Introduction:
Rosh is a term found in the Hebrew Bible, and its interpretation has been the subject of much scholarly debate. It appears in prophetic literature and is often associated with eschatological themes. The term is most notably mentioned in the book of Ezekiel, where it is linked to a coalition of nations.

Biblical References:
The primary reference to Rosh is found in Ezekiel 38:2-3 and 39:1. In these passages, Rosh is mentioned in the context of a prophecy against Gog, a leader of a coalition of nations. The Berean Standard Bible translates these verses as follows:

· Ezekiel 38:2-3 : "Son of man, set your face against Gog of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: 'Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.'"

· Ezekiel 39:1 : "As for you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: 'Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.'"

In these passages, the term "Rosh" is translated as "chief" in the BSB, indicating a position of leadership or prominence.

Interpretation and Significance:
The interpretation of Rosh has varied among scholars and theologians. Some have suggested that Rosh refers to a geographical location or a specific people group, while others interpret it as a title or rank, as seen in the BSB translation. The term's association with Meshech and Tubal, regions often identified with areas in modern-day Turkey or Russia, has led to various theories about its identity.

From a conservative Christian perspective, Rosh is often viewed within the framework of biblical prophecy concerning the end times. The coalition led by Gog, including Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, is seen as part of a larger eschatological narrative involving a final battle against Israel. This interpretation aligns with the broader themes of divine judgment and the ultimate triumph of God's kingdom.

Historical and Cultural Context:
In the ancient Near Eastern context, the identification of Rosh with a specific nation or people group remains speculative. Some historical sources have attempted to link Rosh with the Rus' people, an early group associated with the region of modern-day Russia. However, this connection is not universally accepted and remains a topic of debate.

The cultural significance of Rosh in the biblical narrative is tied to its role in the prophetic literature. The mention of Rosh in Ezekiel's prophecy serves to highlight the scope and scale of the opposition against God's people, emphasizing the divine intervention that will ultimately lead to the vindication of Israel.

Theological Implications:
The mention of Rosh in Ezekiel's prophecy underscores the themes of divine sovereignty and eschatological fulfillment. The coalition led by Gog, including Rosh, represents the forces of evil that will be defeated by God's power. This narrative reinforces the belief in God's ultimate control over history and the assurance of His promises to His people.

In summary, Rosh is a term that carries significant weight in the study of biblical prophecy. Its interpretation, while varied, contributes to the understanding of the eschatological themes present in the book of Ezekiel and the broader biblical narrative.Rosh

the head; top, or beginning

Rosh

(head). In the genealogy of (Genesis 46:21) Rosh is reckoned among the sons of Benjamin.

(Ezek. 38:2, 3; 39:1) is rendered "chief" in the Authorized Version. It is left untranslated as a proper name in the Revised Version. Some have supposed that the Russians are here meant, as one of the three Scythian tribes of whom Magog was the prince. They invaded the land of Judah in the days of Josiah. Herodotus, the Greek historian, says: "For twenty-eight years the Scythians ruled over Asia, and things were turned upside down by their violence and contempt." (see BETHSHEAN.) ROSH (2)

(ro'sh; Rhos, variant (Q margin) kephales; Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) capiris):

1. Rosh and Its Renderings:

This name occurs in the prophecies against Gog in Ezekiel 38:2, 3 and 39:1, where the King James Version has "Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal." This translation is due to ro'sh being the common Hebrew word for "head" or "chief" (compare the Greek variant and the Vulgate), and is regarded as incorrect, that of the Revised Version (British and American), "Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal," being preferred.

2. Identification with Russia:

The identification of Rosh is not without its difficulties. Gesenius regarded it as indicating the Russians, who are mentioned in Byzantine writers of the 10th century under the name of Rhos. He adds that they are also noticed by Ibn Fosslan (same period), under the name of Rus, as a people dwelling on the river Rha (Volga). Apart from the improbability that the dominion of Gog extended to this district, it would be needful to know at what date the Rus of the Volga arrived there.

3. Probably the Assyrian Rasu:

Notwithstanding objections on account of its eastern position, in all probability Fried. Delitzsch's identification of Rosh with the mat Rasi, "land of Rash" of the Assyrian inscriptions, is the best. Sargon of Assyria (circa 710 B.C.) conquered the countries "from the land of Rasu on the border of Elam as far as the river of Egypt," and this country is further described in his Khorsabad Inscription, 18, as "the land of Rasu, of the boundary of Elam, which is beside the Tigris." Assyria having disappeared from among the nations when Ezekiel wrote his prophecies, Babylonia was probably the only power with which "Gog of the land of Magog" would have had to reckon, but it may well be doubted whether the Babylonian king would have allowed him to exercise power in the district of Rasu, except as a very faithful vassal. It may here be noted that the Hebrew spelling of Rosh presupposes an earlier pronunciation as Rash, a form agreeing closely with that used by the Assyrians. See Fried. Delitzsch, Wo lag das Paradies? 325.

T. G. Pinches

ROSH (1)

rosh, rosh (ro'sh): A son or grandson of Benjamin (Genesis 46:21).

7219. rosh -- (bitter and poisonous herb) venom
rosh or rosh. 7218, 7219. rosh or rosh. 7220 . (bitter and poisonous
herb) venom. Transliteration: rosh or rosh Phonetic Spelling ...
/hebrew/7219.htm - 6k

7220a. Rosh -- a son of Benjamin
... Rosh. 7220b . a son of Benjamin. Transliteration: Rosh Short Definition: Rosh.
Word Origin from rosh Definition a son of Benjamin NASB Word Usage Rosh (1). ...
/hebrew/7220a.htm - 5k

7220b. Rosh -- a foreign nation
... Rosh. 7221 . a foreign nation. Transliteration: Rosh Short Definition: Rosh. Word
Origin from rosh Definition a foreign nation NASB Word Usage Rosh (3). ...
/hebrew/7220b.htm - 5k

7218. rosh -- head
... 7217, 7218. rosh. 7219 . head. Transliteration: rosh Phonetic Spelling: (roshe)
Short Definition: head. Word Origin a prim. ... 7217, 7218. rosh. 7219 . ...
/hebrew/7218.htm - 6k

7220. Ro'sh -- a son of Benjamin
Ro'sh. 7219, 7220. Ro'sh. 7220a . a son of Benjamin. Transliteration:
Ro'sh Phonetic Spelling: (roshe) Short Definition: Rosh. Rosh ...
/hebrew/7220.htm - 5k

325. Achashverosh -- king of Persia
... 324, 325. Achashverosh. 326 . king of Persia. Transliteration: Achashverosh
Phonetic Spelling: (akh-ash-vay-rosh') Short Definition: Ahasuerus. ...
/hebrew/325.htm - 6k

7221. rishah -- beginning time, early time
... Word Origin from rosh Definition beginning time, early time NASB Word Usage first
(1). beginning. From the same as ro'sh; a beginning -- beginning. ...
/hebrew/7221.htm - 6k

7223. rishon -- former, first, chief
... Word Origin from rosh Definition former, first, chief NASB Word Usage ancestors
(3), before (4), beginning (2), chief (1), chiefs (1), earlier (4), earlier ...
/hebrew/7223.htm - 6k

4763. meraashoth -- a place at the head, head place
... Definition: head. Word Origin from rosh Definition a place at the head, head
place NASB Word Usage head (10). bolster, head, pillow. Formed ...
/hebrew/4763.htm - 6k

7225. reshith -- beginning, chief
... Word Origin from rosh Definition beginning, chief NASB Word Usage beginning (19),
choice (2), choicest (3), finest (2), first (16), first fruits (7), foremost ...
/hebrew/7225.htm - 6k

Appendix xix. On Eternal Punishment, According to the Rabbis and ...
... referred), the first Rabbinic utterances come to us from the time immediately before
that of Christ, from the Schools of Shammai and Hillel (Rosh haSh.16 b ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/appendix xix on eternal punishment.htm

List of Abbreviations Used in Reference to Rabbinic Writings ...
... Rosh haSh. The Talmudic Tractate Rosh haShanah, on the Feast of New Year. Sab. The
Talmudic Tractate Zabhim, on certain levitically defiling issues. Sanh. ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/list of abbreviations used in.htm

Jesus at Capernaum.
... Judaism.]. [Footnote 4: 2 Esdras viii.4; Matthew 23:6; EpiJames 2:3; Mishnah,
Megilla, iii.1; Rosh Hasshana, iv.7, etc. See especially ...
/.../renan/the life of jesus/chapter viii jesus at capernaum.htm

Appendix xvi. On the Jewish views About Demons' and the Demonised ...
... The evil spirit' constrains a man to do certain things, such as to pass beyond the
Sabbath-boundary (Erub.41 b), to eat the Passover-bread, &c. (Rosh ha-Sh.28 a ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/appendix xvi on the jewish.htm

Chapter xlvi
... Ephraim. And the children of Benjamin: Bela and Becher and Ashbel, Gera
and Naaman, Ehi and Rosh, Muppim and Huppim and Ard. These ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xlvi.htm

Brief Outline of Ancient Jewish Theological Literature
... Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2), and "Manhigei," "guides" (Hebrews 13:7). They were under
the presidency and supreme rule of an "Archisynagogos," or "Rosh-ha-Cheneseth ...
/.../edersheim/sketches of jewish social life/chapter 18 brief outline of.htm

The Seventh (And Last) vision "On Earth"
... xxxix.17-22, where the cry is made concerning this or a subsequent [402] period,
when the Prince of Rosh (Russia) and Meshech (Moscow) and Tubal (Tobolsk) will ...
/.../bullinger/commentary on revelation/the seventh and last vision.htm

Chammath. Ammaus. The Warm Baths of Tiberias.
... hoofs. II. The great fountain of Biram. Of Biram, see Bab. Rosh hashanah,
fol.23.2. the first line. III. The warm baths of Tiberias. ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 74 chammath ammaus the.htm

Usha
... Akibah. R. Simeon Ben Gamaliel said, 'So we were wont to do in Jafne.'"
This story is repeated in Rosh hashanah, and Nedarim. "In ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 84 usha.htm

Some Towns Upon the Very Limits of the Land. Out of the Jerusalem ...
... "These cities are forbid in the borders, Tsur, Sezeth, and Bezeth, Pi Mazobah, upper
and lower Canothah, Beth Badia, Rosh Maja, Amon, and Mazi (R. Mena saith ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 95 some towns upon.htm

Rosh (5 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. ROSH (2). ... 2. Identification with Russia:
The identification of Rosh is not without its difficulties. ...
/r/rosh.htm - 11k

Gall (17 Occurrences)
... (2.) Hebrews rosh. ... (3.) Gr. chole (Matthew 27:34), the LXX. translation of the Hebrew
rosh in Psalm 69; 21, which foretells our Lord's sufferings. ...
/g/gall.htm - 17k

Meshech (11 Occurrences)
... 66:19 And I will put a sign among them, and I will send those who are still living
to the nations, to Tarshish, Put, and Lud, Meshech and Rosh, Tubal and Javan ...
/m/meshech.htm - 13k

Gog (12 Occurrences)
... gog (gogh; Goug): (1) A son of Joel, and descendant of the tribe of Reuben (1
Chronicles 5:4). (2) The prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal (Ezekiel 38:2; Ezekiel ...
/g/gog.htm - 14k

Tubal (9 Occurrences)
... Ezekiel 38:2 Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince
of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE ...
/t/tubal.htm - 12k

Poison (17 Occurrences)
... (2.) Hebrews rosh, "a head," a poisonous plant (Deuteronomy 29:18), growing luxuriantly
(Hosea 10:4), of a bitter taste (Psalm 69:21; Lamentations 3:5), and ...
/p/poison.htm - 17k

Hemlock (2 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary. (1.) Hebrews rosh (Hosea 10:4; rendered "gall" in
Deuteronomy 29:18; 32:32; Psalm 69:21; Jeremiah 9:15; 23:15; "poison, " Job 20:16 ...
/h/hemlock.htm - 9k

Naaman (19 Occurrences)
... Genesis 46:21 The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh,
Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV). ...
/n/naaman.htm - 15k

Na'aman (15 Occurrences)
... RSV). Genesis 46:21 The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman,
Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. (See RSV). Numbers ...
/n/na'aman.htm - 10k

Libyans (6 Occurrences)
... 66:19 And I will put a sign among them, and I will send those who are still living
to the nations, to Tarshish, Put, and Lud, Meshech and Rosh, Tubal and Javan ...
/l/libyans.htm - 9k

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