Persia, Cush, and Put are with them: Gog’s allies included the countries of Persia, that is, present-day Iran (see 27.10), Cush, which was probably the area south of Egypt that is now known as Ethiopia or Sudan (see 29.10) and Put, which is usually identified as present-day Libya (see notes on 27.10). Some scholars dispute the exact identity of these countries, but they were all traditional allies of Egypt and so traditional enemies of Israel. This subunit pictures all of Israel’s traditional enemies ganging up on her to attack her.

All of them with shield and helmet: All of Israel’s enemies were well armed for war. For shield see the previous verse; for helmet, which was a metal or leather hat that protected the head of a soldier, see the comments on 23.24. In this passage shield and helmet really represent all the equipment that soldiers need for war. Translators may render this phrase as “All of them have their weapons and equipment for war.”

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .