Biblical Nations - Magog

Magog

Key Scripture: Ezekiel 38:1-2

Figure: Gog

This week we'll take a look at a pair of related names that pop up in three very distinct and separate parts of the Bible, but have become quite recognizable.  Even in popular culture that has little to do with any sort of sacred writings, the names of Gog and Magog have appeared.  The Biblical references to these two names indicate that Gog is a ruler from a land that is known as Magog, but that he also leads an army that includes neighboring areas.  Let's find out what we can know from Scripture and see what sorts of interpretations have been made.

When the descendants of Japheth are listed in Genesis 10, seven sons are listed.  One of them is Magog, and although he is listed second we've already discussed in previous posts how the birth order is not always reflected by these sorts of genealogies.  The association with two of Japheth's other sons, however, is very important as Magog is discussed by the prophet Ezekiel alongside Meshech and Tubal.  Like many of Noah's grandsons, it is probable that the lands where these men and their families settled became identified with them.  When we studied the descendants of Noah a few months ago, it was notable that the offspring of Japheth were seemingly the only ones who traveled north after the Great Flood.  For some early scholars, in fact, Europe and western Russia were considered the land of Japheth.  That gives us our first clue as to the location of the land of Magog.

The second clue we have are the lands of Meshech and Tubal, who are also led by Gog in the Ezekiel account along with Gomer (another one of Japheth's sons), Persia, Cush, and Put.  While it seems like armies from all around Israel are involved, the land of Magog appears to be specifically called out in Ez. 38:6 as being "from the uttermost parts of the north" (ESV).  Meshech and Tubal have been often identified with either Turkey and Russia by various readers, and if you look at a globe and draw a line directly north from Israel's Mediterranean port city of Haifa, the only countries you'll cross are Turkey, Ukraine, and Russia.  The historian Josephus equated Magog with the Scythians that ranged between modern-day Ukraine and Kazakhstan.  Because of these reasons, it seems that Biblical references to Magog may well point to a region beyond the Black and Caspian Seas to the north.

In Revelation, a final battle is described that once again calls Gog and Magog onto the stage.  An army representing the four corners of the earth, similar to the one that Ezekiel wrote about that surrounded the people of Israel, is raised by Satan himself after he is freed from his thousand-year prison while Christ rules with his saints.  Some have suggested that this is a figurative force, perhaps representing the Islamic nations that surround the Jewish homeland, but it may be of interest that even the Quran indicates that attacking hoards will descend from Gog and Magog during the Last Age.  Although we may not be able to specifically identify the modern people group that the Bible is referencing, it is clear that this nation holds a unique place in apocalyptic understanding, so it's easy to see why it has captured the attention and imaginations of readers for centuries.