מִדְיָן
𐤌𐤃𐤉𐤍
Mideyan
H4080 noun
SILEX Entry
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
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.
Root Family
מדן (Madon) — to contend, to quarrel, 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 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4080-03 |
מִדְיָ֗ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan | 51 |
H4080-01 |
בְּ/מִדְיָ֔ן | bemideyan | HR/Np |
in Midian | in Midyan | in Mideyan | 4 |
H4080-05 |
וּ/מִדְיָ֖ן | umideyan | HC/Np |
and Midian | and Midyan | and Mideyan | 2 |
H4080-02 |
כְּ/מִדְיָ֑ן | kemideyan | HR/Np |
like Midian | like Midyan | like Mideyan | 1 |
H4080-04 |
מִ/מִּדְיָ֔ן | mimideyan | HR/Np |
from Midian | from Midyan | from Mideyan | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
59 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4080-03 |
Genesis 25:2 | מִדְיָ֑ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Genesis 25:4 | מִדְיָ֗ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Genesis 36:35 | מִדְיָן֙ | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Exodus 2:15 | מִדְיָ֖ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian, | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Exodus 2:16 | מִדְיָ֖ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Exodus 3:1 | מִדְיָ֑ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian; | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-01 |
Exodus 4:19 | בְּ/מִדְיָ֔ן | bemideyan | HR/Np |
in Midian | in Midyan | in Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Exodus 18:1 | מִדְיָן֙ | mideyan | HNp |
of Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Numbers 22:4 | מִדְיָ֗ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Numbers 22:7 | מִדְיָ֔ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-01 |
Numbers 25:15 | בְּ/מִדְיָ֖ן | bemideyan | HR/Np |
in Midian | in Midyan | in Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Numbers 25:18 | מִדְיָן֙ | mideyan | HNp |
of Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Numbers 31:3 | מִדְיָ֔ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-01 |
Numbers 31:3 | בְּ/מִדְיָֽן | bemideyan | HR/Np |
on Midian | in Midyan | in Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Numbers 31:7 | מִדְיָ֔ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Numbers 31:8 | מִדְיָ֜ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Numbers 31:8 | מִדְיָ֑ן | mideyan-2 | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Numbers 31:9 | מִדְיָ֖ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Joshua 13:21 | מִדְיָ֗ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 6:1 | מִדְיָ֖ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 6:2 | מִדְיָ֖ן | mideyan | HNp |
of Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 6:2 | מִדְיָ֜ן | mideyan-2 | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 6:3 | מִדְיָ֧ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 6:6 | מִדְיָ֑ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 6:7 | מִדְיָֽן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 6:11 | מִדְיָֽן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 6:13 | מִדְיָֽן | mideyan | HNp |
of Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 6:14 | מִדְיָ֑ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 6:16 | מִדְיָ֖ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 6:33 | מִדְיָ֧ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 7:1 | מִדְיָן֙ | mideyan | HNp |
of-Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 7:2 | מִדְיָ֖ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 7:7 | מִדְיָ֖ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 7:8 | מִדְיָ֔ן | mideyan | HNp |
of Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-05 |
Judges 7:12 | וּ/מִדְיָ֨ן | umideyan | HC/Np |
and the Midianites | and Midyan | and Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 7:13 | מִדְיָ֔ן | mideyan | HNp |
of Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 7:14 | מִדְיָ֖ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 7:15 | מִדְיָֽן | mideyan | HNp |
of Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 7:23 | מִדְיָֽן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 7:24 | מִדְיָן֙ | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 7:25 | מִדְיָ֜ן | mideyan | HNp |
of Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 7:25 | מִדְיָ֑ן | mideyan-2 | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-01 |
Judges 8:1 | בְּ/מִדְיָ֑ן | bemideyan | HR/Np |
with Midian | in Midyan | in Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 8:3 | מִדְיָן֙ | mideyan | HNp |
of Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 8:5 | מִדְיָֽן | mideyan | HNp |
of Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 8:12 | מִדְיָ֗ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 8:22 | מִדְיָֽן | mideyan | HNp |
of Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 8:26 | מִדְיָ֔ן | mideyan | HNp |
of Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 8:28 | מִדְיָ֗ן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |
H4080-03 |
Judges 9:17 | מִדְיָֽן | mideyan | HNp |
Midian | Midyan | Mideyan |