Tanais. Indeed, it is not altogether improbable, that the Mæotic lake, into which the Tanais runs, took its name from the descendants of Magog, that settled upon it; for from Magog is regularly made Magogitis, which last the Greeks might easily mould into Maiotis, which the Latins and we render Mæotis, or Mæotic."* Such is Dr. Wells's account of the descendants of Magog.

Mr. Gibbon observes of some early inroads of these barbarian nations: "In these expeditions, the Gothic nation claims a superior share of honour and danger; but the tribes that fought under the Gothic banners are sometimes distinguished, and sometimes confounded, by the imperfect histories of that age: and as the barbarian fleets seemed to issue from the mouth of the Tanais, the vague but familiar appellation of Scythians was frequently bestowed on the mixed multitude."+

The land of Magog, therefore, is Europe; but Europe in possession of the barbarian nations: and we know that all the sovereign, and all the noble families, with a vast multitude of the present inhabitants of all the nations of Europe, trace their blood originally to these northern invaders. All the sons of Japheth, by whom the isles, or "coasts of the Gentiles," were divided, we may say, are enumerated; but Magog is the last of his tribes that divided this fair inheritance, and became its lords and possessors.Gog, with his followers, is none other than the emphatic enemy in the ancient prophecies the last enemy of Israel, of whom we have in the Psalms, and in

⚫ WELLS's Geography, part i. chap. iii.

+ GIBBON, chap. x. He observes in a note, "Zosimus, and the Greeks, (as the author of Philopatris), give the name Scythians to those whom Jornandes, and the Latin writers, constantly represent as Goths."

Isaiah, read so much: and, indeed, his actions, and his fate, and the time of his invasion, prove him to be the same adversary that falls at the very eve of Messiah's manifestation.

3. "Thus saith the Lord Jehovah; I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal" or "prince of Rhos, Meshech, and Tubal :- and I will turn thee back,' and put hooks in thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine armies, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour," or "clad in all manner of ornament; a great company with' buckler and shield, all of them handling swords."

The warrior of ancient times seems here to have afforded the visionary symbol; yet we cannot be certain of this, so great are the changes often introduced in the accoutrements of modern armies.

5. "Persia, Ethiopia, and Lybia," or "Elam, Cush, and Put, with them; all of them with shield and helmet."

We had learned before, that the last adversary, taking possession of Egypt, should unite to his party the Cushite nations of Africa. It should seem also, from this passage, that Persia acts under the same influence. This is certainly calculated to give us a high idea of the extension of European power and influence, towards the last conflict of the nations.

"Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters," or "of the northern regions, and all his bands, many peoples with thee."

Gomer was the eldest son of Japheth; the Cimbri, or Cimmerians, the most ancient Celts, whose first habitation

"Rather, I will mislead thee;' or more paraphrastically, 'I

will infatuate thy counsels."". HORSLEY.

seems to have been the peninsula of Crim Tartary,* and who peopled so large a part of Europe, are derived from Gomer. Togarmah was the youngest son of Gomer. Cappadocia and Armenia are mentioned as the first seat of his family; our text designates him as possessing the northern regions.

7. "Be thou prepared, and prepare thyself," or, " prepare, yea, prepare thyself, thou and all thy assembly that are assembled unto thee, and watch thou for them."

Use all the arts of the most skilful commander.

"After many days shalt thou be visited," or, "the day of thy judgment shall come. In the latter years, thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and recovered from many peoples, against the mountains of Israel, that had been a perpetual waste; but it was brought forth from the peoples, and they dwelt all of them securely."

This confirms what we have learned before, that a partial restoration of Israel had taken place, and they again occupy their own country, when the combined. nations of their enemies, seeing their defenceless state, and disregarding the prophecies of revelation, mark them out for their certain prey. †

9. "Thou shalt ascend, and come like a storm; thou shalt be like a storm to cover the land, † thou and all thy bands, and many nations with thee. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah; It shall even come to pass in that day, that things shall come into thy mind, and thou shalt scheme an evil device; and thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages, I will go to them that are in peace, dwelling securely, all of them dwelling

* Michaelis.

† Psalm cvii. 36, &c. Compare Isaiah, xviii. and xxx. 19, &c. Psalm xxix.; lxvi.; Isaiah, x. 22; xvii. 12, 13; lix. 19, 20.

without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, to take a spoil, and to take a prey; and to turn mine hand upon these 'once' desolate places 'now' inhabited, and upon a people gathered out of the nations, which have got cattle and goods, that dwell on the high places of the land."

The reader need only refer to the passages intimated in the margin,* to perceive how exactly this corresponds to the more ancient prophecies respecting the circumstances of the last invasion of Israel's enemies.

The next verse much demands our attention:

13. "Sheba and Dedan,' and the merchants of Tarshish, and all the lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? Hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?"

Sheba and Dedan are both sons of Cush. The best authorities place them in the remotest parts of Arabia, the one to the south, the other to the south-east. The latter, and probably the former too, were celebrated as

* Psalm cvii.; Isaiah, xvii. 11, &c., and xxvi. 16; xxvii. 2, &c.; and xxx. 19.

“x, colonia Ragmæ, quæ et ipsa fuit colouia Ethiopium de cujus sede nihil constat―forte, in terra Jemen," &c.-SIMON.

s", insula, sinus Persici quæ commerciam olim Indiæ orientalis exercuit, et urbs in tabula Asia d'Anvilliana extra ostium sinus Persici non procul ab ipso mari Indico inter Daban et Kourfekian, Syris <?, Arab. l, dicta." See Simon. Compare chap. xxvii. 15.

"The men of Dedan were thy merchants," speaking of Tyre, << many isles were the merchandise of thine hand; they brought thee for a present horns of ivory and ebony." "Dedan, a city of the Persian gulf, now called Dadan.” -BOCHART, MICHAELIS. "To this place the inhabitants of the eastern isles, or sea coasts, brought their wares.”—ABP. NEWCOMBE.

3 Ver. 22." The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy

marts for the Indian trade. The main body of the African Cushites, as we were informed above, are in this great conflict on the side of Gog; but Sheba and Dedan are an exception, they are with "the merchants and young lions of Tarshish;" and express no small surprise that the combination of nations under Gog should think of making the restored Israelites a prey; or the question may imply their amazement to see the events foretold in the book of God, which they have in their possession, so exactly come to pass, and the combined nations rushing to their ruin.

But, how is it that we find the merchants of Tarshish, and not its merchants only, but its lions, that is to say, its warriors, in this direction; since it is generally allowed, that Tarshish denotes some distant coasts towards the west, to which the Tyrians sailed by the Mediterranean? Tarshish is enumerated, Gen. x. 4, among the sons of Javan, the son of Japheth. The first emigration of the son Tarshish is traced to Tarsus, in the Lesser Asia; and from hence to Tartessus, in Spain. See Dr. Wells. Other writers suppose the Palasgi, and Hetrusci, to have been of the same race; called by the Greeks Tugonvos, and by the Latins Tusci. Hence they appear to have been mingled with the other sons of Javan, both in Greece and Italy and it is probable also, among the sons of Gomer in the British isles; for Tacitus assigns Spain as one source of their population. We seem to find

merchants; they occupied in thy fairs, with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones and gold."

See also WELLS's Geography,

part i. chap. iii, sect. iv.

Silureum colorati vultus, et

1

torti plerumque crines, et posita contra Hispania, Iberos veteres trajecisse, easque sedes occupasse fidem faciunt."*

Vita Agricola.