Who is Gomer?

Gomer, the eldest among Japheth’s seven sons was referred to as “standing for the whole family” by the Jewish Encyclopedia and the warlike supporter from the north of Chief Gog of Magog on his quest to destroy Israel by the Bible.  The name means complete or finish.  He appears on the Timeline of the Bible after the Flood around 2300 BC.

He has three sons, namely; Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. In Islamic legends, Gomer is said to have reached the age of 1000, the oldest and unmatched age of a person in Torah.

The tractate Yoma referred to him as the ancestor of the Gomermians, the present day Germans who assaulted Assyria in the late 7th century BC. The Germans, from which the majority of the Western Europe nations such as the French, Spanish, and the Celtic people are descended, are said to have started from Gomer.

Gomer, a Hebrew name is commonly connected by the Assyrians to the migrant Gimirru or Kimmerians for the Greeks, who lived in the Eurasian Steppes.

Gomer and the Cimmerians

Gomer is said to be the father of ancient Cimmerians. Kimmerians or Cimmerians were warlike tribes of Aryans that fought against the nations in the northwest Asia during 670 to 570 BC.

They left their home found at the north of the Black Sea, the present day Ukraine of southern Russia, in the 7th century BC when they were expelled by the Scythians. They then transferred to the Caucasus and to Armenia and Asia Minor of Western Asia putting great pressure on the Assyrians and other countries. They battled with Lydia and put the temple of Diana of Ephesus on fire. A portion of them went eastward to Media while some went westward and invaded Cappadocia then dwelt in it. Gamir, the Armenian term for Cappadocia has its roots in these people. Yet, they were forced out of these areas afterwards.

They then reoccurred during the Roman times as the Cimbri of Cimbrie Chersonese, the country we now know as Denmark. Afterwards, they travelled across the British Isles and became the forefathers of the present day Gael of Ireland and Scotland and of the Cymry of Wales. Accordingly, the whole Celtic tribe that includes the Galatians are thought to have descended from Gomer.

The Country of Gomer

The Bible states Gomer was a country found in the north. It stretched from the Taurus and Amanus Mountains of the Asia Minor up to the River Tanais and expanded towards Europe up to the Cadiz of Spain.

The descendants of his son, Togarmah, were depicted as dwelling in the “recesses” of the north. And they multiplied across the whole north up to Asia during the time of Ezekiel. They are believed to have occupied the lands to the north and west of Israel.

The Armenians, a nation found in eastern Turkey have long claimed that they are of the House of Togarmah. Armenians are dwellers in the Caucasus and the Armenian Highland. Caucasus is located at the boundaries of Europe and Asia. Whereas, Armenian Highland is mistakenly regarded as Eastern Anatolia or Eastern Asia Minor and is referred to as the Aryan Highland or the “Fatherland of Aryan Peoples”.

Gomer, the son of Japheth in the Bible

Genesis 10:2, 1 Chronicles 1:5. Gomer as the eldest of Japheth’s descendants.

Genesis 10:3, 1 Chronicles 1:6. The three sons of Gomer.

Ezekiel 38:6. The armies of Gomer associated to Beth Togarmah.

References:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091214163007AAsTPBI
http://bible-library.com/Gomer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Highland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_people
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japheth
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sons_of_Noah
http://ldolphin.org/cooper/appen3.html
http://www.bible-history.com/links.php?cat=43&sub=1304&cat_name=Bible+Names+A-G&subcat_name=Gomer
http://www.ccg.org/english/s/p046a.html
http://www.enduringword.com/commentaries/0110.htm
http://www.ezekielwatch.com/TheNations/GomerTurkey/tabid/1423/Default.aspx