Gomer (Bible)
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Gomer (גֹּמֶר, Standard Hebrew Gómer, Tiberian Hebrew Gōmer) is the eldest son of Japheth, and father of Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah mentioned in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible. (Genesis x. 2, 3; I Chronicles i. 5, 6).
He is traditionally identified with the Cimmerians (Akkadian Gimirru), who dwelt on the Eurasian steppes. Welsh traditions also posit that the Welsh people, who call themselves Cymry, are descended from the Cimmerians and from Gomer. The Welsh language is also traditionally called Cymraeg.
The eponymous Gomer, "standing for the whole family," as the compilers of the Jewish Encyclopedia expressed it, is also mentioned in Book of Ezekiel xxxviii. 6 as the ally of Gog, the chief of the land of Magog. Josephus placed this legendary Gomer and the "Gomerites" in Anatolian Galatia (Antiquities of the Jews, I:6): "For Gomer founded those whom the Greeks now call Galatians, but were then called Gomerites (occasionally also Gomerians[citation needed])." "Galatia" takes its name from the ancient Celts, from whom the modern Welsh trace their cultural ancestry.
Gomer is also the name of the adulterous wife of the prophet Hosea, mentioned in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Hosea. Some analysts have suggested that this marriage is really a figurative or prophetic reference to a union between the "lost tribes of Israel" with the above-mentioned people of Gomer, following the Assyrian deportation.
The relationship between Hosea and Gomer is a parallel to the relationship between God and Israel. Even though Gomer runs away from Hosea and sleeps with another man, he loves her anyway and forgives her. Even though the people of Israel worshipped other gods, God loved them anyway and took them back.
| Sons and Grandsons of Noah in Genesis 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sons of Shem | Elam | Ashur | Aram | Arpachshad | Lud | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sons of Ham | Cush | Mizraim | Phut | Canaan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sons of Japheth | Gomer | Magog | Madai | Javan | Tubal | Meshech | Tiras | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
