Meshech

1. A people in Asia Minor. In the Table of Nations in Genesis chapter 10, Meshech is listed after Javan and Tubal as the sixth son of Japheth. It is generally identified with Mushki of Assyrian, and Moschoi of classical sources. The first known mention dates from 1116 B.C. in the first year of Tiglath-Pileser I, who vanquished the five kings of Mushki ruling in the southeastern part of Anatolia. They are mentioned again in Assyrian sources from the reign of Ashurnasirpal II (884-859 B.C.) as paying a tribute of copper vessels, cattle and wine. They do not appear in the Assyrian sources from the era of Assyrian decline, but are mentioned again in conjunction with clashes with Assyrians in the period of Shalmaneser V, reaching a climax in the reign of Sargon (722-705 B.C.). The Assyrian sources seem to identify Mita king of the Meshech with Midas of the Greek sources. This indicates that the peoples the Greeks called Phrygians are the Mushki of the Assyrians. The statement in Psalm 120:5 "Woe is me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar" refers to Meshech as the border of the civilized world in the north, as Kedar was its southeastern extremity in the Babylonian and Persian periods, Meshech and Tubal denote the land of central Anatolia and its peoples (Ezek 32:26). Meshech, Tubal and Javan (i.e. Greece) traded in slaves and copper vessels (Ezek 39:1).

2. See MASH

Concordance
Gen 10:2. I Chr 1:5, 17. Ps 120:5. Ezek 27:13; 32:26; 38:2-3; 39:1

The World as known to the Hebrews. This 1854 map ^[1] locates Meshech together with Gog and Magog, roughly in the southern Caucasus.

For the Hebrew captive of Babylon originally named Mishael, see Meshach.

In the Bible, Meshech, משך, [ me'ʃek ], "price" or "precious", literally "a drawing up (getting)", is named as a son of Japheth in Genesis 10:2 and 1 Chronicles 1:5.

Another Meshech is named as a son of Aram in 1 Chronicles 1:17 (corresponding to the form Mash in Genesis 10).

Contents 1 Interpretations 2 References 3 Bibliography 4 See also

Interpretations

Meshech is named with Tubal (and Rosh, in certain translations) as principalities of "Gog, prince of Magog" in Ezekiel 38:2 and 39:1, and is considered a Japhetite tribe, identified by Flavius Josephus with the Cappadocian Moschoi (Mushki, also associated with Phrygians or Bryges) and their capital Mazaca. In Hippolytus of Rome's chronicle (234 AD), the "Illyrians" were identified as Meshech's offspring. In addition, Georgians have traditions that they, and other Caucasus people including Armenians, share descent from Meshech (Georgian: Meskheti), Tubal, and Togarmah.

According to one legend, found in 17th c. Russian sources (eg. Timothy Kamenevich-Rvovski), Moscow (Moskva) was founded by King Mosokh son of Japheth (i.e. Meshech), and was named for him and his wife, Kva. In this legend, they are also said to have had a son, Ya, and daughter, Vuza, who gave their names to the nearby Yauza river^[2].

References

1. ^ From Historical Textbook and Atlas of Biblical Geography by Coleman (1854)
2. ^ The First Records of Moscow

Bibliography

• Jon Ruthven, The Prophecy That Is Shaping History: New Research on Ezekiel's Vision of the End. Fairfax, VA: Xulon Press, 2003 [1]. This is likely the definitive study on the historical geography of Rosh, Meshech, Tubal and the other northern nations listed in Ezekiel 38–39 and elsewhere.

See also

• Moschoi

v • d • e Descendants of Noah in Genesis 10 Shem and Semitic Elam · Ashur · Aram · Arpachshad · Lud Ham and Hamitic Cush · Mizraim · Phut · Canaan Japheth and Japhetic Gomer · Magog · Madai · Javan · Tubal · Meshech · Tiras

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