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,

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Son	בֶּן ben-	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
man	אָדָ֗ם 'a.Dam	H120	ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species · noun, common masculine singular absolute
set	שִׂ֤ים sim	H7760	to put (used in a great variety of applications · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
face	פָּנֶ֙יךָ֙ pa.Nei.kha	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
Gog	גּוֹג֙ goyG	H1463	Gog · proper noun, a place name
land	אֶ֣רֶץ 'E.retz	H776	the earth (at large · noun, common feminine singular construct
Magog	הַמָּג֔וֹג ha.ma.Gog	H4031	Magog · definite article + proper noun, a place name
chief	רֹ֖אשׁ rosh	H7218	the head (as most easily shaken) · noun, common masculine singular construct
prince	נְשִׂ֕יא ne.Si'	H5387	properly · noun, common masculine singular construct
Meshech	מֶ֣שֶׁךְ Me.shekh	H4902	Meshek · proper noun, a place name
Tubal	וְתֻבָ֑ל ve.tu.Val	H8422	Tubal · conjunction + proper noun, a place name
prophesy	וְהִנָּבֵ֖א ve.hi.na.Ve'	H5012	to prophesy · conjunction + verb, niphal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Ezekiel 39:1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Me…
Genesis 10:2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
Ezekiel 27:13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market.
Ezekiel 38:3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
Ezekiel 2:1 And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.
Ezekiel 6:2 Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them,
Revelation 20:8-9 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 n…
1 Chronicles 1:5 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ezekiel 38:1-13

The critical expositors have enough to do here to enquire out Gog and Magog. We cannot pretend either to add to their observations or to determine their controversies. Gog seems to be the king and Magog the kingdom; so that Gog and Magog are like Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Some think they find them afar off, in Scythia, Tartary, and Russia. Others think they find them nearer the land of Israel, in Syria, and Asia the Less. Ezekiel is appointed to prophesy against Gog, and to tell him that God is against him, Eze 38:2, Eze 38:3. Note, God does not only see those that are now the enemies of his church and set himself against them, but he foresees those that will be so and lets them know by his…

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Adam Clarke on Ezekiel 38:2

Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog - This is allowed to be the most difficult prophecy in the Old Testament. It is difficult to us, because we know not the king nor people intended by it: but I am satisfied they were well known by these names in the time that the prophet wrote. I have already remarked in the introduction to this book that there are but two opinions on this subject that appear to be at all probable: 1. That which makes Gog Cambyses, king of Persia; and, 2. That which makes him Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria. And between these two (for one or other is supposed to be the person intended) men are much divided. Calmet, one of the most judicious commentato…

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John Gill on Ezekiel 38:2

Son of man, set thy face against Gog,.... Of the phrase, "setting the face towards", or "against"; see Gill on Ezekiel 6:2, Ezekiel 21:2, Ezekiel 25:2 but who this Gog is the prophet is bid boldly to face, and intrepidly declare the wrath of God against, interpreters are divided about. Calmet (m) thinks that Cambyses and his army are meant by Gog and Magog, which to mention is enough; and it is the opinion of St. Ambrose (n) that the Goths who ravaged the Roman empire in the fifth and sixth ages are meant: others, who suppose this prophecy was fulfilled after the Jews' return from the Babylonish captivity, and before the coming of Christ, take Gog to be a common name of the kings of the less…

Dictionary and topics

Ezekiel, Book of — Consists mainly of three groups of prophecies. After an account of his call to the prophetical office (1-3:21), Ezekiel (1) utters words of denunciation against the Jews (3:22-24), warning them of…
Gog — (1.) A Reubenite (1 Chr. 5:4), the father of Shimei. (2.) The name of the leader of the hostile party described in Ezek. 38, 39, as coming from the “north country” and assailing the people of Israel…
Magog — 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…
Mesech, Meshech — (drawing out), a son of Japhet, (Genesis 10:2; 1 Chronicles 1:5) and the progenitor of a race frequently noticed in Scripture in connection with Tubal, Magog and other northern nations. They appear…
Meshech — Drawing out, the sixth son of Japheth (Gen. 10:2), the founder of a tribe (1 Chr. 1:5; Ezek. 27:13; 38:2, 3). They were in all probability the Moschi, a people inhabiting the Moschian Mountains,…
Rosh — (Ezek. 38:2, 3; 39:1) is rendered “chief” in the Authorized Version. It is left untranslated as a proper name in the Revised Version. Some have supposed that the Russians are here meant, as one of…
Tubal — (1.) The fifth son of Japheth (Gen. 10:2). (2.) A nation, probably descended from the son of Japheth. It is mentioned by Isaiah (66:19), along with Javan, and by Ezekiel (27:13), along with Meshech,…
Magog · Prophecy concerning — Prophecy concerning
Meshech · 4. The Moschi — 4. The Moschi
Rosh · 2. An ancient people — 2. An ancient people
Tubal · General references — General references

Ezekiel 38:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ezekiel 38:1-13

Adam Clarke on Ezekiel 38:2

John Gill on Ezekiel 38:2

Dictionary and topics

Ezekiel 38:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ezekiel 38:1-13

Adam Clarke on Ezekiel 38:2

John Gill on Ezekiel 38:2

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Ezekiel 38:1-9

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Ezekiel 38:1–end

Rashi on Ezekiel 38:2