Meshech
/ˈmɛʃɛk/noun
A biblical ethnonym and place-name associated with a people descended from Japheth and a region mentioned in Ezekiel and other ancient texts.
Did you know?Some ancient writers and modern scholars have connected Meshech with the Mushki of Anatolia, but the identification is uncertain and should not be confused with the much later name Moscow.
Etymological Timeline
Late 2nd–1st Millennium BCE
Ancient Near Eastern languages
Mushki / Muski
“Name of an ancient Anatolian people, sometimes proposed—but not proven—as the historical group behind Meshech.”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
מֶשֶׁךְ (Meshekh)
“Name of a people and territory; the biblical form appears in genealogical and prophetic passages.”
3rd–2nd Century BCE
Greek Septuagint
Μοσόχ (Mosoch)
“Greek transliteration of the biblical name Meshech.”
1st Century CE
Latin Vulgate
Mosoch
“Latin form of the biblical ethnonym, preserving the Greek tradition.”
16th Century
English
Meshech
“English biblical form used in translations and historical writing.”
Modern English
English
Meshech
“A biblical proper noun referring to the ancient people or territory.”