Magog. Russia Or Turkey? Follow Up

Q

Re: Magog. Russia Or Turkey? At the end of your comments you quoted Ezekiel 38:15 and stated that it says “to the land of the ‘far’ North.” I have a King James Bible and it states, “And thou (Gog, vs. 14) shalt come from thy place out of the ‘North parts’.” Thou and many peoples with thee.” What translation do you use to find “far” North? I have always been taught also, that the invasion is from Russia, but this translation (far North) seems to be stretching the meaning a bit.

A

The NIV that I use translates Ezekiel 38:15 using the phrase “far north”. I believe this is an accurate rendering of the Hebrew phrase translated “north parts” in the King James. The actual phrase is composed of two words, “tsaphown” which means “north”, and “yerekah” which means “extreme parts”. Combined, they literally mean extreme parts of the North, which to my way of thinking means someplace beyond Turkey. As I said, if you draw a line northward from Israel you come to Turkey, but if you continue to the far north your line will intersect Moscow, and there’s really no place of substance beyond that.