Atomic Bible

An ancient kingdom; part of the Persian Empire

Media

Named in 22 verses across 7 books, first in 2 Kings 17:6.

מָדַיMedia

מָדַיMede

מָדִיMede

מָֽדָאָהMedian

ΜῆδοςMede

Also called Mede, Median.

The name means “measure; habit; covering.” Hitchcock's Bible Names, 1869

About Media Written by AI

Media was an ancient kingdom located in western Iran, which played a significant role in biblical history. The Medes, along with the Babylonians, conquered the Assyrian Empire in 612 BC (Isaiah 13:17; Jeremiah 51:11, 28). Later, the Medes joined forces with the Persians to form the powerful Medo-Persian Empire. This empire, under the rule of Cyrus the Great, conquered Babylon in 539 BC (Dan.5.28, 31). The Medes are mentioned in the book of Esther as one of the peoples under the rule of King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) (Esther 1:3, 14, 18; 10:2). The Medes were also involved in the deportation of the Israelites from the northern kingdom (2Ki.17.6; 18:11). The prophet Daniel served in the Medo-Persian court (Dan.6.8, 12, 15; 9:1; 11:1) and interpreted the handwriting on the wall, which announced the fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians (Dan.5.28). Medes were among the peoples present in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Act.2.9).

Drafted by an AI model for STEPBible's TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Check it against the verses below.

Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897

Heb. Madai, which is rendered in the Authorized Version (1) “Madai,” Gen. 10:2; (2) “Medes,” 2 Kings 17:6; 18:11; (3) “Media,” Esther 1:3; 10:2; Isa. 21:2; Dan. 8:20; (4) “Mede,” only in Dan. 11:1.

We first hear of this people in the Assyrian cuneiform records, under the name of Amada, about B.C. 840. They appear to have been a branch of the Aryans, who came from the east bank of the Indus, and were probably the predominant race for a while in the Mesopotamian valley. They consisted for three or four centuries of a number of tribes, each ruled by its own chief, who at length were brought under the Assyrian yoke (2 Kings 17:6). From this subjection they achieved deliverance, and formed themselves into an empire under Cyaxares (B.C. 633). This monarch entered into an alliance with the king of Babylon, and invaded Assyria, capturing and destroying the city of Nineveh (B.C. 625), thus putting an end to the Assyrian monarchy (Nah. 1:8; 2:5,6; 3:13, 14).

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Media now rose to a place of great power, vastly extending its boundaries. But it did not long exist as an independent kingdom. It rose with Cyaxares, its first king, and it passed away with him; for during the reign of his son and successor Astyages, the Persians waged war against the Medes and conquered them, the two nations being united under one monarch, Cyrus the Persian (B.C. 558).

The “cities of the Medes” are first mentioned in connection with the deportation of the Israelites on the destruction of Samaria (2 Kings 17:6; 18:11). Soon afterwards Isaiah (13:17; 21:2) speaks of the part taken by the Medes in the destruction of Babylon (comp. Jer. 51:11, 28). Daniel gives an account of the reign of Darius the Mede, who was made viceroy by Cyrus (Dan. 6:1-28). The decree of Cyrus, Ezra informs us (6:2-5), was found in “the palace that is in the province of the Medes,” Achmetha or Ecbatana of the Greeks, which is the only Median city mentioned in Scripture.

M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, third edition (1897), public domain, from CrossWire. Shown as written; its Scripture quotes are from older translations.

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Where the Bible names it

  1. 2 Kings 17:6

    In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried away the Israelites to Assyria, where he settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.

  2. 2 Kings 18:11

    The king of Assyria exiled the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.

  3. Ezra 6:2

    And a scroll was found in the fortress of Ecbatana, in the province of Media, with the following written on it: Memorandum:

  4. Esther 1:3

    In the third year of his reign, Xerxes held a feast for all his officials and servants. The military leaders of Persia and Media were there, along with the nobles and princes of the provinces.

  5. Esther 1:14

    His closest advisors were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media who had personal access to the king and ranked highest in the kingdom.

  6. Esther 1:18

    This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard about the queen’s conduct will say the same thing to all the king’s officials, resulting in much contempt and wrath.

  7. Esther 1:19

    So if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree, and let it be recorded in the laws of Persia and Media so that it cannot be repealed, that Vashti shall never again enter the presence of King Xerxes, and that her royal position shall be given to a woman better than she.

  8. Esther 10:2

    And all of Mordecai’s powerful and magnificent accomplishments, together with the full account of the greatness to which the king had raised him, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia?

  9. Isaiah 13:17

    Behold, I will stir up against them the Medes, who have no regard for silver and no desire for gold.

  10. Isaiah 21:2

    A dire vision is declared to me: “The traitor still betrays, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, O Elam! Lay siege, O Media! I will put an end to all her groaning.”

  11. Jeremiah 25:25

    all the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media;

  12. Jeremiah 51:11

    Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers! The LORD has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because His plan is aimed at Babylon to destroy her, for it is the vengeance of the LORD—vengeance for His temple.

  13. Jeremiah 51:28

    Prepare the nations for battle against her—the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their officials, and all the lands they rule.

  14. Daniel 5:28

    PERES means that your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”

  15. Daniel 5:31

    and Darius the Mede received the kingdom at the age of sixty-two.

  16. Daniel 6:8

    Therefore, O king, establish the decree and sign the document so that it cannot be changed—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”

  17. Daniel 6:12

    So they approached the king and asked about his royal decree: “Did you not sign a decree that for thirty days any man who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will be thrown into the den of lions?” The king replied, “According to the law of the Medes and Persians the order stands, and it cannot be repealed.”

  18. Daniel 6:15

    Then the men approached the king together and said to him, “Remember, O king, that by the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or ordinance established by the king can be changed.”

  19. Daniel 8:20

    The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia.

  20. Daniel 9:1

    In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes, a Mede by descent, who was made ruler over the kingdom of the Chaldeans—

  21. Daniel 11:1

    “And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, stood up to strengthen and protect him.

  22. Acts 2:9

    Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

From STEPBible's TIPNR, Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0): names, family, references and the AI written article. Verse text is the BSB.