Rev. Rev.Bryant J. Williams III:
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You wrote: “ I agree that Zipporah was adaughter of Reul/Jethro, a priest of
Midian. I have no problem with that. TheHebrew text (Exodus 2) is quite clear
about that. What I disagree with is thatMidian = Mitanni. There is about
1,000miles difference between the two areas.”
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1. Here is some of the Biblical evidence thatMDYN is historical Mitanni in
Late Bronze Age eastern Syria, rather than beingan unattested place with an
unattested name somewhere in southwestern Arabia.
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(a) Judges repeatedly pairs “MDYN” with “childrenof the east”, which fits
eastern Syria perfectly, but does not fit Arabia atall:
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[i] “And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, andthe
Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them.”
Judges 6: 3
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[ii] “Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the
eastwere gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of
Jezreel.” Judges 6: 33
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[iii] “And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the
eastlay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels
were without number, as thesand by the sea side for multitude.” Judges 7: 12
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(b) Numbers 31: 8 pairs five princelings of MDYN with Balaam, who
perDeuteronomy 23: 4 is from Naharim, that is, the Late Bronze Age Hurrian
stateof Mitanni in eastern Syria:
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“And they slew the kings of Midian,beside the rest of them that were slain;
namely Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings ofMidian: Balaam
also the son of Beor theyslew with the sword.” Numbers 31: 8
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2. What Biblical text would you cite from Genesis through II Kings for
theproposition that MDYN refers to western Arabia?
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Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois
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