Meshech and Tubal

Biblical References

In the Old Testament, Meshech and Tubal usually appear together as a pair.

• Genealogy of the nations: Genesis 10:2 lists Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras as the sons of Japheth, the son of Noah. 1 Chronicles 1:5 contains the same list. In 1 Chronicles 1:17 the name Meshech also appears among the descendants of Shem; in the corresponding place in Genesis 10:23, the name Mash appears instead.
• Psalms: In Psalm 120:5 the psalmist laments, "Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!" Here Meshech represents a distant foreign land that knows no peace.
• Isaiah: Isaiah 66:19 names Tubal among the distant nations to which messengers will be sent to declare God's glory.
• Ezekiel: In Ezekiel 27:13, Tubal and Meshech, together with Javan, appear as merchants trading with Tyre, dealing in "the persons of men" (slaves) and "vessels of brass." In 32:26 they are counted among the uncircumcised nations slain by the sword who have gone down to Sheol. In 38:2–3 and 39:1, Gog of the land of Magog appears as the chief ruler over Meshech and Tubal. Gog is portrayed as a figure who comes from the far north in the last days to attack Israel.

Background

Scholars commonly connect Meshech and Tubal with the Mushki and Tabal mentioned in Assyrian texts. These two names are understood to have referred to peoples or regions in the interior of Asia Minor, in what is now central and eastern Turkey. Some also regard the Moschoi and Tibarenoi, whom the Greek historian Herodotus placed southeast of the Black Sea, as their descendants. Scholars differ on their precise location and period.

From Israel's perspective, these were peoples of the "far north." For this reason, their names are used in Scripture as symbols of the ends of the earth or of unfamiliar foreign nations.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

The names Meshech and Tubal do not appear in the New Testament. However, Revelation 20:8 states that when the thousand years are ended, Satan will gather "Gog and Magog," the nations in the four quarters of the earth, to battle. This passage is commonly read as drawing on the imagery of Ezekiel 38–39.

Interpretation and Debate

The translation of "Rosh." The Hebrew word rosh in Ezekiel 38:2 means "head" or "chief."

• The New Korean Revised Version and the Korean Revised Version treat it as a proper noun, rendering the phrase as "the king of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal."
• Many translations, including a substantial number of English versions, treat it as a common noun, rendering it along the lines of "the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal" (KJV).
• The Septuagint is understood to have rendered it as a proper noun.

Eschatological interpretation. In the twentieth century, some interpreters in the dispensationalist tradition read the passage as follows:

• They connected Rosh with Russia, Meshech with Moscow, and Tubal with Tobolsk.
• They viewed Ezekiel 38–39 as a prophecy of a Russian invasion of Israel in the last days.

This interpretation is understood to have spread widely through numerous books on eschatology during the Cold War. However, these connections rest on similarities in sound rather than on the study of ancient place names, and many biblical scholars do not accept them. The biblical text itself does not name any modern nation.

Many interpreters in the covenant theology and Reformed traditions read Meshech and Tubal as names symbolizing the whole array of forces opposed to God's people. Because this interpretation is also tied to how one understands the millennium, interpretations of this passage diverge according to the eschatology of each denomination and scholar.