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מִדְיָן

𐤌𐤃𐤉𐤍

Mideyan

H4080 noun

SILEX Entry

Root מדן to judge, to contend, to strive

Definition

Midyan; (1) a proper noun denoting a son of Abraham by Keturah and the ancestor of the Midianite people, (2) a collective term for the descendants (clan or tribe) of Midyan, (3) the land or territory inhabited by those descendants, with a focus on its location in northwestern Arabia, east of the Gulf of Aqaba and south of the region later known as Edom and Moab. The term is used both for individuals (the ancestral figure) and for a people group and territory.

Semantic Range

personal name (Midyan, son of Abraham), ethnonym (members of the Midianite people or confederation), geographic designation (land or territory of the Midianites), collective noun for the Midianite community

Root / Etymology

Root uncertain. Traditionally connected with the nominal root מדן (to strive, contend, judge), though this is not secure. The word as a proper noun is unique in form and appears only as a personal and geographic name in the Hebrew Bible.

Historical & Contextual Notes

מִדְיָן appears in genealogical texts as one of the sons of Abraham and Keturah, establishing a distinct ethnic group closely associated with the territory southeast of Canaan (Genesis 25:2-4). In the exodus and wilderness narratives, 'Midianites' designates both a specific people group with distinct sociopolitical organization and their eponymous territory. Over the Early Iron Age, 'Midian' referred to a confederation of semi-nomadic tribes, sometimes seen in alliance or conflict with Israelites and other neighboring entities (cf. Numbers 22-25; Judges 6-8). The boundaries of the territory fluctuate between texts, but consistently place it east and south of the southern Levant. Later, 'Midianite' is sometimes used generically for northern Arabian groups. English translations traditionally use 'Midian,' 'the Midianites,' or at times 'land of Midian,' but do not always distinguish between the ancestor, the people, and the territory. Unlike 'Amalekites' or 'Edomites,' the designation 'Midian' often refers to a coalition, not a singular ethnic lineage throughout the HB.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

the same as מִדְיָן; Midjan, a son of Abraham; also his country and (collectively) his descendants; Midian, Midianite.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

מדן (m-d-n) — to judge, to contend, to strive

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4068 מָדוֹן Madon
H4079 מִדְיָן Midianites
H4084 מִדְיָנִי the Midyanite
H4090 מְדָן Medans
H4091 מְדָן Medan

Word Forms

5 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H4080-03 מִדְיָ֑ן mideyan HNp Midian Midyan 51
H4080-01 בְּ/מִדְיָ֔ן bemideyan HR/Np in Midian in Midyan 4
H4080-05 וּ/מִדְיָ֨ן umideyan HC/Np and Midian and Midyan 2
H4080-04 מִ/מִּדְיָ֔ן mimideyan HR/Np from Midian from Midyan 1
H4080-02 כְּ/מִדְיָ֑ן kemideyan HR/Np like Midian like Midyan 1

Occurrences in Scripture

59 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H4080-03 Genesis 25:2 מִדְיָ֑ן mideyan HNp Midian Midyan
H4080-03 Genesis 25:4 מִדְיָ֗ן mideyan HNp Midian Midyan
H4080-03 Genesis 36:35 מִדְיָן֙ mideyan HNp Midian Midyan
H4080-03 Exodus 2:15 מִדְיָ֖ן mideyan HNp Midian, Midyan
H4080-03 Exodus 2:16 מִדְיָ֖ן mideyan HNp Midian Midyan
H4080-03 Exodus 3:1 מִדְיָ֑ן mideyan HNp Midian; Midyan
H4080-01 Exodus 4:19 בְּ/מִדְיָ֔ן bemideyan HR/Np in Midian in Midyan
H4080-03 Exodus 18:1 מִדְיָן֙ mideyan HNp of Midian Midyan
H4080-03 Numbers 22:4 מִדְיָ֗ן mideyan HNp Midian Midyan
H4080-03 Numbers 22:7 מִדְיָ֔ן mideyan HNp Midian Midyan
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