{
  "id": "dict_003546",
  "term": "Medan",
  "slug": "medan",
  "letter": "M",
  "entry_type": "biblical_person",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "Medan is a biblical person named as one of Abraham’s sons by Keturah. Scripture records him in the genealogies but gives no further narrative about his life.",
  "simple_one_line": "Medan is one of Abraham’s descendants through Keturah, listed in Scripture’s genealogies.",
  "tooltip_text": "One of Abraham’s sons by Keturah, mentioned in Genesis 25 and 1 Chronicles 1.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Abraham",
    "Keturah",
    "Isaac",
    "Ishbak",
    "Midian",
    "Shuah"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Genealogy",
    "Patriarchs",
    "Genesis 25",
    "1 Chronicles 1"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "Medan is a biblical figure named among the sons of Abraham and Keturah. The Old Testament records him in genealogies, but does not develop his story further.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "A son of Abraham by Keturah, mentioned only in genealogical lists.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Listed among Abraham’s sons by Keturah",
    "Appears in Genesis 25:1–2 and 1 Chronicles 1:32",
    "No further biblical narrative is given",
    "Best treated as a biblical person entry, not a theological concept"
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "Medan is named in Scripture as one of the sons of Abraham by Keturah. The biblical text preserves him within Abraham’s genealogical line but does not assign him a distinct theological theme or narrative role.",
  "description_academic_full": "Medan is a biblical person identified in the Old Testament as one of the sons of Abraham through Keturah. He is named in the genealogical notices of Genesis and Chronicles, which record Abraham’s later descendants after Sarah’s death. Scripture does not provide any narrative episodes, covenantal role, or developed doctrinal significance connected to Medan himself. For that reason, Medan is best classified as a biblical person entry rather than a theological term.",
  "background_biblical_context": "After Sarah’s death, Abraham took Keturah as a wife or concubine, and the text lists several sons born from that union, including Medan. These genealogies help trace Abraham’s wider family line and distinguish his various descendants.",
  "background_historical_context": "In the ancient Near East, genealogies were important for preserving family identity, inheritance lines, and tribal relationships. Medan appears in that setting as part of Abraham’s expanded household line, but the biblical record does not attach a later historical profile to him.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "Second Temple and later Jewish readers generally treated such names as part of Israel’s ancestral memory and clan listings. The emphasis falls on lineage and fulfillment of the promise of descendants, not on a separate doctrine about Medan himself.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Genesis 25:1–2",
    "1 Chronicles 1:32"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "No additional major biblical passages expand Medan’s role."
  ],
  "original_language_note": "The Hebrew form is מְדָן (Medān). The biblical text preserves the name in genealogical form without explaining its significance in context.",
  "theological_significance": "Medan’s main significance is indirect: he belongs to the genealogy of Abraham, reminding readers that God’s promise of offspring extended beyond the immediate covenant line. Scripture does not build a doctrine around Medan personally.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "Medan illustrates how biblical genealogies preserve real historical persons while giving them little narrative development. The text uses lineage to situate individuals within God’s unfolding history rather than to highlight every person equally.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not overread Medan’s name as if the Bible assigns him a special symbolic or doctrinal meaning. His significance is genealogical, not theological in the developed sense.",
  "major_views_note": "There is little interpretive disagreement about Medan himself; the main issue is classification. He is a biblical person, not a standalone theological concept.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "Medan should not be treated as an object of doctrine, devotion, or speculation. Any theological use should remain limited to the Bible’s own genealogical purpose and the broader theme of God’s covenant faithfulness to Abraham.",
  "practical_significance": "Medan reminds readers that Scripture values even brief genealogical notices as part of the real history of God’s work. His inclusion reinforces the continuity and breadth of Abraham’s family line.",
  "meta_description": "Medan was one of Abraham’s sons by Keturah, named in Genesis 25 and 1 Chronicles 1 as part of Abraham’s genealogy.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/medan/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/medan.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}