Our navigation bar is loading . . . . . .


Advertise on JCSM - Hear JCSM's Weekly Devotions via Podcast/RSS Feed! - Skip These Ads

You can advertise your site right here!Click here to learn more!

 10,000 Wise Quotes and Spiritual Sayings by Jason Gastrich, Ph.D.

 JCSM's Top 1000 Christian Sites - Free Traffic Sharing Service! Join the Online Christ-Centered Ministries!

-
Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

Click here and add this page to your favorites!

Return to the JCSM Study Center!

Encyclopedia Britannica



MIDIAN (properly Madyan, so Sept.)

This article appears in Volume V18, Page 419 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: MIC-MOL
MIDIAN (properly Madyan, so Sept.) , in the Bible, one of the peoples of North Arabia whom the Hebrews recognized as distant kinsmen, representing them as sons of Abraham's wife Keturah (" incense "). Thus the sons of Keturah are the " incense-men," not indeed inhabitants of the far south incense-land, but presumably the tribes whose caravans brought the incense to Palestine and the Mediterranean ports. So the Midianites appear in connexion with the gold and incense trade from
Yemen
  (Isa. lx. 6), and with the trade between Egypt and Syria (Gen. xxxvii. 28, 36). They appear also as warriors invading Canaan from the eastern desert, and ravaging the land as similar tribes have done in all ages when Palestine lacked a strong government (see GIDEON). Again, they are described as peaceful shepherds, and the pastures of the Midianites, or of the branch of Midian to which Moses's father-in-law (
Jethro
  or Reuel, or Hobab) belonged, lay near
Mount
 
Horeb
  (Exod. iii. 1). The Kenites who had friendly relations with
Israel
 , and are represented in Judg. i. 16, iv. x x, as the kin of Moses's father-in-law, appear to have been but one fraction of Midian which took a separate course from their early relations to
Israel
 ). Balaam, according to one version of the story, was a Midianite (Num. xxii. seq.) and his association with Moab has been connected with the statement in Gen. xxxvi. 35, that the Edomite king Hadad defeated Midian in the land of Moab; (see BALAAM, EDOM).
1 The admixture of Midianite elements in Judah and the other border tribes of Israel is confirmed by a comparison of the names of the Midianite clans in Gen. xxv. 4 with the Hebrew genealogies (i Chron. ii. 46, Ephah; iv. 17, Epher; Gen. xlvi. 9, Hanoch). Epher is also associated with 'Ofr near Hanakiya (Hanoch), three days north from Medina, also with Apparu a Bedouin locality mentioned by Assur-bani-pal. Ephah is probably the Ilayapa transported by Sargon to Beth-Omri (Samaria).
A place Midian is mentioned in 1 Kings xi. 18, apparently between Edom and Paran, and in later times the name lingered in the
district
 
east
  of the Gulf of `Akaba, where Eusebius knows a city Madiam in the country of the Saracens and
Ptolemy
  (vi. 7) places Modiana. Still later Madyan was a station on the pilgrim route from Egypt to Mecca, the second beyond Aila (Elath). Here in the middle ages was shown the well from which Moses watered the flocks of Sho'aib (
Jethro
 ), and the place is still known as " the caves of Sho'aib." It has considerable ruins, which have been described by Sir R. Burton (Land of Midian, 1879).
This
district
  which has on its
east
  Taima, a centre of civilization in the 5th century B.C., and on its south-east El-`Ola whose existence as a seat of culture is possibly even older, is identified by some scholars with the Mu$ran of the Minaean (south Arabian)
inscriptions
 , on which see SABAEANS,
YEMEN
 . That this part of north-west Arabia had frequent intercourse with Palestine appears certain from its commercial relations with Gaza; and the association of the Midianite Jethro with early Hebrew legislation, as also the possibility that Mizraim (" Egypt ") in the Old Testament should be taken in some cases to refer to this district, have an important bearing upon several Old Testament questions. See MIZRAIM.


End of Article: MIDIAN (properly Madyan, so Sept.)


If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/MIC_MOL/MIDIAN_properly_Madyan_so_Sept.html">
MIDIAN (properly Madyan, so Sept.)
</a>
(Previous)
MIDHURST 		(Next)
MIDLETON, or MIDDLETON

 


 

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

The JCSM Study CenterAmerica's Christian FoundationSkeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and ExplainedNKJV Web Hosting and Services
JCSM's Sermons, Debates and the Bible on MP3The Online Christ-Centered MinistriesDo You Have A Web Site?  Your Ad Could Be Here!Seminary Notes and PapersThe Picturesque Photo Albums


Jesus Christ Saves Ministries, P.O. Box 70696, Pasadena, CA 91117

JCSM is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. Copyright © 1997-present.


Kingdom Debt Solutions - Be Debt Free! Sport Logos - Quality Athletic Equipment The JCSM Study Center Your Ad Could Be Here! Launch A Successful Internet Organization or Business! Learn Guitar, Bass, or Piano in San Diego county!

You can advertise your site right here!

Free & Cheap Cell Phones  |  Cheap Long Distance Phone Service Carriers  |  Talk America Local Phone Service  |  Ztel & MCI - Unlimited Long Distance
Compare Cell Phone Plans & Companies  |  International Calling Cards & Prepaid Phone Cards  |  Voice Over IP Broadband Internet Phone Service  |  Wireless Phone Plans & Cheap Cell Phones

Dr. Jason Gastrich

Jason Gastrich, Ph.D.

 

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries is directed by Dr. Jason Gastrich.  It was founded in 1997 and it exists to bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ.  JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, discussion boards, weekly html and mp3 devotionals, free email accounts, and much more.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA  92169
1-877-850-3878 or Email

JCSM is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. Copyright © 1997-2008.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Online First Aid and CPR Certification  .  The Online Christ Centered Ministries  .  The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained  .  The Inerrancy Discussion Board  .  Free Email Accounts  .  Home Equity Loans  .  JasonGastrich.com  .  The Missions, Apologetics, and Creation Bible Conference  .  Young Earth Creation Science  .  San Diego Music Lessons  .  10,000 Wise Quotes and Spiritual Sayings  .  Gastrich.net  .  Maximizing the Internet: 12 Keys to Success  .  Louisiana Baptist University  .  NKJV Web Hosting and Services  .  Michael Newdow  .  San Diego Soccer Training  . Christian Guitar Lessons  .  Jesus Christ Saves Ministries  .  Eternal Security