NAHUM

Michael J. Boyle

Author. Nahum is one of the Twelve Prophets (Minor Prophets) as well as part of the entire section of the Prophets. The author of this book is "Nahum" (Hb. nachum; 1:1), and his name means "comfort" or "consolation." The meaning of this prophet’s name is appropriate for his ministry to Judah because he brings words of comfort and promise that God remembers His people and is caring for them by judging Nineveh. Additionally, his name reminds Nineveh that they have no "nachum," no comfort, nor any "comforters" (Hb. menachamim from root n-ch-m) in their judgment (3:7).

Nahum does not appear anywhere else in the Bible. Other OT names that are from the same Hebrew root of Nahum are Nehemiah ("Yahweh comforts"), Nehum ("comfort," Neh 7:7), Nahamani ("merciful," Neh 7:7), Naham ("comfort," 1Ch 4:19), Tanhumeth ("consolation," Jr 40:8), and Menahum ("comforter," 2Kg 15:14).

Nahum is called "the Elkoshite," that is, he is from Elkosh. Several sites have been suggested for Elkosh in Assyria, Galilee, and Judah, but no consensus has emerged for the actual location of Elkosh.

Nahum has always been placed among the Prophets in both the Jewish canon (The Twelve in the Latter Prophets) and Christian canon (Minor Prophets or the prophetic books). As the prophets continued to bring words to Judah to repent and turn from their sin and back to the Lord, the kings and people for the most part refused. Even after the defeat and capture of the northern kingdom of Israel, the nation of Judah was primarily led by wicked and evil kings. Nahum offered the southern kingdom of Judah the hope of being delivered from the power of Assyria. He spoke in the same vein as the other prophets sent to Judah: God judges those who sin and His prophecies are true and will be fulfilled. Even as Judah watched the fulfillment of this judgment of Nineveh, the Lord’s warnings through Nahum’s prophecy did not bring them to repentance.

Date. Nahum 3:8 mentions the fall of Thebes ("No-amon"). This occurred in 663 BC. The fall of Nineveh prophesied in the book of Nahum occurred in 612 BC. Therefore, the prophecy was delivered and the book written sometime between 663 BC and 612 BC. The book identifies Nineveh at its height of power. Under the final years of the reign of Ashurbanipal (638–633 BC), Assyria was weakening and rapidly declined after his death in 633 BC. This narrows the period for writing the book to sometime between 663 and 639 BC. Walter A. Maier further dates the book between 663 and 654 BC because Thebes was rebuilt in 654 BC (Walter A. Maier, The Book of Nahum, Thornapple Commentaries [Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1980], 36).

Recipients. Although Nahum addressed his message against Nineveh, this must not be confused with the people for whom the book was ultimately written. The prophet’s words were addressed to Judah as a message of comfort, because during the time when Nahum’s prophecies were being delivered and written down, Judah was experiencing domination and oppression under the Assyrian Empire.

Theme. The theme of Nahum is found in the opening line of the book as "the oracle of Nineveh." The term "oracle" (Hb. massa) can be translated "burden" (from Hb. root n-s-’, "lift, carry, take"). The prophetic word that Nahum must carry certainly brings a weighty and burdensome message for Nineveh. As Nineveh’s brutal atrocities against nations multiplied, including the defeat of Israel and the subjugation of Judah, the "avenging" and ‘wrathful" God (1:2) promised to judge and destroy this wicked and rebellious empire. For God, the guilty will not go unpunished (v. 3). Alongside this judgment, Nahum weaves words of hope, promise, and refuge for Judah. The defeat of Nineveh will provide freedom and peace for Judah.

Purpose. The purpose of Nahum is to announce the fall and destruction of Nineveh and to offer comfort and consolation to Judah that God is in control and will remain faithful to His promises. Those promises are for a complete freedom from Nineveh forever (1:13, 15b), a reinvigorating practice of worship (v. 15a), and the restoring of Israel’s splendor (2:2) through the Messiah.

The book of Nahum does not exhibit any one clear literary structure on which all scholars agree. The themes and development of those themes are clear enough to see, but not an exact structure. Waylon Bailey has identified a structure built around the kind of language that Nahum uses in each chapter: "Chapter 1 uses hymnic and oracular language to describe the character of God. Chapter 2 uses oracular and battle description language to announce the Lord’s judgment on Nineveh. Chapter 3 uses the language of funeral woes and dirges along with historical comparison to pronounce death on Assyria" (Waylon Bailey, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture, NAC [Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1998], 151).

Contribution. The book of Nahum makes a significant contribution to the rest of the Bible by clarifying God’s perspective on wicked rulers and empires and the way He intends to deal with them. God’s people know that God is slow to anger and great in power (1:3; cf. Ex 34:6–7; Ps 103:8), but they are told that God in His time is an avenging and wrathful God (Nah 1:2). When the wicked prosper and expand in their power and influence, God is not blind to their crimes and brutality. The Lord will judge and destroy the wicked. He will wipe away their name, destroy their false religions, and put them in a grave because of the contemptible way they have treated people, nations, and God himself (1:14). God is sovereign and in control of all things that happen in this world (cf. 1:1–14).

Background. The book of Nahum is a prophecy against Nineveh. About 75 years before the events recorded in Nahum, the prophet Jonah was used by God to have a powerful ministry in that great city of the Assyrian Empire. But the results of Jonah’s preaching evidently wore off, and Nineveh slipped back into her former brutal, godless ways and once again faced the judgment of God.

Nineveh is first mentioned in the Bible when Nimrod, the son of Cush, built Nineveh (Gn 10:8–11). At the time of Nahum’s writing, Assyria had extended its power into Israel and Egypt and by then had afflicted Israel for many years. Tiglath-Pileser III (745–727 BC) invaded Israel during the reign of Menahem (752–742 BC) and extracted tribute (2Kg 15:19–22). In 731 BC, King Ahaz of Judah (732–715 BC) became a vassal of King Tiglath-Pileser (2Kg 16:7–9). Shalamaneser V (727–722 BC) defeated the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC (2Kg 18:9–10). In 701 BC, Sennacharib (704–681 BC) invaded the southern kingdom of Judah conquering cities and threatened Jerusalem during Hezekiah’s reign (728–687 BC; 2Kg 18:13–19:37). The Lord afflicted rebellious Judah by the army of Assyria, which resulted in the capture of King Manasseh (687–642 BC) because of his evil (2Ch 33:10–11). Ashurbanipal (669–633 BC) defeated Thebes in 663 BC. The Babylonians and Medes had an alliance that brought the siege and defeat of Nineveh in 612 BC. Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire and was one of the most brutal, powerful, and idolatrous empires in the ancient world (Nah 1:14; 3:1, 4).

Like other prophets, Nahum uses an oracular style with majestic poetry combining simile, metaphor, rhetorical questions, irony, assonance, alliteration, repetition, use of synonyms, and abrupt changes of person and number. In Richard Patterson’s estimation, "Nahum was the poet laureate among the Minor Prophets" (Richard D. Patterson, Nahum, WEC [Chicago: Moody, 1991], 10).

1:1. Nahum is the oracle of Nineveh, which signifies that this will be a weighty message upon the capital of Assyria. And this book is the vision received by the prophet, a divine communication by God to Nahum the Elkoshite.

God has the power to judge Nineveh and to bring a complete destruction upon the Assyrians. This destruction of Nineveh provides the framework for the promise to Judah of its freedom from Assyrian power.

1:2–3a. A theophany is an appearance of God to man. In this theophany God appears as a storm sweeping through His creation. He is introduced as God (used once in the book), which signifies that He is the mighty One with great strength, and He is the Lord (v. 2a), Yahweh (Hb. yhwh), the personal name of God and the One who has made a covenant with His people (yhwh is used 11 times in the book (vv. 2 [3 times], 3 [twice], 7, 9, 12, 14, 2:2, 13; see also 2:13; 3:5; and comments there). God will judge sin because He is jealous and is avenging and wrathful because He has a zeal for His honor and His people (v. 2b). Wrathful means that God reserves wrath for His enemies, and this implies that they will receive it. As a word to encourage God’s people, the Lord is described as slow to anger and great in power. He will certainly punish the guilty (v. 3a).

1:3b–5. As the theophany appeared, God descended as a great storm from the heavens. The power of God came in the whirlwind of a storm and His feet stirred up the clouds as dust (v. 3b). This powerful storm of God reminds His people of the waters of the Red Sea that the Lord "swept … back by a strong east wind all night" (Ex 14:21–22)—God rebuke[d] the sea and [made] it dry and [dried] up all the rivers. Just as God had "great power" over the Egyptians in the exodus (Ex 14:31), he had power over the surrounding areas of Judah that Nineveh currently controlled: Bashan, a fruitful land east of the Jordan River, Carmel, a mountain in the northern kingdom with gardens and fertile land, and Lebanon, the region along the northern border of Israel with its wooded forests (v. 4). These fertile and productive lands will be withered by the Lord. God in this powerful theophany transforms the mountains, hills, and the whole earth. In fact, this avenging powerful work of God affects all the inhabitants of the world (v. 5).

1:6. Answering the question of who can stand before God, the prophet stated that no one, not even Nineveh, can stand before His indignation and none can endure His burning anger. God’s fiery wrath will consume and devour everything in its path and break down every walled fortification of rocks.

1:7. The Lord’s people are reminded that the Lord is good. He will provide a stronghold, a place of safety and protection in the day of their trouble. And God has a personal knowledge of His people who flee to Him for protection: He knows those who take refuge in Him.

1:8. The contrast for those facing the judgment of God is that they will face an overflowing flood of judgment that will make a complete end of a city like Nineveh and bring about death for His enemies.

1:9–10. After demonstrating His power to judge, God addressed the one to be judged, which more than likely here refers to Nineveh. There is nothing that this city or nation can devise, imagine, or plan against the Lord because the Lord will terminate their plan and devastate their city. The distress they plan will not rise up twice, meaning that they will not be given a second chance (v. 9). Like thorns they cannot be untangled, they cannot sober up from their drunken state, and they cannot be rehydrated from their withered condition. As a result, they will be devoured and destroyed (v. 10).

1:11. This city or nation is identified as the one who sent out a wicked counselor and who plotted evil against the Lord. This ambassador of evil is identified with Assyria and King Sennacharib and his brutality against Judah (see 2Kg 18:13, 26–19:37).

1:12–13. The Lord assured Judah that even though Nineveh is powerful with its large army, Nineveh will be cut off and destroyed (v. 12a). Then He promised His people that soon their oppression will end and the Lord will break into pieces the iron rod of Nineveh. The Lord will give Judah freedom by tear[ing] off the shackles of Nineveh (vv. 12b–13).

1:14. The promise given to Judah is certain because the Lord … issued a command, giving His word concerning Nineveh’s certain judgment. There will be an end to Nineveh’s name. Their idol[s], image[s] and temples will be eliminated and destroyed. The reason for this total destruction is because God considered Nineveh contemptible. He deemed it so because of the city’s disregard of God’s sovereignty as "the Lord of hosts" (2:13; 3:5; see comments there) and its ruthless treatment of people (3:1).

1:15. The coming judgment of Nineveh led Nahum to declare, Behold—an admonition to pay attention. Nahum’s admonition and commands are spoken as if the destruction of Nineveh had already occurred, although it was yet to happen in the future. From the mountains surrounding Judah came an announce[ment] of good news. Assyria had been destroyed, and these words brought hope and peace (Hb. shalom) to God’s people. This peace provided a renewed worship for Judah and a rest from war. Judah is commanded to once again engage in their full worship of the Lord by celebrat[ing] their feasts and pay[ing] their vows. And the nation of Israel is promised that Nineveh will never again attack or subjugate Judah because they will be completely destroyed.

Nahum envisioned an aerial view of the destruction of Nineveh. From a distance, the advancing army would come to assault Nineveh, overcome the Assyrian army, and capture the city. Then in the selfsame Assyrian pattern of warfare, the victorious army would plunder the wealth and treasure of Nineveh. Finally, the city would be humiliated by the taunt of Nahum and the words of the Lord of hosts.

2:1. Nineveh will be scattered by the one who scatters. This speaks of the Lord who will scatter and destroy Nineveh, and it may also refer to Babylon and the Medes when they come up against Nineveh and defeat her. For this battle, the Ninevites are commanded to stand on the walls of the fortress, to keep an eye on the road[s] leading to the city, and to strengthen their back[s], which can mean "stand strong" or it may indicate that one should "put on armor and be courageous." These commands are not words of encouragement or hope but are intended as irony that taunts the Ninevites in their futile efforts to avoid defeat.

2:2. When the Lord defeats Nineveh, it will be because He intends to restore the splendor, majesty, pride, and exaltation of Jacob (perhaps a reference to the southern kingdom of Judah) like the former splendor of Israel (perhaps a reference to the northern kingdom of Israel) before it was defeated and scattered in 722 BC by Assyria. With Nineveh’s defeat, Judah is envisioned as being restored to enjoy renewed peace, freedom, and prosperity in the land. With the plural use of them and their, this also envisions a promise for both Judah and Israel of future exaltation in the millennial kingdom that will be established by the Messiah. This future exaltation and splendor of Israel is set in contrast to the devastators or plunderers who will take everything from Nineveh and destroy their fertile land.

2:3–4. Now Nahum writes in the historical present tense. The assaulting army approaches from a distance and is made up of warriors dressed in scarlet battle garb and carrying red shields. The red could be a rubbed on red color, the copper color of a shield, or blood signifying a battle-experienced army. Its warriors ride in chariots of steel that glisten in the sun. When the troops are mustered and prepared for battle, soldiers shake their spears when they attack (v. 3). When they break through the city walls, the chariots race madly and rush wildly through the streets and town squares, creating chaos, confusion, and disorder. They are moving with such quickness and speed that they are like flashes of lightning (v. 4).

2:5. The Ninevites attempt to resist the onslaught, with their king recalling his military and community leaders to defend the city. But they are so disoriented and confused that their efforts resemble someone stumbl[ing] in their attempt to march. However, they are able to hurry and get to the wall; yet already the mantelet is set up outside, a defensive large shield or portable shelter that protects those besieging the city from rocks or other debris the Ninevites throw down at the invading soldiers (cf. Ps 140:7).

2:6. Nahum prophesied that the fall of Nineveh will be from the flooding of rivers that damage and destroy the palace (cf. 1:8; 2:8). "Diodorus wrote that in the third year of the siege heavy rains caused a nearby river to flood part of the city and break part of the walls.… Xenophon referred to terrifying thunder (presumably with a storm) associated with the city’s capture" (Elliot E. Johnson, "Nahum," in BKCOT, ed. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck [Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985], 1495). This historical record attests to the fulfillment of Nahum’s prophecy.

2:7. The Lord has determined and fixed the certainty of Nineveh’s defeat. This will occur when the city is stripped of all her possessions and is carried away into captivity. The leaders and servants of the city, likened to handmaids, will weep and grieve their losses.

2:8–9. Nineveh had been a reservoir of the spoils and possessions from other conquered nations. Now, In fear of dying, the people of Nineveh are fleeing the city and a cry goes out, Stop, stop, but no one turns back (v. 8). Another cry is heard by the attackers, Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! Indeed, for the attackers, there is no limit to the treasure and wealth of Nineveh (v. 9). The Babylonian Chronicle, a clay tablet inscribed with cuneiform, describes the spoils taken in the sacking of Nineveh as "a quantity beyond counting" (Hermann J. Austel, "Nahum," BCB, ed. Walter A. Elwell [Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1989], 663).

2:10. When the plundering is complete, the chants arise: "Nineveh is emptied! Nineveh is desolate and lies wast[ed]! The Ninevites are completely crushed with melting hearts, knocking knees, pale faces, and a trembling of fear throughout the whole body.

2:11–12. In response to the pending capture, plundering, and evacuation of Nineveh, Nahum offered a taunt or song of mockery over the defeated city of Nineveh. Nahum asked, Where is the den of the lions? The lion’s den provides a feeding place for the young lions and is the place that the lion family can prowl about where no one can disturb them (v. 11). This imagery of the lion evokes the way the kings of Nineveh portrayed themselves in reliefs of lions depicted on palace walls and elsewhere throughout the city. For Nineveh, the great den is the palace, and the lion, lioness[es], and cub[s] are the king, queen (and concubines), and their offspring. Now the city is bereft of its lions. Nineveh’s brutality is described as being like a lion, kill[ing] its prey and tearing its flesh (v. 12). Nineveh exhibited a cruel, ruthless, vicious, ferocious, and inhuman conquest of people and nations (cf. Erika Bleibtreu, "Grisly Assyrian Record of Torture and Death," BAR 17, no. 1 [January/February 1991]: 52–61, 75).

2:13. Pay attention! The One leading the charge of the army of God, the Lord of hosts (Hb. yhwh tseba’ot; also in 3:5), here makes His first declaration against Nineveh. He declares that He is against Nineveh, and as a result He will destroy its army, kill the royal family, free their captives, and silence their voice in Judah and in this world (cf. 2Kg 18:17, 28).

Nahum has traced the certainty and description of Nineveh’s destruction. He concludes that the city’s destruction will be complete. Nineveh is a nation deserving of God’s judgment and will be disgraced by nations, defeated like Thebes, and abandoned by its leaders.

3:1. Woe is an interjection of lamentation. In the prophets, it often involves "negative warnings or threats of God’s physical chastisement" (Carl Philip Weber, "hoy," in TWOT, vol. 1, ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke [Chicago: Moody, 1999], 212). The first reason for God’s judgment is the warlike nature of Nineveh. The city is described as bloodthirsty with war and death. It is completely full of lies, dealing in treachery, robbery, and deception. Nineveh was a city of pillage and plundering, where owners were parted from their property and the city’s enemies were brutally killed.

3:2–3. Nineveh’s warlike nature will ultimately lead to its defeat, a downfall described as a battle. The great city’s fall will begin with the crack of the whip, the rumbling of the chariots, the horses kicking up the dust, and the chariots flying through the air over the corpses and debris on the ground (v. 2). The battle will escalate with horsemen charging, wielding swords, thrusting spears, and killing many. There will be a mass of corpses, countless dead bodies, and the attackers will stumble over the dead bodies (v. 3)!

3:4. The phrase all because of introduces the second reason for Nineveh’s destruction—she led people into false and faithless religion. Called the charming one, Nineveh played the harlot and led people away from the truth. She enticed them into Nineveh’s sorceries and witchcraft and betrayed nations and families by forcing upon them her wicked culture and lifestyle. Nineveh engaged in black magic by using unholy means to deny the sovereignty of God and thereby attempted to determine the future for its own benefit. Through its harlotries, Nineveh attracted and enticed the nations, and through her sorceries and witchcraft she enslaved the nations.

3:5–6. The Lord of hosts (Hb. yhwh tseba’ot) here makes another declaration against Nineveh (cf. 2:13). His actions against Nineveh will demonstrate the disgrace, humiliation, shame, degradation, and ignominy that Nineveh deserves.

3:7. When people see the destruction of Nineveh, they will step back and shout, Nineveh is devastated! And with two questions the Lord assured Nineveh that no one will grieve for her and no comforters (Hb. menachamim from root n-ch-m) will be found for the city. The Hebrew word for comfort is nachum. The Lord had promised the people of Judah comfort through Nahum, yet there is no "nachum" for Nineveh (see "Author" in Introduction).

3:8–10. No-amon is the city of Thebes in Egypt. It was conquered by Assyria in 663 BC. Thebes was on the Nile River with canals and channels throughout the city. The city’s shoreline provided a water wall for defense and protection. Thebes’ allies were Ethiopia (southernmost region in modern Egypt and northern Sudan, not the modern Ethiopia), Egypt, Put (northern Africa, roughly in modern Libya), and Lubim (northern Africa west of Egypt in modern Libya; v. 9). Yet even with these powerful allies, Thebes became an exile and went into captivity. Her infants were killed, and her men of leadership and the military were sold and bound as slaves (v. 10).

3:11–15a. The text shifts to the future tense, describing the defeat Nineveh will face. Like Thebes, Nineveh will become drunk with her own pride and arrogance (v. 11). When her attackers come, there will be no help or refuge (Hb. ma‘oz, used of God in Ps. 31:2, 4; 37:39, Nah 1:7). Nineveh’s defenses and fortifications will be like ripe fruit. When Nineveh is shaken, she will fall into the hands of her attackers like a ripe fig that fall[s] into a hungry person’s mouth (v. 12). Behold ("take note") that the men and troops of the city will abandon their responsibilities, and the gates of the city will be opened wide, allowing her enemies to enter (v. 13). Commands will be shouted to the Ninevites to draw … water to put out the fires as well as to strengthen the crumbling fortifications! They will strengthen the fortifications by making brick[s] with the clay … mortar … and mold[s] (v. 14). Nevertheless, the people will be killed by fire and sword and will be completely destroyed and devastated (v. 15a).

3:15b. It is unclear whether Nahum is telling those who attack Nineveh to multiply themselves or if this is directed to the Ninevites. If the command is directed to the Ninevites, the prophet is using irony. Nineveh cannot increase and multiply its troops because of the internal collapse of leadership. If the command is directed to the attackers, it assures them that they will overwhelm Nineveh and be victorious. However, in light of Nahum’s previous use of irony (see 2:1) and the internal collapse of military and community leaders, more likely Nahum is taunting the Ninevites by telling them to multiply themselves. In either case, the outcome is the same—Nineveh will be destroyed. In these verses, the NASB identifies the creeping locust as the caterpillar stage of the locust and the swarming locust as the flying locust.

3:16–18. Nineveh’s final defeat will be the internal collapse of the nation. Its leaders will fail in their responsibilities and abandon the city (cf. v. 13). The merchants who have multiplied more than the stars of heaven with the city’s growing economy will flee the city with their profits (v. 16). The guardsmen (the meaning of the word is uncertain) and marshals (city officials) will wait for the right cue, and then they too will flee the city, and no one know[s] where they will go (v. 17). Even the leaders, ironically called shepherds, who are supposed to lead, teach, and care for the people, will be sleeping (a dereliction of duty). This "oracle of Nineveh" (1:1) is finally addressed to the king of Assyria. He will be abandoned by all his leaders and rulers. The people will have scattered and left the city. And the king will be told, there is no one to regather the beaten, broken, and scattered people of Nineveh (v. 18).

3:19. In Nineveh’s complete defeat, there is no relief, no cure, no respect, and no help. No one will come to their aid because Nineveh brought so much evil to this world.

The book of Nahum demonstrates the certainty of God’s judgment of evil and wicked nations that ruthlessly and treacherously oppress people, especially God’s people Israel. These nations will face the vengeance of God and find no comfort. Yet for the people of God who suffer and are oppressed, they are promised hope, help, and comfort as they wait for the Lord’s vengeance. Nahum echoes the words of Moses "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you" (Dt 31:6).