Does Gog appear in Numbers 24 — Balaam's oracle?
Yes, in one textual tradition. The LXX of Numbers 24:7 reads 'his kingdom shall be exalted beyond Gog' where the Masoretic Text reads 'Agag.' A Dead Sea Scroll (4Q27) preserves the 'Gog' reading in Hebrew, confirming it is not a LXX invention but reflects an ancient variant. Both readings are ancient.
In one ancient textual tradition, yes — and we have a Dead Sea Scroll to prove it's not a late invention.
The Masoretic Text of Numbers 24:7 reads: "His king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted." Agag is the Amalekite king Saul would later defeat (1 Samuel 15:8). On this reading, Balaam is simply saying Israel's future king will be greater than a known nearby enemy.
But the Greek Septuagint reads the same verse differently:
"His kingdom shall be exalted beyond Gog, and his kingdom shall be increased." — Numbers 24:7 (LXX)
Agag becomes Gog — a difference of one consonant in Hebrew (אגג vs. גוג), but a completely different figure. The LXX's Gog connects immediately to Ezekiel 38–39.
Here's where it gets interesting: a Dead Sea Scroll fragment (4Q27, one of the Numbers manuscripts from Qumran) preserves a Hebrew text of Numbers 24:7 that reads "from Gog" — not "from Agag." That means the Gog reading existed in Hebrew before the LXX translated it. The MT's "Agag" and 4Q27's "Gog" represent two different Hebrew manuscript traditions that were circulating in ancient Israel. The Septuagint followed the one that had Gog.
The context matters here. Balaam himself says this oracle concerns "the latter days" (acharit hayamim, Numbers 24:14) — the exact phrase Ezekiel uses to date the Gog invasion (Ezekiel 38:16). The Gog reading, combined with that "latter days" framing, means some ancient Jewish readers understood Balaam's oracle as reaching toward the same eschatological enemy Ezekiel describes. This wasn't a late Christian interpretation imposed on the text — it was a Second Temple Jewish reading of an ancient variant that is still visible in the scrolls.
Is the Gog and Magog in Revelation 20 the same as in Ezekiel 38–39?
Revelation 20:7–8 clearly alludes to Ezekiel 38–39 — the same names, the vast army, fire from God. But John has transformed Ezekiel's northern ruler into a pair of names representing hostile nations from 'the four corners of the earth,' making them an archetype for the final rebellion of all humanity rather than a specific geographic enemy.
Who is Gog in Ezekiel 38–39?
Gog is a northern ruler 'of the land of Magog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal' who leads a massive coalition against Israel 'in the latter days.' God declares he is the one drawing Gog out with hooks in his jaws — the invasion serves God's purposes, not Gog's. God alone destroys Gog so the nations will know that He is the LORD.