Reference: Nahum (2)
Fausets
consolation and "vengeance", to Israel and Israel's foe respectively. The two themes alternate in Nahum 1; as the prophecy advances, vengeance on Assyria predominates.
Country. "The Elkoshite" (Na 1:1), from Elkosh or Elkesi a village of Galilee pointed out to Jerome (Preface in Nahum). Capernaum, "village of Nahum," seemingly takes its name from Nahum having resided in the neighbourhood, though born in Elkosh. The allusions in Nahum indicate local acquaintance with Palestine (Na 1:4,15; 2:2) and only general knowledge of Nineveh (Na 2:4-6; 3:2-3). This confutes the notion that the Alkush (resembling the name Elkosh), E. of the Tigris and N. of Mosul, is Nahum's place of birth and of burial, though Jewish pilgrims visit it as such.
DATE. Hezekiah's time was that in which trust in Jehovah and the observance of the temple feasts prevailed as they did not before or after. So in Na 1:7,15, "Jehovah is a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth (with approval) them that trust in Him ... O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts." Moreover Nahum has none of the reproofs for national apostasy which abound in the other prophets. Nahum in Elkosh of Galilee was probably among those of northern Israel, after the deportation of the ten tribes, who accepted Hezekiah's earnest invitation to keep the Passover at Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 30). His graphic description of Sennacherib and his army (2Ch 1:9-12) makes it likely he was near or in Jerusalem at the time.
Hence, the number of phrases corresponding to those of Isaiah (Na 1:8-9, compare Isa 8:8; 10:23; Na 2:10 with Isa 24:1; 21:3; Na 1:15 with Isa 52:7). The prophecy in Na 1:14, "I will make it (namely, 'the house of thy gods,' i.e. Nisroch) thy grave," foretells Sennacherib's murder 20 years after his return from Palestine, "as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god" (Isa 37:38). He writes while Assyria's power was yet unbroken (Na 1:12; 2:11-13; 3:1, "the bloody city, full of lies ... the prey departeth not": Na 3:15-17). The correspondence of sentiments in Nahum with those of Isaiah and Hezekiah implies he wrote when Sennacherib was still besieging and demanding the surrender of Jerusalem (Na 1:2 ff, with 2Ki 19:14-15; Na 1:7 with 2Ki 18:22; 19:19,31; 2Ch 32:7-8; Na 1:9,11 with 2Ki 19:22,27-28; Na 1:14 with 2Ki 19:6-7; Na 1:15 and Na 2:1-2 with 2Ki 19:32-33; Na 2:13, "the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard," namely, Rabshakeh the bearer of Sennacherib's haughty message, with 2Ki 19:22-23).
The historical facts presupposed in Nahum are Judah's and Israel's humiliation by Assyria (Na 2:2); the invasion of Judah (Na 1:9-11); the conquest of No-Amon or Thebes in Upper Egypt, probably by Sargon (Isaiah 20) who, fearing lest Egypt should join Palestine against him, undertook an expedition against it, 717-715 B.C. (Na 3:8-10). Tiglath Pileser and Shalmaneser had carried away Israel. Judah was harassed by Syria, and oppressed by Ahaz's payments to Tiglath Pileser (2 Chronicles 28; Isaiah 8-9). As Nahum refers in part prophetically to Sennacherib's (Sargon's successor) last attempt on Judah ending in his host's destruction, in part as matter of history (Na 1:9-13; 2:13), he must have prophesied about 713-710 B.C., 100 years before the event foretold, namely, the overthrow of Nineveh by the joint forces of Cyaxares and Nabopolassar in the reign of Chyniladanus, 625 or else 603 B.C.
The name "Huzzab" (Na 2:7) answers to Adiabene, from the Zab or Diab river on which that region lay; a personification of Assyria, and seems to be an Assyrian word. So the original words, minzaraik, taphsarika, for "crowned" or "princes" (Na 3:17) and "captains" or "satraps" (also in Jer 51:27); contact with Assyria brought in these words. Na 2:13, "the faces gather blackness," corresponds to Isa 13:8; Joe 2:6; Joel is probably the original. Na 1:6 with Joe 2:7; Am 2:14; Na 1:3 with Joe 2:13; the mourning dove, Na 2:7, with Isa 38:14; the first ripe figs, Na 3:12, with Isa 28:4; Na 3:13 with Isa 19:16; Na 3:4 with Isa 23:15; Na 2:4-5,13 with Isa 22:7; 36:9; Mic 1:13; 5:10.
The Assyrians, by just retribution, in turn should experience themselves what they caused to Israel and Judah (compare also Na 1:3 with Jon 4:2; Na 1:13 with Isa 10:26-27; Na 1:8 with Isa 10:21-22; 8:8; Na 1:9,11 with Isa 37:23; Na 3:10 with Isa 13:16; Na 2:2 with Isa 24:1; Na 3:5 with Isa 47:2-3; Na 3:7 with Isa 51:19). Plainly, Nahum is the last of the prophets of the Assyrian period. Jeremiah borrows from, and so stamps with inspiration, Nahum (Jer 10:19 compare Na 3:19; Jer 13:26 compare Na 3:5; Jer 50:37; 51:30, compare Na 3:13). Nahum is seventh in position in the canon, and seventh in date.
Subject matter. "The burden of Nineveh." The three chapters form one consecutive whole, remarkable for unity of aim. Nahum encourages his countrymen with the assurance that, alarming as their position seemed, assailed by the mighty foe which had already carried captive the ten tribes, yet that not only should the Assyrian fail against Jerusalem, but Nineveh and his own empire should fall; and this not by chance, but by Jehovah's judgment for their iniquities.
STYLE. Clear and forcible. Several phases of an idea are presented in the briefest sentences; as in the sublime description of God in the beginning, the overthrow of Nineveh, and that of No Amon. Melting softness and delicacy alternate with rhythmical, sonorous, and majestic diction, according as the subject requires; the very sound of the words conveys to the ear the sense (Na 2:4; 3:3). Paronomasia or verbal assonance is another feature of likeness to Isaiah, besides those already mentioned (Na 1:3,6,10; 2:2-3,11; 3:2).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And if ye say to me, We rely upon Jehovah our God: is it not he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?
And Isaiah said to them, Thus shall ye say to your master: Thus saith Jehovah: Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will put a spirit into him, and he shall hear tidings, and shall return to his own land; and I will make him to fall by the sword in his own land.
And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up into the house of Jehovah, and spread it before Jehovah. And Hezekiah prayed before Jehovah and said, Jehovah, God of Israel, who sittest between the cherubim, thou, the Same, thou alone art the God of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made the heavens and the earth.
And now, Jehovah our God, I beseech thee, save us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou, Jehovah, art God, thou only.
Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted the voice? Against the Holy one of Israel hast thou lifted up thine eyes on high.
Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted the voice? Against the Holy one of Israel hast thou lifted up thine eyes on high. By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots have I come up To the height of the mountain, to the recesses of Lebanon, And I will cut down its tall cedars, the choice of its cypresses; And I will enter into its furthest lodging-place, into the forest of its fruitful field.
But I know thine abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, And thy raging against me. Because thy raging against me and thine arrogance is come up into mine ears, I will put my ring in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, And I will make thee go back by the way by which thou camest.
For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, And out of mount Zion they that escape: The zeal of Jehovah of hosts shall do this. Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow there, Nor come before it with shield, Nor cast a bank against it. read more. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, And shall not come into this city, saith Jehovah.
Now, Jehovah Elohim, let thy word unto David my father be firm; for thou hast made me king over a people numerous as the dust of the earth. Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this thy great people? read more. And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thy heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of them that hate thee, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked for thyself wisdom and knowledge, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king: wisdom and knowledge are granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches and wealth and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall any after thee have the like.
and he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow it and go further, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel!
and he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow it and go further, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel!
The remnant shall return, the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them shall return: the consumption determined shall overflow in righteousness. read more. For a consumption, and one determined, will the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, accomplish in the midst of all the land.
And Jehovah of hosts will stir up a scourge against him, according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; and his rod shall be upon the sea, and he will lift it up after the manner of Egypt. And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck; and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing. ...
and they shall be terrified: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them, they shall writhe as a woman that travaileth; they shall be amazed one at another, their faces shall be as flames.
And their infants shall be dashed in pieces before their eyes, their houses shall be rifled, and their women ravished.
In that day shall Egypt be like unto women; and it shall tremble and fear because of the shaking of the hand of Jehovah of hosts, which he shaketh over it.
Therefore are my loins filled with pain; anguish hath taken hold upon me, as the anguish of a woman in travail: I am bowed down so as not to hear, I am dismayed so as not to see.
And it shall come to pass that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it shall be for Tyre as the harlot's song.
Behold, Jehovah maketh the land empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad its inhabitants.
Behold, Jehovah maketh the land empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad its inhabitants.
and the fading flower of his glorious adornment which is on the head of the fat valley shall be like an early fig before the summer: as soon as he that seeth it perceiveth it, scarcely is it in his hand, he swalloweth it down.
How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants? And thou reliest upon Egypt for chariots and for horsemen!
Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted the voice? Against the Holy One of Israel hast thou lifted up thine eyes on high.
And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.
Like a swallow or a crane, so did I chatter; I mourned as a dove; mine eyes failed with looking upward: Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me.
Take the millstones, and grind meal; remove thy veil, lift up the train, uncover the leg, pass over rivers: thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will meet none to stay me. ...
These two things are come unto thee; who will bemoan thee? desolation and destruction, and famine and sword: how shall I comfort thee?
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that announceth glad tidings, that publisheth peace; that announceth glad tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
Woe is me, for my wound! My stroke is hard to heal, and I had said, Yea, this is my grief, and I will bear it.
Therefore will I also turn thy skirts over thy face, and thy shame shall be seen.
the sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her, and they shall become as women; the sword is upon her treasures, and they shall be robbed:
Lift up a banner in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare nations against her; call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the bristly caterpillars.
The mighty men of Babylon have ceased to fight, they are sitting in the fortresses; their might hath failed, they are become as women: they have set her dwelling places on fire; her bars are broken.
Before them the peoples are in anguish: all faces turn pale. They run like mighty men; they climb the wall like men of war; and they march every one on his ways, and break not their ranks.
and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto Jehovah your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving-kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
And flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver his soul.
And he prayed unto Jehovah, and said, Ah, Jehovah, was not this my saying when I was yet in my country? Therefore I was minded to flee at first unto Tarshish; for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving-kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
Bind the chariot to the swift steed, O inhabitress of Lachish: she was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion; for in thee were found the transgressions of Israel.
And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots.
The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. A jealous and avenging God is Jehovah: an avenger is Jehovah, and full of fury: Jehovah taketh vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. read more. Jehovah is slow to anger, and great in power, and doth not at all clear the guilty: Jehovah, his way is in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
Jehovah is slow to anger, and great in power, and doth not at all clear the guilty: Jehovah, his way is in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
Jehovah is slow to anger, and great in power, and doth not at all clear the guilty: Jehovah, his way is in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.
Who shall stand before his indignation? and who shall abide in the fierceness of his anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by him.
Who shall stand before his indignation? and who shall abide in the fierceness of his anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by him. Jehovah is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.
Jehovah is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. But with an overrunning flood he will make a full end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
But with an overrunning flood he will make a full end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies. What do ye imagine against Jehovah? He will make a full end: trouble shall not rise up the second time.
What do ye imagine against Jehovah? He will make a full end: trouble shall not rise up the second time.
What do ye imagine against Jehovah? He will make a full end: trouble shall not rise up the second time.
What do ye imagine against Jehovah? He will make a full end: trouble shall not rise up the second time.
What do ye imagine against Jehovah? He will make a full end: trouble shall not rise up the second time. Though they be tangled together as thorns, and be as drenched from their drink, they shall be devoured as dry stubble, completely.
Though they be tangled together as thorns, and be as drenched from their drink, they shall be devoured as dry stubble, completely.
Though they be tangled together as thorns, and be as drenched from their drink, they shall be devoured as dry stubble, completely. Out of thee is gone forth one that imagineth evil against Jehovah, a wicked counsellor.
Out of thee is gone forth one that imagineth evil against Jehovah, a wicked counsellor.
Out of thee is gone forth one that imagineth evil against Jehovah, a wicked counsellor.
Out of thee is gone forth one that imagineth evil against Jehovah, a wicked counsellor. Thus saith Jehovah: Though they be complete in number, and many as they be, even so shall they be cut down, and he shall pass away; and though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more.
Thus saith Jehovah: Though they be complete in number, and many as they be, even so shall they be cut down, and he shall pass away; and though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more. And now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds asunder.
And now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds asunder. And Jehovah hath given commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy god will I cut off the graven image, and the molten image: I will prepare thy grave; for thou art vile.
And Jehovah hath given commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy god will I cut off the graven image, and the molten image: I will prepare thy grave; for thou art vile. Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth glad tidings, that publisheth peace! Celebrate thy feasts, Judah, perform thy vows: for the wicked one shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth glad tidings, that publisheth peace! Celebrate thy feasts, Judah, perform thy vows: for the wicked one shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth glad tidings, that publisheth peace! Celebrate thy feasts, Judah, perform thy vows: for the wicked one shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth glad tidings, that publisheth peace! Celebrate thy feasts, Judah, perform thy vows: for the wicked one shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
He that dasheth in pieces is come up against thy face: keep the fortress, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily. For Jehovah hath brought again the glory of Jacob, as the glory of Israel; for the wasters have wasted them, and marred their vine-branches.
For Jehovah hath brought again the glory of Jacob, as the glory of Israel; for the wasters have wasted them, and marred their vine-branches.
For Jehovah hath brought again the glory of Jacob, as the glory of Israel; for the wasters have wasted them, and marred their vine-branches.
For Jehovah hath brought again the glory of Jacob, as the glory of Israel; for the wasters have wasted them, and marred their vine-branches.
For Jehovah hath brought again the glory of Jacob, as the glory of Israel; for the wasters have wasted them, and marred their vine-branches. The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots glitter with the sheen of steel, in the day of his preparation, and the spears are brandished. read more. The chariots rush madly in the streets, they justle one against another in the broad ways: the appearance of them is like torches, they run like lightnings.
The chariots rush madly in the streets, they justle one against another in the broad ways: the appearance of them is like torches, they run like lightnings.
The chariots rush madly in the streets, they justle one against another in the broad ways: the appearance of them is like torches, they run like lightnings. He bethinketh him of his nobles: they stumble in their march; they make haste to the wall thereof, and the shelter is prepared.
He bethinketh him of his nobles: they stumble in their march; they make haste to the wall thereof, and the shelter is prepared. The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace melteth away. read more. And it is decreed: she shall be uncovered, she shall be led away, and her maids shall moan as with the voice of doves, drumming upon their breasts.
And it is decreed: she shall be uncovered, she shall be led away, and her maids shall moan as with the voice of doves, drumming upon their breasts.
She is empty, and void, and waste; and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and writhing pain is in all loins, and all their faces grow pale. Where is now the den of the lions, and the feeding-place of the young lions, where the lion, the lioness, and the lion's whelp walked, and none made them afraid?
Where is now the den of the lions, and the feeding-place of the young lions, where the lion, the lioness, and the lion's whelp walked, and none made them afraid? The lion tore in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin. read more. Behold, I am against thee, saith Jehovah of hosts: and I will burn her chariots into smoke; and the sword shall devour thy young lions, and I will cut off thy prey from the earth; and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.
Behold, I am against thee, saith Jehovah of hosts: and I will burn her chariots into smoke; and the sword shall devour thy young lions, and I will cut off thy prey from the earth; and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.
Behold, I am against thee, saith Jehovah of hosts: and I will burn her chariots into smoke; and the sword shall devour thy young lions, and I will cut off thy prey from the earth; and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.
Behold, I am against thee, saith Jehovah of hosts: and I will burn her chariots into smoke; and the sword shall devour thy young lions, and I will cut off thy prey from the earth; and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.
Behold, I am against thee, saith Jehovah of hosts: and I will burn her chariots into smoke; and the sword shall devour thy young lions, and I will cut off thy prey from the earth; and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.
Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and violence; the prey departeth not. The crack of the whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the prancing horses, and of the bounding chariots!
The crack of the whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the prancing horses, and of the bounding chariots! The horseman springing up, and the glitter of the sword, and the flash of the spear, and a multitude of slain, and a mass of carcases, and no end of corpses: they stumble over their corpses.
The horseman springing up, and the glitter of the sword, and the flash of the spear, and a multitude of slain, and a mass of carcases, and no end of corpses: they stumble over their corpses. Because of the multitude of the fornications of the well-favoured harlot, mistress of sorceries, that selleth nations through her fornications, and families through her sorceries, read more. behold, I am against thee, saith Jehovah of hosts; and I will uncover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.
behold, I am against thee, saith Jehovah of hosts; and I will uncover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.
And it shall come to pass, that all they that see thee shall flee from thee, and shall say, Nineveh is laid waste! Who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee? Art thou better than No-Amon, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about her, whose rampart was the sea, and of the sea was her wall? read more. Ethiopia was her strength, and Egypt, and it was infinite; Phut and the Libyans were her helpers. She too was carried away, she went into captivity: her infants also were dashed in pieces, at the top of all the streets; and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound with chains.
She too was carried away, she went into captivity: her infants also were dashed in pieces, at the top of all the streets; and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound with chains.
All thy strongholds are like fig-trees with the first-ripe figs: if they be shaken, they even fall into the mouth of the eater. Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are as women: the gates of thy land are set wide open unto thine enemies; the fire devoureth thy bars.
Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are as women: the gates of thy land are set wide open unto thine enemies; the fire devoureth thy bars.
There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off; it shall devour thee like the cankerworm. Make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locust. Thou hast multiplied thy merchants more than the stars of the heavens; the cankerworm spreadeth himself out and flieth away. read more. Thy chosen men are as the locusts, and thy captains as swarms of grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day: when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.
Thy chosen men are as the locusts, and thy captains as swarms of grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day: when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.
There is no healing of thy breach; thy wound is grievous; all that hear the report of thee clap the hands over thee; for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?