Loading...
BiblicalTraining's mission is to lead disciples toward spiritual growth through deep biblical understanding and practice. We offer a comprehensive education covering all the basic fields of biblical and theological content at different academic levels.
Read More

Medes, Media

MEDES, MEDIA (mēdz, mē'dĭ-a, Heb. mādhî, mādhay). The inhabitants of the land of Media. The boundaries of this land have varied from time to time, but generally it was regarded as that land to the west and south of the Caspian Sea. It was bounded on the west by the Zagros Mountains, on the north by the Araxes and Cyrus rivers, on the east by Hyrcania and the great Salt Desert, and on the south by Susiana or Elam. Josephus feels its name was derived from Madai, the son of Japhet. It is shaped like a parallelogram with its longest portion extending 600 miles (1,000 km.) and its greatest width about 250 miles (417 km.), thus making it a territory of some 150,000 square miles (384,615 sq. km.). It had many natural barriers, making its defense easy. Its water supply was scant, thus making much of the land arid and sterile, though some of its valleys were abundantly productive. Irrigation for the most part was impractical, for some of its rivers were salty while others had worn such deep canyons as to make their waters useless for this purpose. Its few towns were scattered, since its people preferred to live in small groups. Its climate was varied, with some extreme temperatures in both directions. Minerals were many and animals and birds were plentiful. Eventually these factors led to luxurious living, spelling the downfall of the empire. It became famous for its horses, and at one time paid yearly tribute of 3,000 horses, plus 4,000 mules and almost 100,000 sheep.

The people of Media were warlike and skilled in their use of the bow. They were linked very closely in their background, linguistically and religiously, to the Persians, whom they antedate by several centuries and with whom they eventually united. While their early worship was polytheistic, there were some monotheistic leanings that were very significant. Their worship was conducted by priests and consisted of hymns, sacrifices—bloody and unbloody—and a ceremony in which the priests offer an intoxicating liquor to the gods and then consume it until they are drunken. Their religion was a revolt against the nature worship about them. They believed in real spiritual intelligence divided into good and bad. At the head of the good beings was one supreme intelligence who was worshiped as supreme creator, preserver, and governor of the universe. He was called Ahura-Mazda and was the source of all good. Later, along with Zoroastrian dualism, there developed a worship of heavenly bodies.

The people were for a long period a strong power. Shalmaneser plundered several of their more important cities, evidently with the sole purpose of exacting tribute. They continued strong and were a menace to Assyria’s last king, Ashurbanipal, after whose death the Median king Cyaxares carried on an extensive campaign.

The more than twenty references to these people or their land in the Scriptures show their importance. Their cities are referred to in 2Kgs.17.8; 2Kgs.18.11. Esther tells of the binding character of their laws (Esth.1.19); Isaiah and Daniel speak of their power against Babylon (Isa.13.17; Dan.5.28). The last scriptural reference to them is in Acts.2.9, where representatives are in Jerusalem at the time of Pentecost.——HZC