Punishment for Judah Ends as Punishment for Her Foe Begins (1:12–13)

Allies (1:12). According to the Babylonian Chronicle, Egypt and the Manaeans of Iran (see Jer. 51:27) were the only powers to support Assyria.19 Others were allies largely from fear.

[Judah] (1:12). Judah’s name occurs only in 1:15, but the feminine suffix for “you” indicates a place, and the context makes the meaning clear, so the NIV has inserted “Judah.” The role of the oppressor who has been God’s agent for several generations is ended.

Yoke … shackles (1:13). Yoking conquered kings like animals pulling a plow or a chariot was something Assyrian kings occasionally used to humiliate them. More often the term denotes control. When Nabopolassar (626–605 B.C.), the conqueror of Nineveh, drove the Assyrians from Babylonia, he proclaimed, “The Assyrian who had ruled Akkad [Babylonia] … and had, with his heavy yoke, oppressed the inhabitants of the country … I removed them from Akkad and caused [the Babylonians] to throw off their yoke.”20 He unconsciously echoed Nahum’s words. Iron or bronze shackles were common means of securing prisoners.

Nineveh’s Doom and Judah’s Restoration Decreed (1:14–15)

No descendants (1:14). Every ancient man feared dying without a son to continue his name, for that would mean he would be forgotten (cf. Abraham, Gen. 15:2–3; Absalom, 2 Sam. 18:18). Moreover, in pagan societies, there would be no one to perform the rites that would allow his spirit to rest peacefully in the next world. The names of Assyrian noblemen who fell out of favor were erased from their monuments, and even the names of discredited kings and gods were chipped from carvings in Egypt.

Balawat gate relief showing prisoner yoked by the neck

Jon Worth, courtesy of the British Museum

Your gods (1:14). In their heyday, Assyrian troops carried the statues of gods from conquered places to their cities, but they rarely destroyed them, for that was, in effect, to deny the existence of the gods they represented. Assyria’s gods will suffer worse fate. The wealth of the temples and the statues decorated with precious metals and gems will be smashed and looted. Even the national patron god Assur, the god Nabu, the war god Ninurta, and the great goddess Ishtar will disappear. While Assyria’s gods still claimed some worshipers into the early Christian centuries, they were no longer patrons of an imperial power.

Your grave (1:14). A city can hardly have a grave, but the city can stand for its inhabitants and especially its king. Ancient people often made arrangements in advance for their burial, but this will not be the case for the people of Nineveh. When German archaeologists unearthed the coffins of Assyrian kings in Ashur, they found them smashed and empty.

One who brings good news (1:15). The phrasing echoes Isaiah 40:9 and may point to knowledge of the earlier prophet’s words or to a common saying. While horses were used in some regions, in Israel much of the terrain was rough, so they used runners who carried dispatches from king to king or merchant to merchant. Their task was often dangerous since, beside wild animals, they might face bandits or the soldiers of hostile rulers. Messengers were expected to be trustworthy, conveying their messages accurately. They might carry written messages; in Hittite texts of the second millennium B.C. agreement between the written message and the messenger’s words was the proof of authenticity.21

Celebrate your festivals … fulfill your vows (1:15). This is only possible in times of peace, when people can travel safely and leave their homes without fear of raiders attacking in their absence. In the Babylonian Chronicle frequent entries report the failure to hold the major annual festival marking the New Year there, usually because of war or unrest.22