MADAI

(Maʹda·i).

The third-listed son of Japheth. (Gen. 10:2; 1 Chron. 1:5) He is believed to be the progenitor of the Medes. Due to this understanding, elsewhere in the Bible the Hebrew Madai is translated as “Medes,” or “Media,” as at 2 Kings 17:6; 18:11; Esther 1:3; Isaiah 13:17; 21:2; and other texts. The Medes were also called Madai in Assyro-Babylonian (Akkadian) and Mada in Old Persian. At some point in the past they established themselves in the Iranian plateau region, settling primarily between the Elburz Mountains (S of the Caspian Sea) and the Zagros Mountains to the E of Assyria. The modern name Iran derives from the word “Aryan,” a term used to refer to those of Japhetic descent.