Greek words for Gog, Magog and Synagogue in Revelation and meaning

[LittleLambofJesus]

I had this posted on the "Simon the Sorcerer. Saved?" thread and thought I would start a separate thread on it
First off, while looking closer at the first 3 letters "mag..", I noticed it also included "magog"

3095. mageia mag-i'-ah from 3096; "magic":--sorcery.
3096. mageuo mag-yoo'-o from 3097; to practice magic:--use sorcery.
3097. magos mag'-os of foreign origin (7248); a Magian, i.e. Oriental scientist; by implication, a magician:--sorcerer, wise man.
3098. magog mag-ogue' of Hebrew origin (4031)

"gog" is used in the word "syn-agogue", which is an assembly of Jewish worshipers [the prefix "sun" denotes "union, with, together."]

4864. sunagoge soon-ag-o-gay' from (the reduplicated form of) 4863; an assemblage of persons; specially, a Jewish "synagogue" (the meeting or the place); by analogy, a Christian church:--assembly, congregation, synagogue.
4862. sun soon a primary preposition denoting union; with or together (but much closer than 3326 or 3844)
71. ago ag'-o a primary verb; properly, to lead; by implication, to bring, drive..
72. agoge ag-o-gay' reduplicated from 71; a bringing up, i.e. mode of living:--manner of life.

Synagogue is used 2 times in Revelation and I particular want to focus on the 3 verses below:

Revelation 2:9
.......who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue/sunagwgh<4864> of the Satan...............
Revelation 3:9
I will make those who are of the synagogue/sunagwgh<4864> of Satan,
who claim to be Jews though they are not,...............

Reve 20:8
and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog/gwg and Magog/magwg.,
to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.

Gog and Magog - Wikipedia

Gog and Magog (/ˈɡɒɡ ... ˈmeɪɡɒɡ/; Hebrew: גּוֹג וּמָגוֹג‬ Gog u-Magog) in the Hebrew Bible may be individuals, peoples, or lands; a prophesied enemy nation of God's people according to the Book of Ezekiel, and according to Genesis, one of the nations descended from Japheth, son of Noah.

The Gog prophecy is meant to be fulfilled at the approach of what is called the "end of days", but not necessarily the end of the world. Jewish eschatology viewed Gog and Magog as enemies to be defeated by the Messiah, which will usher in the age of the Messiah. Christianity's interpretation is more starkly apocalyptic: making Gog and Magog allies of Satan against God at the end of the millennium, as can be read in the Book of Revelation.

A legend was attached to Gog and Magog by the time of the Roman period, that the Gates of Alexander were erected by Alexander the Great to repel the tribe. Romanized Jewish historian Josephus knew them as the nation descended from Magog the Japhetite, as in Genesis, and explained them to be the Scythians. In the hands of Early Christian writers they became apocalyptic hordes, and throughout the Medieval period variously identified as the Huns, Khazars, Mongols, or other nomads, or even the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel..............

I will continue this on the next post.........

 

[Radagast]

There is no relationship between Gog/Magog (Γώγ/Μαγώγ) and synagogue (συναγωγή).

None at all.

The first is from the Old Testament (e.g. Ezekiel 38:2), and the second is from the Greek verb "to gather together."

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

I have to go to the Hebrew OT to look if the NT meaning differs from the OT.
[Both words are mainly used in Ezekiel 38, 39,]

The transliteration of Gog-Magog in the OT is similar but no real defintion/meaning of them:

Gog /גּוֹג (Gowg)<1463>
Magog/מָגוֹג (Magowg)<4031>

1463 Gowg gohg of uncertain derivation; Gog, the name of an Israelite, also of some northern nation

Gog is used the first time here:

1 Chron 5:4
The sons of Joel; Shemaiah his son, Gog /גּוֹג (Gowg)<1463>, his son, Shimei his son,

The rest of the times are in Ezekiel 38, 39.

1st time used in Ezekiel:

Ezek 38:
1 And word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 2 “Son of adam, set your face! against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.a and prophesy thou against him 3 and declare that this is what 'Adonay Yahweh says: ‘Behold! I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.b

Last time used:
Ezekiel 39:
15 As they pass through the land, anyone who sees a human bone will set up a pillar next to it, until the gravediggers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog. 16 (Even the city will be named Hamonah.d ) And so they will cleanse the land.’

Here is where Magog is used: [Tubal and Meshech are mentioned both in Gene/Chrono and Ezek 38:2]

Gene 10:2/1 Chron 1:5
The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog/מָגוֹג (Magowg)<4031>, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

Ezekiel 38:2
“Son of adam, set your face! against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.

Ezei 39:6
And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

4031 Magowg maw-gogue' from 1463; Magog, a son of Japheth; also a barbarous northern region
4032 magowr maw-gore' or (Lam. 2:22) maguwr {maw-goor'}; from 1481 in the sense of fearing; a fright (objective or subjective):--fear, terror. Compare

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Magog, Javan, Tubal and Meshech are mentioned in Gen10/1Chron and Ezekiel 27:13

Gen 10:2/1 Chron 1:5
The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

They are also mentioned in Ezek 27 and 38:2

Ezekiel 27:
1 The word of Yahweh came again to me, saying,
2 “Now, son of adam, take up a lamentation for Tyre, [Matt 11:22]
13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market.

Ezekiel 38:2
“Son of adam, set your face! against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech /4902 and Tubal/8422

Jesus and Paul both mention Tyre:

Matt 11:22
“But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.
Matthew 15:21
Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
Act 21:3
When we had sighted Cyprus, we passed it on the left, sailed to Syria, and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload her cargo.

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

There is no relationship between Gog/Magog (Γώγ/Μαγώγ) and synagogue (συναγωγή).

None at all.

The first is from the Old Testament (e.g. Ezekiel 38:2), and the second is from the Greek verb "to gather together."

Thank you.
All I was getting at was the word "gog" is in the word synagogue.

4863. sunago soon-ag'-o from 4862 and 71; to lead together, i.e. collect or convene;
4864. sunagoge soon-ag-o-gay' from (the reduplicated form of) 4863; an assemblage of persons;
4862. sun soon a primary preposition denoting union; with or together
71. ago ag'-o a primary verb; properly, to lead; by implication,

Genesis 1:1 (NKJV)
Strong's Number G4863 matches the Greek συνάγω (synagō), which occurs 73 times in 62 verses

It is used 6 times in Revelation:

Reve 13:10
He that [*leadeth*/sunagei>4863] into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword.
Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.[Luke 21:24]
Reve 16:
16 And he gathered-together/sunhgagen<4863> them into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
14 For they are spirits of demons performing signs, who travel to the kings of the whole world to assemble /sunagagein<4863> them for the battle of the great day of God, the Almighty.

If Gog-Magog doesn't happen until after the 1000 yr period [Revelation 20:8], why is this event from Ezekiel 39 concerning Gog shown before it?

Reve 19:
17 And I saw one messenger standing in the sun, and he cried, a great voice, saying to all the birds that are flying in mid-heaven, 'Come and be gathered together/sunagesqe<4863> to the supper of the great God, [Ezekiel 39:17]
19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, having been gathered together/sunhgmena<4863> to make war with him who is sitting upon the horse, and with his army;

This passage is from Ezekiel 7:2

Reve 20:8
and he shall go forth to lead the nations astray, that are in the four corners of the land -- Gog and Magog -- to gather them together/sunagagein<4863> to war, of whom the number is as the sand of the sea;[Ezekiel 7:2]

Ezekiel 7:2
“And thou, son of man, thus says my Lord Yahweh to the land of Israel:
‘An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.

 

[Radagast]

Thank you.
All I was getting at was the word "gog" is in the word synagogue.

The word "synagogue" does not contain the word "gog," it contains the verb agо̄ (with a duplicated "g" to reflect the perfect tense because, in a synagogue, people have already been gathered together).

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Radagast said: ↑
There is no relationship between Gog/Magog (Γώγ/Μαγώγ) and synagogue (συναγωγή).

None at all.

The first is from the Old Testament (e.g. Ezekiel 38:2), and the second is from the Greek verb "to gather together."

LittleLambofJesus said: ↑
Thank you.
All I was getting at was the word "gog" is in the word synagogue.

The word "synagogue" does not contain the word "gog," it contains the verb agо̄.

I agree and thanks for clarifying that for me.

What would be your or others interpretation/meaning of "gog" and "magog", looking at it compared to the other greek words that start with "mag". Thanks.

3095. mageia mag-i'-ah from 3096; "magic":--sorcery.
3096. mageuo mag-yoo'-o from 3097; to practice magic:--use sorcery.
3097. magos mag'-os of foreign origin (7248); a Magian, i.e. Oriental scientist; by implication, a magician:--sorcerer, wise man.
3098. magog mag-ogue' of Hebrew origin (4031)

 

[Radagast]

What would be your or others interpretation/meaning of "gog" and "magog", looking at it compared to the other greek words that start with "mag".

"Starting with 'mag'" means nothing. In English, for example, the words "magical" and "magnificent" are not related at all.

"Magog" comes from the Hebrew. I don't know what it means.

"Magos" comes from the Greek (and possibly came to the Greek from the Babylonians). It means an astrologer or sorcerer. It is not a Hebrew word. It is not related to "Magog" in any way.

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

This is the Genealogy of "Gog".

This site gives this meaning for "Gog" which I find interesting:

1 Chronicles 5:4 The descendants of Joel: Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son,
Gog. i.e., to cover; surmount; top; roof; extension; mountain

It appears now we are coming across connections to the NT, including Revelation.

Here we come across the name "Baal", [which is mentioned 1 time in the NT, Romans 11:4]

1 Chron 5:4-7
The sons of Joel were Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son, Micah his son, Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal /בַּעַל (Ba`al)<1168> his son,...................

1st used in Judge 2:

Judge 2:
11 And the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of Yahweh, and serve the Baalim/בַּעַל (Ba`al)<1168>,
13 yea, they forsake Yahweh, and do service to Baal /בַּעַל (Ba`al)<1168> and to Ashtaroth.

There are over a dozen different forms of the root word #1166 Baal, which means "master".

Strong's Hebrew Lexicon Search Results

1166 ba`al baw-al' a primitive root; to be master; hence, (as denominative from 1167) to marry:--have dominion (over), be husband, marry(-ried, X wife)
supreme male divinity of the Phoenicians or Canaanites; a Reubenite; the son of Jehiel and grandfather of Saul
1167 ba`al bah'-al from 1166; a master; hence, a husband, or (figuratively) owner
1168 Ba`al bah'-al the same as 1167; Baal, a Phoenician deity:--Baal, (plural) Baalim.
Strong's Number H1168 matches the Hebrew בַּעַל (Ba`al), which occurs 80 times in 68 verses

And here we run into a Balak and Balaam. [Both are mentioned in the Assembly of Pergamos in Revelation 2:14]

Numbers 22:41
So it was, the next day, that Balak/בָּלָק (Balaq)<1111> took Balaam /בִּלְעָם (Bil`am)<1109> and brought him up to the high places of Baal,
that from there he might observe the extent of the people.

So we have the names of Baal, Balaam and Balak in the NT.
Gog and Baal are both mentioned in 1 Chronicles 5:4

Romans 11:4
But what was the divine answer spoken to him? 'I have left to Myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal/Βάαλ<896>'
[1 Kings 19:10

Revelation chapter 2 verse by verse study

Revelation 2:14
“But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam/Βαλαάμ <903> who taught Balak /Βαλὰκto<904> put a stumbling block before the children of Israel,
to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
[Numbers 22:41]

Next up we will look at "magog"
[I may come back to this post later]

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Magog is listed 5 times in the Bible

Genesis 1:1 (NKJV)
"magog/מָגוֹג (Magowg)<4031>" occurs 5 times in 5 verses

Magog is shown to be the son of Japheth.
Japheth is one of the three sons of Noah who was on the Ark during the great Flood.

Gene 5:
29 And he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which Yahweh has cursed.”
32 And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Gene 7:13 On the very same day Noah and Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark—
[Matthew 24:38, 1 Peter 3:20, 2 Peter 2:5]

Genesis 1:1 (NKJV)
3315 Yepheth yeh'-feth from 6601; expansion; Jepheth, a son of Noah; also his posterity:--Japheth
From pathah; expansion

Gene 10:2/1 Chron 1:5
The sons of Japheth/יֶפֶת (Yepheth)<3315> were Gomer, Magog/מָגוֹג (Magowg)<4031>, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

I couldn't find anywhere in the Bible if Magog had any children.
According to stories about Magog in Wiki, Johannes Magnus (1488–1544) mentions him having 5 sons:

Magog (Bible) - Wikipedia

Magog (/ˈmeɪɡɔːɡ/; Hebrew: מגוג [maˈɡoɡ]; Greek: Μαγωγ) is the second of the seven sons of Japheth mentioned in the Table of Nations in Genesis 10.

Magog is often associated with apocalyptic traditions, mainly in connection with Ezekiel 38 and 39 which mentions "Gog of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal" (Ezek 38:2 NIV); on the basis of this mention, "Gog and Magog" over time became associated with each other as a pair. In the New Testament, this pairing is found in the Book of Revelation 20:8, in which instance they may merely be metaphors for archetypal enemies of God...........

Josephus refers to Magog son of Japheth as progenitor of Scythians, or peoples north of the Black Sea.[1] According to him, the Greeks called Scythia Magogia (Ant., bk. I, 6).........

Jordanes' Getica (551) mentions Magog as ancestor of the Goths, as does the Historia Brittonum, but Isidore of Seville (c. 635) asserts that this identification was popular "because of the similarity of the last syllable" (Etymologiae, IX, 89).
Johannes Magnus (1488–1544) stated that Magog migrated to Scandinavia (via Finland) 88 years after the flood, and that his five sons were Suenno (ancestor of the Swedes), Gethar (or Gog, ancestor of the Goths),

I will continue the study of Magog in the next post............

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

I want to next take a look at these 3 other sons of Japheth

Gen 10:2/1 Chron 1:5
The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

All 3 are mentioned together in Ezekiel 27:13

Ezekiel 27:
1 The word of Yahweh came again to me, saying,
2 “Now, son of adam, take up a lamentation for Tyre, Matt 11:22]

13 Javan/יָוָן (Yavan)<3120>, Tubal/תֻּבַל (Tuwbal)<8422>, and Meshech/מֶשֶׁךְ (Meshek)<4902>, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market.

Jesus and Paul both mention Tyre:

Matt 11:22
“But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.
Matthew 15:21
Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
Act 21:3
When we had sighted Cyprus, we passed it on the left, sailed to Syria, and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload her cargo.

Tubal and Meshech are mentioned here:

Ezekiel 38:2
“Son of adam, set your face! against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech /4902 and Tubal/8422

Javan appears to symbolize the Greeks?

Zech 9:13
When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece/יָוָן (Yavan)<3120>, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man.

My next post will look at Javan, Tubal, and Meshech more closely.

 

[icxn]

Andrew of Caesarea, quoting anonymously a Hebrew source, translates Γωγ as ἀθροίζοντα (muster, gather together) and Μαγωγ as ἐπηρμένον (exalted, elated).

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Andrew of Caesarea, quoting anonymously a Hebrew source, translates Γωγ as ἀθροίζοντα (muster, gather together) and Μαγωγ as ἐπηρμένον (exalted, elated).

Good info and thank you!

Andreas of Caesarea - Wikipedia

Andreas of Caesarea (Greek: Ἀνδρέας Καισαρείας; 563 – 637) was a Greek theological writer and bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia. Karl Krumbacher assigned him to the first half of the sixth century...................

His principal work is a commentary on the Book of Revelation (Patrologia Graeca vol. 106, cols. 215–458 and 1387–94) and is the oldest Greek patristic commentary on that book of the Bible.
The very first Greek commentary on Revelation barely predates Andrew's work and is attributed to "Oikoumenios." Oikoumenios is not a recognized Father of the Church. Therefore, Andrew of Caesarea's work is correctly identified as the earliest Greek Patristic commentary on the Apocalypse...........................

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