Biblical Hebrew Forum

[JimStinehart AT aol.com]

Yigal Levin:
 
You wrote:  “Actually George, why do you assume that Midian is more 
securely located than Sinai is? There is absolutely no extra-biblical 
evidence for 
either.”
 
That’s not quite true as to Midian, though it is true for a Midian being 
located in Saudi Arabia or anywhere in that general part of the world.  In 
the 
beginning, that is, in the mid-14th century BCE Patriarchal Age, “Midian” 
meant historical Mitanni in eastern Syria.
 
There is no “Midian” or “Midianite” in the secular history of the ancient 
world.  But the first instance of MDYNYM (mem-dalet-yod-nun-yod-mem) in the 
Bible, at Genesis 37: 28, has a close secular counterpart in a Late Bronze 
Age context.
 
1.  At Amarna Letter EA 75: 38, the word customarily transliterated into 
English as “Mitanni” is actually the following:
 
mi-it-ta-ni-ma
 
_http://www.tau.ac.il/humanities/semitic/EA60-114.html_ 
(http://www.tau.ac.il/humanities/semitic/EA60-114.html)   [at 075:038]
 
Note that in Amarna Letter EA 75: 38, Mittani ends in M, just as in Hebrew. 
 So instead of being Midianites or Mittanians, the meaning of MDYNYM at 
Genesis 37: 28 could be “of Mittani”.
 
We know that T and D are often interchangeable in going from one ancient 
language to another.  Two prominent examples of that are that MKT at item #2 
on the mid-15th century BCE Thutmosis III list comes out as Megiddo/MGDW, and 
that TMSQW at item #13 comes out as Damascus/DM&Q.  In each case, a T in 
secular history comes over into Biblical Hebrew as a dalet/D.  So the 
linguistic match of mi-it-ta-ni-ma to Hebrew MDYNYM is quite close.  In 
particular, 
if the second syllable ends with T, and the third syllable begins with T, 
that sound could be quite similar to dalet-yod/D-Y in Hebrew.
 
2.  Consider also that one of Abraham’s sons is Midian:  MDYN, at Genesis 
25: 2.  Once again, if the dalet/D came out as T in the Amarna Letters, that 
looks a lot like historical Mittani in Late Bronze Age eastern Syria.
 
Moreover, at Genesis 25: 6, Midian/MDYN and Abraham’s other sons by his 
lesser wives are sent out  e-a-s-t.  Note that historical Mittani is  e-a-s-t 
 
of Canaan, being located on the upper Euphrates River.  When the Patriarchal 
narratives say “e-a-s-t”, the meaning is often the upper Euphrates River.  
Thus at Genesis 29: 1 we read, upon Jacob’s arrival at Harran (just east of 
the upper Euphrates River):  “Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to 
the land of the children of the east.”  Presumably Abraham sent his son MDYN 
out east to Abraham’s father’s relatives living in Harran near the upper 
Euphrates River.    
 
By contrast, in the rest of the Bible, Midian is most often the west coast 
of Arabia, on the east bank of the Red Sea, being straight south of Canaan, 
not east.  Perhaps the eastern edge of Biblical Midian was slightly east of 
Canaan, yet the predominant direction is clearly south, not east.  Though 
various books of the Bible seem to reference Midian and the Midianites as 
being in various places, presumably outside of the Patriarchal narratives the 
center of Biblical Midian was thought to be on the west coast of Arabia, 
south 
(not east) of Canaan.   
 
3.  If there was an historical Patriarchal Age, and if it was the Late 
Bronze Age, then we would need to see Mittani in the text of the Patriarchal 
narratives, with the locale being eastern Syria.  That’s exactly what we do 
see!  MDYNYM at Genesis 37: 28 looks very much like mi-it-ta-ni-ma at Amarna 
Letter EA 75: 38.  Since these Ishmaelite traders (who are foreign traders 
permanently living in Mittani, rather than being native Hurrians) are on 
their 
way to Egypt (where they sell Joseph into slavery), it makes all the sense 
in the world that they have come from eastern Syria, and are traveling 
southwest through Dothan in central Canaan (just north of Shechem) on their 
way to 
Egypt.  By sharp contrast, if these Ishmaelite traders came from the west 
coast of Arabia, they would be on their way to the upper Euphrates River in 
passing through Dothan in central Canaan, which is the wrong direction.
 
Likewise with Abraham’s son MDYN at Genesis 25: 2.  MDYN is sent east by 
Abraham at Genesis 25: 6.  Once again, both the name, and the indicated 
direction (east), are fully redolent of historical Mittani in eastern Syria.
 
The rest of the Bible may be mixed up in its geography.  But the 
Patriarchal narratives have pinpoint historical accuracy regarding geography. 
 If only 
scholars would look at the text of the Patriarchal narratives through the 
lens of the secular history of the ancient world, instead of always insisting 
on interpreting the Patriarchal narratives on a non-historical basis, 
through the lens of the rest of the books of the Bible.  The Seir in the 
Patriarchal narratives is historical Seir/Jazer, in the middle of hill 
country on 
the east bank of the Jordan River, and the Ishmaelites who are “Midyanim” in 
the Patriarchal narratives are Ishmaelites who are living in historical 
Mitanni in eastern Syria.
 
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois