Captain Burton and the Land of Midian.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2941, 19 July 1878, Page 2

Captain Burton and the Land of Midian.

Ike recent exploration of (he Land of Midiau made by Captain Burton, and the specimens of mineral wealth brought by him to Egypt, have fully confirmed the report which he made to the Khedive two. years pj;o after his first visit to that region. The country is of considerable interest to the students of the Bible, for the population which inhabited it came repeatedly into contact with Israel, occasionally of a friend'y, but more frequently of a hostile nature, arid is repeatedly referred to in the Scriptures. Lone; be* fore Moses look refuge in the. lar?d of Midian, mention is made of Midia:.'.cish merchants in connection with the sous of Jacob. It was these traders who bought Joseph, and then sold. him in Egypt. Much more friendly grew; the intercourse of the Midianites with the descendants of Jacob after Moses had married the daughter of their priest. The services rendored them by Jethro during their early wanderings in the desert, although, only very briefly adverted to, must hare been very valuable since he Berved them for a time as a guide in their journeys. But thi3 friendly feeling must hare soon died out, for when we next see 1* Midian coming into contact with Israel, the attitude wag decidely hostile. It was the Moabites, in conjunction with the Midianites, who plotted against Israel seeking to effect her destruction through the expected imprecations of Balaam the Magician. We may judge of the bitterness of feeling which must have prevailed between the two peoples by the stratagem resorted to by the Midianites in order to seduce Israel from her allegiance to God, and the fierce revenge subsequently taken upon them by wrathful Hebrews. Very likely that Jethro died soon after his departure from the camp of Israel. . There may, after his decease, have Bprung up misunderstandings between the two populations which, in, the 'absence of the * friendly intermediation of the departed priest, so alienated the two populations from each other, that the previous good feeling- turned into bitter hatred. Once more we hear of Israel coming into contact with Midian. But again it was a hostile encounter. The Midianites, in conjunction with the sons of the East, mercilessly devastated the land of Israel year after year, until the valour of Gideon put a stop to these annual invasions. Bat the chief interests of this people and this country did not arise so much from what Scripture tells us of them, as from the light which Captain Burton's discovery incidentally throws upon certain Scriptural statements. We have seen that Midian, as a nation, twice came into hostile contact with Israel, and each time victorious Israel carried off as booty a large quantity of precious metal.; Whence, it was asked, could a population inhabiting a sterile country, with a very scanty vegetation, have derived such mineral wealth. Gold, silver, iron, tin, and copper (Num. xxi. 22) are especially mentioned as part of the spoil; and the gold which had fallen to the share of the princes who led the people in this foray, we are told, amounted to sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekel, exclusive of the booty of the host, every member of which kept what he had carried off. In Judges viii. 26, which is still more astounding, we , are told that the weight of the golden earrings alone taken from the defeated Midianites amounted to one thousand and seven hundred shekel, not includii ■<$ the half-moons, collars, and .chains on the necks of their camels. . We now know that the land-of- Midiajl abounded in precious metal. It was, therefore, but natural that the inhabitants should have possessed so many, golden ornaments. We may now go a step further, and say that the large quantity of gold, silver, and especially copper, which was used in the construction of the tabernacle and its appurtenances were at least in part obtained from the land of Midian through barter, or some other means with which we are not acquainted. The relation of intimacy which for a considerable time prevailed between the chief of Israel and the head of the Midianites could not but have facilitated—at least for a time—a friendly intercourse between the two peoples. A population of slaves which had only very shortly before broken it chains was not likely to have been in possession of such quantities of precious metal as were absorbed for the purposes of ornament; by the sanctuary, and the golden calf when it fled from Egyptian bondage.—Jewish Chronicle.