The Gog and Magog oracles
The Time of the End
From The Jewish Study Bible Notes to Ezekiel 38.1-39.29:
The Gog and Magog oracles.
Ezekiel's oracles against Gog, ruler from the land of Magog, express an apocalyptic scenario of God's victory over the nations that threaten Israel. The original identity of 'Gog' is uncertain . . . Ezekiel's oracles draw upon Isaiah's prophecies concerning the downfall of a Mesopotamian ruler (Isa. ch 14) and Jeremiah's prophecies concerning a "foe from the north" (Jer. chs 2-3). The original identity of Gog matters little as later interpreters have understood him to be a transnational symbol of evil, much like Edom and Egypt (e.g., Isa. ch 34; 63.1-6; Mal. 1.2-5; Exod. ch 15) or chaos monsters such as Leviathan or behemoth (Pss. 74; 104; Job chs 38-41). Ezek. 38.18-39.16 is the haftarah for the Intermediate Days of Sukkot when Exod. 33.12-34.26 and the relevant day's passage from Num. ch 29 are read as the Torah portion. Exod. 33.12-34.26 relates God's revelation to Moses and the restoration of the two tablets of the covenant after the golden calf incident, which corresponds to the focus on Israel's restoration in Ezek. 38.1-39.16.
