H7218b H7218b
Rosh, ethnic or geographical name (possibly 'chief' as title)
Rosh appears in Ezekiel's prophecy against Gog as either an ethnic designation or possibly as the title 'chief.' The phrase 'prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal' could mean 'chief prince of Meshech and Tubal' or identify Rosh as a separate people group alongside Meshech and Tubal. Most ancient translations (including the Septuagint's 'Ρως') treat it as a proper name of an otherwise unidentified nation, though some interpreters prefer reading it as the Hebrew word for 'head/chief.'
Senses
1. sense 1 — The term appears three times in Ezekiel 38-39 in the title 'Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.' If a proper name, Rosh designates an unknown northern people group allied with Meshech (Mushki/Phrygians) and Tubal. If read as the common noun 'head,' it would mean 'chief prince' rather than naming a distinct nation. The Septuagint's transliteration as a name (Ρως) supports the ethnic interpretation, though no clear historical identification has been established. The ambiguity persists because Hebrew 'rosh' (head/chief) is also a common word. 3×
AR["رُؤُوسِ"]·ben["প্রধান"]·DE["[ראש]"]·EN["chief"]·FR["[ראש]"]·heb["ראש"]·HI["मुखिया"]·ID["kepala"]·IT["capo"]·jav["sirah-ning"]·KO["로시"]·PT["cabeça"]·RU["главы"]·ES["cabeza-de"]·SW["kiongozi-wa"]·TR["başı"]·urd["رئیس", "سربراہ"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† IV. רֹאשׁ n.pr.gent. Rôsh (so 𝔊 and most; > chief Ew Sm al. (𝔙 principem capitis) Mosoch);—only in phr. נְשִׂיא רֹאשׁ (אֶרֶץ מָגוֹג) גּוֹג מֶשֶׁךְ וְתֻבָ֑ל Ez 38:2, 3; 39:1, Ρως; not identified.