(1 Ckron. i. 5, 6) —- “ G om e e , and all Ms hordes—” (Ezek. xxxyiii. 6|. | In Homer
,and in Diodorus, Kin/iepioi ; in Herodotus, JBoo-n-opoj Kmnépios. In Josephus the Galatea
I are called Toixapuç ; possibly also understood in the Scytho-Bactrian Chomari, Comari,
“8 Ptolemy. These are, undoubtedly, the. Gomerians, Cimmerians, Crimeans, who,
under the various forms of Cymr, Kymr, Kumero, Cimbri, Cambri, and Galatce, Gael,
Gauls, Kelts,«, Celts, figure as a branch of Céltic migrations in later European history.
If Celtic migrators be considered anterior to the- age of Xth Genesis, we should not
hesitate in adopting the Germanic Sigambri, Sicambri, or the Gambrivii, or the Gdma-
briuni, as memorials of ‘ Gomer.’ Rawlinson ; evolves 1 Tsimri’ Horn the cuneatic
.legends of Khorsabad.
The name GiMeRîizw, in endless forms, is scattered from Asia Minor to Scandinavia,
for the following historical reason. About the year b . c. 633, the Scytho-Khazars expelled
the Kimmeriaris from Kimmericum. One set of fugitives gought asylum in
Western Europe ; while the other skirted the eastern shores of the Black Sea ; and,
settling in and around Phrygia, beeame known to the writer of Xth Genesis. Bochart
had happily remarked “ Itaque omnibus expensis terra Gomer mihi videtur esse
Phrygia, cujus portio e str e g ioKaraKenavuêvi].” This word signifies the ‘ ôwrwü-district:’
and Dubois thoroughly establishes that the volcanic nature of such Kimmerian localities
explains all their mythic associations with the infernal waters, Styx, Phlegethon,.Co-
cytus, Acheron, &c., which cluster around the naphtha-springs and mud-volcanoes of
the present Iênikalê.
The Tauric Chersonesüs, north of the Black Sea, would seem to have been the ex-
tremest geographical boundary assumed by the Hebrew writer ; and by a simple transposition
of letters, GMR (GRiMea) is still apparent in the name of this early Kimmerian
halting-place, viz. : the Crimea.577
JH JO — M G -U G r - i l ‘ M a g o g . ’
Indo-Germanic,,or Scythic;"and, therefore, not the Hebrew “ he who covers and dissolves”
[Gen. x. 2 ; Chron. i. 5; Ezek. xxxviir. 2; xxxix. 6).
M a g o g is not associated with G o g until the times of Ezekiel; during the Captivity,
from about ‘ the 30th year’ of Nabopplassar, 595 b . c. down to 5 7 2 :b . c. (Ezek. i. 1 ;
xxxix. 17). In the post-Christian but uncertain age of the writer of .the Apocalypse
(between a . d . 95 and the Council of Laodicea,- which rejected it as apocryphal,p860-
369, a . d . , ) . ‘ G o g and M a g o g ’ appear together as nations {Rev. xx. 20) ; ¡ whereas,
seven to eight centuries previously, Gog, “ the Prince of Rhos, Meshech and Tubal,”
would seem to have been understood as the proper name of a king. King James’s
version {Ezek. xxxviii. 2, 3, &c.), by “ Chief prince of Meshech and To,ubal,” effaces
RAS {i. e. R h o s ; the river Araxes, and the nation Rhox-Alani, or Alains), and perpetuates
an error detected by Bochart 200 years ago.
Arab tradition, under the appellatives Y a d jo o j and M a d jo o j , prolongs the union
down to the seventh century after Christ ; with the commentary, that they are two
nations descended from Japheth ; G o g being attributed to the Turks, and M a g o g to the
Geelàn, the Geli and Gelæ of Ptolemy and Strabo, and our Alani.
In ancient Greek and Latin, IVyas, Gygas, read also Gug-as, signified giant; and
oriental legend associated giants with Scythians in the north of Asia. M a g o g has been
assimilated to the Massageice (perhaps J/assa-Getæ/J/iz^eaw-Getæ, of Mount Masius) who
are to Getoe what M a g o g is to G o g ; the prefixes of ma and massa being considered
intensitives to indicate either the most honored branch of the nation; or the whole
nation itself. Tacitus and Pliny mention the ‘Chaucorum gen tes”- and the. Chaud,
among powerful tribes in Germany at their day ; and Gog may underlie these migrations.
E z e k i e l groups G o g with Rhos, Toubal and Meshech; and, inasmuch as Roxalani,
Tibareni, and Moschii, no less than the transplanted Crimeans (G om e r), were geographically
located in Asia Minor, between the Black Sea and the Caspian, the habitats
of them all lay in -that region. By Straho, the country of Gog-armc (Gog-airaman ?
C U T = man; ‘ man of CAUO-asus ’ . ? ) is placed near that of the Mosehi. Josephus renders
the name of M a g o g hy Scythians; and Jerome, “ Magog esse gentes Scythicas immanes
et innumerahiles, qum trans Caucasum montem et Mmotidem paludem, et prope Caspium
mare ad Indiam usque tendantur.”
But, ingenious as they are, suoh etymologies become henceforth superfluous
Dubois’s excellent suggestions. The Hebrew word is Ma-GUG. The. first syllab e
refers to the Maiotes, Mates, Mates, Meotes:tribes of the Sarmates, royal-Medes, Sauro-
Madai (i. e., Tauric Medians, transplanted from the Taurus to the east of the Caspian,)
of the Sea of Azof. The second syllable, GUG, is simply the Indo-Germamc word
Khoqh ‘mountain’ (as in the celebrated diamond, Kdh-en-noor, ‘mountain
which has been preserved in the Hellenized name Kauk-asos, or Cauc-asus, fr#m the
time of Herodotus, b. o. 430; as also in the “ inscription de PSrisades, premier archonte
du Bosphore, en 349 avant J.-c.” Havipg thus fixed GUG to a ‘ mountain, Cauc-asos,
the root of a s o s is instantly recognized in the national name of the Osses, Osseth, Yases,
Aas A d ; whence the continent of ‘Asia’ derives its European designation. These
Osses or As, are traceable in the ancient Jaxamatesjor Yas-Meotes, as perfectly as in
the modem Jarigees, Yasyghes (or Ehs-Djiks), ■ Jaz-Djits’ ; who now call themselves
Tcherkesses, by us corrupted into ‘ Circassians.’ They have been likewise termed
Ovsni, Adas, Akas, and even Kergis, by the old travellers; and while the first syllable
of their ante-historical name yet floats over the Sea of AS of (Azof), and lives m t e
Abkh-Aies-mountaineers, it has been borne to Asaland (land of the Asa) no less than
to Asgard (city of the Asa), in old Scandinavia. In this manner ably sums up Dubois,
“ As far back as history mounts, she finds within the angle circumscribed between the
Cauc-asus, the Palus M4otis, and the Tanais, an Asia-proper, inhabited by a people,
‘AS,’ of Indo-Germanic race: ” and we discover, in the Jfa-iotes of the ‘mountain
Cauc-asus, the long-lost and mystified nation, Ma-GUG, of Xth Genesis. ' S
Thus, this collective name of Magog designated one of many barbarous Caucasian
hordes, roaming of yore between the Euxine and the Caspian, including, probably,
Gothic amid Scythic families; and Gos has left, even to this day/besides;the hvmg
Osses, a trail still visible in the very etymon of his ancient homestead, the CAUC-Asian
mountains.578
H Q— MPT. — ‘ Madal’
Indo-Germanic, or Scythic. Not Hebrew, ‘ covering,’ ‘ coat,’ &c.
The LXX transcribe Ma5«, in lieu of Mrfo:. The Persian word madhya, the ‘ middle,
its supposed derivation. Herodotus counted seven nations, and says their ancient
name was Arid, the ‘braves’ ; that is, Arii, ‘Arians.’ It is probable, however, that
the root air, which in Scythic tongues means ‘ man,’ may have been assimilated to An,
‘lion,’ in the alien speech of Semitic nations. The name is spread over a vast area,
from Arhan, ‘ Armenia,’ through Ir&n, ‘Persia;’ to the conquering Aryas, Ayras, ot
Hindostan. ,. ,
In primitive times, the origines of all nations were personified; and, according to
Strabo, Medus, son of the mythological Jason and Medea, was the progenitor o t e
Medes. The name Madah occurs in the seventh century, written in Assyrian cuneiform,
on sculptures from EJiorsabad; and Rawlinson transcribes Mddiya from the innumerable
legends of Behistun and Persepolis, deciphered through his acumen.
Bagce ‘Media,’ was called Ruka by the Egyptians of the XVlIIth dynasty; and
perhaps. Matai is Media itself. W* .
The name Mede still survives, in Samaaign (Ecbatana), just as that of Anan (Ana,
Arii) in the HaRA of 1 Chron. v. 26. W
They are the Medes: and further reference to Scriptural or to classical passages,
in their case, is superfluous.579