A person, place, or people. The Midianite people lived on the eastern edge of Gilead, Moab, and Edom south into northwest Arabia. They had few, if any, permanent settlements.
Midian and his descendants are important in Israel's early history. They are mentioned in connection to:
Balaam (Numbers 22:1–6; 25; 31:1–20), and
Who Was Midian?
Midian was the younger half-brother of Isaac. He was the fourth of six sons born to Keturah, whom Abraham married when he was old (Genesis 25:1–2; compare 23:1–2; 24:67; 1 Chronicles 1:32). The Bible calls Midian and his full brothers "the sons of Keturah" (Genesis 25:4; 1 Chronicles 1:32–33). This distinguishes them from Isaac, the son of Sarah, through whom God's promise to Abraham would be fulfilled (Genesis 12:1–3; 17:15–21). Abraham and the Israelites viewed these other sons as having no more inheritance rights than the sons of a concubine (Genesis 25:5–6; 1 Chronicles 1:31).
These sons were sent away from Abraham's family, for Isaac's sake. They became semi-nomadic peoples (people who moved from place to place) living in the deserts east and south of Palestine (Genesis 25:5–6).
The Land of Midian
The exact location of Midian is uncertain. It was probably south of Edom on the eastern side of the Gulf of Aqaba. Ptolemy, a geographer from Alexandria who lived in the second century AD, mentions a city named Modiana on the coast. He also mentions a Madiana 41.8 kilometers (26 miles) inland (modern el-Bed') in this region. This location is supported by Josephus (a Jewish historian from the first century AD) and Eusebius (a Christian church historian from the early fourth century).
In early Old Testament times, Midian likely referred to the area bordering Gilead, Moab, and Edom, extending into eastern Sinai.
In Joseph's time, some Midianite clans lived in the northern Transjordan desert near Gilead or Bashan. This is because they were part of an Ishmaelite caravan traveling the trade route from Damascus across Gilead past Dothan to Egypt (Genesis 37:17, 25–28, 36).
After Moses fled from Pharaoh, he settled in Midian. There, he married Zipporah, the daughter of a Midianite priest (Exodus 2:15–22). Later, Moses asked his Midianite relative Hobab to guide the Israelites through the wilderness (Deuteronomy 1:19). Hobab knew the area well, even though he lived elsewhere ((Numbers 10:11–12, 29–31).
In the Balaam story, a large group of Midianites appears to have been living on the eastern border of Moab (Numbers 22:31). The Moabite king Balak was under the rule of the Amorite king named Sihon (Numbers 21:26–30; Jeremiah 48:45). He talked about the Israelite threat with the elders of Midian. They sent representatives to Balaam (Numbers 22:2–7).
At Acacia in the plains of Moab, an Israelite met and married a Midianite princess ((Numbers 22:1; 25:1; 6–18; 31:8). The Midianite kings were not independent rulers but were controlled by King Sihon (Jos 13:21). All the evidence suggests that Midianite clans lived nearby, on the borders of Moab. Since Moab is north of Edom, the mention of an Edomite victory over Midian might indicate that the Midianites had moved northward into Edomite territory (Genesis 36:35).
The Midianite invasion that Gideon repelled came from the east. This suggests that "the land of Midian" may refer to an area south of Edom. But the Midianites lived across a much larger region. This included the deserts east of Moab and Edom, and south into east Sinai and northwest Arabia.