Editing Gog and Magog (section)

==Names==
{{Eschatology}}
The names are mentioned together in [[Book of Ezekiel|Ezekiel]] [[Ezekiel 38|chapter 38]], where Gog is an individual and Magog is his land.{{sfn|Lust|1999b|pp=373–374}} The meaning of the name Gog remains uncertain, and in any case, the author of the Ezekiel prophecy seems to attach no particular importance to it.{{sfn|Lust|1999b|pp=373–374}} Efforts have been made to identify him with various individuals, notably [[Gyges of Lydia|Gyges]], a king of [[Lydia]] in the early 7th century BC, but many scholars do not believe he is related to any historical person.{{sfn|Lust|1999b|pp=373–374}}

In [[Genesis 10]] Magog is described as a son of [[Japheth]], and a grandson of [[Noah]], although there is no mention there of a person named Gog. The name Magog itself is of obscure origin. It is often associated with Assyrian ''mat-Gugu'', "Land of Gyges", i.e., Lydia.{{r|gmirkin}} Alternatively, Gog may be derived from Magog rather than the other way around, and "Magog" may be code for [[Babylon]].{{efn|The encryption technique is called ''[[atbash]]''. BBL ("Babylon") when read backwards and displaced by one letter becomes MGG (Magog).}}{{sfn|Lust|1999a|p=536}}{{sfn|Bøe|2001|loc=p. 84, fn. 31}}<ref>{{harvp|Lust|1999a}} and {{harvp|Bøe|2001}} cite Brownlee (1983) "Son of Man Set Your Face: Ezekiel the Refugee Prophet", ''HUCA'' '''54'''.</ref>

The form "Gog and Magog" may have emerged as shorthand for "Gog and/of the land of Magog", based on their usage in the [[Septuagint]], the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible.{{sfn|Buitenwerf|2007|p=166}} An example of this combined form in Hebrew (''Gog u-Magog'') has been found, but its context is unclear, being preserved only in a fragment of the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]].{{efn|4Q523 scroll}}{{sfn|Buitenwerf|2007|p=172}} In Revelation, Gog and Magog together are the hostile nations of the world.{{sfn|Bøe|2001|pp=89–90}}{{r|mounce}} Gog the [[Reubenite]]{{sfn|Bøe|2001|p=49}} occurs in [[1 Chronicles]] {{bibleverse-nb|1 Chronicles|5:4|KJV}}, but he has no connection with the Gog of Ezekiel or Magog of Genesis.{{sfn|Bøe|2001|p=1}}

The Biblical "Gog and Magog" possibly gave derivation of the name [[Gogmagog (giant)|Gogmagog]], a legendary British giant.{{efn|The giant mentioned by [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] in ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]'' (1136 AD).<!--Simpson & Roud (2000)-->}}<ref>{{citation|last1=Simpson |first1=Jacqueline |last2=Roud |first2=Stephen |author-link1=Jacqueline Simpson |author-link2=Steve Roud |title=Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2000 |at=Gogmagog (or Gog and Magog) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iTcdvd1iRXsC&pg=PT409 |isbn=9780192100191}}</ref> A later corrupted folk rendition in print altered the tradition around Gogmagog and [[Corineus]] with two giants Gog and Magog, with whom the [[Guildhall, London|Guildhall]] statues came to be identified.<ref>{{citation|last=Fairholt |first=Frederick William  |author-link=Frederick William Fairholt |title=Gog and Magog: The Giants in Guildhall; Their Real and Legendary History |publisher=John Camden Hotten |year=1859 |pages=8–11, 130|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8VoQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA8}}</ref>