The list of Gog’s allies continues in this verse.

Gomer and all his hordes; Beth-togarmah from the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes: Block identifies Gomer as “a wild tribe living in the fog-bound region north of the Black Sea,” but other scholars relate the name to the son of Japheth in Gen 10.2-3 and locate Gomer and his brothers in the region of modern Turkey (compare the comments on 27.13). Since Magog, Meshech and Tubal have already been mentioned, and Beth-togarmah (see 27.14) is the next name on the list, it is most likely that all these nations were close together in Asia Minor, that is, modern Turkey. Beth-togarmah means literally “house of Togarmah” and, according to Gen 10.3, Togarmah was the son of Gomer. Translators do not need to identify exactly where these nations were located; it is sufficient to mention their names. The uttermost parts of the north refers to the most remote northern areas. New Revised Standard Version and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh say “the remotest parts of the north,” New Living Translation has “the distant north,” and other translations use “the far north” (New International Version, New International Reader’s Version, New Century Version, New King James Version , Christian Community Bible, Moffatt). It was believed that the further north people lived, the wilder and less civilized they were. Revised Standard Version refers to the armies of Gomer and Beth-togarmah as hordes, a term that refers to large numbers of people, usually in unruly mobs. Although hordes is an appropriate term for wild men from the far north, it goes beyond the meaning of the Hebrew term here, which simply refers to groups of “troops” (New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, New International Reader’s Version, New Century Version, New King James Version , New American Standard Bible, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible) or “fighting men” (Good News Translation). Translators will do well to avoid the negative connotations of Revised Standard Version.

Many peoples are with you: Some translations take this clause to mean that many other nations will also join Gog’s army to fight against Israel (so Good News Translation, New Living Translation, International Children’s Bible, Moffatt), but it is more likely a summary comment, referring to the size of the army that Gog will lead; for example, Contemporary English Version says “Your army is enormous!” Another possible model is “You have the armies of many nations with you.”

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .