Midian

The region in northwestern Arabia east of the Gulf of Aqaba where Moses fled after killing an Egyptian taskmaster. In Midian, Moses spent forty years as a shepherd, married Zipporah, and encountered God at the burning bush. The Midianites were descendants of Abraham through his wife Keturah (Genesis 25:1-2).

After killing an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave, Moses fled Pharaoh’s wrath to the land of Midian (Exodus 2:11-15). Sitting by a well, he defended the daughters of Jethro (also called Reuel), a Midianite priest, from aggressive shepherds. Jethro welcomed Moses into his household, giving him his daughter Zipporah as wife (Exodus 2:16-21). Moses settled into pastoral life, tending Jethro’s flocks—a dramatic contrast to his upbringing in Pharaoh’s palace.

While shepherding near “Horeb, the mountain of God,” Moses witnessed a bush burning yet unconsumed. God spoke from the flames, identifying Himself as “the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6). There God commissioned Moses to return to Egypt and deliver Israel from slavery. Moses’ forty years in Midian’s wilderness prepared him for leading Israel through forty years in the Sinai wilderness—both periods of preparation for God’s purposes.

Later, Jethro visited Moses during the Exodus, bringing Zipporah and Moses’ sons. Observing Moses judging disputes from morning to evening, Jethro wisely advised establishing a hierarchical judicial system: “Look for able men from all the people…and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens” (Exodus 18:21). Moses implemented this administrative structure, showing that God’s wisdom can come through Gentile counsel.

However, Israel’s relationship with Midian later turned hostile. The Midianites allied with Moab to hire Balaam to curse Israel (Numbers 22-25), and Midianite women seduced Israelite men into idolatry at Baal-Peor, resulting in a devastating plague. Centuries later, the Midianites oppressed Israel during the period of Judges until Gideon defeated them with just 300 men (Judges 6-8).