In conclusion, it may be observed, and it has a bearing on the question of the authorship of the Pastorals, that the idea of 'godliness' serves to bind these letters together with the certainlj' late and unauthentic 2 Peter and 2 Clement. In 2 Pet., moreover, emi^fia serves to denote, just as in the Pastorals, the religion of the Church, in opposition to that of a heretical Gnosis (P^ 2"-).
Robert S. Franks.
GOG AND MAGOG.— In the Book of Revelation (20'^- *) the seer tells that Satan, after being bound for one thousand years, shall be loosed and go forth to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle. This is conceived in the Apoca- lypse as the last great battle between the powers of evil and the armies of God, and as the occasion of the final overthrow of the wicked, when fire comes forth from heaven to devour them. In this passage Gog and Magog are represented as nations dwelling in the four quarters of the earth and symbolic of the enemies of the Lord, The names are taken from the prophecy of Ezekiel (chs. 38 and 39), where Gog is represented as a person, ' the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal,' and Magog as the name of his land (38^). The prophet depicts this prince as leading a great host against the restored Israel, and being utterly defeated and overthrown. In the ethnological table in Gn 10 Magog is represented as the son of Japheth and brother of Gomer. As to the etymology of the names, considerable difference of opinion exists. Driver (in SDB, art. 'Gog') states that the name Gog recalls that of Gyges (Gr. T&yrjs, Assyr. Giigu), the famous king of Lydia of whom Herodotus (i. 8-14) tells us, and who, Assurbanipal states (KIB ii. 173-5), when his country was invaded by the Gimirra (Cimerians), expelled them with Assyrian help. The name may have reached Palestine as that of a successful and distant king of barbarian tribes and may have been used by Ezekiel as symbolic of powers hostile to the King- dom of God. Another interesting explanation is that of Ulilemann [ZWT \. [ed. Hilgenfeld, 1862], p. 265 fi'.). He points out that Magog originally signified ' dwelling-place,' or ' land of Gog,' and that the name Gog itself means ' mountain.' Accord- ing to Uhlemann, all etymological and geographical indications point to the nation of Gog being the inhabitants of the Caucasus, as the KavKaaiov odpos of Herodotus is simply the Asiatic ' Kauk ' or the Asiatic ' mountain range.' Others, such as Augustine and several ancient commentators, con- nect the word with Heb. jj 'roof,' 'cover' or ' protec- tion,' but it is unlikely that there is any connexion. The Jews themselves regarded Gog and Magog as vague descriptions of northern barbaric nations, with whom they were very slightly acquainted. Josephus [Ant. I. vi, 1) identifies them with the Scythians — a term which was generally used to describe vaguely any northern barbaric people. Perhaps even in Ezekiel, where Gog is the prince and Magog the name of his country, the terms are little more than symbolic names for the opponents of God and His people. The picture that Ezekiel gave of their overthrow gave rise to the apocalyptic conception that finally the enemies of God and His
people would be Txtterly overthrown in a great battle, and the names Gog and Magog frequently appear in later Jewish apocalyptic literature as leaders of the hostile world powers (cf. Sib. Orac. iii. 319, 322; Mishna, Eduyoth, 2. 10). This hnal and abor- tive attack on the part of the powers of evil is referred to in Rev 19"*^-, Avhile in 20^* the names of Gog and Magog appear as the description of hostile nations. Probably Rev 19 and 20, like most of the book, is part of a Jewish apocalypse which has been transformed by the Christian writer. The Christian seer, like the Hebrew prophet, looks for a day when the enemies of God and His saints will be utterlj' overthrown.
Many and varied are the interpretations that have been given of Gog and Magog by those who, ignoring the poetical and pictorial nature of apocalyptic literature, regard the Apocalypse as a
Ei-ophecy of actual historic events. Thus the names ave been applied to nations beyond the bounds of the Roman Empire, to Bar Cochba, the Jewish Messianic pretender, and frequently to the Turks. These interpretations depend on the view taken of the ' thousand years' and the ' first resurrection.' For a full discussion of the subject, see artt.
ESCHATOLOGY, PaROUSIA.
Literature.— A. B. Davidson, ^zeifciW (Camb. Bible, 1892) ; F. Diisterdieck, Uandbuch iiber die Offenbarung Johannis^ in Meyer's Kommentar tiler das NT, 1805 ; W. Bousset, Die Offenbarung Johannis^ in Meyer's Kommentar, 1896, Der Anti- christ, 1895, Reliuion des Jvdentumgim NT Zeitalter^, 1906 ; J. Moffatt, ' Revelation ' in EGT, 1910 ; B. Stade. Geschichte deg Volkes Israel, 1888 ; E. Schurer.GJ^ V*, 1901-1911 ; E. Sciirader, KAT'-i, 1902-03; S. R. Driver, artt. ' Gog," U&gog' in SDB; A. H. Sayce, artt. ' Gog,' ' Magog ' in HDB.
W. F. Boyd.
GOLD (x/>i'0'<5y, x/"'<''^<"'> 'gold'; xpf^^^o^ 'golden'; xpwow, 'adorn with gold,' 'gild'). — This mineral may, from one point of view, be classed with ' any other yellow pebbles' (Ruskin, Unto This Last, §29), but as a universal standard of value and means of adornment it claims a special attention. From the earliest times the imagination of man has been fired by the thought of reefs and sands of gold. There is a naive wonder in the first and last biblical references — ' and the gold of that land was good ' (Gn 2i-), ' and the street of the city was pure gold' (Rev212J). There are good reasons for the unquestioned supremacy of gold among metals : the supply of it is neither too great nor too small ; its colour and lustre are permanent ; it is the most malleable and one of the most ductile of substances ; it can be melted and re-melted with scarcely any diminution of quantity. In its state of perfect purity it is too soft for most purposes, but a small admixture of copper gives it sufficient hardness for coinage and for jewellery.