מִדְיָן H4080
Midian — son of Abraham by Keturah; the Arabian tribe and territory descended from him
A name woven deeply into Israel's story, Midian (מִדְיָן) denotes the son of Abraham and Keturah (Gen 25:2), the nomadic Arabian tribe that descended from him, and the territory they inhabited east of the Gulf of Aqaba. Moses found refuge in the land of Midian (Exod 2:15), married Zipporah the daughter of a Midianite priest (Exod 2:16; 3:1), and later Israel clashed violently with Midianite forces in the wilderness (Num 31). Gideon's dramatic rout of Midian (Judg 7–8) became proverbial — Isaiah invokes 'the day of Midian' (Isa 9:3) as a paradigm of divine deliverance.
Senses
1. Midian (proper noun) — The proper noun encompassing the patriarch, the people, and their land. Multilingual renderings — Spanish 'Madián,' French 'Madian,' German 'Midian' — uniformly transliterate the name. All 59 occurrences converge on a single referent: whether designating tribal kings and princes (Num 31:8; Judg 7:25), dromedaries of Midian (Isa 60:6), or the territory itself (Exod 2:15; Hab 3:7). 59×
AR["مِدْيانَ", "مِدْيانُ", "مِدْيَانَ"]·ben["মিদিয়ন", "মিদিয়নকে", "মিদিয়নে", "মিদিয়নের"]·DE["Midian", "Midjan", "Midjans", "Midyan"]·EN["Midian", "Midyan"]·FR["Madian", "Midyan"]·heb["מדין"]·HI["मिद्यान", "मिद्यान-का", "मिद्यान-के"]·ID["Midian"]·IT["Madian", "Midyan"]·jav["Midian", "Midyan"]·KO["미디안", "미디안-의", "미디안과", "미디안을", "미디안의", "미디안이", "위에-그-우물에"]·PT["Midyan", "Midyan,"]·RU["Мадиана", "Мидиан", "Мидиана", "Мидьян", "Мидьяна", "Мидьянского"]·ES["Madián", "Midyan", "Midyán"]·SW["Midiani", "wa-Midiani", "ya-Midiani"]·TR["Midyan", "Midyan'a", "Midyan'ı", "Midyan'ın", "Midyanın"]·urd["مدیان", "مدیان-کا", "مدیان-کی", "مدیان-کے"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
מִדְיָן n.pr.m. 1. son of Abraham and Keturah Gn 25:2, 4 (J) 1 Ch 1:32, 33. 2. an Arabian tribe Gn 36:35 (= 1 Ch 1:46) Nu 31:3(×2), 7, 8(×2), 9 (P) Ju 6–9 (31 times); having a כֹּהֵן (as chieftain?) Ex 2:16; 3:1; 18:1 (E); זקנים Nu 22:4, 7 (JE), נשׂיא(ים) Nu 25:18 (P) Jos 13:21 (P), שׂרים Ju 7:25; 8:3, מלכים Nu 31:8(×2) Ju 5:5, 12, 26; בִּכְרֵי מִדְיָן dromedaries of Midian Is 60:6; יוֹם מִדְיָן…