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
But if ye say to me, We trust in the LORD our God: is not that he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said 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 the LORD, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumor, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause 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 the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, who dwellest between the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.
Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only.
Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thy eyes on high: even against the Holy One of Israel.
Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thy eyes on high: even against the Holy One of Israel. By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the hight of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down its tall cedar trees, and its choice fir trees: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel.
But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into my ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.
For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape from mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this. Therefore thus saith the LORD 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 the LORD.
Now, O LORD God, let thy promise to David my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. 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 honor, nor the life of thy enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king: Wisdom and knowledge are granted to thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honor, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like.
And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the extension of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the extension of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. read more. For the Lord GOD of hosts will make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.
And the LORD of hosts will raise up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he 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 afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be plundered, and their wives ravished.
In that day shall Egypt be like women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which he shaketh over it.
Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it.
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: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as a harlot.
Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad its inhabitants.
Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad its inhabitants.
And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the early fruit before the summer; which, when he that looketh upon it, seeth while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.
How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed; and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted thy eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel.
And it came to pass, as he was worshiping 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 Armenia: and Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead.
Like a crane or a swallow, so I chattered: I mourned as a dove: my eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me.
Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yes, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.
These two things have come to thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee?
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith to Zion, Thy God reigneth!
Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.
A 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: a sword is upon her treasures; and they shall be robbed.
Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillars.
The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwelling-places; her bars are broken.
Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:
And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn to the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth of the evil.
Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself:
And he prayed to the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before to Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest of the evil.
O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee.
And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, 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, God is jealous, and the LORD avengeth; the LORD avengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. read more. The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way 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 can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.
Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him. The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.
The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. But with an over-running flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
But with an over-running flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies. What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.
What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.
What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.
What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.
What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time. For while they are folded together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.
For while they are folded together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.
For while they are folded together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry. There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counselor.
There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counselor.
There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counselor.
There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counselor. Thus saith the LORD; Though they are quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more.
Thus saith the LORD; Though they are quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more. For now I will break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds asunder.
For now I will break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds asunder. And the LORD hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make thy grave; for thou art vile.
And the LORD hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make thy grave; for thou art vile. Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily. For the LORD hath turned away the excellence of Jacob, as the excellence of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches.
For the LORD hath turned away the excellence of Jacob, as the excellence of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches.
For the LORD hath turned away the excellence of Jacob, as the excellence of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches.
For the LORD hath turned away the excellence of Jacob, as the excellence of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches.
For the LORD hath turned away the excellence of Jacob, as the excellence of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches. The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir-trees shall be terribly shaken. read more. The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall jostle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings.
The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall jostle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings.
The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall jostle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings. He shall recount his worthies: they shall stumble in their walk; they shall make haste to the wall thereof, and the defense shall be prepared.
He shall recount his worthies: they shall stumble in their walk; they shall make haste to the wall thereof, and the defense shall be prepared. The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved. read more. And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts.
And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts.
She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness. Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the feeding-place of the young lions, where the lion, even the old lion, walked, and the lion's whelp, and none made them afraid?
Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the feeding-place of the young lions, where the lion, even the old lion, walked, and the lion's whelp, 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 the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the 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 the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the 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 the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the 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 the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the 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 the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the 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 robberies; the prey departeth not; The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the prancing horses, and of the bounding chariots.
The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the prancing horses, and of the bounding chariots. The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword, and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcasses; and there is no end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:
The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword, and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcasses; and there is no end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses: Because of the multitude of the lewd deeds of the well-favored harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her lewd deeds, and families through her witchcrafts. read more. Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will remove thy skirts upon thy face, and I will show the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.
Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will remove thy skirts upon thy face, and I will show the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.
And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her; whence shall I seek comforters for thee? Art thou better than populous No, that was situated among the rivers, that had the waters around it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea? read more. Cush and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers. Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honorable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.
Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honorable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.
All thy strong holds shall be like fig-trees with the first ripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater. Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open to thy enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars.
Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open to thy enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars.
There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the canker-worm: make thyself many as the canker-worm, make thyself many as the locusts. Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the canker-worm spoileth, and flieth away. read more. Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which settle in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.
Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which settle in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.
There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the fame of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?