Bijlage D
Gog and Magog: The Question of Identity
To chapter 10. Ezekiel 38-39 describes a coalition led by "Gog, from the land of Magog," that marches against the restored Israel in the end times. Over its identity there has been centuries of contention; this book presents both main readings and leaves the open space open.
The Peoples
| People | Region |
|---|---|
| Meshech and Tubal | in antiquity well-documented peoples of Asia Minor (Anatolia, present-day Turkey) |
| Gomer and Beth-Togarmah | likewise Anatolian/Asia-Minor, the "uttermost north" |
| Persia | Iran |
| Cush | the region of Sudan/Ethiopia |
| Put | Libya/North Africa |
The Two Readings
The Russia reading. Some translations read "Gog, chief prince (rosh) of Meshech and Tubal," and link Rosh to Russia, Meshech to Moscow, and Tubal to Tobolsk — a northern coalition under Russian leadership. This interpretation has a long tradition (nineteenth-century and later prophecy exposition).
The Anatolia reading. Linguistically the Hebrew roʼsh probably means "chief, foremost" — an adjectival word, not the name of a people (so the most modern translations read: "the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal"; the Aramaic Targum likewise reads a title, the old Greek translation a name, Rōs). And Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, and Togarmah are historically peoples of Anatolia: in Assyrian inscriptions Musku, Tabal, Gimirrāya, and Tīl-garimmu. The Jerusalem Talmud calls Tubal Bithynia, in the north-west of Asia Minor (Megillah 1:9; in Guggenheimer's edition, De Gruyter 2015, Halakhah 11, p. 236). This reading therefore places Gog in present-day Turkey.
The Weighing
The Anatolia reading stands stronger linguistically, and it ties in strikingly with the power that is rising before our eyes in this book (chapter 13). But neither reading is compelling, and it is quite possible that the coalition comprises several of these powers. This book keeps the open space open and points only to the convergence of the prophetic geography with the contemporary map.
The Spoil
Ezekiel names the motive of Gog: "to seize spoil" (38:12-13). Israel has recently become an energy exporter (the gas fields Leviathan, Tamar, Karish; Appendix C). That gives the ancient "spoil" a contemporary dimension — as a factual parallel, not as an established fulfillment.