Gog of Magog Russia? “remote parts of the north” – Ezekiel 38
“Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3and say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 4So I will turn you around and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them magnificently dressed, a great contingent with shield and buckler, all of them wielding swords; 5Persia, Cush, and Put with them, all of them with buckler and helmet; 6Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops—many peoples with you.” (Ezekiel 38:1-6)
“15You will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding horses, a large assembly and a mighty army;” (Ezekiel 38:15)
Some men tell us that reference here to “the remote parts of the north” is a reference to ancient Scythia, the descendants of which would be modern day Russia. However, we see the same expression in Jeremiah 6:22:
22Thus says the LORD: “Behold, a people is coming from the north country, a great nation is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.” (Jeremiah 6:22)
If we let scripture interpret scripture this is about the invasion of Israel by the Babylonians (Nebuchadnezzar). Some even speculate that it could refer to Scythia there also, but we have no scripture which even mentions Scythia as an invader of Israel, but many passages that do record the Babylonian invasion. The whole Babylonian Empire did not extend as far north as that Scythian region, or up to the area between the Caspian and the Black seas.
The Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (quoted below) is the most thorough explanation, even with respect to the known history about the Scythian invasion, which they conclude is not what Jeremiah is referring to in Jeremiah 6:22, by this expression, “out of the remote parts of the north.”
“By this dreaded foe the older commentators understand the Chaldeans; but some of the moderns will have it that the Scythians are meant. …
Roesch in his archaeological investigations on Nabopolassar (Deutsch-morgld. Ztschr. xv. S. 502ff.), who, according to him, was a Scythian king, alleges that “pretty nearly all (?) exegetical authorities” understand these prophecies of the Scythians (S. 536). For this view can be neither justified exegetically nor made good historically, as has been admitted and proved by A. Kueper (Jerem. libr. ss. int. p. 13f.), and Ad. Strauss (Vaticin. Zeph. p. 18f.), and then by Tholuck (die Propheten u. ihre Weiss, S. 94ff.), Graf (Jer. S. 16ff.), Ng., and others. On exegetical grounds the theory is untenable; for in the descriptions of the northern foe, whose invasion of Judah Zephaniah and Jeremiah threaten, there is not the faintest hint that can be taken to point to the Scythian squadrons, and, on the contrary, there is much that cannot be suitable to these wandering hordes.”
This, despite the fact that they do tell us that the Magog of Ezekiel 38 is identified as “the great Scythian people”, but that they acknowledge it is according to Jewish tradition and traditional explanations – not from any biblical references to them as invaders of Israel.
We also see a very similar expression in Jeremiah 50:41, where it is referring to a conqueror from north of Babylon which would conquer Babylon:
41“Behold, a people is coming from the north, And a great nation and many kings Will be roused from the remote parts of the earth. (Jeremiah 50:41)
We know from both scripture (such as Daniel 8:20) and from history, that this was referring to the Medo-Persian coalition led by Darius the Mede (Daniel 5:30-31). However, there is no biblical record of an invasion of Scythians referred to as people coming from the north, or the remote parts of the north (notwithstanding some historical accounts and Jewish tradition, which are themselves very questionable, as per the Keil and Delitzsch commentary cited below). Thus, a more biblical interpretation of this phrase would be that this invader, Gog of Magog, would be coming from the countries associated with the former Babylonian and Medo-Persian empires. Today that would be more like Syria or Turkey.
Similarly, we see this expression, “farthest parts of the north” to refer to the land where Israel was held in captivity:
“Behold, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth ,including the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor. They will return as a great assembly!” (Jeremiah 31:8)
Again, this was Babylon, not some place we now know as Russia.
According to the Jewish Voice website:
“Many people are familiar with Ezekiel 38-39. They know this prophecy speaks of a military invasion of Israel led by a figure known as ‘Gog of the land of Magog.’ Unfortunately, however, many prophecy teachers today erroneously connect Gog to Russia. Part of the reason for this is because in both the New American Standard and New King James versions of the Bible, ‘Gog’ is not only said to come from ‘the land of Magog,’ but is also further described as ‘the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal’ (Ez. 38:2). Because the word ‘Rosh’ sounds similar to Russia, and because ‘Meshech and Tubal’ sound similar to the Russian cities Moscow and Tobolsk, it has often been assumed in conservative prophecy circles that Gog must be a Russian.
In reality however, most scholars now recognize that Ezekiel 38:2 actually describes Gog as the ‘chief prince of Meshech and Tubal,’ not the ‘prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.’ In other words, the Hebrew term rosh, which means, ‘head, chief, or foremost,’ is modifying Gog’s title as a prince (nasi). It is not the name of a particular place, which in turn, rules out any possible association between Gog and Russia. The idea that Gog is actually the ‘chief (rosh) prince (nasi) of Meshech and Tubal’ is found in the ESV, NIV, HCSB, TLV and JPS translations of the Bible.
Now that the association between Gog and Russia has mostly fallen out of favor among scholars, there is near unanimous agreement in scholarly Bible commentaries and Bible atlases that in Ezekiel’s day, Magog, Meshech and Tubal were all located in what is now modern Turkey.
For example:
- The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary states, ‘Magog (possibly meaning ‘the land of Gog’) was no doubt located in Asia Minor [Turkey] and may refer to Lydia.’
- Historian Edwin Yamauchi has also written, ‘Since the late nineteenth century, Assyrian texts have been available which locate Meshech (Mushku) and Tubal (Tabal) in central and eastern Anatolia [Turkey] respectively.’
This critical prophecy in Ezekiel 38-39 may explain why Turkey has recently become one of the primary enemies of Israel on the world stage. Now of course, we do not want to jump to conclusions and say that Erdogan must be Gog! However, those of us with an interest in the signs of the times should definitely keep a close eye on Turkey. Based on Ezekiel’s prophecy, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that key prophetic events will transpire in Turkey in the days ahead.” (https://www.jewishvoice.org/read/article/rise-turkey-and-ezekiel-38-39)
Many Dispensationalists of the Pretribulation Rapture school, argue that one of the reasons why the Gog/Magog prophecy in Ezekiel cannot be the same as the one in Revelation 20 is because of this phrase, “from the far North” in Ezekiel, which does not appear in Revelation.
A well-known spokesmen for the mainstream view, Dr. John Walvoord, argues that the two prophecies are about two different Gog Magogs and two entirely different time frames. He gives us the following commentary on Revelation 20:
“These are two different battles, for in the war of Ezekiel 38-39 the armies come primarily from the north and involve only a few nations of the earth. But the battle in Revelation 20:7-9 will involve all nations, so armies will come from all directions.”
“Furthermore nothing in the context of Ezekiel 38-39 is similar to the battle in Revelation …” (Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, “Revelation”)
“Many contrasts can be made between this battle and that of Ezekiel … The invasion of Ezekiel comes from the north whereas this invasion comes from all directions.” (Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ)
This which he himself and his colleagues themselves contradict in their commentary on the subject. Contrary to what Walvoord clearly implies, Ezekiel does not say that all of these people following Gog are coming from the north. Although Ezekiel does identify “Beth-togarmah” as coming from the “remote parts of the north” (Ezekiel 38:6), and even Gog as similarly coming “from your place out of the remote parts of the north” (Ezekiel 38:15), he also mentions other nations which are known to us today, which are not in the remote parts of the north, including Libya and Sudan, which are actually south of Israel. Ezekiel also tells us that “many peoples” will be coming with Gog and his forces as they march against Israel. Even Dr. Walvoord’s colleague, a fellow Dispensationalist Pretribulation Rapturist, Dr. Charles Dyer (both Professors at Dallas Theological Seminary and contributors to The Bible Knowledge Commentary) makes this point in his book World News and Bible Prophecy (for which Walvoord wrote the Forward):
“Ezekiel spoke of a coalition of several nations, many of whom are today aligned with, or under the influence of the Soviet Union. These include Iran (‘Persia’), Sudan and northern Ethiopia (‘Cush’), Libya (‘Put’), and Turkey (‘Meshech’, ‘Tubal’, ‘Gomer’, and ‘Beth Togarmah’). All these nations (see 38:2:5-6), possibly led by the Soviet Union, will unite to attack Israel.”(The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Ezekiel) [1]
“Many have marveled over the odd assortment of allies in Ezekiel 38-39. From Israel’s perspective, the nations span the points of the compass as they unite from all sides to attack God’s chosen people.” (World News and Bible Prophecy (for which Walvoord wrote the Forward), Chapter 11, “Turkey, Iran and the Islamic Alliance Against Israel” – emphasis added).
To his credit, Dyer acknowledges that “the evidence seems to favor taking [Rosh in Ezekiel] as an adjective”… (‘head prince’, i.e. ‘chief prince’)”, not a proper noun referring to Russia. However, he goes on to give reasons why Ezekiel’s prophecy includes the Soviet Union, based on this expression “from the far north”. As is so often the case, his interpretation is already proven to be misguided as that huge coalition of nations then known as the Soviet Union no longer exists. Now these men have to interpret it as the people from the area which is now Russia – hence the connection with the ancient marauders known as the Scythians, which were not even a nation.
With respect to Walvoord’s claim that “nothing in the context of Ezekiel 38-39 is similar to the battle in Revelation”, if we are just reading the actual texts such becomes patently untrue. In reality the opposite is true. Nothing in Revelations conflicts with the account in Ezekiel, especially the context of both. This claim is entirely based on his presuppositions about both, which are themselves simply wrong. Accurate interpretation of Ezekiel, especially 34:11 through chapter 48, matches the account in Revelation 20 through 22:
- regathering, restoration, spiritual regeneration of Israel to constitute the Millennium, per Ezekiel 34:11 through chapter 36, and Revelation 20:1-6;
- the resurrection of “the rest of the dead” – all the unsaved who were not part of the first resurrection at Christ’s second coming, per Ezekiel 37 and Revelation 20:5;
- the release of Satan to lead the rebellion led by Gog (Ezekiel 38, Revelation 20:7-9a;
- The final judgment of God’s and Israel’s enemies on this earth – fire from heaven, Ezekiel 39, Revelation 20:9b;
- The eternal kingdom of God on earth which begins with the Millennial kingdom, and becomes the eternal state for the earth-dwellers after this final physical judgment and the Great White Throne spiritual judgment, Ezekiel 40-48, Revelation 20:10-22:21.
The argument that John’s account in Revelation is entirely different from Ezekiel’s account because Ezekiel includes more detail, such as where Gog will come from, is on the face of it very forced and illogical at best.
Other Commentary on Ezekiel 38-39
Keil and Delitzsch OT Commentary
38:1 Introduction “מגוג, Magog, is the name of a people mentioned in Genesis 10:2 as descended from Japhet, according to the early Jewish and traditional explanation, the great Scythian people; and here also it is the name of a people, and is written with the article (המגוג), to mark the people as one well known from the time of Genesis, and therefore properly the land of the Magog (-people). …The Byzantine and Arabic writers frequently mention a people called ̔Ρῶς, Arab. Ru equals s, dwelling in the country of the Taurus, and reckoned among the Scythian tribes (for the passages, see Ges. Thesaurus, p. 1253), so that there is no reason to question the existence of a people known by the name of Rosh; even though the attempt of Bochart to find a trace of such a people in the ̔Ρωξαλᾶνοι (Ptol. iii. 5) and Roxalani (Plin. h. n. iv. 12), by explaining this name as formed from a combination of Rhos (Rhox) and Alani, is just as doubtful as the conjecture, founded upon the investigations of Frhn (Ibn Foszlan, u. a. Araber Berichte ber die Russen lterer Zeit, St. Petersburg 1823), that the name of the Russians is connected with this ̔Ρῶς, Arab.”
“Some have thought that this prophecy is directed against the Scythians who had possession of Asia twenty-three years, and in the course of this time had overrun Syria, and had probably made their appearance in the holy land. But in this prophecy there is little distinctive of one nation. It is a gathering together of the enemies of Yahweh to make their last effort, and to be overthrown. The seer passes to the final struggle between Good and Evil, and the triumphant establishment of the divine rule. It is the same struggle which is depicted in the Book of Revelation … where John adopts words and phrases of Ezekiel.”
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
“the chief prince] More probably: the prince of Rosh, Meshech &c., although a people or country Rosh may be impossible to identify. Of course any connexion between the name and Russian is to be rejected.”
The Bible Knowledge Commentary – Old Testament
“Ezekiel’s ros does not point to “Russia” merely because the words sound similar. Neither should one identify “Meshech” with “Moscow” or “Tubal” with “Tobolsk”. …
However, while one must avoid dogmatic assertions (1) Some of the countries named by Ezekiel were located in what is now Russia. (2) The armies are said to “come from the north” (Ezek. 38:6, 15; 39:2). This probably includes the land bridge between the Black and Caspian seas, now part of the Soviet Union. (Ezekiel spoke of a coalition of several nations, many of whom today are aligned with or under the influence of the Soviet Union. These include Iran (“Persia”), Sudan and Northern Ethiopia (“Cush”), Libya (“Put”), and Turkey (“Meshech,” “Tubal,” “Gomer,” and “Beth Togarmah”). All these nations (see 38:2-3, 5-6), possibly led by the Soviet Union, will unite to attack Israel.”
…………………….
Commentary on Jeremiah 6:22
“22Thus says the LORD:“Behold, a people is coming from the north country, a great nation is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.” (Jeremiah 6:22)
Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament
“From the north destruction approaches. – Jeremiah 4:5. “Proclaim in Judah, and in Jerusalem let it be heard, and say, Blow the trumpet in the land; cry with a loud voice, and say, Assemble, and let us go into the defenced cities. Jeremiah 4:6. Raise a standard toward Zion: save yourselves by flight, linger not; for from the north I bring evil and great destruction. Jeremiah 4:7. A lion comes up from his thicket, and a destroyer of the nations is on his way, comes forth from his place, to make they land a waste, that thy cities be destroyed, without an inhabitant. Jeremiah 4:8. For this gird you in sackcloth, lament and howl, for the heat of Jahveh’s anger hath not turned itself from us. Jeremiah 4:9. And it cometh to pass on that day, saith Jahveh, the heart of the king and the heart of the princes shall perish, and the priests shall be confounded and the prophets amazed.” The invasion of a formidable foe is here represented with poetic animation; the inhabitants being called upon to publish the enemy’s approach throughout the land, so that every one may hide himself in the fortified cities.
(Note: By this dreaded foe the older commentators understand the Chaldeans; but some of the moderns will have it that the Scythians are meant. Among the latter are Dahler, Hitz., Ew., Bertheau (z. Gesch. der Isr.), Movers, and others; and they have been preceded by Eichhorn (Hebr. Proph. ii. 96 f), Cramer (in the Comm. on Zephaniah, under the title Scythische Denkmler in Palstina, 1777). On the basis of their hypothesis, M. Duncker (Gesch. des Alterth. S. 751ff.) has sketched out a minute picture of the inundation of Palestine by hordes of Scythian horsemen in the year 626, according to the prophecies of Jeremiah and Zephaniah. For this there is absolutely no historical support, although Roesch in his archaeological investigations on Nabopolassar (Deutsch-morgld. Ztschr. xv. S. 502ff.), who, according to him, was a Scythian king, alleges that “pretty nearly all (?) exegetical authorities” understand these prophecies of the Scythians (S. 536). For this view can be neither justified exegetically nor made good historically, as has been admitted and proved by A. Kueper (Jerem. libr. ss. int. p. 13f.), and Ad. Strauss (Vaticin. Zeph. p. 18f.), and then by Tholuck (die Propheten u. ihre Weiss, S. 94ff.), Graf (Jer. S. 16ff.), Ng., and others. On exegetical grounds the theory is untenable; for in the descriptions of the northern foe, whose invasion of Judah Zephaniah and Jeremiah threaten, there is not the faintest hint that can be taken to point to the Scythian squadrons, and, on the contrary, there is much that cannot be suitable to these wandering hordes. The enemies approaching like clouds, their chariots like the whirlwind, with horses swifter than eagles (Jeremiah 4:13), every city fleeing from the noise of the horsemen and of the bowmen (Jeremiah 4:29), and the like, go to form a description obviously founded on Deuteronomy 28:49., and on the account of the Chaldeans ( כּשׂדּים) in Habakkuk 1:7-11 – a fact which leads Roesch to suppose Habakkuk meant Scythian by כּשׂדּים. All the Asiatic world-powers had horsemen, war-chariots, and archers, and we do not know that the Scythians fought on chariots. Nor was it at all according to the plan of Scythian hordes to besiege cities and carry the vanquished people into exile, as Jeremiah prophesies of these enemies. Again, in Jeremiah 25, where he expressly names Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babel as the fulfiller of judgment foretold, Jeremiah mentions the enemy in the same words as in Jeremiah 1:15, ּכל־משׁפּחות צפון (Jeremiah 25:9), and represents the accomplishment of judgment by Nebuchadnezzar as the fulfilment of all the words he had been prophesying since the 13th year of Josiah. This makes it as clear as possible that Jeremiah regarded the Chaldeans as the families of the peoples of the north who were to lay Judah waste, conquer Jerusalem, and scatter its inhabitants amongst the heathen. In a historical reference, also, the Scythian theory is quite unfounded. The account in Herod. i.-103-105 of the incursion of the Scythians into Media and of dominion exercised over Asia for 28 years by them, does say that they came to Syrian Palestine and advanced on Egypt, but by means of presents were induced by King Psammetichus to withdraw, that they marched back again without committing any violence, and that only ὀλίγοι τινὲς αὐτῶν plundered the temple of Venus Urania at Ascalon on the way back. But these accounts, taken at their strict historical value, tell us nothing more than that one swarm of the Scythian hordes, which overspread Media and Asia Minor, entered Palestine and penetrated to the borders of Egypt, passing by the ancient track of armies across the Jordan at Bethshan, and through the plain of Jezreel along the Philistine coast; that here they were bought off by Psammetichus and retired without even so much as touching on the kingdom of Judah on their way. The historical books of the Old Testament have no knowledge whatever of any incursion into Judah of Scythians or other northern nations during the reign of Josiah. On the other hand, we give no weight to the argument that the march of the Scythians through Syria against Egypt had taken place in the 7th or 8th year of Josiah, a few years before Jeremiah’s public appearance, and so could be no subject for his prophecies (Thol., Graf, Ng.). For the chronological data of the ancients as to the Scythian invasion are not so definite that we can draw confident conclusions from them; cf. M. v. Niebuhr, Ges. Assurs u. Babels, S. 67ff.
All historical evidence for a Scythian inroad into Judah being thus entirely wanting, the supporters of this hypothesis can make nothing of any point save the Greek name Scythopolis for Bethshan, which Dunck. calls “a memorial for Judah of the Scythian raid.” We find the name in Judges 1:27 of the lxx, Βαιθσάν ἥ ἐστι Σκυθῶν πόλις, and from this come the Σκυθόπολις of Judith 3:10, 2 Macc. 12:29, and in Joseph. Antt. v. 1. 22, xii. 8. 5, etc. Even if we do not hold, as Reland, Pal. ill. p. 992, does, that the gloss, ἥ ἐστι Σκυθῶν πόλις, Judges 1:27, has been interpolated late into the lxx; even if we admit that it originated with the translator, the fact that the author of the lxx, who lived 300 years after Josiah, interpreted Σκυθόπολις by Σκυθῶν πόλις, does by no means prove that the city had received this Greek name from a Scythian invasion of Palestine, or from a colony of those Scythians who had settled down there. The Greek derivation of the name shows that it could not have originated before the extension of Greek supremacy in Palestine – not before Alexander the Great. But there is no historical proof that Scythians dwelt in Bethshan. Duncker e.g., makes the inference simply from the name Σκυθῶν πόλις and Σκυθοπολίται, 2 Macc. 12:29f. His statement: “Josephus (Antt. xii. 5. 8) and Pliny (Hist. n. v. 16) affirm that Scythians had settled down there,” is wholly unfounded. In Joseph. l.c. there is no word of it; nor will a critical historian accept as sufficient historical evidence of an ancient Scythian settlement in Bethshan, Pliny’s l.c. aphoristic notice: Scythopolin (antea Nysam a Libero Patre, spulta nutrice ibi) Scythis deducts. The late Byzantine author, George Syncellus, is the first to derive the name Scythopolis from the incursion of the Scythians into Palestine; cf. Reland, p. 993. The origin of the name is obscure, but is not likely to be found, as by Reland, Gesen., etc., in the neighbouring Succoth. More probably it comes from a Jewish interpretation of the prophecy of Ezekiel, Ezekiel 39:11, regarding the overthrow of Gog in the valley of the wanderers eastwards from the sea. This is Hvernick’s view, suggested by Bochart.
Taking all into consideration, we see that the reference of our prophecy to the Scythians is founded neither on exegetical results nor on historical evidence, but wholly on the rationalistic prejudice that the prophecies of the biblical prophets are nothing more than either disguised descriptions of historical events or threatenings of results that lay immediately before the prophet’s eyes, which is the view of Hitz., Ew., and others.)”
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
“[6:22] (22) From the north country . . .—The words point, as in Jeremiah 1:13-15, to the Chaldæan, perhaps, also, to the Scythian, invasion. So the “north quarters” are used in Ezekiel 38:6; Ezekiel 38:15; Ezekiel 39:2 of the home of Gog as the representative of the Scythian tribes.
[1:14] From the north.—The Chaldæan, and possibly the Scythian, invasion, as in Jeremiah 1:14.”
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
“22. from the north country] The reference, originally at any rate, was to the Scythians. See on Jeremiah 1:14.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
“22. north … sides of the earth—The ancients were little acquainted with the north; therefore it is called the remotest regions (as the Hebrew for “sides” ought to be translated, see on [900]Isa 14:13) of the earth. The Chaldees are meant (Jer 1:15; 5:15). It is striking that the very same calamities which the Chaldeans had inflicted on Zion are threatened as the retribution to be dealt in turn to themselves by Jehovah (Jer 50:41-43).”
Pulpit Commentary
“Verse 14. – Out of the north. Previously to the battle of Carchemish, the Babylonians are only mentioned vaguely as a northern people (see Jeremiah 4:6; Jeremiah 6:1, 22; Jeremiah 10:22). Strictly speaking, they were an eastern people from the point of view of Palestine; but the caravan-road which the Chaldaean armies had to take entered Palestine at Dan (comp. Jeremiah 4:15; Jeremiah 8:16), and then proceeded southward. (On the question whether a Scythian invasion is referred to, at least conjointly with the Babylonian, see Introduction.)”
The Bible Knowledge Commentary – Old Testament
“6:22-26 Jeremiah concluded his second message by again pointing to the foe from… the North (cf. 1:13-15: 4:5-6; 6:1). That coming army was cruel and would show no mercy to those it ca0t7reed, an apt description of the Babylonians (cf. Hab. 1:6-11).”
end times revisited 