Who was Midian in the Bible?
Midian was a nation descended from Abraham through his wife Keturah (Genesis 25:2). Midian appears in 34 verses across 8 books of the Bible.
What does the Bible say about Midian?
Midian was a nation descended from Abraham through his wife Keturah (Genesis 25:2). The Midianites lived in the desert regions of the Arabian Peninsula, particularly in the area east of the Gulf of Aqaba. Moses fled to Midian after killing an Egyptian and married Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro, a Midianite priest (Exodus 2:15-22). Jethro later visited Moses and offered him wise counsel (Exodus 18:1-27). During the time of the judges, the Midianites, along with the Amalekites and other eastern peoples, oppressed Israel for seven years (Judges 6:1-6). God raised up Gideon to deliver Israel from the Midianites (Judges 6:11-24). Gideon, with a small army of 300 men, defeated the Midianites and their allies, who were "as numerous as locusts" (Judges 7-8). The Midianites were involved in the incident at Peor, where Israelite men were enticed into sexual immorality and idolatry (Numbers 25:1-18). As a result, God commanded Moses to take vengeance on the Midianites (Numbers 25:17-18; 31:1-54). In later biblical history, the Midianites are mentioned as traders who bought Joseph from his brothers and sold him into slavery in Egypt (Genesis 37:28, 36). The prophet Isaiah refers to the defeat of Midian as a symbol of God's power to deliver his people (Isaiah 9:4; 10:26). The Midianites are also mentioned in the genealogy of Edom (Genesis 36:35; 1Ch.1.46) and in a psalm calling for God's judgment on Israel's enemies (Psalm 83:9).
Definition text: STEPBible · Tyndale House Cambridge. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Lightly edited for length and formatting.
Compiled by Protos: the verse list on this page. Where one name belongs to more than one person or place, each of them gets a separate entry.
Where does Midian appear in the Bible?
Midian is referenced in 34 verses across 8 books. Every passage below is about this one, not just every verse the word turns up in.
- 1 Kings 11:18
- Acts 7:29
- Exodus 2:15
- Exodus 2:16
- Exodus 3:1
- Exodus 4:19
- Exodus 18:1
- Habakkuk 3:7
- Isaiah 9:4
- Isaiah 10:26
- Isaiah 60:6
- Judges 6:1
- Judges 6:2
- Judges 6:6
- Judges 6:7
- Judges 6:13
- Judges 6:14
- Judges 7:1
- Judges 7:2
- Judges 7:8
- Judges 7:14
- Judges 7:15
- Judges 7:25
- Judges 8:1
Showing the first 24 of 34.
Open all 34 references in ProtosWhat else appears in these passages?
These turn up in the same passages as Midian.
Common questions
How many times does the Bible mention Midian?
Midian appears in 34 verses across 8 books, most often in Judges, which accounts for 19 of them.
Which books of the Bible mention Midian?
Judges, Exodus, Isaiah, Numbers, 1 Kings, Acts, Habakkuk, Psalms.
Where can I read every verse about Midian?
This page lists 24 of them. Protos carries all 34, and opens this entry on the verse you are reading rather than in a separate tab.
