Bible Word Study
גֹּמֶר
Gômer · Gomer, the name of a son of Japheth and of his descendants; also of a Hebrewess
גֹּמֶר
Gomer, the name of a son of Japheth and of his descendants; also of a Hebrewess
Definition
Gomer is a proper name with two distinct referents in the Hebrew Bible. Primarily, it denotes a son of Japheth and the nation descended from him, listed among the peoples of the ancient world in the Table of Nations (Genesis 10:2-3, 1 Chronicles 1:5-6). This Gomer is often associated with the Cimmerians or other Anatolian peoples. Secondarily, Gomer is the name of the prophet Hosea's wife, a woman described as a 'wife of whoredom' whom God commands him to marry as a symbolic act (Hosea 1:3). In Ezekiel 38:6, 'Gomer' appears again as a nation, allied with Gog, representing a distant northern military power.
Biblical Usage
The name Gomer is used six times in the Old Testament. In genealogical contexts (Genesis 10:2-3, 1 Chronicles 1:5-6), it identifies a foundational ancestor and his clan. In prophetic literature, it functions symbolically: in Hosea 1:3, Gomer represents unfaithful Israel, and in Ezekiel 38:6, the nation of Gomer serves as an eschatological enemy from the north, allied against God's people.
Etymology
Derived from the root verb גָּמַר (gāmar, H1584), meaning 'to complete, bring to an end, or fail.' As a proper name, its connection to this root is likely not descriptive of character but may reflect a sense of 'completeness' or could be an adaptation of an existing ethnic name into Hebrew.
Semantic Range
Gomer is theologically significant in two ways. First, as a son of Japheth, Gomer represents the fulfillment of God's covenant with Noah to repopulate the earth (Genesis 9:1, 7). Second, and more prominently, Gomer the wife of Hosea becomes a central living metaphor for God's relationship with idolatrous Israel. Her name and story vividly illustrate divine grace, covenantal faithfulness despite betrayal, and the profound cost of redemption, themes central to the prophetic message and ultimately reflected in the New Testament gospel. As an ethnic name in the Table of Nations, 'Gomer' would have been understood by ancient Israelites as referring to a specific, likely Anatolian, people group known through trade or conflict (possibly the Cimmerians). As the name of Hosea's wife, it was a known Hebrew personal name, but its use in the prophetic narrative intentionally imbues it with symbolic meaning related to Israel's national identity and spiritual adultery. Yapheth (Japheth, H3315) — Gomer's father in the genealogical list. Yisra'el (Israel, H3478) — The nation symbolized by Gomer in the book of Hosea.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906, public domain). Concordance and morphology data are from the OSHB (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible).
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]