Annotations for Nahum

1:1 Opening. The introduction to the book of Nahum is unusual in the Bible (but cf. Isa 13:1). It mentions not only the book’s human source (Nahum the prophet) but also its chief subject (Nineveh, i.e., the Assyrians). We know little about Nahum. His name was fairly common in the ancient Near East but is not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible, apart from one uncertain reference in Jesus’ Lukan genealogy (Luke 3:25). The name recalls the Hebrew word for “comfort.” “Elkoshite” may refer to an unknown location or may be Nahum’s clan name or may involve a wordplay in Hebrew suggesting the sense “God is severe.” In any event, the book conveys a sense of both the severity of God’s judgments against those who oppose him and the comfort that he affords those who trust him (v. 7).

1:2–15 The Lord’s Anger Against Nineveh. Nahum powerfully and poetically describes God’s justice and mercy (vv. 2–8) and then turns to Assyria’s impending doom (vv. 9–11) and Judah’s deliverance (vv. 12–15).

1:2 jealous. Although jealousy sometimes carries a negative connotation, this need not always be the case. To be jealous to protect a good reputation or a right relationship is very positive. In the Bible, God’s jealousy is concerned with both his good name and his relationship with his people (see Exod 20:5 and note). avenging . . . vengeance. Like jealousy, these terms may at first glance seem negative, conjuring up notions of cruel and unnecessary reprisals. But while there are instances of wrongful vengeance in the OT (Lev 19:18; Pss 8:2; 44:16; Lam 3:60; Ezek 25:12, 15–16), most of the time vengeance is positive, having to do with establishing lawful justice. In some 85 percent of occurrences, God is the worker of vengeance, either directly or through his appointed instruments (kings, judges, etc.). God may execute vengeance against those, even among his own people, who break the covenant (Lev 26:25), but most often his vengeance is against power-hungry enemies such as Egypt (Jer 46:2–12), Babylon (Isa 47:1–3; Jer 50–51), or, as in the present case, Assyria. The purpose of God’s vengeance is normally to restore his own honor, his people’s honor, or both. Lawful vengeance is a divine, not human, prerogative (Rom 12:19; cf. Deut 32:35; Heb 10:29–31).

1:3a slow to anger. Following hard on the insistence that the Lord is an “avenging God” (v. 2) is the equal insistence that he is patient. God himself first fully articulates this divine patience by declaring his name (i.e., character) to Moses in Exod 34:6–7 (see note on Exod 34:5–7), after which it becomes a dominant theme in both the OT (e.g., Num 14:18; Neh 9:17; Pss 86:15; 103:8; 145:8; Joel 2:13) and NT (e.g., Rom 2:4; 9:22; 2 Pet 3:9, 15). Ironically, the prophet Jonah cites the Lord’s patience and likely forbearance as the very reasons he initially refused to go to the Ninevites as God commanded him (Jonah 4:2). great in power. It would be a mistake to interpret God’s patience as impotence (see note on vv. 3b–6). not leave the guilty unpunished. See Exod 34:6, 7 and notes. God’s commitment to righting wrongs and effecting justice is as certain as any of his divine attributes.

1:3b–6 His way . . . He rebukes . . . His wrath is poured out. The Lord’s attributes give rise to actions, here described in dramatic, even cosmic, terms. Such figurative language occurs also in extrabiblical ancient Near Eastern literature (e.g., Baal is described as the storm-god who rides on the clouds). The Bible’s ascribing such imagery exclusively to the Lord (see also Deut 33:26; Ps 68:4) may suggest a polemic against false gods and false religious notions. But more than that, the specific images invoked here recall particular events in Israel’s history, such as passing through the sea at the time of the exodus from Egypt (v. 4; cf. Exod 14:21) and through the river at the time of Israel’s entry into Canaan (v. 4; cf. Josh 3:13) and the theophany at Mount Sinai (v. 5; cf. Exod 19:18).

1:4 Bashan . . . Carmel . . . Lebanon. Often cited as emblems of fertility and fruitfulness (Isa 33:9; 35:2).

1:6 rocks are shattered before him. God is sovereign over all things, including the natural world, and even its strongest elements cannot withstand his wrath—how much less those who defy him (cf. Rom 2:3–5; Heb 10:26–31).

1:7 good. Just as God displays his goodness in vengeance against wrongdoers, his patience (v. 3) and care “for those who trust in him” confirm it. He is a “refuge in times of trouble” for his followers (cf. Ps 37:39–40) but “an overwhelming flood” (v. 8) for his foes.

1:9 they. The Hebrew has “you” (plural), addressing the Assyrians directly (see NIV text note).

1:10 entangled . . . drunk . . . consumed like dry stubble. The Hebrew of this verse is difficult, but the general sense is clear enough: Nineveh’s doom is sure! Faced with God’s righteous judgment, the Assyrians are as defenseless as those “entangled among thorns” (cf. Gen 22:13 and perhaps 2 Sam 18:9), as soldiers “drunk” on the day of battle, and as “dry stubble” before the flame. To be made drunk by the cup of God’s wrath is devastating (Hab 2:16; cf. Isa 49:26; Jer 25:15–17, 27; 51:57; Lam 4:21).

1:11 one . . . who plots evil against the LORD. While v. 9 charges the Assyrians as a people with plotting against the Lord, here the plotter is an individual, perhaps a king or archetypal king (see 3:18). Suggested candidates for this plotter of evil include Sennacherib, famous for his failed siege of Jerusalem ca. 701 BC (see 2 Kgs 18:13—19:37; cf. 2 Chr 32:1–23; Isa 36–37), and Ashurbanipal, the Assyrian king during Nahum’s ministry who succeeded in subduing Egypt (cf. 3:8–10) and taking Judah’s king Manasseh as a prisoner to Babylon (2 Chr 33:11).

1:12 you, Judah. Just as vv. 8, 11 directly address the Assyrians, vv.12–13 directly address Judah. I will afflict you no more. The message of hope promises to break the Assyrian “yoke from your neck and tear your shackles away” (see v. 13 and note).

1:13 yoke . . . shackles. Appropriate metaphors for subjugation to an enemy power; in the ancient Near East, conquered kings were sometimes humiliated by being forced to wear a yoke. Nahum’s prophecy was fulfilled during the reign of King Nabopolassar (626–605 BC) of Babylonia, who conquered Nineveh and, in his words, “threw off [the] yoke” of the Assyrians. The call of God’s people has always been to accept willingly a very different yoke, the yoke of the Divine King; in the NT Jesus links accepting his “yoke” with receiving “rest” (Matt 11:28–29).

1:14 descendants. One’s descendants carried on one’s name, protected sacred precincts and the divine images, and properly prepared one for burial—all values of ancient societies. Nineveh was to be deprived not only of descendants but also of their “images and idols.” The destruction of Nineveh and its temples in 612 BC by a coalition of Medes and Babylonians is confirmed by the archeological evidence.

1:15 feet of one who brings good news. A phrase familiar from Isa 52:7 (where the “good news” is release from exile in Babylon) and ultimately from Rom 10:15 (where the “good news” is release from the power and penalty of sin). Here it celebrates the coming “peace” that will arrive with the fall of Assyria. The image is of a running messenger first sighted as he crests a nearby mountain. festivals . . . vows. With the destruction of idolatrous Assyrian worship (v. 14), true Israelite worship can be restored. With the return of peace, Judah will be able to resume its worship practices, which in turn will serve as reminders of the Lord’s many acts of deliverance in the past and perhaps prepare them for even greater acts of deliverance to come.

2:1–13 Nineveh to Fall. Assyria’s doom is sure. Defenses will fail, warriors will fall. Why? Because the Lord Almighty has declared himself against the cruel Assyrians, and their “gods” (1:14) will prove as impotent as they are false. The crisp poetry of this judgment-prophecy brilliantly captures Nineveh’s doom; a shaft of bright hope for Israel pierces the darkness only once (v. 2).

2:1 An attacker advances. While Judah can anticipate a messenger of good news advancing (1:15), Assyria can anticipate an “attacker,” or “scatterer,” advancing. Guard . . . watch . . . brace . . . marshal. In a mocking tone, the prophet charges Nineveh to shore up its defenses. But all will be to no avail, as the next verse makes clear.

2:2 Jacob . . . Israel. By the time of Nahum, the northern kingdom of Israel had long since fallen to the Assyrians. Thus, the reference to “Israel” most likely refers to Judah (Jacob) as representing all “Israel.” ruined their vines. An effective means of depriving enemies of liquid sustenance; environmental depredation was a typical Assyrian tactic.

2:3-4 shields . . . chariots . . . spears . . . flaming torches. Brilliant poetic imagery captures a sense of immediacy, as if Nahum is witnessing Nineveh’s frantic preparations before its fall in 612 BC.

2:5 Nineveh. The name is not actually present in the Hebrew text, so some suggest that perhaps the attacker summons his troops. If so, then this pictures them rushing toward the city wall from outside the city, stumbling in their haste, and then erecting “the protective shield,” a kind of defensive structure to deflect projectiles raining down from the city walls. Conversely, and more likely, the stumbling soldiers are Ninevites, and “the protective shield” hangs from the walls themselves; reliefs of the Assyrian siege of Lachish depict such shields on the battlements. The imagery of Jer 46:10–12 tends to support the second interpretation. picked troops . . . stumble. Neither special troops nor advanced weaponry (cf. vv. 3–4) will be of any use in the day of God’s judgment.

2:6 river gates. By Nahum’s day, a system of canals and reservoirs had been constructed in and around Nineveh, and the Khosr River (a tributary of the Tigris River) ran through the city. Gates (dams) controlled these waterways, and by breaching these dams, attackers could release floodwaters to threaten the city. collapses. The Hebrew verb can mean “melt,” and the sense may be either that the structural integrity of the palace is undercut by the floodwaters or that the palace’s inhabitants “melt” with fear. Archaeological excavation at Nineveh seems to support the former interpretation, though the two are not mutually exclusive. “Melting” of hearts is frequently associated with impending divine judgment (e.g., Josh 2:11; 5:1; Isa 13:7; 19:1; Ezek 21:7; cf. also Ps 22:14, which anticipates Christ’s experience on the cross).

2:7 exiled and carried away. The Assyrians are to be treated as they have treated so many others; one Assyrian king, Sennacherib, boasted of relocating some 500,000 conquered foes. like doves. The Hebrew word for “dove” sounds like the name Jonah, suggesting a subtle reminder of a better time in Nineveh’s history, though the image is elsewhere also used of mourners (Isa 38:14; 59:11).

2:8 Nineveh. The name occurs for the first time explicitly since 1:1 (it appears once more in 3:7). like a pool . . . draining away. The poet deftly combines the earlier reference to uncontrolled waters with a metaphor of Nineveh as a pool whose waters (i.e., inhabitants) are dispersing uncontrollably.

2:9 Plunder . . . Plunder . . . The supply is endless. Drained of defenders and inhabitants, Nineveh’s legendary wealth is there for the taking.

2:10 She is pillaged, plundered, stripped! The translation partially captures the sonorous effect of the Hebrew text: bûkâ ûmĕbûkâ ûmĕbulākâ. Hearts . . . knees . . . bodies . . . every face. The rapid piling up of images of dismay contrasts sharply with the earlier string of military images in vv. 3–4 on the eve of Nineveh’s collapse.

2:11 lions’ den. The lion functions in ancient Near Eastern iconography as a powerful symbol of threat to humans and animals. Scenes of royal lion hunts, in which the king demonstrates superior prowess by killing lions, are commonplace. Sometimes Assyrian kings themselves boast of being lions. lioness. Ishtar (Astarte), a major goddess in Assyria and throughout the ancient Near East, is often associated with a lioness. Nahum ridicules Assyrian power and false religion. The once mighty lion and lioness can no longer care for their own. As the Lord had discredited the false gods of the Egyptians (Exod 12:12; Isa 19:1) and Canaanites (cf. Josh 4:24), so now he discredits the false gods of the Assyrians.

2:13 I am against you. This divine pronouncement says it all. The final verse of ch. 2 recalls earlier images in the chapter: chariots (vv. 3–4), now up in smoke; young lions (vv. 11–12), now themselves prey to the sword; and messengers, now “no longer . . . heard” (v. 1 in the Hebrew text [1:15 in the English text]). The Lord’s vengeance (righteous judgment; see note on 1:2), when it comes, is irresistible and final.

3:1–19 Woe to Nineveh. Nahum’s pronouncement of “woe to the city of blood” (v. 1) is another poetic masterpiece (cf. 2:3–10). Its cascade of clipped images gives the reader an impression of immediacy, as if one were inside the city with all its chaotic cruelty.

3:1 full of plunder. Recalls the well-supplied lions’ den of 2:11–12.

3:2-3 crack . . . clatter . . . galloping . . . flashing swords. Rapid-fire images capture the frenetic cruelty of Nineveh in its heyday. They also foreshadow what the Assyrian city will soon experience.

3:3 piles of dead, bodies without number. Assyrian cruelty to its defeated foes is legendary, attested in both word and image. One Assyrian king (Ashurnasirpal) boasts of piling up both living captives and severed heads before his gate, impaling hundreds of soldiers, and burning to death adolescent boys and girls. Such rampant cruelty is attested in Assyrian reliefs.

3:4 wanton lust of a prostitute . . . the mistress of sorceries. Whether or not this alludes to Ishtar (see note on 2:11), cities themselves—as “mothers” of their inhabitants—were often referred to using feminine metaphors. Wicked cities such as Nineveh, capable of seducing or bewitching others through their wanton luxury, were considered guilty of “prostitution” and “sorceries.” The book of Revelation refers to “Babylon” as the “MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES” (Rev 17:5).

3:5-6 lift your skirts over your face . . . make you a spectacle. Continuing the metaphors of v. 4, the Lord describes Nineveh’s shaming in keeping with standard ancient Near Eastern practice that sought a punishment appropriate to the crime: the prostitute (city) who exposes her “nakedness” wantonly will be publicly exposed in “shame.” Correspondence of crime and punishment is a typical feature of prophetic judgment speeches in the OT (cf. Isa 47:3; Jer 13:22; Hos 2:3, 10).

3:5 I am against you. Cf. 2:13.

3:7 All who see. The Hebrew text deftly links “seeing” (spectating) with the “spectacle” of v. 6. Revulsion and flight will be the response of those who witness Nineveh’s disgrace. Where can I find anyone to comfort you? Underscores the finality of Nineveh’s ruin and subtly echoes Nahum’s name (“comfort”).

3:8–11 This refers to Egypt, specifically to the city of Thebes on the Nile (modern Luxor). The Assyrian king Ashurbanipal ransacked Thebes in 663 BC. Nahum argues from the lesser to the greater: if Thebes, with all its fine defenses, could not withstand Assyrian attack, how can Nineveh stand when the Lord Almighty is against it (2:13; 3:5; cf. 1:6)?

3:9 Cush. Probably south of Egypt (in modern Sudan). Put. Difficult to locate; some suggest that it may be an alternate name for Libya, to Egypt’s west.

3:10 infants were dashed to pieces. Such had been the violent actions of the Assyrian conquerors of Thebes, underscoring yet again Nineveh’s history of cruelty and aggression (on the action generally, cf. 2 Kgs 8:12; Isa 13:16). Lots were cast for her nobles. In the ancient Near East, captives were sometimes distributed among the conquering troops by casting lots (similar to rolling dice). In Nineveh’s case, the nobles themselves will be treated as the lowliest captives. great men . . . in chains. The Assyrian king Ashurbanipal boasted of collaring and chaining like a dog a defeated enemy leader. Soon it will be Nineveh’s turn to suffer such humiliation.

3:11 become drunk. See 1:10 and note. The drunkenness in view may result from being forced to drink the cup of God’s wrath.

3:12 fortresses . . . like fig trees. Nahum explains the simile: Nineveh’s fortresses will give up their inhabitants as readily as ripe figs fall from a shaken branch.

3:13 Look at your troops—they are all weaklings. In essence the prophet is saying, “Your troops are all women in your midst.” In the ancient world of hand-to-hand combat, women were considered weaklings in battle (Isa 19:16; Jer 50:37; 51:30), and an effeminacy-curse was occasionally pronounced on enemy troops (Assyrian kings are on record imploring the goddess Ishtar to turn enemy soldiers “from a man into a woman”).

3:14-15 strengthen your defenses . . . the fire will consume you; the sword will cut you down. All Nineveh’s attempts to withstand attack will be to no avail. Archaeological excavations at Nineveh have discovered evidence of (1) defensive construction efforts within the city’s ancient gateways, (2) fire, and (3) defeat, as evidenced by the skeletons of many fallen defenders in the gateway.

3:15 they will devour you like a swarm of locusts. Massive swarms of locusts are known to appear periodically in the Near East, literally blocking out the sun and denuding the landscape of all vegetation. Such will be the consuming power of the fire and sword to be turned against Nineveh. multiply like locusts! Hebrew grammar suggests that this charge addresses the fire and sword, which Nahum just compared to a swarm of locusts; some suggest that it addresses the Ninevites themselves.

3:16 your merchants . . . like locusts. The locust metaphor continues. Just like locusts, Nineveh’s innumerable merchants “strip the land and then fly away.”

3:17 guards . . . officials. These titles are rare in Hebrew usage but common in the Assyrian language. Many of these officials would have been, like Daniel, displaced foreigners, and so they were as likely as locusts to take flight when a situation got hot. There is some documentary evidence from the period before the fall of Nineveh of officials fleeing westward toward Harran.

3:18 King of Assyria. The identity of this king depends on the date of Nahum’s prophecy and the date of Nineveh’s fall (see Introduction: Historical Context; see also note on 1:11). shepherds. Often refers to ruling officials since their duty was to guide and care for the people. Your people are scattered . . . no one to gather them. Because shepherds and nobles are lying down on the job, the king of Assyria can expect little help from his scattered people. Or possibly we should understand that the shepherds and nobles are dead and the people scattered in the aftermath of defeat. Either way, the king of Assyria is doomed.

3:19 your wound is fatal. Healing is no longer possible for the king of Assyria. All who hear . . . clap their hands. A certain joyful relief on the part of those who have felt the “endless cruelty” naturally accompanies the moment when justice is finally done. Like the book of Jonah but unlike any other biblical book, Nahum concludes with a rhetorical question.