Madai

Biblical Record

Madai is listed as the third of the seven sons of Japheth, the son of Noah. Genesis 10:2 records, "The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras," and 1 Chronicles 1:5 repeats the same list. Both passages are genealogies that give only his name; Scripture contains no account of Madai's life, deeds, or descendants.

Significance Within the Bible

Genesis 10 is a genealogy showing how the various peoples branched out from Noah's three sons after the Flood. It is commonly called the "Table of Nations." Many of the names in this chapter function both as personal names and as names of peoples or regions.

"Madai" (Hebrew Maday) is one such name. Elsewhere in the Hebrew Old Testament the same word refers to a people and a nation, and the New Korean Revised Version (Gaeyeok Gaejeong) generally renders it as "Medes" or "Media." For example, 2 Kings 17:6 records that Assyria placed the Israelites "in the cities of the Medes." Isaiah 13:17 mentions the Medes who would come against Babylon. The pairing of the Medes and the Persians appears in Daniel 5:28 and 6:8 ("the Medes and Persians") and in Esther 1:3 ("Persia and Media"), among other places. In Korean Bibles the spelling diverges, with the figure in the genealogy rendered "Madai" and the people rendered "Medes," so it is not readily apparent that they are the same word.

The New Testament does not mention Madai as an individual. However, "Medes" are listed among those gathered at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in Acts 2:9.

Interpretations and Debates

• An individual or a people? The traditional reading regards Madai as a real person from whom the Median people descended. The first-century Jewish historian Josephus is also reported to have identified Madai as the ancestor of the Medes. Many scholars, on the other hand, regard many of the names in Genesis 10 as eponyms, that is, names of peoples personified as individuals. Each view is bound up with how one understands the nature of the biblical text, and the more conservative a denomination, the more strongly it tends to read the names as individual ancestors.
• Traditions outside the text: Later noncanonical Jewish writings such as the Book of Jubilees are reported to contain additional stories about Madai's marriage and place of settlement. These details are not found in the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

Madai is rarely the subject of sermons. Readers mainly encounter his name in the genealogies of Genesis 10 or 1 Chronicles 1 while reading through the Bible. This stands in contrast to Magog, from the same list, who is frequently mentioned in sermons on eschatology in connection with Ezekiel 38–39 and Revelation 20:8. Madai should not be confused with Matthew of the New Testament, whose name is similar in Korean.