Abida
Abida was a son of Midian and a grandson of Abraham through his wife Keturah.
Biography
Abida was a son of Midian and grandson of the patriarch Abraham through his secondary wife Keturah (Genesis 25:4; 1 Chronicles 1:33). After Sarah's death, Abraham took Keturah as a wife and fathered six sons, of whom Midian was the fifth. Midian in turn had five sons, and Abida was among them. Abraham gave gifts to these sons and sent them eastward, away from Isaac, to the lands of the east (Genesis 25:6). This eastward migration placed the descendants of Midian, including Abida's lineage, in the regions of northwestern Arabia and the Sinai peninsula. The Midianites would later intersect prominently with Israel's history through Moses' sojourn with Jethro and, more ominously, through the Midianite seduction of Israel in the wilderness (Numbers 25; 31).
Significance
Abida represents the breadth of Abraham's fatherhood, a reality the apostle Paul develops theologically when he describes Abraham as "the father of many nations" (Romans 4:17–18). The descendants of Keturah's sons spread into regions that would variously bless and challenge Israel's progress toward Canaan. While Abida himself has no narrative role, his genealogical place reminds readers that God's promise to Abraham was never narrowly ethnic. The Midianite line that descends through his family would later serve, in Jethro's wise counsel to Moses (Exodus 18), as an unexpected vehicle for divine wisdom reaching Israel from outside the covenant community.
Verse Appearances (2)
Genesis
1 Chronicles
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]