MAGOG

ma'-gog (maghogh; Magog): Named among the sons of Japheth (Genesis 10:2; 1 Chronicles 1:5). Ezekiel uses the word as equivalent to "land of Gog" (Ezekiel 38:2; 39:6). Josephus identifies the Magogites with the Scythians (Ant., I, vi, 1). From a resemblance between the names Gog and Gyges (Gugu), king of Lydia, some have suggested that Magog is Lydia; others, however, urge that Magog is probably only a variant of Gog (Sayce in HDB). In the Apocalypse of John, Gog and Magog represent all the heathen opponents of Messiah (Revelation 20:8), and in this sense these names frequently recur in Jewish apocalyptic literature.

John A. Lees

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.