One of the great mysteries of prophecy is the question of Gog and Magog.  Let’s take a closer look and see if scripture can reveal its truth on this subject.

Dvrei Hayamiym Rishon (1 Chronicles) 1:5

The sons of Yapheth יָ֫פֶת; Gimera גֹּמֶר, and Magog וּמָג֔וֹג, and Madai וּמָדַ֖י, and Javan יָוָן, and Tubal תֻּבָל, and Meshech מֶ֫שֶׁך, and Thiras תִּירָס.

Because most of these names will appear again in the most poignant prophecies of Yekhezq’el, it would behoove us to understand these just a bit more.  One of the chief problems in reading the Hebrew, is that there are no capital letters.  There are letters which are called safit letters, but these letters end a word.  There is nothing denoting a proper noun therefore in the Hebrew. 

Now, in addition, you have certain prefixes which are not marked by apostrophes; instead, the simply appear, and the reader is expected to discern when these are found.  For instance, the word ha’aretz (the earth) begins with a heh, although it is not part of the word.  The heh simply can be construed as the.

We find similar things with the vav, where the vav may simply be construed as and.  Beit at the beginning may mean in; lamed is also found, meaning his or hers, them, or theirs, as is mem, meaning what or how.  When you consider the name Magog, it takes on a different meaning if expressed as simply magog, or even worse, ma’gog. 

Before we get to Magog, let’s take a look at the Gog for a minute.  Now Gog is spelled gimmel vav gimmel.  We looked earlier at a word somewhat similar – namely sojourn.  This word in the Hebrew is  רוּגּ guwr or goor, which means to turn aside from the road (for a lodging or any other purpose), i.e. sojourn (as a guest); also to shrink, fear (as in a strange place); also to gather for hostility (as afraid). Once again, we have gimmel and vav, but finishing with resh.

Looking at the tedushah of this word Gog, we find gimmel, which means the camel or camel’s hoof, the vav, which means the nail, and gimmel, which means the camel or camel’s hoof.  Gog therefore is the same name, coming and going.  It is a camel (gimmel) going to the nail (vav), and the camel (gimmel) going away from the nail (vav). Looking at the tedushah of Goor on the other hand we have the chief (rosh) camel (gimmel) associated with the nail (vav).

Let’s continue with this bit of exploration.

Bere’shiyth (Genesis) 15:13

And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a strangerגֵּר in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve עָבַד (abed) them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

Here, the word stranger is the word גָּר ger, which is derived from the root – you guessed it – goor, and means a foreigner, an alien, sojourner, or stranger.  Given our understanding so far, if we were to say the stranger in Hebrew, we would simply add the heh (ה), yielding the word הָגר, i.e., ha’ger, the stranger.  Yet we see this name appear with a capital letter early on in Bere’shiyth as Hagar, the mother of Ishmael, which is a title or descriptive, not her name!

Bere’shiyth (Genesis) 17:8

And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after you, the land wherein you are a stranger מָגוּר, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their ELOHIYM.

Here, we see an example of the use of the prefix before the word goor, where the Hebrew word which appears is מָגוּר magoor, meaning a temporary abode; by extension, a permanent residence: a dwelling, pilgrimage, to sojourn, or to be a stranger. 

So, using the prefix we see that the tenor of the meaning which we interpret as stranger can be understood as the person in the condition of sojourning.  The emotional condition of this is also found in the word מָגוֹר magowr (Strong’s 4032), meaning the sense of fearing; a fright (objective or subjective): fear, terror. So the prefix ma really better expresses the condition of, or the state of, . . .

Let us return now and look at this name Magog (Maw-gogue’, not may’gahg); given our understanding above, the name has the meaning a person in the state of coming and going. As we return to the source of this name, let’s keep its meaning in mind.

Bere’shiyth (Genesis) 10:2-5

The sons of Yapheth; Gimera, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Thiras. 3 And the sons of Gimera; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. 4 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. 5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.

In studying the house of Gimera (Gomer), the writings concerning their history is partly documented under the name of the Cimmerians.  This was a group who occupied the area we now call Ukraine and Krasnodar (southern Russia in the North Caucasus Mountains) until they were displaced by the Scythians, also known as the Saaka.   The Cimmerians were displaced from the northern lands bordering the Black Sea to the southern lands which border it, in a region whose main city is Synope.  This city was the home of Marcion, who is attributed with the first attempt to create a “New Testament.” 

Of note in our review of this history, we find that Gimera was also the father of Ashkenaz.  Therefore, we can conclude that at one time, the Cimmerians (of the house of Gimera) and the Ashkenaziym (of the tribe of Ashkenaz) at one time were resident in an area that would come to be known as Khazaria.

So we enter onto turf that is the subject of much dispute and conjecture, with many writers claiming that those who would call themselves Ashkenazi Jews are actually fake Jews, really descending from the house of Yapheth, and not the house of Shem.  This claim is enhanced because of the identifier Ashkenazi to describe the group, rather than any other alternative which might be available. We now read article on article concerning the Khazar Jews being not real Jews, but being a Yaphethi tribe who converted to Judaism under the Khazars.  Yet, there is a bit of a difficulty.

The term Khazar is of course an eventual moniker derived from the various names used to identify this group.  However, as the tribe of the Scythians was another name for the Saaka – a tribe who carried the name of Isaac (Yitschaq), and as the Cimmerians are another name for the tribe of Gimera, so the name Khazari comes from the original name Gazari – which is to say, he who is from Gaza.  Gaza, as many of you might recall was an area that included Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron and Gaza.  This area is conspicuously consistent with an area known as Judea under the Roman rule. 

It is from this same group that certain sojourners or strangers (in the Hebrew ma’goor) came to be known as Magyars, the predecessors of the Huns. The capital city of Khazaria was this city of Atil, and he who was from such a city would be called an Atilla; i.e., Attila the Hun.

Were the Huns then Magog?  Unlikely, because Magog is a discreet group who would have been recognized as such.  Far more likely is the tribe of Shimon, a tribe divided in Ya`aqov, and scattered in Yisra’el.  Bere’shiyth 49:7