Places in the Bible Today:

Magog

Data

Translated NameMagog
Typeregion
Notesthe references aren’t necessarily geographically specific
Geo Data KML (for Google Earth)
GeoJSON (for GIS applications)

3 Possible Identifications

  1. another name for Lydia (ancient): 40% confidence

    1. panorama of the citadel of Sardis in LydiaLydia

  2. another name for Scythia (ancient): 20% confidence

    1. aerial panorama of ruins at Scythian NeapolisScythia

  3. another name for Babylonia (ancient): less than 10% confidence

    1. Ishtar gate from BabylonBabylonia

Verses (3)

Job-Mal (2)
Ezek 38:2, 39:6
Acts-Rev (1)
Rev 20:8

Linked Data Identifiers

SourceIdentifier
Logos FactbookMagog
OpenBible.info (2007)Magog
OpenBible.infoae3d487 (Magog)
TIPNRMagog@Ezk.38.2
UBS Names Databasent ID_708

Sources

  1. Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (1992): Gog and Magog
  2. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000): Ezekiel, book of
  3. Expositor’s Bible Commentary (1984): Ezek 38:1-3
  4. Grollenberg, Atlas of the Bible (1957): Magog
  5. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2003)
  6. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1979): Ezekiel; Magog
  7. IVP New Testament Bible Background Commentary (1993): Rev 20:7-8
  8. IVP Old Testament Bible Background Commentary (2000): Ezek 38:2
  9. Lexham Bible Dictionary (2016): Magog
  10. Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2014): Magog
  11. New Unger’s Bible Dictionary (1988): Magog
  12. Tyndale Bible Dictionary (2001): Magog
  13. Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia (1975): Magog
  14. Zondervan Atlas of the Bible (2010)
  15. Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible (2010)
  16. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (2009): Ezek 38:2

Confidence Trends over Time

This chart indicates how confidence in the identifications is changing over time. Each dot (connected by a dotted line) reflects the confidence of an identification over the preceding ten years (e.g., the 2009 dot reflects scholarship from 2000 to 2009), and the corresponding solid line reflects a best-fit line for the identification. Confidences that cluster near or below 0% indicate low confidence. Because of the small dataset, it's best to use this chart for general trends; if one identification is trending much higher than the others, for example, then you can probably have higher confidence in the identification. This chart only reflects the sources I consulted (listed above), not an exhaustive review of the literature.

Thumbnail Image Credits

Ken Mayer, Vahe Martirosyan, Radomir Vrbovsky

About

This page attempts to identify all the possible locations where this biblical place could be. The confidence levels add up to less than 100%, indicating that the modern location is uncertain. It's best to think about the confidences in relative rather than absolute terms. Often they reflect different schools of thought, each confident in their identifications.

The isobands you see on the map (gray areas with dark borders) attempt to give you confidence where a region is. Because many ancient regions aren't precisely defined, I consulted atlases to determine where the biblical region is located and used that data to build the isobands. The smaller isobands reflect more confidence that the given isoband is in the region, while the larger isobands reflect less confidence. Isobands are a kind of contour line that here indicate confidence levels.