The Hebrew word for chief is "Rosh". Just as in the English language a word can have multiple meanings, the Hebrew word Rosh has different meanings. One meaning for Rosh is: chief, head, captain. Another meaning of Rosh is the name of a foreign nation.
(The Interlinear Bible, Hebrew Greek and English, Strongs Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible: Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary)
The correct translation for these verses is as follows:
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal:
(Ezekiel 38:2-3)
In the Septuagint (Greek) translation of the Bible, it describes ‘Gog’ as the ‘prince of Rosh.’ Rosh was the name of a tribe living in the area of the Volga. In some languages, Rosh is the word for the country of Russia. The ancient form of the name Russia, is ‘Ros.’ The Chinese had called the Scythians ‘Rosh.’ The King James version translated ‘Rosh’ to mean ‘chief prince’, because in Hebrew it means chief or head; but in the Septuagint version, ‘Rosh’ is used as a proper name, as it should be. The descendants of Meshech (known to the Assyrians as ‘Mushku’), settled in western Russia, where they established a city called Meshech, later known as Mosach, then Moscovi (Muscovy or Moscow), which is the capital of Russia.
Here are the modern nations accompanying these regions:
(The Harper Bible Atlas, p 92-93)
via LDSLastDays.com.
|
Ancient Nation |
Modern Area |
|
Magog |
Russia (Mongols) |
|
Rosh |
Russia |
|
Meschech |
Moscow |
|
Tubal |
Tobolsk (an area in Russia) |
|
Persia |
Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan |
|
Gomer |
Germany, Eastern Europe |
|
Togarmah |
Turkey, Southeastern Europe |