Genesis 25:1–2 reveals that Midian was one of Abraham’s sons, not by Sarah but by Keturah, his second wife. Along with Abraham’s other sons by his concubines, Midian was sent eastward to the east country (Genesis 25:6), to separate him from Isaac, to whom Abraham gave all he had and thus established as his sole heir. Therefore, Abraham and Israel would regard Midian and the other sons of Abraham’s concubines as having no inheritance rights. The Midianites became a semi-nomadic people, occupying desert territory east and south of Canaan, in the Arabian Desert and the Sina Peninsula.¹