The Rosh People In History And Prophecy: Part Two -- By: Clyde E. Billington, Jr.
Journal: Michigan Theological Journal
Volume: MTJ 03:2 (Fall 1992)
Article: The Rosh People In History And Prophecy: Part Two
Author: Clyde E. Billington, Jr.
MTJ 3:2 (Fall 1992) p. 142
The Rosh People In History And Prophecy: Part Two
The origin and Early History of the Rosh People
Introduction
In the first article of this series, attention was given to Ezekiel chapters 38–39. These chapters mention a people called the “Rosh” who are to be a part of the infamous Gog and Magog coalition which is to attack Israel from the north in the I ast days. Ezekiel 38:2–3, for example, translates as follows:
2 Son of man set your face against Gog and the land of Magog, the leader of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him.
3 And say, Thus says the Lord God: “Behold I am against you O Gog from the land of Magog, leader of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.
It was also seen that the Hebrew proper noun Rosh is incorrectly translated by the adjective “chief” in many English translations of the Bible. This error in translation was traced back to St. Jerome [died 420 A.D.]. who mistranslated “Rosh” by the Latin adjective “capitis” [“chief”] in the Vulgate translation of the Bible. He based his mistranslation on a non-grammatical argument.1
In his Commentary on Ezekiel Jerome’wrote that he translated Rosh as the adjective “chief” rather than as a proper noun [i.e. the “Rosh
MTJ 3:2 (Fall 1992) p. 143
people”] because: “We could not find the name of this race [i.e. the Rosh people] mentioned either in Genesis, or any other place in the Scriptures, or in Josephus.2
Jerome was wrong about the Book of Genesis. The Rosh people are mentioned in Genesis ch. 10, but are there called “Tiras.” That the Tiras people of Genesis ch. 10 were the same people as the Rosh people of Ezekiel 38–39 will be seen below. Jerome was also wrong about Josephus. Josephus was a first century A.D. Jewish writer who in his Antiquities Bk. I, ch. 6 traced and identified all the various peoples and nations mentioned in the “Table of Nations” found in Genesis ch. 10. Jerome failed to recognize that Josephus does discuss the Rosh people but under the name, “Tiras.” Actually, Josephus mistakenly identified the Tiras people with the ancient Thracians. The Thracians were not a Tiras/Rosh people, but the Thracians were neighbors to one group of the Rosh people.
The purpose of P...
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