| Other Names / Variants: |
Og |
Gog and Magog - In the grimoires of Honorius III, ineffable names of
God used to command spirits. "The unexpected names of God used
to command spirits. "The unexpected appearance of God & Magog
amongst the other holy names of God must be put down," says
Butler, Ritual Magic, "to the ignorance of Honorius." The
Koran (sura 18, 95) mentions Gog & Magog as "spoiling the land." (a)
GOG AND MAGOG.
By : Emil G. Hirsch &
Mary
W. Montgomery
ARTICLE HEADINGS:
—Biblical Data:
—In Arabic Literature:
—Biblical Data:
Magog is mentioned (Gen. x. 2; I Chron. i. 5) as the second son of Japheth,
between Gomer and Madai. Gomer representing the Cimmerians and Madai the
Medes, Magog must be a people located east of the Cimmerians and west of the
Medes. But in the list of nations (Gen. x.) the term connotes rather the
complex of barbarian peoples dwelling at the extreme north and northeast of
the geographical survey covered by the chapter. Josephus ("Ant." ii. 6, § 1)
identifies them with the "Scythians," a name which among classical writers
stands for a number of unknown ferocious tribes. According to Jerome, Magog
was situated beyond the Caucasus, near the Caspian Sea. It is very likely
that the name is of Caucasian origin, but the etymologies adduced from the
Persian and other Indo-European dialects are not convincing. In Ezek.
xxxviii. 2 "Magog" occurs as the name of a country (with the definite
article); in Ezek. xxxix. 6 as that of a northern people, the leader of whom
is Gog. This "Gog" has been identified with "Gyges," but is evidently a free
invention, from "Magog," of either popular tradition or the author of the
chapter. The vivid description of the invasion indicates that the writer,
either from personal knowledge or from hearsay, was acquainted with a
disaster of the kind. Probably the ravages committed by the Scythians under
Josiah (comp. Herodotus, i. 103, iv. 11) furnished him with his illustrative
material. As contained in Ezekiel, the prophecy partakes altogether of the
character of the apocalyptic prediction; i.e., it is not descriptive of
events but predictive in a mystic way of happenings yet to be, according to
the speculative theology of the writer. Winkler's theory ("Alt-Oriental.
Forschungen," ii. 137, iii. 36) is that Alexander the Great and his invasion
are the background. But this anticipates the development of the Gog legend,
which, indeed, saw in the Macedonian king the Gog of the Biblical prophecy
(see Gog and Magog in Arabic Literature).
The Gog myth is probably part of a cycle which goes back to the
Babylonian-Assyrian Creation accounts (the fight with and the defeat of the
Dragon) and, on the other hand, enters largely into the eschatology of
Judaism and Christianity (see Bousset, "The Anti-Christ Legend," London,
1896; Gunkel, "Schöpfung und Chaos," Göttingen, 1895).
For the rabbinical development of the legendary material in connection with
the advent of the "end time" and the Messiah, See Eschatology.E. G. H.
—In Arabic Literature:
Gog and Magog, or Yajuj and Majuj among the Arabs, are mentioned in the
Koran and by most Arabic geographers as more or less mythical peoples. The
chief interest inthem centers about two points: (1) the wall built by Dhu
al-Karnain (Alexander the Great) to shut them off from the rest of the
world, and (2) their reappearance as a sign of the last day. Geographically
they represent the extreme northeast, and are placed on the borders of the
sea which encircles the earth. Descended from Japheth, son of Noah, they
number twenty-four tribes. Six of these are known by name (one being that of
the Turks); and the number of each tribe equals that of all the other people
in the world. Some say that they belong to the Chazars, who are all Jews (Yakut,
ii. 440).
They are of small stature, attaining to only one-half the size of a man
(another report, in Yakut, i. 113, makes them larger). Very ferocious, they
have claws instead of nails, teeth like a lion, jaws like a camel, and hair
which completely hides the body. Their ears, hairy on one side, are so large
that they use one for a bed and the other for a covering. They live
principally on fish, which are miraculously provided for them. They resemble
animals in their habits; and Mas'udi classes them among the beasts. They
used to ravage the country, devouring every green thing; and it was to
prevent this that the people living near them begged Alexander to build the
wall shutting them in. It is even said that they were cannibals (Baidawi).
The wall is generally supposed to have been at Derbent, although in later
times it seems to have become confused with the Great Wall of China (Abu al-Fida).
The geographers frequently quote an account of it given by Sallam, the
interpreter. The calif Wathik Billah had seen the wall destroyed in a dream,
and he sent Sallam to investigate. The latter recounts marvelous things of
the countries through which he passed on his way thither, and gives a minute
description of the wall itself. It was built in a gorge 150 cubits wide, and
reached to the top of the mountains. Constructed of iron bricks embedded in
molten brass, it had a peculiar red-and-black striped appearance. In it was
an immense gate provided with a giant bolt, lock, and key, the last of which
was suspended by a chain. Yakut remarks on this story that God, who knoweth
all things, also knows whether it be true or not, but of the existence of
the wall there can be no doubt, since it is mentioned in the sacred book.
As one of the signs of the approaching day of judgment this wall will be
broken down and Yajuj and Majuj will appear at Lake Tiberias, the water of
which the vanguard of their hosts will entirely consume, so that the rear
will pass over on dry ground. They will then proceed, eating every one they
meet, even corpses, and every green thing, until they come to Jerusalem.
Here, until God shall destroy them, they will annoy Jesus and his faithful
companions. It is said that Mohammed gave Yajuj and Majuj an opportunity to
embrace Islam on the occasion of his night journey to Jerusalem; but they
refused to do so, and consequently are doomed to destruction. (k)
Bibliography: Koran, suras xviii. 94-99, xxi. 96; the Koran
commentaries of Baidawi and others;
Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum, ed. De Goeje, vol. iii.;
Mas'udi, v.; Ibn al-Fakih, vi.;
Ibn Khordadhbeh, vii.;
Yakut, Geographisches Wörterb.;
Tabari, Annales;
Yule, Marco Polo, i. 52 et seq., 250, London, 1875.E. G. H. M.
Gog and Magog
JAMES F. DRISCOLL
Transcribed by Sean Hyland
Names, respectively, of a king and of his
supposed kingdom, mentioned several times in chapters 38 and 39 of the Book
of Ezechiel, and once in the Apocalypse (20:7). In the first passage of
Ezechiel we read the command of Yahweh to the prophet: "Son of man, set thy
face against Gog the land of Magog...and prophesy of him...Behold, I come
against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Mosoch and Thubal" (38:2-3). A
similar command is found also at the beginning of chapter 39. These two
chapters contain repeated reference to Gog and Magog, but they furnish only
vague and uncertain indications as to the identity of the ruler or the
location of the country. In chapter 39 Gog is represented (verses 5 and 6)
as being accompanied in his invasion of the land of Israel by the Persians,
Ethiopians, and Libyans, Gomer, and...the house of Thogorma; and in verse 15
we read: "And thou shalt come out of thy place from the northern parts."
From the number and variety of the peoples mentioned in this connection some
writers have inferred that the name Gog may be only a generic appellation,
or figure, used in Ezechiel to designate the host of the enemies of Israel,
and in the Apocalypse to denote the multitude of the foes of the Church.
Others conjecture that it may be a local title expressing the royal dignity,
such as the name Pharaoh in Egypt. But it seems more probable that
both names are historical; and by some scholars Gog is identified with the
Lydian king called by the Greeks Gyges, who appears as Gu-gu on the Assyrian
inscriptions. If this be true, Magog should be identified with Lydia. On the
other hand, as Mosoch and Thubal were nations belonging to Asia Minor, it
would seem from the text of Ezechiel that Magog must be in that part of the
world. Finally, Josephus and others identify Magog with Scythia, but in
antiquity this name was used to designate vaguely any northern population.
(v)
See also: Og
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