Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• Unity
  Some scholars have tried to prove that someone other than Nahum wrote sections of the book (1:1; 1:1-2:3; 1:2-10; 2:4-3:19), but their arguments are largely speculative. Jewish and Christian authorities have long held that Na...
• Date
  Nahum mentioned the fall of the Egyptian city of Thebes (3:8), so we know he wrote after that event, which took place in 663 B.C. The Assyrian king Ashurbanipal conquered it. The prophet predicted the fall of the Assyrian cap...
• Outline
  I. Heading 1:1II. Nineveh's destruction declared 1:2-14A. The anger and goodness of Yahweh 1:2-8B. Yahweh's plans for Nineveh and Judah 1:9-141. The consumption of Nineveh 1:9-112. The liberation of Judah 1:12-133. The termin...
• II. Nineveh's destruction declared 1:2-14
  The rest of chapter 1 declares Nineveh's destruction in rather hymnic style, and chapters 2 and 3 describe its destruction. Each of these major parts of the book opens with a revelation of Yahweh....
• B. Yahweh's plans for Nineveh and Judah 1:9-11
  Whereas the previous section assured Nineveh's doom, the primary focus of attention in it was the character of Yahweh and His ability to destroy His enemies. Now the focus shifts more directly to Nineveh. Three sections revea...
• 2. The liberation of Judah 1:12-13
  Emphasis now shifts from Assyria to Judah.1:12 Yahweh declared that even though the Assyrians were powerful and numerous, He would cut them off and they would pass off the stage of history. This must have been hard for many I...
• III. Nineveh's destruction described 1:15--3:19
  This second major part of Nahum contains another introduction and four descriptions of Nineveh's destruction. Having revealed general statements about Yahweh's judgment, Nahum next communicated more specific descriptions of N...