LAND OF, a country of the Midianites, derived its name and its
inhabitants from Midian, the son of Abraham by Keturah. This country
extended from the east of the land of Moab, on the east of the Dead Sea,
southward, along the Elanitic gulf of the Red Sea, stretching some way
into Arabia. It farther passed to the south of the land of Edom, into
the peninsula of Mount Sinai, where Moses met with the daughter of
Jethro, the priest of Midian, whom he married. The Midianites, together
with their neighbours, the Ishmaelites, were early engaged in the trade
between the east and the west, as we find the party to whom Joseph was
sold, carrying spices, the produce of the east, into Egypt; and, taking
Gilead in their way, to add the celebrated and highly prized balm of
that country to their merchandise. It appears that, at the time of the
passage of the Israelites through the country of the Amorites, the
Midianites had been subdued by that people, as the chiefs or kings of
their five principal tribes are called dukes of Sihon, and dwelt in his
country, Joshua xiii, 21. It was at this time that the Midianites,
alarmed at the numbers and the progress of the Israelites, united with
the Moabites in sending into Syria for Balaam, the soothsayer; thinking
to do that by incantation which they despaired of effecting by force.
The result of this measure, the constraint imposed on Balaam to bless
instead of to curse, and the subsequent defeat and slaughter of the
Midianites, forms one of the most interesting narratives in the early
history of the Jews, Num. xxii-xxv, xxxi. About two hundred years after
this, the Midianites, having recovered their numbers and their strength,
were permitted by God to distress the Israelites for the space of seven
years, as a punishment for their relapse into idolatry. But at length
their armies, like grasshoppers for multitude, with camels out of number
as sand by the sea side for multitude,” which had encamped in the valley
of Jezreel, were miraculously defeated by Gideon, Judges vi-viii. The
Midianites appear not to have survived this second discomfiture as a
nation; but their remains became gradually incorporated with the
Moabites and Arabians.
inhabitants from Midian, the son of Abraham by Keturah. This country
extended from the east of the land of Moab, on the east of the Dead Sea,
southward, along the Elanitic gulf of the Red Sea, stretching some way
into Arabia. It farther passed to the south of the land of Edom, into
the peninsula of Mount Sinai, where Moses met with the daughter of
Jethro, the priest of Midian, whom he married. The Midianites, together
with their neighbours, the Ishmaelites, were early engaged in the trade
between the east and the west, as we find the party to whom Joseph was
sold, carrying spices, the produce of the east, into Egypt; and, taking
Gilead in their way, to add the celebrated and highly prized balm of
that country to their merchandise. It appears that, at the time of the
passage of the Israelites through the country of the Amorites, the
Midianites had been subdued by that people, as the chiefs or kings of
their five principal tribes are called dukes of Sihon, and dwelt in his
country, Joshua xiii, 21. It was at this time that the Midianites,
alarmed at the numbers and the progress of the Israelites, united with
the Moabites in sending into Syria for Balaam, the soothsayer; thinking
to do that by incantation which they despaired of effecting by force.
The result of this measure, the constraint imposed on Balaam to bless
instead of to curse, and the subsequent defeat and slaughter of the
Midianites, forms one of the most interesting narratives in the early
history of the Jews, Num. xxii-xxv, xxxi. About two hundred years after
this, the Midianites, having recovered their numbers and their strength,
were permitted by God to distress the Israelites for the space of seven
years, as a punishment for their relapse into idolatry. But at length
their armies, like grasshoppers for multitude, with camels out of number
as sand by the sea side for multitude,” which had encamped in the valley
of Jezreel, were miraculously defeated by Gideon, Judges vi-viii. The
Midianites appear not to have survived this second discomfiture as a
nation; but their remains became gradually incorporated with the
Moabites and Arabians.