Bible Verses About Midianites

ADONAI said to Moshe,

"Treat the Midyanim as enemies and attack them;

because they are treating you as enemies by the trickery they used to deceive you in the P'or incident and in the affair of their sister Kozbi, the daughter of the leader from Midyan, the woman who was killed on the day of the plague in the P'or incident."

ADONAI said to Moshe,

"On behalf of the people of Isra'el, take vengeance on the Midyanim. After that, you will be gathered to your people."

Moshe said to the people, "Equip men from among yourselves for war. They are to go and fight Midyan, in order to carry out ADONAI's vengeance on Midyan.

You are to send to the war a thousand men from every one of Isra'el's tribes."

So out of the thousands of people in Isra'el, a thousand armed men from each tribe, 12,000 altogether, were mustered for war.

Moshe sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the war; he sent them and Pinchas the son of El'azar the cohen to the war, with the holy utensils and the trumpets for sounding the alarm in his care.

They fought against Midyan, as ADONAI had ordered Moshe, and killed every male.

They killed the kings of Midyan along with the others who were slain - Evi, Rekem, Tzur, Hur and Reva, the five kings of Midyan. They also killed Bil'am the son of B'or with the sword.

The people of Isra'el took captive the women of Midyan and their little ones, and they took as booty all their cattle, flocks and other goods.

They set fire to all their cities in the areas where they lived and all their camps.

They took all the booty, all the people and animals they had captured,

and brought the captives, booty and spoil to Moshe, El'azar the cohen and the community of Isra'el in the camp on the plains of Mo'av by the Yarden across from Yericho.

But the people of Isra'el did what was evil from ADONAI's perspective, so ADONAI handed them over to Midyan for seven years.

Midyan exercised its power harshly against Isra'el, and because of Midyan the people of Isra'el hid themselves in mountains, in caves and in other safe places.

One time, after Isra'el's sowing season, Midyan, with 'Amalek and others from the east, attacked them.

They set up camp by them and destroyed the produce of the country all the way to 'Azah; they left nothing for people to live on, no sheep, no oxen, no donkeys.

For they came up with their cattle and tents, and they came in as thick as locusts; both they and their camels were beyond numbering, and they came into the land to destroy it.

Isra'el became very discouraged because of Midyan, and the people of Isra'el cried out to ADONAI.

Then the angel of ADONAI came and sat under the pistachio tree in 'Ofrah that belonged to Yo'ash the Avi'ezri. His son Gid'on was threshing wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from Midyan.

The angel of ADONAI appeared to him and said to him: "You valiant hero! ADONAI is with you!"

"Excuse me, sir," answered Gid'on, "but if ADONAI is with us, then why is all this happening to us? And where are all his miracles our ancestors told us about when they said, 'Didn't ADONAI bring us up from Egypt?' For now ADONAI has abandoned us and handed us over to Midyan."

ADONAI turned to him and said, "Go in this strength of yours and save Isra'el from the hands of Midyan. Haven't I sent you?"