Midian/Midianites

The Midianites were the descendants of Midan, the son of Abraham and his second wife, Keturah. They lived east of the Jordan River in the Sinai Peninsula. Moses married a Midianite (Zipporah). When the Israelites were in the wilderness after they left Egypt, the Midianites seemed friendly to them. Two hundred years after Israel settled in Canaan, the Midianites made life miserable for the Israelites, raiding their villages and trampling their crops. God chose Gideon to drive the Midianites out.