Madai
Encyclopedia
Madai is a son of Japheth
and one of the 16 grandsons of Noah
in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible
. Biblical scholars have identified Madai with various nations, from the Mitanni
of early records, to the Iranian Medes
of much later records. The Medes, reckoned to be his offspring by Josephus and most subsequent writers, were also known as Madai, including in both Assyria
n and Hebrew
sources. The Kurds still maintain traditions of descent from Madai.
According to the Book of Jubilees (10:35-36), Madai had married a daughter of Shem
, and preferred to live among Shem's descendants, rather than dwell in Japheth's allotted inheritance beyond the Black Sea; so he begged his brothers-in-law, Elam
, Asshur
and Arphaxad
, until he finally received from them the land that was named after him, Media.
Another line in Jubilees (8:5) states that a daughter of Madai named Milcah
married Cainan
, who is an ancestor of Abraham
also mentioned in older versions of Genesis.
Madai is also the name of the deified ancestor of the Kachin, according to the indigenous Kachin religion. The Kachin are a people of Myanmar
and neighboring areas speaking a Sino-Tibetan language.
Japheth
Japheth is one of the sons of Noah in the Abrahamic tradition...
and one of the 16 grandsons of Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
. Biblical scholars have identified Madai with various nations, from the Mitanni
Mitanni
Mitanni or Hanigalbat was a loosely organized Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria and south-east Anatolia from ca. 1500 BC–1300 BC...
of early records, to the Iranian Medes
Medes
The MedesThe Medes...
of much later records. The Medes, reckoned to be his offspring by Josephus and most subsequent writers, were also known as Madai, including in both Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
n and Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
sources. The Kurds still maintain traditions of descent from Madai.
According to the Book of Jubilees (10:35-36), Madai had married a daughter of Shem
Shem
Shem was one of the sons of Noah in the Hebrew Bible as well as in Islamic literature. He is most popularly regarded as the eldest son, though some traditions regard him as the second son. Genesis 10:21 refers to relative ages of Shem and his brother Japheth, but with sufficient ambiguity in each...
, and preferred to live among Shem's descendants, rather than dwell in Japheth's allotted inheritance beyond the Black Sea; so he begged his brothers-in-law, Elam
Elam (Hebrew Bible)
Elam in the Hebrew Bible is said to be the oldest son of Shem, the son of Noah. It is also used , for the ancient country of Elam in what is now southern Iran, whose people the Hebrews believed to be the offspring of Elam, son of Shem...
, Asshur
Ashur
Ashur |Shin]]) in the Masoretic text, which doubles the 'ש'), was the second son of Shem, the son of Noah. Ashur's brothers were Elam, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram....
and Arphaxad
Arpachshad
Arpachshad or Arphaxad or Arphacsad was one of the five sons of Shem, the son of Noah . His brothers were Elam, Asshur, Lud and Aram; he is an ancestor of Abraham. He is said by Gen...
, until he finally received from them the land that was named after him, Media.
Another line in Jubilees (8:5) states that a daughter of Madai named Milcah
Milcah
Milcah was thedaughter of Haran and the wife of Nahor in Genesis.Milcah was a woman of ancient Mesopotamia and an ancestor of the patriarch Jacob. Milcah was born to Haran, who had another daughter, Iscah. This Haran seemed to be different from Haran, Abraham's brother, who had a son, Lot...
married Cainan
Cainan
Cainan can refer to either:*A variant of the name Kenan in the generations of Adam, the lists of antediluvian patriarchs given in the Torah;*Cainan, the son of the Arpachshad mentioned in most manuscripts of the Gospel of Luke 3:36...
, who is an ancestor of Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
also mentioned in older versions of Genesis.
Madai is also the name of the deified ancestor of the Kachin, according to the indigenous Kachin religion. The Kachin are a people of Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
and neighboring areas speaking a Sino-Tibetan language.