellers [literally, comrades] of Madyan (Midian) and the cities overthrown [i.e. the people to whomLūṭ (Lot) preached], to them came their Messengers with clear proofs. So it was notAllah who wronged them, but they used to wrong themselves."[42]
In Surah 7 (Al-ʾAʿrāf), Madyan is mentioned as one of several peoples who were warned by prophets to repent lest judgment fall on them. The story of Madyan is the last, coming after that of Lot preaching to his people (referring to the destruction of theCities of the Plain). Madyan was warned by the prophetShuʿaib to repent of practicing polytheism, using false weights and measures and lying in wait along the road. But they rejected Shuʿaib, and consequently were destroyed by a tremor (rajfa, v. 91).Abdullah Yusuf Ali in his commentary (1934) writes, "The fate of the Madyan people is described in the same terms as that of the Thamūd in verse 78 above. An earthquake seized them by night, and they were buried in their own homes, no longer to vex Allah's earth. But a supplementary detail is mentioned in [Quran] 26:189, 'the punishment of a day of overshadowing gloom,' which may be understood to mean a shower of ashes and cinders accompanying a volcanic eruption. Thus a day of terror drove them into their homes, and the earthquake finished them."[43] Excavations at the oasis ofAl-Bad', identified as the city of Midian mentioned in classical and Islamic sources, have uncovered evidence of an occupation spanning from the 4th millennium BC.[44][45]
Midianite pottery, also called Qurayyah Painted Ware (QPW), is found at numerous sites stretching from the southernLevant to NW Saudi Arabia, theHejaz; Qurayyah in NW Saudi Arabia is thought to be its original location of manufacture.[46] The pottery is bichrome / polychrome style and it dates as early as the 13th century BC; its many geometric, human, and animal motifs are painted in browns and dark reds on a pinkish-tan slip. "Midianite" pottery is found in its largest quantities at metallurgical sites in the southern Levant, especially Timna.[47] Because of theMycenaean motifs on Midianite pottery, some scholars including George Mendenhall,[48] Peter Parr,[49] andBeno Rothenberg[50] have suggested that the Midianites were originallySea Peoples who migrated from theAegean region and imposed themselves on a pre-existing Semitic stratum. The question of the origin of the Midianites still remains open.[citation needed]
| Midian Mountains | |
|---|---|
 Jabal Ḥubaysh (Arabic:جَبَل حُبَيْش) | |
| Naming | |
| Native name | جِبَال مَدْيَن (Arabic) |
| Geography | |
  Midian Mountains  Midian Mountains  Midian Mountains | |
| Countries |  Saudi Arabia Jordan |
| Region(s) | Tabuk (KSA) 'Aqabah (Jordan) Middle East |
| Range coordinates | 28°18′N35°36′E / 28.3°N 35.6°E /28.3; 35.6 |
The Midian Mountains (Arabic:جِبَال مَدْيَن,romanized: Jibāl Madyan) are amountain range in northwestern Saudi Arabia. They are considered to be either contiguous with theHijaz Mountains to the south,[51] or a part of them.[52] The Hijaz are treated as part of theSarawat range,sensu lato.[53][54]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906)."Midian and Midianites".The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
Hills andmountains on the Arabian Peninsula | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: Mountains are sorted in alphabetical order, unless where it concerns ranges. The highest confirmed mountains in each country are indicated with 'HP', and those with the highest peak are indicated with 'HP', bearing in mind that in the UAE, the highest mountain and the mountain with the highest peak are different.Outcrops are indicated with 'OC', andoutliers with 'OL', andanticlines with 'AC'.Volcanoes are indicated with 'V',volcanic craters with 'VC',lava fields with 'LF', andvolcanic fields with 'VF'. Other notes:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
.jpg)