Magog

Biblical Record

Magog was the second son of Japheth, the son of Noah. As an individual, he appears only in the genealogies of Genesis 10:2 and 1 Chronicles 1:5. The two verses are identical in content and list seven brothers: "The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras." Genesis 10 records how the nations spread from the descendants of Noah after the Flood. These names are therefore understood to refer both to an individual and to the people descended from him. The text records nothing about Magog's life or deeds.

Meaning Within the Bible

In Ezekiel 38–39, Magog appears as the name of a land rather than a person. Ezekiel 38:2 speaks of "Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal." Ezekiel prophesies that Gog will lead many nations against Israel "out of the north parts" (Ezekiel 38:15) but will be defeated by God. Ezekiel 39:6 declares, "I will send a fire on Magog."

In the New Testament, the name appears once, in Revelation 20:8. When the thousand years are ended, Satan is loosed and deceives "the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog," gathering them to battle against the saints, but fire comes down from heaven and devours them (Revelation 20:7–15). Gog and Magog here are commonly understood to refer not to a particular region but to the hosts opposed to God, gathered from the whole earth.

Interpretations and Issues

• The location of Magog: The first-century Jewish historian Josephus connected the descendants of Magog with the Scythians, nomads living north of the Black Sea. Other views place Magog in Asia Minor or the Caucasus region; no definitive conclusion has been reached.
• The translation of Rosh: The Hebrew word rosh in Ezekiel 38:2 can also mean "head" or "chief." Some translations therefore render it as a proper noun, while others render the phrase as "the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal."
• Eschatological interpretation: In the twentieth century, some interpreters in the dispensationalist tradition linked Rosh with Russia and Meshech with Moscow, applying Ezekiel's war to modern international affairs. Many biblical scholars reject these connections as resting on mere similarities in sound. Interpreters are also divided, according to their views of the millennium, over whether the wars of Ezekiel 38–39 and Revelation 20 are the same event or different events.
• Extrabiblical traditions: Jewish tradition speaks of a "war of Gog and Magog" that will take place just before the messianic age. There is also a legend that Alexander the Great built a wall to hold back Gog and Magog. Neither appears in the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

Korean Christians encounter the name Magog mainly when reading through the Bible and coming to the genealogies of Genesis and 1 Chronicles, or through the expression "Gog and Magog" in sermons on eschatology and expositions of Revelation. The Russian interpretation found in English-language dispensationalist literature has also been introduced in Korea and has at times been mentioned in popular books on eschatology.