Midianite

American  

[mid-ee-uh-nahyt] / ˈmɪd i əˌnaɪt /

noun

1. a member of an ancient desert people of northwest Arabia near the Gulf of Aqaba, believed to have descended from Midian.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Midianites.

Etymology

Origin of Midianite

Midian + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

After all, Moses was born Jewish, adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter and raised in the Egyptian palace, then lived as a Midianite shepherd for many decades of his adult life.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026

The Midianite interpreter had said, 'God has delivered'; Gideon says, 'The Lord has delivered.'

From Expositions of Holy Scripture Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and First Book of Samuel, Second Samuel, First Kings, and Second Kings chapters I to VII by Maclaren, Alexander

We see the Midianite and Ishmaelite caravan passing Dothan—still known by its ancient name—with their bales of spicery from Gilead for the dwellers in the Delta, and carrying away with them the young Hebrew slave.

From Patriarchal Palestine by Sayce, A. H. (Archibald Henry)

Zipporah the wife of Moses was a Midianite, Jethro her father was a priest of some sagacity and consideration.

From The Woman's Bible by Stanton, Elizabeth Cady

The Midianite had said, 'This is … the sword of Gideon'; he bid his men cry 'the sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.'

From Expositions of Holy Scripture Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and First Book of Samuel, Second Samuel, First Kings, and Second Kings chapters I to VII by Maclaren, Alexander