These Bedouins were known as Midianites, descendants from Abraham and Keturah (Gen. 25:1-2). They were a nomadic people who, along with the Amalekites and other eastern peoples, oppressed the Israelites. Their oppression was especially felt agriculturally, as they "camped on the land and ruined the crops" (Judg. 6:4). Because the Midianites were so aggressive and hostile, the people of Israel "prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds" (6:2).
