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Madai (Hebrew:מָדַי,pronounced[maˈdaj];Greek:Μηδος,[mɛːˈdos]) is a son ofJapheth and one of the 16 grandsons ofNoah in theBook of Genesis of theHebrew Bible.
Biblical scholars have generally identified Madai with the IranianMedes of much later records. The Medes, reckoned to be his offspring byJosephus and most subsequent writers, were also known asMadai, including in bothAssyrian andHebrew sources.[citation needed]
Also linked with Madai is theIranian city ofHamadan.[citation needed]
TheKurds,Balochs,Azeris (beforeTurkification) still maintain traditions of descent from Madai.[1]
Some scholars in more modern times have also proposed connections with various earlier nations, such asMitanni,[2]Matiene, andMannai.
According to theBook of Jubilees (10:35-36), Madai had married a daughter ofShem, and preferred to live among Shem's descendants, rather than dwell in his allotted inheritance beyond theBlack Sea (seemingly corresponding to theBritish Isles),[3] so he begged his brothers-in-law,Elam,Asshur andArphaxad, until he finally received from them the land that was named after him, Media.
Another line inJubilees (8:5) states that a daughter of Madai named Milcah (Aramaic:Melkâ) marriedCainan, who is an ancestor ofAbraham also mentioned in theSeptuagint version of Genesis and in theGospel of Luke (3:36).
Medos (Μηδος), and his motherMedea, were also reckoned to be the ancestors of the Medes in classical Greek mythical history. Christian scholars have proposed linking HebrewMadai and GreekMedos since at least the time ofIsidore of Seville [Etym 9.2.28], ca. 600 AD.[citation needed]