Midian

Throughout the Bible, “Ishmaelite” is a collective term for eastern nomads. Why, then, does Genesis present their eponymous ancestor Ishmael as dwelling in the west? The answer can be found in the political realities of Persian period Yehud.

God reveals his name to Moses as “I am,” from the Hebrew root ה.ו.י, “being.” The name YHWH, however, originates in Midian, and derives from the Arabic term for “love, desire, or passion.”

The Midianite Origin of YHWH and Aniconism

Cementing political alliances in the Ancient Near East through common genealogy.