SciELO - Scientific Electronic Library Online

 
vol.73 issue3 author indexsubject indexarticles search
Home Pagealphabetic serial listing  

Services on Demand

Article

Indicators

Related links

  • On index processCited by Google
  • On index processSimilars in Google

Share


HTS Theological Studies

On-line version ISSN 2072-8050
Print version ISSN 0259-9422

Abstract

LEE, Lydia. The enemies within: Gog of Magog in Ezekiel 38-39. Herv. teol. stud. [online]. 2017, vol.73, n.3, pp.1-7. ISSN 2072-8050.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/hts.v73i3.4541.

The most extensive descriptions of Gog and Magog in the Hebrew Bible appear in Ezekiel 38-39. At various stages of their political career, both Reagan and Bush have linked Gog and Magog to the bêtes noires of the USA, identifying them either as the 'communistic and atheistic' Russia or the 'evil' Iraq. Biblical scholars, however, seek to contextualise Gog of Magog in the historical literary setting of the ancient Israelites. Galambush identifies Gog in Ezekiel as a cipher for Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, who acted as Judah's oppressor in the 6th century BCE. More recently, Klein concludes that Gog, along with his companions, is 'eine Personifikation aller Feinde, die Israel im Buch Ezechiel gegenüberstehen'. Despite their differences in detail, these scholars, such as Reagan and Bush, work with a dualism that considers only the features of Judah's enemies incorporated into Gog's characteristics. Via an analysis of the semantic allusions, literary position and early receptions of Ezekiel 38-39, this article argues that Gog and his entourage primarily display literary attributes previously assigned to Judah's political allies.

        · text in English     · English ( pdf )

 

Creative Commons License All the contents of this journal, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License