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Magog

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Region of Gog, the second of the “sons” of Japheth (Gen 10:2; 1 Chr 1:5). In Ezekiel (38:2; 39:6) it is the name of a nation, probably some Scythian or Tartar tribe descended from Japheth. They are described as skilled horsemen, and expert in the use of the bow. The Latin father Jerome says that this word denotes “Scythian nations, fierce and innumerable, who live beyond the Caucasus and the Lake Maeotis, and near the Caspian Sea, and spread out even onward to India.” Perhaps the name “represents the Assyrian Mat Gugi, or ‘country of Gugu,’ the Gyges of the Greeks” (Sayce’s Races, etc.).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ma'-gog (maghogh; Magog): Named among the sons of Japheth (Gen 10:2; 1 Chr 1:5). Ezekiel uses the word as equivalent to "land of Gog" (Ezek 38:2; Ezek 39:6). Josephus identifies the Magogites with the Scythians (Ant., I, vi, 1). From a resemblance between the names Gog and Gyges (Gugu), king of Lydia, some have suggested that Magog is Lydia; others, however, urge that Magog is probably only a variant of Gog (Sayce in HDB). In the Apocalypse of John, Gog and Magog represent all the heathen opponents of Messiah (Rev 20:8), and in this sense these names frequently recur in Jewish apocalyptic literature.

John A. Lees

See also

Person Magog Place Magog

Kilde: Easton's Bible Dictionary (M.G. Easton, 1897) og International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (red. James Orr, 1915/1939), public domain. Translated into Danish with AI and not yet proofread (fully or partially). Links to people and places: Theographic Bible Metadata (CC BY-SA 4.0).