מָדַי
𐤌𐤃𐤉
Maday
H4076 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Proper noun; refers to 'Madai', the region or land associated with the Medes, an Indo-Iranian people occupying the territory known as Media in central-western Asia. In the biblical context, מָדַי (Madai) can denote: (1) the people group called the Medes; (2) their territory; or (3) an individual eponymous ancestor (son of Japheth in Genesis geneaologies). The term most often refers collectively to the Medes and their realm, particularly in exilic and post-exilic texts where they are frequently named alongside the Persians.
Semantic Range
the land of the Medes (Media), the Medes as a people group, the progenitor of the Medes (individual eponym), region north-west of ancient Persia, territory in central Asia, inhabitants of Media
Root / Etymology
From the root מָדַי (m-d-y), though its ultimate etymology is uncertain. Likely a Hebrew rendering of an exonym for the region or its people, corresponding to Old Persian Māda, the name of the Medes. The root does not carry a meaning in biblical Hebrew apart from the ethnonymic and toponymic usage.
Historical & Contextual Notes
מָדַי appears both as a proper name (Gen 10:2; 1 Chr 1:5—as the descendant of Japheth, understood as the progenitor of the Medes) and as a geographical/ethnographical term (e.g., Dan 5:28, Ezra 6:2). In later periods (especially post-exilic/Second Temple literature), 'Media' became well-identified with a region under Persian rule, but in biblical contexts, the term can refer broadly to the area north-west of Persia, or the Medes as a people group. English translations often render מָדַי as 'Mede(s)' or 'Media,' but these terms overlap somewhat with later Greek constructs and may not always fully capture the specific ethnic and political identity referenced in biblical texts. Notably, in Daniel and Esther, מָדַי is typically paired with פָּרָס (Persia), reflecting the joint Median-Persian hegemony in the Achaemenid period. The later English term 'Jew' is sometimes used in passages that only refer to, or occur in, the Persian or Median context, but the Hebrew term here does not convey religious or modern ethnic meanings, referring instead to the regional or ethnic group.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
(Aramaic) corresponding to מָדַי; {Madai, a country of central Asia}; Mede(-s).
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
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מדי (m-d-y) — uncertain; ethnonym, toponym
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H4074 | מָדַי | Madai |
Word Forms
3 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4076-02 |
לְ/מָדַ֥י | lemaday | AR/Ngmsd |
of Media | to Madai | 2 |
H4076-03 |
מָדַ֥י | maday | ANp |
of Medes | Madai | 2 |
H4076-01 |
בְּ/מָדַ֥י | bemaday | AR/Np |
in-Media | in Madai | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
5 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4076-02 |
Daniel 5:28 | לְ/מָדַ֥י | lemaday | AR/Ngmsd |
to the Medes | to Madai |
H4076-03 |
Daniel 6:9 | מָדַ֥י | maday | ANp |
of the Medes | Madai |
H4076-03 |
Daniel 6:13 | מָדַ֥י | maday | ANp |
of Medes | Madai |
H4076-02 |
Daniel 6:16 | לְ/מָדַ֣י | lemaday | AR/Np |
of Media | to Madai |
H4076-01 |
Ezra 6:2 | בְּ/מָדַ֥י | bemaday | AR/Np |
in-Media | in Madai |