Magog

Magog turns up in three very different places. In Genesis 10 he is a son of Japheth, listed among the families of the earth after the flood. In Ezekiel 38 the word has become a land: “Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog.” In Revelation 20, Gog and Magog stand for nations gathered “to battle” against God’s people. Christians read these passages in different ways, some as history, some as a picture of a final conflict. All agree that the name grows from a family into a symbol of opposition. Ezekiel 38 is the place to begin.

3 verses

Genesis

Genesis 10:2

The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 38:2

Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,

Revelation

Revelation 20:8

And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

From Easton's Bible Dictionary

Matthew George Easton, 1897

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.).

From Smith's Bible Dictionary

William Smith, 1884

(region of Gog). In (Genesis 10:2) Magog appears as the second son of Japheth; in (Ezekiel 38:2; 39:1,6) it appears as a country or people of which Gog was the prince. The notices of Magog would lead us to fix a northern locality: it is expressly stated by Ezekiel that "he was to come up from the sides of the north," (Ezekiel 39:2) from a country adjacent to that of Togarmah or Armenia, ch. 58:6 and not far from "the isles" or maritime regions of Europe. ch. (Ezekiel 39:6) The people of Magog further appear as having a force of cavalry, (Ezekiel 38:16) and as armed with the bow. ch. (Ezekiel 39:3) From the above data, may conclude that Magog represents the important race of the Scythians.