Midian

Midian is a region referenced in the Hebrew Bible, named after Midian, a son of Abraham by Keturah. The Midianites are described as a confederation of tribes descended from Midian, living in desert and frontier areas. The precise location of Midian is debated, but ancient sources place it in the northwestern Arabian Peninsula and adjacent regions, including parts of the Sinai Peninsula and areas east of the Gulf of Aqaba. Some traditions also connect Midian with territories in southern Transjordan or northern Arabia. Because the biblical geography is not fixed, scholars describe Midian as a broader desert domain rather than a single, clearly bounded polity.

Geography and society: The Midianites are portrayed as a Semitic-speaking confederation of tribes with a mobile, caravan-based economy. They are depicted as traders and nomads who interacted with neighboring peoples, including the Israelites, and sometimes formed alliances or clashed with them. Their cultural and political organization is described differently across biblical books, contributing to varying scholarly interpretations of their exact homeland.

Biblical narrative and legacy: In the Exodus story, Moses flees to Midian, marries Zipporah, and has his calling at Mount Horeb in the Midianite region. In the Book of Judges, the Midianites are defeated by Gideon, highlighting the Midianites as adversaries in Israelite narratives. Over time, the Midianites appear in later biblical texts as one of the Arab tribal groups encountered by Israel, with their memory persisting in place names and genealogical references. Historical and archaeological evidence for a distinct Midianite state is limited; most understandings treat Midian as a biblical ethnos and geographical concept rather than a continuous political entity into the classical era.