Lexical Summary Maday: Mede Original Word: מָדַי Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Mede Patrial from Maday; a Madian or native of Madai -- Mede. see HEBREW Maday NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom Maday Definition an inhab. of Media NASB Translation Mede (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs מָדִי adjective, of a people Mede, Median, דָּֽרְיָוֶשׁ הַמָּדִ֑י Daniel 11:1. Topical Lexicon Biblical Occurrence The form מָדַי linked with Strong’s Hebrew 4075 appears once, in Daniel 11:1, where the angelic speaker says, “In the first year of Darius the Mede, I took my stand to support and protect him”. Here the word identifies Darius by his ethnic origin—Mede—placing the events of the vision within the Medo-Persian period that followed the fall of Babylon. Historical Setting: The Medes and the Rise of Medo-Persia The Medes were an Indo-European people who occupied the mountainous region south and southwest of the Caspian Sea. By the late seventh century BC they had formed a formidable kingdom that, together with Babylon, overthrew Assyria (Nahum 1:1; 2 Kings 17:6). When Cyrus the Persian unified Media and Persia (c. 550 BC) he honored the Medes by making the new realm a dual monarchy. This alliance produced the empire that figures prominently in Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther and that allowed the Jewish return from exile in fulfillment of prophetic promise (Isaiah 44:28; Jeremiah 29:10). Darius the Mede Daniel 5:31; 6:28; 9:1 and 11:1 present Darius the Mede as the first ruler in Babylon after Belshazzar’s fall. While extra-biblical identification is debated, Scripture portrays him as God’s chosen instrument to secure Daniel’s safety (Daniel 6) and to prepare the political ground for Cyrus’s decree of return. Daniel 11:1 reinforces that heaven actively directed his reign—“I took my stand to support and protect him”—underscoring divine sovereignty over Gentile powers (Proverbs 21:1). Prophetic Significance 1. Second Empire in Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream. In Daniel 2, the silver chest and arms represent Medo-Persia, the succession to Babylon (Daniel 2:39). Links to Redemptive History Through Medo-Persia, the Lord: Ministry Applications 1. God rules over nations; believers can trust Him amid political upheaval (Psalm 46:10). Summary Though מָדַי (Strong’s 4075) surfaces only once, it opens a window into the Medo-Persian era that bridges Israel’s exile and restoration, demonstrates the precision of biblical prophecy, and reveals the unshakeable governance of the Lord over world empires for the advancement of His redemptive purposes. Forms and Transliterations הַמָּדִ֑י המדי ham·mā·ḏî hammaDi hammāḏîLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Daniel 11:1 HEB: אַחַ֔ת לְדָרְיָ֖וֶשׁ הַמָּדִ֑י עָמְדִ֛י לְמַחֲזִ֥יק NAS: of Darius the Mede, I arose KJV: of Darius the Mede, [even] I, stood INT: the first of Darius the Mede arose to be an encouragement 1 Occurrence |
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