Content deleted Content added
No edit summary |
WP:AWB WP:CHECKWIKI 16/90/91 cleanup, et. al., replaced: جبال مدين (Arabic Wiki) → {{ill|جبال مدين (Arabic Wiki)|ar|جبال مدين|vertical-align=sup}}, typo(s) fixed: great → g |
||
| (15 intermediate revisions by 9 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{short description|Geographical place mentioned in the Torah}}▼
{{About|a region or people referred to in the Bible and Quran}}
{{redirect|Jabal Hubaysh, Saudi Arabia|the Yemeni mountain|Jabal Hubaysh, Yemen}}
▲{{short description|Geographical place mentioned in the Torah}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Midian
Line 14:
}}
'''Midian''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɪ|d|i|ən}}; {{lang-he|מִדְיָן}} ''Mīḏyān''; {{lang-ar|مَدْيَن|Madyan}}; {{lang-grc-gre|Μαδιάμ}}, ''Madiam'';{{Efn | Also {{lang|grc|Μαδιανίτης}} for "Midianite".}} [[Taymanitic]]: 𐪃𐪕𐪚𐪌 ''MDYN'') is a geographical region in [[West Asia]] mentioned in the [[Hebrew Bible|Tanakh]] and [[Quran]]. [[William G. Dever]] states that biblical Midian was in the "northwest [[Arabian Peninsula]], on the east shore of the [[Gulf of Aqaba]] on the [[Red Sea]]",<ref>{{citation |last= Dever |first= W. G. |author-link= William G. Dever |title=Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From? |publisher=[[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.]] |date=2006 |isbn= 978-0-8028-4416-3 |page=34}}</ref> an area which contained at least 14 inhabited sites during the [[Bronze Age|Late Bronze]] and [[Iron Age|early Iron Ages]].{{sfn|Graf|2016|p=428}}<ref>{{cite journal |last=Luciani |first=Marta |title=Archaeology in the Land of Midian: Excavating the Qurayyah Oasis |journal=Biblical Archaeology Review |date=November–December 2023 |volume=49 |issue=4 |url=https://library.biblicalarchaeology.org/article/archaeology-in-the-land-of-midian-excavating-the-qurayyah-oasis/}}</ref>
According to the [[Book of Genesis]], the '''Midianites''' were the descendants of [[Midian, son of Abraham|Midian]], a son of [[Abraham]] and his wife [[Keturah]]: "Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah" ([[Genesis (Hebrew Bible)|Genesis]] 25:1–2, [[Authorized King James Version|King James Version]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+25%3A1-2&version=KJV|title= Genesis 25:1–2 |version=King James Version |website=[[Bible Gateway]]}}</ref>
Traditionally, knowledge about Midian and the Midianites' existence was based solely upon Biblical and classical sources,<ref>{{cite book |last=Bryce |first=Trevor |author-link=Trevor R. Bryce |date=2009 |title=The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: From the Early Bronze Age to the Fall of the Persian Empire |page=472 |url= |location=[[London]], [[United Kingdom]] |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-415-39485-7 }}</ref> but
== Land or tribal league? ==
Line 24:
Later writers have questioned the identified sanctuary locations but supported the thesis of a Midianite league. [[George E. Mendenhall|George Mendenhall]] suggests that the Midianites were a non-[[Semitic languages|Semitic]] confederate group,<ref>"The Incident at Beth Baal Peor", ''The Tenth Generation: The Origins of the Biblical Tradition'', 1973</ref> and [[William Dumbrell]] maintains the same:
{{
William J. Dumbrell, Midian: A Land or a League?, ''Vetus Testamentum'', Vol. 25, Fasc. 2, No. 2a. Jubilee Number (May, 1975), p. 32.</ref>}}
== Metallurgy ==
The area of [[Timna valley]] contains large deposits of copper that had been mined from the prehistoric times onward. Copper was mined here by the Egyptians during the reign of Pharaoh [[Seti I]] at the end of the 14th century BCE.<ref>Jacob Edward Dunn 2015, [https://getd.libs.uga.edu/pdfs/dunn_jacob_e_201505_ma.pdf ‘A Land Whose Stones Are Iron And From Whose Hills You May Mine Copper’: Metallurgy, Pottery, And The Midianite-Qenite Hypothesis.] Thesis, University of Georgia. 129 pages</ref>
== Religion ==
{{see also|Kenite hypothesis}}
It is uncertain which deities the Midianites worshipped. Through their apparent religio-political connection with the [[Moabites]]<ref>{{bibleverse||Numbers|22:4, 7|HE}}</ref> they are thought to have [[Polytheism|worshipped a multitude]], including [[Baal-peor]] and [[Astarte|Ashteroth]]. According to [[Karel van der Toorn]], "By the 14th century BC, groups of Edomites and Midianites worshipped [[Yahweh]] as their God;" this conclusion is based on identification between Midianites and the [[Shasu]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Karel van der |last=Toorn |title=Family Religion in Babylonia, Ugarit, and Israel: Continuity and Change in the Forms of Religious Life |location=Leiden |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |page=283}}</ref>
The Midianite connections to metallurgy at Timna have been noted by many scholars. Large amounts of Midianite ceramic ware has been discovered at these mining sites.<ref>Rothenberg, Beno. The Egyptian Mining Temple at Timna. Institute for Archaeo-Metallurgical Studies London: Thames and Hudson, 1988</ref>
An Egyptian temple of [[Hathor]] at Timna (Site 200) was first discovered during the [[Beno Rothenberg]]'s excavations.<ref>{{cite book|first=Beno |last=Rothenberg |title=Timna: Valley of the Biblical Copper Mines |location=London |publisher=[[Thames and Hudson]] |date=1972}}</ref>
:"Rothenberg’s excavation of Site 200 revealed a number of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions including those of: Seti I, Ramesses II, Merneptah, Seti II, and Queen Twosret of the Nineteenth Dynasty, as well as Ramesses III, Ramesses IV, and Ramesses V of the Twentieth Dynasty (pp. 163–166)."<ref>Jacob Edward Dunn 2015, [https://getd.libs.uga.edu/pdfs/dunn_jacob_e_201505_ma.pdf ‘A Land Whose Stones Are Iron And From Whose Hills You May Mine Copper’: Metallurgy, Pottery, And The Midianite-Qenite Hypothesis.] Thesis, University of Georgia. 129 pages. Note 200, page 54</ref>
The site also continued to be used during the Midianite occupation in the area, which is usually dated to terminal Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age.
The Midianites transformed the Hathor mining temple into a desert tent-shrine.<ref>{{cite book |title=Unearthing the Wilderness: Studies on the History and Archaeology of the Negev and Edom in the Iron Age |last=Avner |first=Uzi |publisher=Peeters |year=2014 |isbn=978-90-429-2973-9 |pages=103–162 |editor-last=Tebes |editor-first=Juan Manuel |chapter=Egyptian Timna – Reconsidered |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q9g1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA103}}</ref> In addition to the discovery of post-holes, large quantities of red and yellow decayed cloth with beads woven into it, along with numerous copper rings/wire used to suspend the curtains, were found all along two walls of the shrine.
Beno Rothenberg,<ref>{{cite book|first=Beno |last=Rothenberg |title=Timna: Valley of the Biblical Copper Mines |location=London |publisher=[[Thames and Hudson]] |date=1972}}</ref> the excavator of the site, suggested that the Midianites were making offerings to Hathor, especially since a large number of Midianite votive vessels (25%) were discovered in the shrine. However, whether Hathor or some other deity was the object of devotion during this period is difficult to ascertain.
== In religious scripture ==
=== In the Bible ===
[[File:Figures Five Kings of Midian Slain by Israel.jpg|thumb|Five kings of Midian slain by Israel (illustration from the 1728 ''Figures de la Bible'')]]
Midian was the son of [[Abraham]].<ref>{{bibleverse||Genesis|25:1–2|HE}}</ref> Abraham's great
[[Moses]] spent 40 years in voluntary exile in Midian after killing an Egyptian.<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|2:11–15|HE}}</ref> There, he married [[Zipporah]], the daughter of Midianite priest [[Jethro (biblical figure)|Jethro]]<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|2:21|HE}}</ref> (also known as [[Reuel]]). Jethro advised Moses on establishing a system of delegated legal decision-making.<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|18|HE}}</ref> Moses asked [[List of minor biblical figures, A–K#Hobab|Hobab]], the son of Reuel, to accompany the Israelites travelling towards the [[Promised Land]] because of his local knowledge, but Hobab preferred to return to his homeland.<ref>{{bibleverse||Numbers|10:29–31|HE}}</ref> A number of scholars have proposed that the biblical description of devouring fire on Mount Sinai refers to an erupting volcano in the land of biblical Midian identified as [[Hala-'l Badr]] in northwestern [[Saudi Arabia]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Dunn |first=Jacob E. |date=2014 |title=A God of Volcanoes: Did Yahwism Take Root in Volcanic Ashes? |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0309089214536484 |journal=Journal for the Study of the Old Testament |volume=38 |issue=4 |pages=387–424 |doi=10.1177/0309089214536484 |issn=0309-0892}}</ref>
Line 47 ⟶ 62:
The people of Midian are mentioned extensively in the [[Quran]]. The word 'Madyan' appears 10 times in it. The people are also called {{lang|ar-latn|ʾaṣḥabu l-ʾaykah}} ({{lang-ar|أَصْحَابُ ٱلْأَيْكَة|lit=Companions of the Wood}}).<ref>{{qref|15|78-79|b=yl}}</ref><ref>{{qref|26|176-189|b=yl}}</ref><ref>{{qref|38|13-15|b=yl}}</ref><ref>{{qref|50|12-14|b=yl}}</ref> The lands of Midian are mentioned in sura [[Al-Qasas]] (The Stories), verses 20–28, of the Quran as the place where Moses escaped upon learning of the chiefs conspiring to kill him.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Surah Al-Qasas - 20-28 |url=https://quran.com/28/20-28 |access-date=May 19, 2021 |website=The Noble Quran}}</ref>
Surah 9 ([[Al-Tawbah]]), verse 70 says "Has not the story reached them of those before them? – The people of Nūḥ (Noah), [[ʿĀd]] and [[Thamud]], the people of Ibrahim (Abraham), the dwellers [literally, comrades] of Madyan (Midian) and the cities overthrown [i.e. the people to whom Lūt (Lot) preached], to them came their Messengers with clear proofs. So it was not [[Allah]] who wronged them, but they used to wrong themselves."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Muhammad Taqi-Ud-Din al-Halali and Muhammad Muhsin Khan's Translation |date=July 2009 |url=https://www.alquranenglish.com/quran-surah-at-taubah-70-qs-9-70-in-arabic-and-english-translation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004222525/https://www.alquranenglish.com/quran-surah-at-taubah-70-qs-9-70-in-arabic-and-english-translation|archive-date=October 4, 2023}}</ref>
In Surah 7 ([[Al-A'raf|Al-ʾAʿrāf]]), Madyan is mentioned as one of several peoples who were warned by prophets to repent lest judgment fall on them. The story of Madyan is the last, coming after that of [[Lot (Bible)|Lot]] preaching to his people (referring to the destruction of the [[Cities of Sin|Cities of the Plain]]). Madyan was warned by the prophet [[Shuaib|Shuʿaib]] to repent of practicing polytheism, using false weights and measures and lying in wait along the road. But they rejected Shuʿayb, and consequently were destroyed by a tremor (''rajfa'', v. 91). [[Abdullah Yusuf Ali]] in his commentary (1934) writes, "The fate of the Madyan people is described in the same terms as that of the Thamūd in verse 78 above. An earthquake seized them by night, and they were buried in their own homes, no longer to vex Allah's earth. But a supplementary detail is mentioned in [Quran] 26:189, 'the punishment of a day of overshadowing gloom,' which may be understood to mean a shower of ashes and cinders accompanying a volcanic eruption. Thus a day of terror drove them into their homes, and the earthquake finished them."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ali |first1=Abdullah Yusuf |title=The Holy Quran – English Translation of the Meaning and Commentary |publisher=King Fahd Holy Qur-an Printing Complex |url=https://archive.org/stream/TheHolyQuranEnglishTranslationoftheMeaningandCommentary/The%20Holy%20Quran%20-%20Abdullah%20Yusuf%20Ali%20IFTA_djvu.txt |access-date=4 March 2017}}</ref> Excavations at the oasis of [[Al-Bad']], identified as the city of Midian mentioned in classical and Islamic sources, have uncovered evidence of an occupation spanning from the 4th millennium BC.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Charloux |first=Guillaume |last2=Ahmed Sahlah |first2=Samer |last3=Badaiwi |first3=Waleed Ali |date=January 2021 |title=Madian revealed? Assessing the history and archaeology of the oasis of al-Badʿ in northwestern Arabia |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1484/j.sec.5.129522 |journal=Semitica et Classica |volume=14 |pages=97–141 |doi=10.1484/j.sec.5.129522 |issn=2031-5937}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://archeologie.culture.gouv.fr/en/al-bad |title=Al-Badʿ - Archéologie - culture.fr |access-date=2023-10-27 |website=archeologie.culture.gouv.fr}}</ref>
Line 74 ⟶ 89:
}}
The Midian Mountains ({{lang-ar|جِبَال مَدْيَن|Jibāl Madyan}}) are a [[mountain range]] in northwestern [[Saudi Arabia]]. They are considered to be either contiguous with the [[Hijaz Mountains]] to the south,<ref name="GhazanfarFisher2013">{{cite book |last1=Ghazanfar |first1=Shahina A. |
<gallery mode="packed">
Line 100 ⟶ 115:
== References ==
{{reflist}}
===Bibliography===
* Clines, David and John Sawyer, eds. "Midian, Moab and Edom: The History and Archaeology of Late Bronze and Iron Age Jordan and North-West Arabia". ''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', Supplement Series, No. 24. Sheffield Academic Press, 1983.
| |||