For the Hebrew captive of Babylon originally named Mishael, see Meshach.
In the Bible,
Meshech,
משךHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Culturally, it is considered a Jewish language. Hebrew in its modern form is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel while Classical Hebrew has been used for prayer or study in Jewish communities around the world for over...
, [ me'ʃek ], "price" or "precious", literally "a drawing up (getting)", is named as a son of
JaphethJapheth is one of the sons of Noah in the Bible. In Arabic citations, his name is normally given as Yafeth ibn Nuh ....
in Genesis 10:2 and 1 Chronicles 1:5.
Another Meshech is named as a son of
AramAccording to the Table of Nations in Genesis 10 of the Hebrew Bible, Aram was a son of Shem, and the father of Uz, Hul, Gether and Mash....
in 1 Chronicles 1:17 (corresponding to the form
Mash in Genesis 10).
Interpretations
Meshech is named with
TubalTubal, תובל IPA [ tʷu'bal ] or תבל [ tu'bal ], "Thou shalt be brought", in Genesis 10 , was the name of a son of Japheth, son of Noah....
(and Rosh, in certain translations) as principalities of "
GogGog may refer to:* Gog of the land of Magog, the Chief prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal from the book of Ezekiel, chapters 38 & 39* Gog , a 1954 3-D science fiction film by Herbert L...
, prince of
MagogMagog, Hebrew מגוג, Greek Μαγωγ, [ ma'gog ], is the second of the seven sons of Japheth mentioned in the Table of Nations in Genesis 10. It may represent Hebrew for "from Gog", though this is far from certain....
" in
EzekielAccording to religious texts, Ezekiel was a priest in the Bible who prophesied for 22 years sometime in the 6th century BC in the form of visions while exiled in Babylon, as recorded in...
38:2 and 39:1, and is considered a Japhetite tribe, identified by Flavius Josephus with the
CappadociaCappadocia is a region in central Turkey, largely in Nevşehir Province ....
n Moschoi (
MushkiThe Mushki were an Iron Age people of Anatolia, known from Assyrian sources. They do not appear in Hittite records. Several authors have connected them with the Moschoi of Greek sources and the Georgian tribe of the Meskhi. Josephus Flavius identified the Moschoi with the Biblical Meshech...
, also associated with
PhrygiaIn antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
ns or
BrygesBryges or Briges is the historical name given to a people of the ancient Balkans. They are generally considered to have been related to the Phrygians, who during classical antiquity lived in western Anatolia. Both names, Bryges and Phrygians, are assumed to be variants of the same root. Based on...
) and their capital Mazaca. In Hippolytus of Rome's chronicle (234 AD), the "Illyrians" were identified as Meshech's offspring. In addition,
GeorgiansThe Georgians are a South Caucasian people and nation mainly centered in Georgia. They also live in Turkey, Russia, the United States, Iran, and other countries....
have traditions that they, and other Caucasus people including Armenians, share descent from Meshech (Georgian:
MeskhetiMeskheti is in a mountainous area of Moschia and is a former province in southwestern Georgia. The ancient Georgian tribes of Meskhi and Mosiniks were the indigenous population of this region, identified by some authors with the Mushki known from 12th century BC Assyrian sources...
),
TubalTubal, תובל IPA [ tʷu'bal ] or תבל [ tu'bal ], "Thou shalt be brought", in Genesis 10 , was the name of a son of Japheth, son of Noah....
, and
TogarmahTogarmah third son of Gomer, and grandson of Japheth, brother of Ashkenaz and Riphat...
.
According to one legend, found in 17th c. Russian sources (eg. Timothy Kamenevich-Rvovski),
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
(
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.