Togarmah

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Son of Gomer, brother of Ashkenaz and Riphath ( Genesis 10:8). Corresponding to Armenia. From Toka , Sanskrit for "tribe" or "race," and Αrmah (Armenia). The Armenians represent Haik to be their founder and son of Thorgau (Moses Choren. 1:4; 9-11). The Phrygians, the race that overspread Asia Minor, probably migrated from Armenia, their language resembled the Armenian (Eudoxus, in Steph. Byz. on Armenia). The Phrygian is Indo-Germanic, as inscriptions prove, and resembled Greek (Plato, Cratyl.). In  Ezekiel 27:14 Togarmah appears trading with Tyre for horses and mules; so Strabo (xi. 13, section 9) makes Armenia famous for breeding horses. In  Ezekiel 38:6, Togarmah comes with Comer from the N. against Palestine; this and  Genesis 10:3 imply Togarmah's connection with the Japhetic races, which modern research confirms as to Armenia. The Armenian connection with the Celts (Comer, i.e. the Cimbri, Cimmerians, Crimea, Cymry), implied in Togarmah being Gomer's son, is not unlikely. The Imperial Dictionary makes Togarmah to mean the Turkomans who have always joined the Turks, i.e. Gog ( Ezekiel 38:1-6) or the king of the N. ( Daniel 11:40); Bochart makes Goghasan the original form, among the Colchians, Armenians, and Chaldaeans, for which the Greeks gave Caucasus.

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

the third son of Gomer,  Genesis 10:4 . The learned are divided as to what country he peopled. Josephus and St. Jerom were of opinion, that Togarmah was the father of the Phrygians: Eusebius, Theodoret, and Isidorus of Seville, that he peopled Armenia: the Chaldee and the Talmudists are for Germany. Several moderns believe that the children of Togarmah peopled Turcomania in Tartary and Scythia. Bochart is for Cappadocia: he builds upon what is said in  Ezekiel 27:14 , "They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs," that is, at Tyre, "with horses and horsemen and mules." He proves that Cappadocia was famous for its excellent horses and its asses. He observes also, that certain Gauls, under the conduct of Trocmus, made a settlement at Cappadocia, and were called Trocmi, or Throgmi. The opinion, says Calmet, which places Togarmah in Scythia and Turcomania, seems to stand upon the best foundation.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

TOGARMAH . The third son of Gomer, his brothers being Ashkenaz and Riphath (  Genesis 10:3 ). In Ezekiel mention is made of ‘the house of Togarmah,’ the members of which traded for the wares of Tyre with horses and mules. Fried. Delitzsch suggests that Togarmah is the Til-garimmu of the Assyrian inscriptions, described by Sargon of Assyria as the capital of Melitene, which he captured and re-colonized. Sennacherib, who again captured Til-garimmu and destroyed it, speaks of it as being on the borders of Tabal (Tubal [see Meshech]). The difference in the first element ( tô = til ) makes a slight difficulty. Kiepert and Dillmann regard Togarmah as being S.W. Armenia.

T. G. Pinches.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

A nation which traded in horses and mules at the fairs of Tyre ( Ezekiel 27:14;  38:6 ); probably an Armenian or a Scythian race; descendants of (1).

Copyright Statement These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., DD Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain.

Bibliography Information Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Togarmah'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/t/togarmah.html. 1897.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Togar'mah. A son of Gomer, of the family of Japheth, and brother of Ashkenaz and Riphath.  Genesis 10:3. His descendants became a people, engaged in agriculture, breeding horses and mules to be sold in Tyre.  Ezekiel 27:14 . They were also a military people, well skilled in the use of arms. Togarmah was, probably, the ancient name of Armenia.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A descendant of Japheth,  Genesis 10:3 , supposed to have given his name to the region of Asia afterwards called Armenia,  Ezekiel 38:15,16 . It was celebrated for its horses and mules; and the men of Togarmah, like the modern Armenians, were an industrious, peaceable, and trafficking people,  Ezekiel 27:14 .

Morrish Bible Dictionary

Son of Gomer, a son of Japheth, whose descendants probably settled in Armenia.  Genesis 10:3;  1 Chronicles 1:6;  Ezekiel 27:14;  Ezekiel 38:6 .

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Genesis 10:3 1 Chronicles 1:6 Ezekiel 38:6 Ezekiel 27:14

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Heb. Togarmah', תּוֹגִרְמָה [briefly תֹּגִרְמָה ,  Genesis 10:13], of uncertain derivation; Sept. Θοργαμά v.r. Θέργαμα , etc.; Vulg. Thogarma ) , third named of the three sons of Gomer (the son of Japheth), his brothers being Asbkenaz and Riphath ( Genesis 10:13; 1 Chronicles 1, 6) B.C. post 2513. The descendants of Togarmah are mentioned among the merchants who trafficked with Tyre, the house of Togarmah being said to trade "in its fairs with horses, and horsemen, and mules" ( Ezekiel 27:14). They are named with Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya as followers of Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, or, as it may be rendered (making the Hebrew Rosh. for chief, a proper name, as it is in the Sept. ῾Ρώς , and as the Jews say it ought to be rendered), the prince of Rosh or Russ, Meshech or Moshk, and Tubal or Tobolsk ( Ezekiel 38:5-6). supposed by some to mean the prince or power of Russia, the title of the emperor of Russia being prince or emperor of Russia, Moscow, and Tobolsk. Togarmah is said to be of the north quarters, and Gog is represented as a guard to it, possibly professing to guard. it, or offering to it a protectorate ( Ezekiel 38:7). The Jews say that by Togarmah, or the house of Togarmah, we are to understand the Turks. Torgama, therefore, as it is given in the Sept. (and in some Heb. MSS. תורגמה ), has been thought by many to mean Turkoman, or the Turkoman hordes from whom the Turks have sprung. Togarmah, however, as a geographical term, is connected with Armenia, and the subsequent notices of the name ( Ezekiel 27:14;  Ezekiel 38:6) accord with this view. Armenia was, according to Strabo (11, 13, 9, 529), distinguished by the production of good horses (comp, Xenoph. Anab. 4 :5, 24; Herod. 7:40). The countries of אררט , and מני ( Μινυάς ), and also הול , were contiguous to Togarmah (Josephus, Ant. 1, 1, 6).

The name itself may possibly -have reference to Armenia, for, according to Grimm (Gesch. d. deutsch. Spi-. 2, 825), Togarmah comes from the Sanskrit toka, "tribe," and Arma =Armenia, which he further connects with Hermino the son of Mannus. The most decisive statement respecting the ethnographic relation of the Armenians in ancient literature is furnished by Herodotus, who says that they were Phrygian colonists, that they were armed in the Phrygian fashion, and were associated with the Phrygians under the same commander (Herod. 7:73). The remark of Eudoxus (Steph. Byz. s.v. Ἀρμενία ) that the Armenians resemble the Phrygians in many respects in language ( Τῆ Φωνῇ Πολλὰ Φρυγίζουσι ) tends in the same direction. It is hardly necessary to understand the statement of Herodotus as implying more than a common origin of the two peoples; for, looking at the general westward progress of the: Japhetic races, and on the central position which Armenia held in regard to their movements, we should rather infer that Phrygia was colonized from Armeniat than Vice Versa-. The Phrygians were indeed reputed to have had their first settlements in Europe, and thence to have crossed into Asia (Herod. 7:73); but this musts be regarded as simply a retrograde movement of a section of the great Phrygian race in the direction of their original home. The period of this movement is fixed subsequently to the Trojan war (Strabo, 14:680),. whereas the Phrygians appear as an important race in; Asia Minor at a far earlier period (id. 7:321; Herod 7, 8, 11). There can be little doubt that they were once the dominant race in the peninsula, and that they: spread westward from the confines of Armenia to the-shores of the Aegean. The Phrygian language is undoubtedly to be classed with the Indo-European family. The resemblance between words in the Phrygian and Greek tongues was noticed by the Greeks themselves (Plato, Cratyl. p. 410), and the inscriptions still existing in the former are decidedly Indo-European. (Rawlinson, Herod. 1, 666). The Armenian language presents many peculiarities which distinguish it from other branches of the Indo-European family; but these may be accounted for partly by the physical character of the country, and partly by the large amount of foreign admixture that it has experienced. In spite of this, however, no hesitation is felt by philologists in placing Armenian among the Indo-European languages (Pott, Etym. Forsch. introd. p. 32; Diefenbach, Orig Europ. p. 43). With regard to the ancient inscriptions at Wan, some doubt exists; some of them, but apparently not the most ancient, are thought to bear a Tuiranian character (Layard, Nin and Bab. p. 402; Rawlinson, Herod. 1, 652); but, even. were this filly established, it fails to prove the Turanian character of the population, inasmuch as they may have been set up bforeign conquerors. The Armen'ians themselves haves associated the name of Togarmah with their early history in that they represent the founder of their race-. Haik, as a son of Thorgom (Moses Choren. 1, 4, 9-11. See Moses Chorenensis, Historiae Armen. lib. 3, Armenedidit, Lat. vert. notisque illustr W, et G. Whistonii [Lond. 1736]); Heeren, Ideen, 1, 1, 305; Michaelis, Spicilegium Geographie, 1, 67-78; Klaproth, Travels, 2, 64. (See Armaenia).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

tṓ - gar´ma ( תּגרמה , תּוגרמה , tōgharmāh  ; Θοργαμά , Thorgamá , Θεργαμά , Thergamá , Θυργαμά , Thurgamá , Θυργαβά , Thurgabá  ; Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) Thorgoma ):

1. Its Forms: A S uggested Identification:

The 3son of Gomer, and grandson of Japheth, his brothers being Ashkenaz and Riphath ( Genesis 10:3 ). The meaning of the name is doubtful. Grimm ( Gesch. deutsch. Sprache , II, 325) suggests Sanskr. toka , "tribe," and arma = Armenia. Etymological and other difficulties stand in the way of French Delitzsch's identification of Togarmah with the Assyrian Til - garimmu , "hill of Garimmu," or, possibly, "of the bone-heap," a fortress of Melitene, on the borders of Tabal (Tubal).

2. Probably Armenia or a Tract Connected Therewith:

In  Ezekiel 27:14 Togarmah is mentioned after Tubal, Javan and Mesech as supplying horses and mules to the Tyrians, and in   Ezekiel 38:6 it is said to have supplied soldiers to the army of Gog (Gyges of Lydia). In the Assyrian inscriptions horses came from Kûsu (neighborhoed of Cappadocia), Andia and Mannu, to the North of Assyria. Both Kiepert and Dillmann regard Togarmah as having been Southeastern Armenia, and this is at present the general opinion. The ancient identification of their country with Togarmah by the Armenians, though correct, is probably due to the Septuagint transposition of g and r ( Thorgamá for Togarmah ), which has caused them to see therein the name of Thorgom, father of Haik, the founder of their race ( Moses of Khor , I, 4, secs. 9-11).  Ezekiel 27:14 (Swete) alone has g before r  : Θαιγραμά , Thaigramá . The name "Armenia" dates from the 5th century BC. See Armenia; Table Of Nations .

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Togar´mah is the Hebrew name of Armenia. The Armenians consider themselves to be descended from Gomer, through Torgom, and therefore they call themselves the house of Torgom. The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah .

Armenia was, according to Strabo, distinguished by the production of good horses. This account harmonizes with the statement that the house of Togarmah traded in the fairs of Tyre in horses, and horsemen, and mules . The situation of Togarmah was north of Palestine: 'Gomer and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters' .