his was at one time occupied by a monastery. See SWP vol. iii. sheet xviii. C. R. CONDER.
MIDDLEMOST, MIDLAND.—The Heb. word ji" tikhon, usually translated ‘middle,’ is rendered *‘middlemost’ in Ezk 4255. The tr. comes from Coy., and RV retains it. Cf. Jer. Taylor, Works, ii. 65, ‘Truth hath a mysterious name, .. . it consists of three letters [7.e. nox], the first and the last and the middlemost of the Hebrew letters.’
Midland is still in use as an adj., and as a subst. in the pl. ‘the Midlands.’ As a sing. subst. it occurs in 2 Mac 885 ‘he came like a fugitive servant through the midland (1611 ‘mid land’) unto Antioch’ (διὰ τῆς μεσογείου. RV retains the word, but mod. Eng. is ‘ interior.’
The form middest for ‘midst’ often occurs in the early editions of AV. Mod. editions spell ‘midst.’ Cf. Fuller, Holy State, 260, ‘Two eyes see more then one, came it be never so big, and set (as in Polyphemus) in the middest of the fore- head.’ Other forms are, besides ‘ midst’ itself, ‘midest’ (Jth 6"), ‘middes’ (Ps 116”, Ac 27%}, Ph 2"), and ‘mids’ (Jer 374, Three 57. ®, Sus *: 48),
J. HASTINGS.
MIDIAN, MIDIANITES (j7>).—A son of Abraham by Keturah (Gn 25!4, 1 Ch 1533: 8), and the name of the nation of which he is reckoned the progenitor. The plural 07 occurs Gn 37%, Nu 2517 31? only. In Gn 3755 οὐ} is probably a variant of 0377>, and refers to the same people as in v.%. The LXX have the same rendering in both verses. 772 ocears Nu 10”, but elsewhere the nation or the country is called ime, LXX Μαδιάμ (but Br Μαδιάν in Nu), Vulg. Madian, and in .*th 2% Ac 7%, AV has Madian. Other renderings of LXX are Μαδιηναῖοι Gn 37%, Nu 9517 Μαδιαν- εἴται, Nu 10% 312. Both AV and RV have Midian or Midianites in OT.
In connexion with the genealogies of Gn 25, three points may be noted.
(a) The name Keturah. The meaning of the word is either incense or the perfumed one (cf. Ca 3° perfumed with myrrh or frankincense), and may imply that the tribes descended from her were occupied in the production of incense and spices, or were traders in these articles. It will be remembered that the merchantmen (described as Midianites in Gn 37) who carried Joseph into Egypt are represented as bearing ‘spicery and balm and myrrh’ (v.*), and that the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah are mentioned as bringing gold and incense (Is 605).
(Ὁ) The relationship between Midian and the Israelites. The genealogy, by tracing the descent of both nations from Abraham, acknowledges kinship, but assigns Reperate territory to each (Gn 25°). But among the descendants of Midian are Ephah, Epher, and Hanoch. Ephah is mentioned twice in genealogies connected with Judah 1 Ch 24, Epher in connexion with Judah 1Ch 417, and with the half-tribe of Manasseh on E. of Jordan 1 Ch 5%. Hanoch is the name of Reuben’s eldest son. This similarity of names (note that they belong to frontier tribes) may point to further alliances between the Midian- ites and Israel. The marriage of Moses with a Midianite woman is recorded without disap- proval, and it may be but one of many similar unions of which no record has been preserved.
(c) The distinction between the Midianites and the descendants of Ishmael. This distinction, clearly indicated in the genealogy of Gn 25 (cf. v.° with ν.9), is not so marked elsewhere, for in Gn 37 the merchantmen who carried Joseph into Egypt are described both as Ishmaelites and Midian- ites (cf. v.% with v.* and y.™), and in Jg 8% the same interchange of names occurs.
The Midianites appear in Gn as traders moving about in companies with camels. In the earlier chapters of Ex they are described as a pastoral
eople tending their flocks. Moses flees from the ace of Pharaoh to Midian, is hospitably received by Jethro the priest, and marries his daughter Zipporah. While Israel is at Sinai, Jethro visits his son-in-law, and at their departure from Sinai Moses begs him to accompany them, but he declines. The descendants of Jethro continued their friendly relations with the children of Israel, for in the time of the Judges they are found dwelling in the land (Jg 116 411. 1%), and Saul shows favour to them because of the services which they rendered to the Israelites in the wilderness (1S 15°). In these passages they are called Kenites. Towards the end of the journeyings, when Israel is on the E. side of the Social ianites are acting in concert with Moab in procuring the services of Balaam ; they tempt Israel to idolatry and lewdness, and are defeated with great slaughter [Nu 22, 25°18 31, with ref. in Jos 137) 33],
The character of the Midianites as here por- trayed is very diflerent from that presented in the earlier chapters of Exodus. Instead of a friendly people, with Jethro their priest acknowledging and praising the God of Abraham (Ex 18%), the children of Israel are now confronted with a nation of idolaters, on whom they are bidden to take vengeance. These varied aspects under which Midian is presented to us may be accounted for by supposing that the name of Midian was applied to a number of clans spreading over a large area, some of whom settled down peacefully, tending their flocks, while others were of a roving and warlike character.