Text -- Nahum 1:1-15 (NET)

Introduction

1:1 The oracle against Nineveh; the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite:

God Takes Vengeance against His Enemies

1:2 The Lord is a zealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and very angry. The Lord takes vengeance against his foes; he sustains his rage against his enemies.

The Divine Warrior Destroys His Enemies but Protects His People

1:3 The Lord is slow to anger but great in power; the Lord will certainly not allow the wicked to go unpunished. He marches out in the whirlwind and the raging storm; dark storm clouds billow like dust under his feet. 1:4 He shouts a battle cry against the sea and makes it dry up; he makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither; the blossom of Lebanon withers. 1:5 The mountains tremble before him, the hills convulse; the earth is laid waste before him, the world and all its inhabitants are laid waste. 1:6 No one can withstand his indignation! No one can resist his fierce anger! His wrath is poured out like volcanic fire, boulders are broken up as he approaches. 1:7 The Lord is good– indeed, he is a fortress in time of distress, and he protects those who seek refuge in him. 1:8 But with an overwhelming flood he will make a complete end of Nineveh; he will drive his enemies into darkness.

Denunciation and Destruction of Nineveh

1:9 Whatever you plot against the Lord, he will completely destroy! Distress will not arise a second time. 1:10 Surely they will be totally consumed like entangled thorn bushes, like the drink of drunkards, like very dry stubble. 1:11 From you, O Nineveh, one has marched forth who plots evil against the Lord, a wicked military strategist.

Oracle of Deliverance to Judah

1:12 This is what the Lord says: “Even though they are powerful– and what is more, even though their army is numerous– nevertheless, they will be destroyed and trickle away! Although I afflicted you, I will afflict you no more. 1:13 And now, I will break Assyria’s yoke bar from your neck; I will tear apart the shackles that are on you.”

Oracle of Judgment against the King of Nineveh

1:14 The Lord has issued a decree against you: “Your dynasty will come to an end. I will destroy the idols and images in the temples of your gods. I will desecrate your grave– because you are accursed!”

Proclamation of the Deliverance of Judah

1:15 Look! A herald is running on the mountains! A messenger is proclaiming deliverance: “Celebrate your sacred festivals, O Judah! Fulfill your sacred vows to praise God! For never again will the wicked Assyrians invade you, they have been completely destroyed.”

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Nah 1:1

When the prophets were sent to denounce judgments against a nation or city, the word was usually called the burden of that nation or city.

Wesley: Nah 1:1

As prophets were of old called seers, 1Sa 9:9, so their prophesies were called visions.

Wesley: Nah 1:1

His name speaks a comforter, but it is God's people to whom he gives notice of the destruction of their oppressors.

Wesley: Nah 1:2

For his own glory.

Wesley: Nah 1:2

As supreme governor, who by office is bound to right the oppressed, and to punish the oppressor.

Wesley: Nah 1:3

The methods of his providence.

Wesley: Nah 1:3

Which beareth before it all things that stand in its way.

Wesley: Nah 1:3

Though he be surrounded with darkness, yet as an army afar off is discovered by the dust that their feet raise, so wilt God appear with great power marching against his enemies.

Wesley: Nah 1:4

Whatever flourished thereon; the blossoms, and flowers which were wont to be the glory of it.

Wesley: Nah 1:7

He approves, owns, and preserves them.

Wesley: Nah 1:8

running flood - His judgments like a mighty flood that overflows all banks, shall swallow up Assyria.

Wesley: Nah 1:8

Of Nineveh, that is Nineveh itself.

Wesley: Nah 1:8

Troubles, and desolating afflictions.

Wesley: Nah 1:9

What you imagine or design against his people, ye design against him? Make an utter end - He will bring you to utter desolation.

Wesley: Nah 1:10

They shall be like thorns easily burnt, and like thorns folded together which burn together, and help to destroy each other.

Wesley: Nah 1:10

As men drunken, and unable to help themselves, so the Assyrians drunk with pleasure and pride, shall be surprised, and easily overthrown.

Wesley: Nah 1:11

Sennacherib, or Rabshekah.

Wesley: Nah 1:11

From Nineveh.

Wesley: Nah 1:11

Against the people of the Lord, 2Ch 32:1.

Wesley: Nah 1:12

The Assyrians.

Wesley: Nah 1:12

Be secure, and fear no dangers.

Wesley: Nah 1:12

Irresistible, suddenly, and universally.

Wesley: Nah 1:12

The angel of the Lord.

Wesley: Nah 1:12

O Israel, I will no more use that rod.

Wesley: Nah 1:14

Thee, Sennacherib, and the whole kingdom of Assyria.

Wesley: Nah 1:14

None shall bear thy name, and title; but thy kingdom shall be swallowed up.

Wesley: Nah 1:15

Be careful to serve God.

Wesley: Nah 1:15

Made in thy distress.

Wesley: Nah 1:15

That wicked oppressor, Sennacherib.

JFB: Nah 1:1

The prophetic doom of Nineveh. Nahum prophesied against that city a hundred fifty years after Jonah.

JFB: Nah 1:2

In this there is sternness, yet tender affection. We are jealous only of those we love: a husband, of a wife; a king, of his subjects' loyalty. God is jealous of men because He loves them. God will not bear a rival in His claims on them. His burning jealousy for His own wounded honor and their love, as much as His justice, accounts for all His fearful judgments: the flood, the destruction of Jerusalem, that of Nineveh. His jealousy will not admit of His friends being oppressed, and their enemies flourishing (compare Exo 20:5; 1Co 16:22; 2Co 11:2). Burning zeal enters into the idea in "jealous" here (compare Num 25:11, Num 25:13; 1Ki 19:10).

JFB: Nah 1:2

The repetition of the incommunicable name JEHOVAH, and of His revenging, gives an awful solemnity to the introduction.

JFB: Nah 1:2

Literally, "a master of fury." So a master of the tongue, that is, "eloquent." "One who, if He pleases, can most readily give effect to His fury" [GROTIUS]. Nahum has in view the provocation to fury given to God by the Assyrians, after having carried away the ten tribes, now proceeding to invade Judea under Hezekiah.

JFB: Nah 1:2

Reserves it against His own appointed time (2Pe 2:9). After long waiting for their repentance in vain, at length punishing them. A wrong estimate of Jehovah is formed from His suspending punishment: it is not that He is insensible or dilatory, but He reserves wrath for His own fit time. In the case of the penitent, He does not reserve or retain His anger (Psa 103:9; Jer 3:5, Jer 3:12; Mic 7:18).

JFB: Nah 1:3

That is, but great in power, so as to be able in a moment, if He pleases, to destroy the wicked. His long-suffering is not from want of power to punish (Exo 34:6-7).

JFB: Nah 1:3

Literally, "will not acquitting acquit," or treat as innocent.

JFB: Nah 1:3

From this to Nah 1:5, inclusive, is a description of His power exhibited in the phenomena of nature, especially when He is wroth. His vengeance shall sweep away the Assyrian foe like a whirlwind (Pro 10:25).

JFB: Nah 1:3

Large as they are, He treads on them, as a man would on the small dust; He is Lord of the clouds, and uses them as He pleases.

JFB: Nah 1:4

As Jesus did (Mat 8:26), proving Himself God (compare Isa 50:2).

JFB: Nah 1:4

Through drought; ordinarily it was a region famed for its rich pasturage (compare Joe 1:10).

JFB: Nah 1:4

Its bloom; all that blooms so luxuriantly on Lebanon (Hos 14:7). As Bashan was famed for its pastures, Carmel for its corn fields and vineyards, so Lebanon for its forests (Isa 33:9). There is nothing in the world so blooming that God cannot change it when He is wroth.

JFB: Nah 1:5

So GROTIUS. Rather, "lifts itself," that is, "heaveth" [MAURER]: as the Hebrew is translated in Psa 89:9; Hos 13:1; compare 2Sa 5:21, Margin.

JFB: Nah 1:6

Like the liquid fire poured out of volcanoes in all directions (see Jer 7:20).

JFB: Nah 1:6

Or, "are burnt asunder"; the usual effect of volcanic fire (Jer 51:25, Jer 51:56). As Hannibal burst asunder the Alpine rocks by fire to make a passage for his army [GROTIUS].

JFB: Nah 1:7

Here Nahum enters on his special subject, for which the previous verses have prepared the way, namely, to assure his people of safety in Jehovah under the impending attack of Sennacherib (Nah 1:7), and to announce the doom of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian foe (Nah 1:8). The contrast of Nah 1:7-8 heightens the force.

JFB: Nah 1:7

Recognizes as His own (Hos 13:5; Amo 3:2); and so, cares for and guards (Psa 1:6; 2Ti 2:19).

JFB: Nah 1:8

That is, with irresistible might which overruns every barrier like a flood. This image is often applied to overwhelming armies of invaders. Also of calamity in general (Psa 32:6; Psa 42:7; Psa 90:5). There is, perhaps, a special allusion to the mode of Nineveh's capture by the Medo-Babylonian army; namely, through a flood in the river which broke down the wall twenty furlongs (see on Nah 2:6; Isa 8:8; Dan 9:26; Dan 11:10, Dan 11:22, Dan 11:40).

JFB: Nah 1:8

Nineveh is personified as a queen; and "her place" of residence (the Hebrew for "thereof" is feminine) is the city itself (Nah 2:8), [MAURER]. Or, He shall so utterly destroy Nineveh that its place cannot be found; Nah 3:17 confirms this (compare Psa 37:36; Dan 2:35; Rev 12:8; Rev 20:11).

JFB: Nah 1:8

The severest calamities.

JFB: Nah 1:9

Abrupt address to the Assyrians. How mad is your attempt, O Assyrians, to resist so powerful a God! What can ye do against such an adversary, successful though ye have been against all other adversaries? Ye imagine ye have to do merely with mortals and with a weak people, and that so you will gain an easy victory; but you have to encounter God, the protector of His people. Parallel to Isa 37:23-29; compare Psa 1:1.

JFB: Nah 1:9

The utter overthrow of Sennacherib's host, soon about to take place, is an earnest of the "utter end" of Nineveh itself.

JFB: Nah 1:9

Judah's "affliction" caused by the invasion shall never rise again. So Nah 1:12. But CALVIN takes the "affliction" to be that of Assyria: "There will be no need of His inflicting on you a second blow: He will make an utter end of you once for all" (1Sa 3:12; 1Sa 26:8; 2Sa 20:10). If so, this verse, in contrast to Nah 1:12, will express, Affliction shall visit the Assyrian no more, in a sense very different from that in which God will afflict Judah no more. In the Assyrian's case, because the blow will be fatally final; the latter, because God will make lasting blessedness in Judah's case succeed temporary chastisement. But it seems simpler to refer "affliction" here, as in Nah 1:12, to Judah; indeed destruction, rather than affliction, applies to the Assyrian.

JFB: Nah 1:10

Literally, "to the same degree as thorns" (compare 1Ch 4:27, Margin). As thorns, so folded together and entangled that they cannot be loosed asunder without trouble, are thrown by the husbandmen all in a mass into the fire, so the Assyrians shall all be given together to destruction. Compare 2Sa 23:6-7, where also "thorns" are the image of the wicked. As this image represents the speediness of their destruction in a mass, so that of "drunkards," their rushing as it were of their own accord into it; for drunkards fall down without any one pushing them [KIMCHI]. CALVIN explains, Although ye be dangerous to touch as thorns (that is, full of rage and violence), yet the Lord can easily consume you. But "although" will hardly apply to the next clause. English Version and KIMCHI, therefore, are to be preferred. The comparison to drunkards is appropriate. For drunkards, though exulting and bold, are weak and easily thrown down by even a finger touching them. So the insolent self-confidence of the Assyrians shall precipitate their overthrow by God. The Hebrew is "soaked," or "drunken as with their own wine." Their drunken revelries are perhaps alluded to, during which the foe (according to DIODORUS SICULUS [2]) broke into their city, and Sardanapalus burned his palace; though the main and ultimate destruction of Nineveh referred to by Nahum was long subsequent to that under Sardanapalus.

JFB: Nah 1:11

The cause of Nineveh's overthrow: Sennacherib's plots against Judah.

JFB: Nah 1:11

O Nineveh. From thyself shall arise the source of thy own ruin. Thou shalt have only thyself to blame for it.

JFB: Nah 1:11

Sennacherib carried out the imaginations of his countrymen (Nah 1:9) against the Lord and His people (2Ki 19:22-23).

JFB: Nah 1:11

Literally, "a counsellor of Belial." Belial means "without profit," worthless, and so bad (1Sa 25:25; 2Co 6:15).

JFB: Nah 1:12-14

The same truths repeated as in Nah 1:9-11, Jehovah here being the speaker. He addresses Judah, prophesying good to it, and evil to the Assyrian.

JFB: Nah 1:12-14

That is, without fear, and tranquilly secure. So Chaldee and CALVIN. Or, "entire," "complete"; "Though their power be unbroken [MAURER], and though they be so many, yet even so they shall be cut down" (literally, "shorn"; as hair shaved off closely by a razor, Isa 7:20). As the Assyrian was a razor shaving others, so shall he be shaven himself. Retribution in kind. In the height of their pride and power, they shall be clean cut off. The same Hebrew stands for "likewise" and "yet thus." So many as they are, so many shall they perish.

JFB: Nah 1:12-14

Or, "and he shall pass away," namely, "the wicked counsellor" (Nah 1:11), Sennacherib. The change of number to the singular distinguishes him from his host. They shall be cut down, he shall pass away home (2Ki 19:35-36) [HENDERSON]. English Version is better, "they shall be cut down, "when" He (Jehovah) shall pass through," destroying by one stroke the Assyrian host. This gives the reason why they with all their numbers and power are to be so utterly cut off. Compare "pass through," that is, in destroying power (Eze 12:12, Eze 12:23; Isa 8:8; Dan 11:10).

JFB: Nah 1:12-14

Judah, "I will afflict thee no more" (Isa 40:1-2; Isa 52:1-2). The contrast is between "they," the Assyrians, and "thee," Judah. Their punishment is fatal and final. Judah's was temporary and corrective.

JFB: Nah 1:13

The Assyrian's yoke, namely, the tribute imposed by Sennacherib on Hezekiah (2Ki 18:14).

JFB: Nah 1:13

O Judah (Isa 10:27).

JFB: Nah 1:14

That no more of thy seed, bearing thy name, as kings of Nineveh, be propagated; that thy dynasty become extinct, namely, on the destruction of Nineveh here foretold; "thee" means the king of Assyria.

JFB: Nah 1:14

The Medes under Cyaxares, the joint destroyers of Nineveh with the Babylonians, hated idolatry, and would delight in destroying its idols. As the Assyrians had treated the gods of other nations, so their own should be treated (2Ki 19:18). The Assyrian palaces partook of a sacred character [LAYARD]; so that "house of thy gods" may refer to the palace. At Khorsabad there is remaining a representation of a man cutting an idol to pieces.

JFB: Nah 1:14

Rather, "I will make it (namely, 'the house of thy gods,' that is, 'Nisroch') thy grave" (2Ki 19:37; Isa 37:38). Thus, by Sennacherib's being slain in it, Nisroch's house should be defiled. Neither thy gods, nor thy temple, shall save thee; but the latter shall be thy sepulchre.

JFB: Nah 1:14

Or, thou art lighter than due weight (Dan 5:27; compare Job 31:6) [MAURER].

JFB: Nah 1:15

This verse is joined in the Hebrew text to the second chapter. It is nearly the same as Isa 52:7, referring to the similar deliverance from Babylon.

JFB: Nah 1:15

Announcing the overthrow of Sennacherib and deliverance of Jerusalem. The "mountains" are those round Jerusalem, on which Sennacherib's host had so lately encamped, preventing Judah from keeping her "feasts," but on which messengers now speed to Jerusalem, publishing his overthrow with a loud voice where lately they durst not have opened their mouths. A type of the far more glorious spiritual deliverance of God's people from Satan by Messiah, heralded by ministers of the Gospel (Rom 10:15).

JFB: Nah 1:15

Which thou didst promise if God would deliver thee from the Assyrian.

JFB: Nah 1:15

Literally, "Belial"; the same as the "counsellor of Belial" (Nah 1:11, Margin); namely, Sennacherib.

Clarke: Nah 1:1

The burden of Nineveh - משא massa not only signifies a burden, but also a thing lifted up, pronounced, or proclaimed; also a message. It is used by the prophets to signify the revelation which they have received from God to deliver to any particular people: the oracle - the prophecy. Here it signifies the declaration from God relative to the overthrow of Nineveh, and the commission of the prophet to deliver it

As the Assyrians under Pul, Tiglath-pileser, and Shalmaneser, three of their kinds, had been employed by a just God for the chastisement of his disobedient people; the end being now accomplished by them, God is about to burn the rod wherewith he corrected Israel; and Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire, is to be destroyed. This prediction appears to have been accomplished a short time after this by Nebuchadnezzar and Cyaxares, the Ahasuerus of Scripture

Nahum, נחום Nachum , signifies comforter. The name was very suitable, as he was sent to comfort the people, by showing them that God was about to destroy their adversaries.

Clarke: Nah 1:2

God is jealous - For his own glory

Clarke: Nah 1:2

And - revengeth - His justice; by the destruction of his enemies

Clarke: Nah 1:2

And is furious - So powerful in the manifestations of his judgments, that nothing can stand before him

Clarke: Nah 1:2

He reserveth wrath - Though they seem to prosper for a time, and God appears to have passed by their crimes without notice, yet he reserveth - treasureth up - wrath for them, which shall burst forth in due time.

Clarke: Nah 1:3

The Lord is slow to anger - He exercises much longsuffering towards his enemies, that this may lead them to repentance. And it is because of this longsuffering that vengeance is not speedily executed on every evil work

Clarke: Nah 1:3

Great in power - Able at all times to save or to destroy

Clarke: Nah 1:3

The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm - These are the effects of his power; and when they appear unusual, they may be considered as the immediate effects of his power: and although he be in them to punish and destroy, he is in them to direct their course, to determine their operations, and to defend his followers from being injured by their violence. The pestilential wind which slew one hundred and eighty-five thousand of the Assyrians did not injure one Israelite. See 2Ki 19:35

Clarke: Nah 1:3

The clouds are the dust of his feet - This is spoken in allusion to a chariot and horses going on with extreme rapidity: they are all enveloped in a cloud of dust. So Jehovah is represented as coming through the circuit of the heavens as rapidly as lightning; the clouds surrounding him as the dust does the chariot and horses.

Clarke: Nah 1:4

He rebuketh the sea - The Red Sea and the rivers: probably an allusion to the passage of the Red Sea and Jordan

The description of the coming of Jehovah, from the third to the sixth verse, is dreadfully majestic. He is represented as controlling universal nature. The sea and the rivers are dried up, the mountains tremble, the hills melt, and the earth is burnt at his presence. Bashan, Carmel, and Lebanon are withered and languish: streams of fire are poured out, and the rocks are cast down to make him a passage. If then, the seas, the rivers, the mountains, the hills, the rocks, and the earth itself, fail before Jehovah, or flee from his presence, how shall Nineveh and the Assyrian empire stand before him?

Clarke: Nah 1:7

The Lord is good - In the midst of judgment he remembers mercy; and among the most dreadful denunciations of wrath he mingles promises of mercy. None that trust in him need be alarmed at these dreadful threatenings; they shall be discriminated in the day of wrath, for the Lord knoweth them that trust in him.

Clarke: Nah 1:8

But with an overrunning flood - Bishop Newcome thinks this may refer to the manner in which Nineveh was taken. The Euphrates overflowed its banks, deluged a part of the city, and overturned twenty stadia of the wall; in consequence of which the desponding king burnt himself, and his palace, with his treasures. - Diodor. Sic., Edit. Wessel., p. 140, lib. ii., s. 27

Clarke: Nah 1:8

Darkness shall pursue - Calamity. All kinds of calamity shall pursue them till they are destroyed.

Clarke: Nah 1:9

Affliction shall not rise up the second time - There shall be no need to repeat the judgment; with one blow God will make a full end of the business.

Clarke: Nah 1:10

While they be folden together - However united their counsels may be, they shall be as drunken men - perplexed and unsteady in all their resolutions; and before God’ s judgments they shall be as dry thorns before a devouring fire.

Clarke: Nah 1:11

Imagineth evil against the Lord - Such were Pul, 2Ki 15:10, Tiglath-pileser, 2Ki 15:29; Shalmaneser, 2Ki 17:6; and Sennacherib, 2Ki 18:17; 2Ki 19:23

Clarke: Nah 1:11

A wicked counsellor - Sennacherib and Rabshakeh.

Clarke: Nah 1:12

Though they be - many - Sennacherib invaded Judea with an army of nearly two hundred thousand men

Clarke: Nah 1:12

Thus shall they be cut down - The angel of the Lord (a suffocating wind) slew of them in one night one hundred and eighty-five thousand 2Ki 19:35.

Clarke: Nah 1:13

Now will I break his yoke from off thee - This refers to the tribute which the Jews were obliged to pay to the Assyrians, 2Ki 17:14.

Clarke: Nah 1:14

No more of thy name be sown - No more of you shall be carried away into captivity

Clarke: Nah 1:14

I will make thy grave; for thou art vile - I think this is an address to the Assyrians, and especially to Sennacherib. The text is no obscure intimation of the fact. The house of his gods is to be his grave: and we know that while he was worshipping in the house of his god Nisroch, his two sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, smote him there that he died, 2Ki 19:37.

Clarke: Nah 1:15

Behold upon the mountains - Borrowed probably from Isa 52:7, but applied here to the messengers who brought the good tidings of the destruction of Nineveh. Judah might then keep her solemn feasts, for the wicked Assyrian should pass through the land no more; being entirely cut off, and the imperial city razed to its foundations.

Calvin: Nah 1:1

Though a part of what is here delivered belongs to the Israelites and to the Jews, he yet calls his Book by what it principally contains; he calls its the burden of Nineveh Of this word משא , mesha, we have spoken elsewhere. Thus the Prophets call their prediction, whenever they denounce any grievous and dreadful vengeance of God: and as they often threatened the Jews, it hence happened, that they called, by way of ridicule, all prophecies by this name משא , mesha, a burden. ²⁰⁶ But yet the import of the word is suitable. It is the same thing as though Nahum had said that he was sent by God as a herald, to proclaim war on the Ninevites for the sake of the chosen people. The Israelites may have hence learnt how true and unchangeable God was in his covenant; for he still manifested his care for them, though they had by their vices alienated themselves from him.

He afterwards adds, ספר חזון , sapher chezun, the book of the vision This clause signifies, that he did not in vain denounce destruction on the Ninevites, because he faithfully delivered what he had received from God. For if he had simply prefaced, that he threatened ruin to the Assyrian,, some doubt might have been entertained as to the event. But here he seeks to gain to himself authority by referring to God’s name; for he openly affirms that he brought nothing of his own, but that this burden had been made known to him by a celestial oracle: for חזה , cheze, means properly to see, and hence in Hebrew a vision is called חזון , chezun,. But the Prophets, when they speak of a vision, do not mean any fantasy or imagination, but that kind of revelation which is mentioned in Num 14:0, where God says, that he speaks to his Prophets either by vision or by dream. We hence see why this was added — that the burden of Nineveh was a vision; it was, that the Israelites might know that this testimony respecting God’s vengeance on their enemies was not brought by a mortal man, and that there might be no doubt but that God was the author of this prophecy.

Nahum calls himself an Elkoshite. Some think that it was the name of his family. The Jews, after their manner, say, that it was the name of his father; and then they add this their common gloss, that Elkos himself was a Prophet: for when the name of a Prophet’s father is mentioned, they hold that he whose name is given was also a Prophet. But these are mere trifles: and we have often seen how great is their readiness to invent fables. Then the termination of the word leads us to think that it was, on the contrary, the proper name of a place; and Jerome tells us that there was in his time a small village of this name in the tribe of Simon. We must therefore understand, that Nahum arose from that town, and was therefore called “the Elkoshite.” ²⁰⁷ Let us now proceed —

Calvin: Nah 1:2

Nahum begins with the nature of God, that what he afterwards subjoins respecting the destruction of Nineveh might be more weighty, and produce a greater impression on the hearers. The preface is general, but the Prophet afterwards applies it to a special purpose. If he had only spoken of what God is, it would have been frigid at least it would have been less efficacious; but when he connects both together, then his doctrine carries its own force and power. We now apprehend the design of the Prophet. He might indeed have spoken of the fall of the city Nineveh: but if he had referred to this abruptly, profane men might have regarded him with disdain; and even the Israelites would have been perhaps less affected. This is the reason why he shows, in a general way, what sort of Being God is. And he takes his words from Moses; and the Prophets are wont to borrow from him their doctrine: ²⁰⁸ and it is from that most memorable vision, when God appeared to Moses after the breaking of the tables. I have therefore no doubt but that Nahum had taken from Exo 34:0 what we read here: he does not, indeed, give literally what is found there; but it is sufficiently evident that he paints, as it were, to the life, the image of God, by which his nature may be seen.

He says first, that God is jealous; ( amulus — emulous); for the verb קנא , kona, means to irritate, and also to emulate, and to envy. When God is said to be קנוא , konua, the Greeks render it jealous, ζηλωτην, and the Latins, emulous, ( amulatorem) But it properly signifies, that God cannot bear injuries or wrongs. Though God then for a time connives at the wickedness of men? he will yet be the defender of his own glory. He calls him afterwards the avenger, and he repeats this three times, Jehovah avengeth, Jehovah avengeth and possesseth wrath, he will avenge. When he says that God keeps for his enemies, he means that vengeance is reserved for the unbelieving and the despisers of God. There is the same mode of speaking in use among us, Je lui garde, et il la garde a ses ennemis. This phrase, in our language, shows what the Prophet means here by saying, that God keeps for his enemies. And this awful description of God is to be applied to the present case, for he says that he proclaims war against the Ninevites, because they had unjustly distressed the Church of God: it is for this reason that he says, that God is jealous, that God is an avenger; and he confirms this three times, that the Israelites might feel assured that this calamity was seriously announced; for had not this representation been set before them, they might have thus reasoned with themselves, — “We are indeed cruelly harassed by our enemies; but who can think that God cares any thing for our miseries, since he allows them so long to be unavenged?” It was therefore necessary that the Prophet should obviate such thoughts, as he does here. We now more fully understand why he begins in a language so vehement, and calls God a jealous God, and an avenger.

He afterwards adds, that God possesses wrath I do not take חמה , cheme, simply for wrath, but the passion or he it of wrath. We ought not indeed to suppose, as it has been often observed, that our passions belong to God; for he remains ever like himself. But yet God is said to be for a time angry, and for ever towards the reprobate, for he is our and their Judge. Here, then, when the Prophet says, that God is the Lord of wrath, or that he possesses wrath, he means that he is armed with vengeance and that, though he connives at the sins of men, he is not yet indifferent, nor even delays because he is without power, or because he is idle and careless, but that he retains wraths as he afterwards repeats the same thing, He keeps for his enemies ²⁰⁹ In short, by these forms of speaking the Prophet intimates that God is not to be rashly judged of on account of his delay, when he does not immediately execute His judgments; for he waits for the seasonable opportunity. But, in the meantime there is no reason for us to think that he forgets his office when he suspends punishment, or for a season spares the ungodly. When, therefore, God does not hasten so very quickly, there is no ground for us to think that he is indifferent, because he delays his wrath, or retains it, as we have already said; for it is the same thing to retain wrath, as to be the Lord of wrath, and to possess it. It follows —

Calvin: Nah 1:3

The Prophet goes on with the same subject; and still longer is the preface respecting the nature of God, which however is to be applied, as I have said, to the special objects which hereafter he will state. He says here that God is slow to wrath Though this saying is taken also from Moses yet the Prophet speaks here for the purpose of anticipating an objection; for he obviates the audacity of the ungodly who daringly derided God, when any evil was denounced on them, — Where is the mercy of God? Can God divest himself of his kindness? He cannot deny himself. Thus profane men, under the pretense of honoring God, cast on him the most atrocious slander, for they deprive him of his own power and office: and there is no doubt but that this was commonly done by many of the ungodly in the age of our Prophet. Hence he anticipates this objection, and concedes that God is slow to wrath. There is then a concession here; but at the same time he says that God is great in strength, and this he says, that the ungodly may not flatter and deceive themselves, when they hear these high attributes given to God, that he is patient, slow to wrath, merciful, full of kindness. “Let them,” he says, “at the same time remember the greatness of God’s power, that they may not think that they have to do with a child.”

We now then see the design of the Prophet: for this declaration — that God hastens not suddenly to wrath, but patiently defers and suspends the punishment which the ungodly deserve. This declaration would not have harmonized with the present argument, had not the Prophet introduced it by way of concession; as though he said, — “I see that the world everywhere trifle with God, and that the ungodly delude themselves with such Sophistries, that they reject all threatening. I indeed allow that God is ready to pardon, and that he descends not to wrath, except when he is constrained by extreme necessity: all this is indeed true; but yet know, that God is armed with his own power: escape then shall none of those who allow themselves the liberty of abusing his patience, notwithstanding the insolence they manifest towards him.”

He now adds, By clearing he will not clear. Some translate, “The innocent, he will not render innocent.” But the real meaning of this sentence is the same with that in Exo 34:0; and what Moses meant was, that God is irreconcilable to the impenitent. It has another meaning at the end of Joe 3:0, where it is said, ‘I will cleanse the blood which I have not cleansed.’ On that text interpreters differ; because they regard not the change in the tense of the verb; for God means, that he would cleanse the filth and defilements of his Church, which he had not previously cleansed. But Moses means, that God deals strictly with sinners, so as to remit no punishment. By clearing then I will not clear; that is, God will rigidly demand an account of all the actions of men; and as there is nothing hid from him, so everything done wickedly by men must come forth, when God ascends his tribunal; he will not clear by clearing, but will rigidly execute his judgment.

There seems to be some inconsistency in saying, — that God is reconcilable and ready to pardon, — and yet that by clearing he will not clear. But the aspect of things is different. We have already stated what the Prophet had in view: for inasmuch as the ungodly ever promise impunity to themselves, and in this confidence petulantly deride God himself, the Prophet answers them, and declares, that there was no reason why they thus abused God’s forbearance, for he says, By clearing he will not clear, that is, the reprobate: for our salvation consists in a free remission of sins; and whence comes our righteousness, but from the imputation of God, and from this — that our sins are buried in oblivion? yea, our whole clearing depends on the mercy of God. But God then exercises also his judgment, and by clearing he clears, when he remits to the faithful their sins; for the faithful by repentance anticipate his judgment; and he searches their hearts, that he may clear them. For what is repentance but condemnation, which yet turns out to be the means of salvation? As then God absolves none except the condemned, our Prophet here rightly declares, that by clearing he will not clears that is, he will not remit their sins, except he tries them and discharges the office of a judge; in short, that no sin is remitted by God which he does not first condemn. But with regard to the reprobate, who are wholly obstinate in their wickedness, the Prophet justly declares this to them, — that they have no hope of pardon, as they perversely adhere to their own devices, and think that they can escape the hand of God: the Prophet tells them that they are deceived, for God passes by nothing, and will not blot out one sin, until all be brought to mind.

He afterwards says, that the way of God is in the whirlwind and the tempest; that is, that God, as soon as he shows himself, disturbs the whole atmosphere, and excites storms and tempests: and this must be applied to the subject in hand; for the appearance of God is in other places described as lovely and gracious: nay, what else but the sight of God exhilarated the faithful? As soon as God turns away his face, they must necessarily be immersed in dreadful darkness, and be surrounded with horrible terrors. Why then does the Prophet say here, that the way of God is in the whirlwind and storms? Even because his discourse is addressed to the ungodly, or to the despisers of God himself, as in Psa 18:0; where we see him described as being very terrible, — that clouds and darkness are around him, that he moves the whole earth, that he thunders on every side, that he emits smoke frown his nostrils, and that he fills the whole world with fire and burning. For what purpose was this done? Because David’s object was to set forth the judgments of God, which he had executed on the ungodly. So it is in this place; for Nahum speaks of the future vengeance, which was then nigh the Assyrians; hence he says, The way of God is in the whirlwind and tempest; that is, when God goes forth, whirlwinds and tempests are excited by his presence, and the whole world is put in confusion.

He adds, that the clouds are the dust of his feet When any one with his feet only moves the dust within a small space, some dread is produced: but God moves the dust, not only in one place, — what then? he obscures, and thus covers the whole heaven, The clouds then are the dust of his feet ²¹⁰ We now apprehend the whole meaning of the Prophet, and the purpose for which this description is given. Of the same import is what follows —

Calvin: Nah 1:4

Nahum continues his discourse, — that God, in giving proof of his displeasure, would disturb the sea or make it dry. There may be here an allusion to the history, described by Moses; for the Prophets, in promising God’s assistance to his people, often remind them how God in a miraculous manner brought up their fathers from Egypt. As then the passage through the Red Sea was in high repute among the Jews, it may be that the Prophet alluded to that event, (Exo 14:22.) But another view seems to me more probable. We indeed know how impetuous an element is that of the sea; and hence in Jer 5:22, God, intending to set forth his own power, says, that it is in his power to calm the raging of the sea, than which nothing is more impetuous or more violent. In the same manner also is the majesty of God described in Job 28:0. The meaning of this place, I think, is the same, — that God by his chiding makes the sea dry, ²¹¹ and that he can dry up the rivers That the prophet connects rivers with the sea, confirms what I have just said, — that the passage through the Red Sea is not here referred to; but that the object is to show in general how great is God’s power in governing the whole world.

To the same purpose is what he adds, Bashan shall be weakened, and Carmel, and the branch of Lebanon shall be weakened, or destroyed. By these words he intimates, that there is nothing so magnificent in the world, which God changes not, when he gives proofs of his displeasure; as it is said in Psa 104:0,

‘Send forth thy Spirit, and they shall be renewed;’

and again, ‘Take away thy Spirit,’ or remove it, ‘and all things will return to the dust;’ yea, into nothing. So also Nahum says in this place, “As soon as God shows his wrath, the rivers will dry up, the sea itself will become dry, and then the flowers will fade and the grass will wither;” that is, though the earth be wonderfully ornamented and replenished, yet all things will be reduced to solitude and desolation whenever God is angry. And he afterwards adds —

Calvin: Nah 1:5

Nahum continues still on the same subject, — that when God ascended his tribunal and appeared as the Judge of the world, he would not only shake all the elements, but would also constrain them to change their nature. For what can be less consonant to nature than for mountains to tremble, and for hills to be dissolved or to melt? This is more strange than what we can comprehend. But the Prophet intimates that the mountains cannot continue in their own strength, but as far as they are sustained by the favor of God. As soon, then, as God is angry, the mountains melt like snow, and flow away like water. And all these things are to be applied to this purpose, and are designed for this end, — that the wicked might not daringly despise the threatening of God, nor think that they could, through his forbearance, escape the punishment which they deserved: for he will be their Judge, however he may spare them; and though God is ready to pardon, whenever men hate themselves on account of their sins, and seriously repent; he will be yet irreconcilable to all the reprobate and the perverse. The mountains, then, before him tremble, and the hills dissolve or melt.

This useful instruction may be gathered from these words, that the world cannot for a moment stand, except as it is sustained by the favor and goodness of God; for we see what would immediately be, as soon as God manifests the signals of his judgment. Since the very solidity of mountains would be as snow or wax, what would become of miserable men, who are like a shadow or an apparition? They would then vanish away as soon as God manifested his wrath against them, as it is so in Psa 39:0, that men pass away like a shadow. This comparison ought ever to be remembered by us whenever a forgetfulness of God begins to creep over us, that we may not excite his wrath by self-complacencies, than which there is nothing more pernicious. Burned, ²¹² then shall be the earth, and the world, and all who dwell on it

Calvin: Nah 1:6

The Prophet shows here why he gave in the part noticed in the last lecture, such an awful description of God; it was that men might know, that when they shall come before his tribunal, no one will be able to stand unless supported by his favor. Of the Prophet’s main object we have sufficiently spoken, nor is it necessary to repeat here what has been stated. It is enough to bear this in mind, — that as the enemies of the Church relied on their power; and daringly and immoderately raged against it, the judgment of God is here set before them, that they might understand that an account was to be rendered to him whose presence they were not able to bear. But the question has more force than if the Prophet had simply said, that the whole world could not stand before God: for he assumes the character of one adjuring. After having shown how terrible God is, he exclaims, Who shall stand before his indignation? and who shall be able to bear his wrath? ²¹³ for his indignation, he says, is poured forth as fire. The Hebrew interpreters have here toiled in vain: as the verb נתך , nutae, means to pour forth it seems to them an inconsistent expression, that the wrath of God should be poured forth as fire; for this would be more suitably said of some metal than of fire. But to be poured forth here is nothing else than to be scattered far and wide. Poured forth then is thy wrath as fire; that is, it advances every moment, as when a fire seizes a whole forest; and when it grows strong, we know how great is its violence, and how suddenly it spreads here and there. But if a different meaning be preferred, I do not much object to it, “His wrath, which is like fire, is poured out.”

Some think that the Prophet alludes to lightnings, which, as it were, melt through the air, at least as they appear to us. But as the meaning of the Prophet is sufficiently evident, there is no need of anxiously inquiring how fire is poured out: for I have already mentioned, that the Prophet means no other thing than the wrath of God spreads itself, so that it immediately takes hold, not only of one city but also of the widest regions and of the whole world, and is therefore like fire, for it passes through here and there, and that suddenly.

He then says, that rocks are also broken or dissolved before him We must be aware how great our brittleness is. Since there is no hardness which melts not before God, how can men, who flow away of themselves like water, be so daring as to set themselves up against him? We hence see that the madness of men is here rebuked, who, trusting in their own strength, dare to contend even with God, because they forget their own frailty. This is the import of the whole. It now follows —

Calvin: Nah 1:7

The Prophet expresses more clearly here what we referred to in our last lecture, — that God is hard and severe toward refractory men, and that he is merciful and kind to the teachable and the obedient, — not that God changes his nature, or that like Proteus he puts on various forms; but because he treats men according to their disposition. ²¹⁴ As then the Prophet has hitherto taught us, that God’s wrath cannot be sustained by mortals; so now, that no one might complain of extreme rigor, he, on the other hand, shows that God favors what is right and just, that he is gentle and mild to the meek, and therefore ready to bring help to the faithful, and that he leaves none of those who trust in him destitute of his aid.

First, by saying that God is good, he turns aside whatever might be objected on the ground of extreme severity. There is indeed nothing more peculiar to God than goodness. Now when he is so severe, that the very mention of his name terrifies the whole world, he seems to be in a manner different from himself. Hence the Prophet now shows that whatever he had hitherto said of the dreadful judgment of God, is not inconsistent with his goodness. Though God then is armed with vengeance against his enemies he yet ceases not to be like himself, nor does he forget his goodness. But the Prophet does here also more fully confirm the Israelites and the Jews in the belief, that God is not only terrible to the ungodly, but that, as he has promised to be the guardian of his Church, he would also succor the faithful, and in time alleviate their miseries. Good then is Jehovah; and it is added for help The intention of the Prophet may be hence more clearly understood, when he says that he is for strength in the day of distress; as though he said, — “God is ever ready to bring help to his people:” ²¹⁵ And he adds, in the day of distress, that the faithful may not think that they are rejected, when God tries their patience by adversities. How much soever then God may subject his people to the cross and to troubles, he still succors them in their distress.

He lastly adds, He knows them who hope in him. This to know, is no other thing than not to neglect them. Hence God is said to know them who hope in him, because he always watches over them, and takes care of their safety: in short, this knowledge is nothing else but the care of God, or his providence in preserving the faithful. The Prophet, at the same time, distinguishes the godly and sincere worshipers of God from hypocrites: when God leaves many destitute who profess to believe in him, he justly withholds from them his favor, for they do not from the heart call on him or seek him.

We now then understand the Prophet’s meaning. He shows, on the one hand, that God is armed with power to avenge his enemies; And, on the other, he shows that God, as he has promised, is a faithful guardian of his Church. How is this proved? He sets before us what God is, that he is good; and then adds, that he is prepared to bring help. But he does not in vain mention this particular, — that he takes care of the faithful, who truly, and from the heart, hope in him; it is done, that they may understand that they are not neglected by God, and also that hypocrites may know that they are not assisted, because their profession is nothing else but dissimulation, for they hope not sincerely in God, however they may falsely boast of his name. It now follows —

Calvin: Nah 1:8

The Prophet goes on with the same subject, — that God can easily preserve his people, for he is armed with power sufficient to overcome the whole world. But the Prophet now includes the two things which have been mentioned: Having spoken in general of God’s wrath, and of his goodness towards the faithful, he now applies his doctrine to the consolation of his chosen people. It is then a special application of his doctrine, when he says, By inundation, he, passing through, will make a consummation in her place There is a twofold interpretation of this verse.

Some make this distinction, — that God, as it were, in passing through, would consume the land of Israel and Judah, but that perpetual darkness would rest on his enemies. Hence they think, that the distress of the chosen people is distinguished from the overthrow of the kingdom of Asshur, for God would only for a time punish his own people, while he would give up profane and reprobate men to endless destruction. Then, by passing through, must be understood, according to these interpreters, a temporary distress or punishment; and by darkness, eternal ruin, or, so to speak, irreparable calamities. But the Prophet, I doubt not, in one connected sentence, denounces ultimate ruin on the Assyrians. By inundation, then, he, in passing, will make a consummation in her place; that is, God will suddenly overwhelm the Assyrian, as though a deluge should rise to cover the whole earth. He intimates, that God would not punish the Assyrians by degrees, as men sometimes do, who proceed step by step to avenge themselves, but suddenly. God, he says, will of a sudden thunder against the Assyrians, as when a deluge comes over a land. Hence this passing of God is opposed to long or slow progress; as though he said — “As soon as God’s wrath shall break forth or come upon the Assyrians, it will be all over, for a consummation will immediately follow: by inundation, he, passing through, will make a consummation in her place.” ²¹⁶ By place he means the ground; as though he had said that God would not only destroy the face of the land, but would also destroy the very grounds and utterly demolish it. A feminine pronoun is here added, because he speaks of the kingdom or nation, as it is usual in Hebrew. But it ought especially to be noticed that the Prophet threatens the Assyrians, that God would entirely subvert them, that he would not only demolish the surface, as, when fire or waters destroy houses, but that the Lord would reduce to nothing the land itself, even the very ground.

He adds, And pursue his enemies shall darkness He has designated the Assyrians only by a pronoun, as the Hebrews are wont to do; for they set down a pronoun relative or demonstrative, and it is uncertain of whom they speak; but they afterwards explain themselves. So does the Prophet in this place; for he directs his discourse to the Israelites and the Jews, and he begins by announcing God’s vengeance on Nineveh and its monarchy; but now he speaks as of a thing sufficiently known and adds, Pursue shall darkness the enemies of God By this second clause he intimates that the ruin of that kingdom would be perpetual. As then he had said that its destruction would be sudden, as God would, as it were, in a moment destroy the whole land; so now he cuts off from them every hope, that they might not think that they could within a while gather strength and rise again as it is the case with the wicked, who ever contend against God. The Prophet then shows that evil which God would bring on them would be without remedy. Some render the verb יררף , iredaph, transitively in this form, “He will pursue his enemies by darkness:” but as to the meaning of the Prophet there is but little or no difference; I therefore leave the point undecided. On the subject itself there is nothing ambiguous; the import of what is said is, — that God would, by a sudden inundation, destroy his enemies, — and that he would destroy them without affording any hope of restoration, for perpetual darkness would follow that sudden deluge. He afterwards adds —

Calvin: Nah 1:9

Some interpreters so consider this verse also, as though the Prophet had said, that the calamity of the chosen people would not be a destruction, as God would observe some moderation and keep within certain limits. The unbelieving, we know, immediately exult, whenever the children of God are oppressed by adverse things, as though it were all over with the Church. Hence the Prophet here, according to these interpreters, meets and checks this sort of petulance, What imagine ye against God? He will indeed afflict his Church, but he will not repeat her troubles, for he will be satisfied with one affliction. They also think that the kingdom of Judah is here compared with the kingdom of Israel: for the kingdom of Israel had been twice afflicted: for, first, four tribes had been led away, and then the whole kingdom had been overturned. As then one calamity had been inflicted by Shalmanezar, and another by Tiglathpilezar, they suppose that there is here an implied comparison, as though the Prophet said, “God will spare the kingdom of Judah, and will not repeat his vengeance, as it happened to the kingdom of Israel.” But this meaning is forced and too far-fetched. The Prophet then, I doubt not, continues here his discourse, and denounces perpetual ruin on the enemies of the Church. He says first, What imagine ye against Jehovah? He exults over the Assyrians, because they thought that they had to do only with mortals, and also with a mean people, and now worn out by many misfortunes. For we know that the kingdom of Judah had been weakened by many wars before the Assyrians made an irruption into the land: they had suffered two severe and grievous attacks from their neighbors, the king of Israel and the king of Syria; for then it was that they made the Assyrians their confederates. When therefore the Assyrians came against Judea, they thought that they would have no trouble in obtaining victory, as they engaged in war with an insignificant people, and as we have said, worn out by evils. But the Prophet shows here that the war was with the living God, and not with men, as they falsely thought. What then imagine ye against Jehovah? as though he said, “Know ye not that this people are under the care and protection of God? Ye cannot then attack the kingdom of Judah without having God as your opponent. As it is certain that this people are defended by a divine power, there is no reason for you to think that you will be victorious.” At the same time, I know not why the Prophet’s words should be confined to the tribe of Judah, since the purpose was to comfort the Israelites as well as the Jews.

Now this is a very useful doctrine; for the Prophet teaches us in general, that the ungodly, whenever they harass the Church, not only do wrong to men, but also fight with God himself; for he so connects us with himself, that all who hurt us touch the apple of his eye, as he declares in another place, (Zec 2:8.) We may then gather invaluable comfort from these words; for we can fully and boldly set up this shield against our enemies, — that they devise their counsels, and make efforts against God, and assail him; for he takes us under his protection for this end, that whenever we are injured, he may stand in the middle as our defender. This is one thing.

Now in the second clause he adds, that he will make a complete end, Rise up again shall not distress; that is, God is able to reduce you to nothing, so that there will be no need to assail you the second time. This passage, we know, has been turned to this meaning, — that God does not punish men twice nor exceed moderation in his wrath: but this is wholly foreign to the mind of the Prophet. I have also said already that I do not approve of what others have said, who apply this passage to the Church and especially to the kingdom of Judah. For I thus simply interpret the words of the Prophet, — that God can with one onset, when it seems good to him, so destroy his enemies, that there will be no need of striving with them the second time: Il n’y faudra plus retourner, as we say in our language. God then will make a full end; that is, he will be able in one moment to demolish his enemies and the ruin will be complete, that is, the wasting will be entire. There will be no distress again or the second time; for it will be all over with the enemies of God; not that God observes always the same rule when he punishes his enemies, nor does Nahum here prescribe any general rule; but he simply means, that God, whenever it pleases him, instantly destroys his enemies. He afterwards adds —

Calvin: Nah 1:10

He goes on with this same subject, — that Gods when he pleases to exercise his power, can, with no difficulty, consume his enemies: for the similitude, which is here added, means this, — that nothing is safe from God’s vengeance; for by perplexed thorns he understands things difficult to be handled. When thorns are entangled, we dare not, with the ends of our fingers, to touch their extreme parts; for wherever we put our hands, thorns meet and prick us. As then pricking from entangled thorns make us afraid, so none of us dare to come nigh them. Hence the Prophet says, they who are as entangled thorns; that is “However thorny ye may be, however full of poison, full of fury, full of wickedness, full of frauds, full of cruelty, ye may be, still the Lord can with one fire consume you, and consume you without any difficulty.” They were then as entangled thorns.

And then, as drunken by their own drinking. If we read so, the meaning is, — God or God’s wrath will come upon you as on drunker men; who, though they exult in their own intemperance, are yet enervated, and are not fit for fighting, for they have weakened their strength by extreme drinking. There seems indeed to be much vigor in a drunken man, for he swaggers immoderately and foams out much rage; but yet he may be cast down by a finger; and even a child can easily overcome a drunken person. It is therefore an apt similitude, — that God would manage the Assyrians as the drunken are wont to be managed; for the more audacity there is in drunken men, the easier they are brought under; for as they perceive no danger, and are, as it were, stupefied, so they run headlong with greater impetuosity. “In like manners” he says, “extreme satiety will be the cause of your ruin, when I shall attack you. Ye are indeed very violent; but all this your fury is altogether drunkenness: Come, he says, to you shall the vengeance of God as to those drunken with their own drinking ²¹⁷

Some render the last words, “To the drunken according to their drinking;” and this sense also is admissible; but as the Prophet’s meaning is still the same, I do not contend about words. Others indeed give to the Prophet’s words a different sense: but I doubt not but that he derides here that haughtiness by which the Assyrians were swollen, and compares it to drunkenness; as though he said, “Ye are indeed more than enough inflated and hence all tremble at your strength; but this your excess rather debilitates and weakens your powers. When God then shall undertake to destroy you as drunken men, your insolence will avail you nothing; but, on the contrary, it will be the cause of your ruin as ye offer yourselves of your own accord; and the Lord will easily cast you down, as when one, by pushing a drunken man, immediately throws him on the ground.”

And these comparisons ought to be carefully observed by us: for when there seems to be no probability of our enemies being destroyed, God can with one spark easily consume them. How so? for as fire consumes thorns entangled together, which no man dares to touch, so God can with one spark destroy all the wicked, however united together they may be. And the other comparison affords us also no small consolation; for when our enemies are insolent, and throw out high swelling words, and seem to frighten and to shake the whole world with their threatening, their excess is like drunkenness; there is no strength within; they are frantic but not strong, as is the case with all drunken men.

And he says, They shall be devoured as stubble of full dryness מלא , mela, means not only to be full, but also to be perfect or complete. Others render the words, “As stubble full of dryness,” but the sense is the same. He therefore intimates, that there would be nothing to prevent God from consuming the enemies of his Church; for he would make dry their whole vigor, so that they would differ nothing from stubble, and that very dry, which is in such a state, that it will easily take fire. It follows —

Calvin: Nah 1:11

The Prophet now shows why God was so exceedingly displeased with the Assyrians, and that was, because he would, as a protector of his Church, defend the distressed against those who unjustly oppressed them. The Prophet then designed here to give the Jews a firm hope, so that they might know that God had a care for their safety; for if he had only threatened the Assyrians without expressing the reason, of what avail could this have been to the Jews? It is indeed gratifying and pleasing when we see our enemies destroyed; but this would be a cold and barren comfort, except we were persuaded that it is done by God’s judgment, because he loves us, because he would defend us, having embraced us with paternal love; but when we know this, we then triumph even when in extreme evils. We are indeed certain of our salvation, when God testifies, and really proves also, that he is not only propitious to us, but that our salvation is an object of his care. This is the Prophet’s design when he thus addresses Nineveh.

From thee has gone forth a devisor of evil against Jehovah, an impious adviser The manner of speaking is much more emphatical, when he says, that the Assyrians consulted against God, than if he had said, that they had consulted against the Jews, or consulted against the chosen people of God.

But though this was said of the Jews, let us yet remember that it belongs also to us. The Prophet confirms the doctrine which I lately alluded to, that whenever the ungodly cause trouble to us, they carry on war with God himself, that whenever they devise any evil against us, they run headlong against him. For God sets up himself as a shield, and declares, that he will protect under the shadow of his wings all those who commit themselves to his protection. If we then lie hid under the guardianship of God, and flee to him in all our adversities, and while patiently enduring all wrongs, implore his protection and help, whosoever then will rise up against us will have God as his enemy. Why so? because he consults against him. And this reason shows, that whatever the Prophet has hitherto said against the Assyrians ought to be extended indiscriminately to all the enemies of the Church. For why did God threaten the Assyrians with a sudden inundation and with perpetual darkness? The reason is here subjoined, — because they consulted against him and his Church. The same thing then will also happen to our enemies, provided we remain quiet, as it has been said, under the protection of God.

But when he says that he had gone forth from that city who contrived evil against Jehovah, — this ought not to be confined to Sennacherib, but must rather be viewed as common to all the Assyrians; as though he said, “Thou produces the fruit which thou shalt eat; for from thee will arise the cause of thy ruin. There is no reason for thee to expostulate with God, as though he cruelly raged against thee; for from thee has gone forth he who devised evil against Jehovah: thou reapest now the reward worthy of thy bringing forth; for where have originated counsels against the Church of God, except in thine own bosom, and in thine own bowels? The evil then which has proceeded from thee shall return on thine own head.”

He then adds, An impious consulter, or counselor, בליעל יועף , ivots beliol. Respecting the word בליעל , beliol, the Hebrews themselves are not agreed. There are those who suppose it to be a compound word, בל יעל , It profits not; and they think that it is applied to designate things of nought as well as men of nought. ²¹⁸ There are others who, like Jerome, render it, Without a yoke, but without reason. Then Beliol, is properly a vain thing, which is wholly unsubstantial; and so it designates a man in whom there is no integrity. It is also applied to all the wicked, and to their crimes: hence a thing or work of Belial is said to be any heinous sin or a detestable crime; and the man who acts perversely and wickedly is called Belial. And Paul takes Belial simply for the very gravity of Satan, and of all the wicked; for he opposes Belial to Christ, (2Co 6:15.) We now then understand the meaning of the Prophet to be this, — that God denounces war on the Assyrians, because they made war unjustly on his people, and consulted not only against the Jews, but also against God, who had taken them, as it has been stated, under his own keeping and protection. It follows —

Calvin: Nah 1:12

The Prophet pursues here the same subject; but expresses more clearly what might have been doubtful, — that whatever strength there might be in the Assyrians, it could not resist the coming of God’s vengeance. For thus saith Jehovah, Though they be quiet and also strong, etc. I cannot now finish this subject, but will only say this, — The Prophet intimates that though Nineveh promised to itself a tranquil state, because it was well fortified, and had a wide and large extent of empire, yet this thy peace, he says, or this thy confidence and security, shall not be an impediment, that the hand of God should not be extended to thee. Though, then, they be many or strong etc.; for we can render רבים , rebim, strong as well as many; but either would suit this place; for we understand the Prophet’s meaning to be, that all God’s enemies would be cut off, however secure they might be, while depending on their own strength and fortresses. The rest to-morrow.

Calvin: Nah 1:13

He confirms what the former verse contains, — that God would now cease from his rigor; for he says, that the deliverance of this chosen people was nigh, when God would break down and reduce to nothing the tyranny of that empire. This verse clearly shows, that a clause in the preceding verse ought not to be so restricted as it is by some interpreters, who regard it as having been said of the slaughter of the army of Sennacherib. But the Prophet addresses here in common both the Israelites and the Jews, as it is evident from the context; and this verse also sufficiently proves, the Prophet does not speak of the Jews only; for they had not been so subdued by the Assyrians as the Israelites had been. I indeed allow that they became tributaries; for when they had broken their covenant, the Assyrian, after having conquered the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Syria, extended his arms at length to Judea. It is then certain, that they had been in some measure under the yoke; but it was not so hard a servitude that the words of the Prophet could be applied to it. I therefore take the expression generally, that God would free from the tyranny of Nineveh his own people, both the Israelites and the Jews. If any one objects and says, that the Israelites were never delivered. This indeed is true; but as to Nineveh, they were delivered when the empire was transferred to the Chaldeans, and Babylon became the seat of the empire.

We now then see, that the meaning of our Prophet is simply this, — that though God by the Assyrians chastised his people, he yet did not forget his covenant, for the Assyrians were punished. It was then sufficient for his purpose to say that the Jews as well as the Israelites were no longer under the yoke of Nineveh, how much soever they might have afterwards suffered under other tyrants. And what is said about the yoke being broken, belongs also in some measure to the Jews; for when we extend this to both, the Israelites and also the Jews, it would not be unsuitable to say, that they were both under the yoke and bound with chains. For though the servitude of Israel was hard, yet the Jews had also been deprived of their liberty. It is then right that this which is said should be taken generally, I will now break his yoke from thee, and thy bonds will I burst

Now this verse teaches us, that the people were not so subdued by the tyranny of their enemies, but that their deliverance was always in the hand and power of God. For how came it, that the Assyrians prevailed against the Israelites, and then subjugated the Jews, except that they were as a rod in the hand of God? So Isaiah teaches us in the tenth chapter. Though they armed themselves, they were yet but as the weapons and arms of God, for they could not have made any movement, except the Lord had turned their course, wherever he pleased, as when one throws a javelin or a dart with his hand. It follows —

Calvin: Nah 1:14

Nahum explains more clearly, and without a figure, what he had previously said of darkness, — that the kingdom of Nineveh would be so overturned, that it could never recruit its strength and return again to its pristine state. He indeed addresses the king himself, but under his person he includes no doubt the whole kingdom.

Commanded then has Jehovah, he says, respecting thee, let there not be sown of thy name; that is, God has so decreed, that the memory of thy name shall not survive: for to sow from the name of one, is to extend his fame. When, therefore, God entirely exterminates a race from the world, or when he obliterates a nation, he is said to command that there should not be sown of such a name; that is, that there should be no propagation of that name. In short, our Prophet denounces on the Assyrians a ruin, from which they were never to rise again. And when such a command is ascribed to God, it means, that by the sole bidding of God both nations and kingdoms are propagated, and are also abolished and destroyed: for what is said of individuals ought to be extended to all nations, ‘Seed, or the fruit of the womb,’ as it is said in the Psalms, ‘is the peculiar gift of God,’ (Psa 127:0.) For how comes it, that many are without children, while others have a large and a numerous family, except that God blesses some, and makes others barren? The same is to be thought of nations; the Lord propagates them and preserves their memory; but when it seems good to him, he reduces them to nothing, so that no seed remains. And when the Prophet testifies, that this is the command of Jehovah, he confirms the faith of the Israelites and of the Jews, that they might not doubt, but that the Assyrians would perish without any hope of restoration; for it was so decreed by Heaven.

He afterwards adds, From the house, or from the temple, of thy gods will I cut off graven images. It is probable, and it is the commonly received opinion, that the Prophet alludes here to Sennacherib, who was slain in the temple of his idol by his own sons, shortly after his return from Judea, when the siege of the holy city was miraculously raised through the instrumentality of an angel. As then he was slain in the temple, and it was by his murder profaned, I am inclined to receive what almost all others maintain, that there is here a reference to his person: but, at the same time, the Prophet no doubt describes, under the person of one king, the destruction and ruin of the whole kingdom. Gods indeed, did at that time make known what he had determined respecting the empire of Nineveh and all the Assyrians; for from this event followed also the change, that Nebuchodonosor transferred the empire to Babylon, and that the whole race, and every one who assumed power, became detestable. When, therefore, the Assyrians were torn by intestine discords, it was an easy matter for the Chaldeans to conquer them. Hence the Prophet does not here predict respecting one king only; but as his murder was, as it were, a prelude of the common ruin, the Prophet relates this history as being worthy of being remembered, — that the temple would be profaned by the murder of Sennacherib, and that then the monarchy would be soon transferred to the Chaldeans.

When he says, I will appoint thy sepulcher, he connects this clause with the former; for how was it that idols were cut off from that temple, except that that tragic deed rendered the place detestable? For there is no one who feels not a horror at such a base crime as that of children killing their father with their own hands. We know when a proud woman at Rome ordered her chariot to be drawn over the dead body of her father, the road was counted polluted. So also the temple was no doubt viewed as polluted by the murder of the king. Then these two clauses ought to be read together, that God would cut off idols and graven images from the temple, — and then, that the sepulcher of Sennacherib would be there.

He adds, For thou art execrable ²²⁰ I have rendered קלות , kolut, a thing to be abominated. It may indeed be referred to that history; but I take it by itself as meaning, that Sennacherib was to be abominable, and not he alone, but also the whole royal family, and the monarchy of Nineveh. For it is not consistent, as we have said already, to say, that all these things refer to the person of Sennacherib; for the Prophet speaks of the destruction of the city and nation, and that generally; at the same time, this does not prevent him from referring, as it were, in passing, to the person of Sennacherib.

It must, at the same time, be noticed, that the vain confidence, which the Assyrian kings placed in their idols and graven images, is here indirectly reproved; for we know that idolaters not only confide in their own strength, but that a part of their hope is also founded on their superstitions. Hence the Prophet says, that their temple was to be profaned by God, so that no aid would remain to the Assyrians, to the kings themselves any more than to the whole people. Let us proceed —

Calvin: Nah 1:15

The Prophet again teaches us, that whatever he prophesied respecting the destruction of the city Nineveh, was for this end, — that God, by this remarkable evidence, might show that he had a care for his people, and that he was not unmindful of the covenant he had made with the children of Abraham. This prophecy would have otherwise produced no salutary effect on the Israelites; they might have thought that it was by chance, or by some fatal revolution, or through some other cause, that Nineveh had been overthrown. Hence the Prophet shows, that the ruin of the city, and of the monarchy of Nineveh, would be a proof of the paternal love of God towards his chosen people, and that such a change was to be made for the sake of one people, because God, though he had for a time punished the Israelites, yet purposed that some seed should remain, for it would have been inconsistent, that the covenant, which was to be inviolate, should be entirely abolished. We now then understand the Prophet’s object, and how this verse is to be connected with the rest of the context.

Behold, he says, on the mountains the feet of him who announces peace ²²² Some think that the Prophet alludes to the situation of Jerusalem. We indeed know that mountains were around it: but the Prophet speaks more generally, — that heralds of peace shall ascend to the tops of mountains, that their voice might be more extensively heard: Behold, he says, on the mountains the feet of him who announces peace; for all the roads had been before closed up, and hardly any one dared to whisper. If any one inquired either respecting peace or war, there was immediate danger lest he should fall under suspicion. As then the Assyrians, by their tyrannical rule, had deprived the Israelites of the freedom of speech, the Prophet says now, that the feet of those who should announce peace would be on the mountains; that is, that there would be now free liberty to proclaim peace on the highest places. By feet, he means, as we have explained, coming; and Isaiah speaks a similar language,

‘How beautiful are the feet of those who announce peace,
who announce good things!’ (Isa 52:7.)

Arise, then, he says, shall heralds of peace everywhere: and the repetition in other words seems to express this still more clearly; for he says, of him who announces and causes to hear He might have simply said מבשר , mebesher, but he adds משמיע , meshemio; not only, he says, he will announce peace, but also with a clear and loud voice, so that his preaching may be heard from the remotest places. We now perceive what the Prophet had in view, and what his words import.

Now he adds, Celebrate, Judah, thy festal days. It is indeed a repetition of the same word, as if we were to say in Latin, Festiva festivitates, feast festivities; but this has nothing to do with the meaning of the passage. I am disposed to subscribe to the opinion of those who think, that there is here an intimation of the interruption of festal days; for so disordered were all things at Jerusalem and in the country around, that sacrifices had ceased, and festal days were also intermitted; for sacred history tells us, that the Passover was celebrated anew under Hezekiah, and also under Josiah. This omission no doubt happened, owing to the wars by which the country had been laid waste. Hence the Prophet now intimates, that there would be quietness and peace for the chosen people, so that they might all without any fear ascend to Jerusalem, and celebrate their festal days, and give thanks to the Lord, and rejoice before him, according to the language often used by Moses. At the same time, the Prophet no doubt reminds the Jews for what end the Lord would break off the enemy’s yoke, and exempt them from servile fear, and that was, that they might sacrifice to God and worship him, while enjoying their quiet condition. And that he addresses Judah is not done without reason; for though the kingdom of Israel was not as yet so rejected, that God did not regard them as his people, yet there were no legitimate sacrifices among them, and no festal days which God approved: we indeed know that the worship which prevailed there was corrupt and degenerated. Inasmuch then as God repudiated the sacrifices which were offered in Israel, Nahum addresses here his discourse to Judah only; but yet he intimates, that God had been thus bountiful to the Israelites, that they, remembering their deliverance, might give him thanks.

Let us then know, that when the Lord grants us tranquillity and preserves us in a quiet state, this end ought ever to be kept in view, — that it is his will, that we should truly serve him. But if we abuse the public peace given us, and if pleasures occasion a forgetfulness of God, this ingratitude will by no means be endured. We ought, indeed, in extreme necessities to sacrifice to God, as we have need then especially of fleeing to his mercy; but as we cannot so composedly worship him in a disturbed state of mind, he is pleased to allow us peaceable times. Now, if we misapply this leisure, and indulge in sloth, yea, if we become so heedless as to neglect God, this as I have said will be an intolerable evil. Let us then take notice of the Prophet’s words in setting forth the design of God, — that he would free his people from the power of the Assyrians, that they might celebrate their festal days.

He adds, Pay thy vows He not only speaks here of the ordinary sacrifices and of the worship which had been prescribed; but he also requires a special proof of gratitude for having been then delivered by the hand of God; for we know what paying of vows meant among the Hebrews: they were wont to offer peace-offerings, when they returned victorious from war, or when they were delivered from any danger, or when they were relieved from some calamity. The Prophet therefore now shows, that it was right to pay vows to God, inasmuch as he had dealt so bountifully with his people; as it is said in Psa 116:0, ‘What shall I return to the Lord for all his benefits which he has bestowed on me? The cup of salvation will I take, and on the name of the Lord will I call.’ We also find it thus written in Hosea,

‘The calves of thy lips to me shalt thou render,’
(Hos 14:2.)

We now perceive what Nahum substantially meant, — that when peace was restored, the people were not to bury so great and so remarkable a kindness of God, but to pay their vows; that is, that the people were to testify that God was the author of their deliverance, and that the redemption which they had obtained was the peculiar work of God.

It follows, “Add no more to pass through thee shall Belial, for utterly is he cut off.” This passage must not be explained in a general sense; for we know that the Chaldeans became more grievous to the Jews than the Assyrians had been; but the Prophet here refers especially to the Ninevites, that is, to the Assyrians, whose metropolis, as it has been said, was Nineveh. That wicked one then shall not add any more to pass through thee. — Why? for he is entirely cut off. This reason given by the Prophet clearly proves, that he speaks not of the wicked generally, but that he especially points out the Assyrians. Now follows —

Defender: Nah 1:1

Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, was destroyed in 612 b.c. by a confederacy of the hosts of Babylon, Media, and Scythia, according to the generally accepted Biblical chronology, so the prophecy of Nahum was given before that. The exact date however is unknown.

Defender: Nah 1:1

Nahum was a prophet of Judah, but his prophecy focuses entirely on Nineveh and Assyria. His home was in Elkosh, which may later have been renamed Kaphar-Nahum ("the village of Nahum"), or Capernaum, in honor of its most famous citizen."

Defender: Nah 1:2

Nineveh had turned to God at the preaching of Jonah, perhaps a century or so before Nahum's prophecy. Having once heard and professed the truth, the guilt of Nineveh became all the more inexcusable when she turned from the Lord into greater violence and wickedness than ever. Hence, Nahum prophesied God would soon take revenge on "his adversaries.""

Defender: Nah 1:3

Although tornadoes and other violent storms are natural phenomena in the world under God's Curse (Gen 3:17-20), their causes are very complex and their timing and intensity cannot yet be predicted by scientists. Angels, however, with greater wisdom, can - to some degree - control them for God's purposes. In fact, as Job's experiences showed, even Satan and his fallen angels may have this knowledge (Job 1:13-20)."

Defender: Nah 1:4

The catastrophic natural phenomena implied here go far beyond any events that occurred when Nineveh was destroyed by the Babylonians and their allies. However, such events are described in connection with the great tribulation period of the last days. This may well mean that at least some of the prophecies of Nahum, like many other Old Testament prophetic Scriptures, have both near and far fulfillments. The immediate focus was on wicked Nineveh and its coming destruction. The long-range view, however, looks toward end-time catastrophes on all these Bible lands, including the Assyro-Babylonian region where Nineveh once reigned (compare Joe 1:20; Rev 11:6; Rev 16:12)."

Defender: Nah 1:5

Note such last-day characteristics as revealed in Rev 6:12; Rev 8:7; 2Pe 3:10."

Defender: Nah 1:7

"The day of trouble" may refer to the tribulation period of the last days. This comforting promise to those who trust in the Lord would seem more appropriately applied to the persecuted believers of that day, rather than to any believing Ninevites (if there were any) at the time when Nineveh was destroyed by the invading armies of Babylon and its confederates."

Defender: Nah 1:11

Many scholars believe that Nahum prophesied in Judah at least partially during the reign of Hezekiah. If so, this could well be a prediction of the imminent invasion of Judah and Jerusalem by the Assyrian armies under Sennacherib."

Defender: Nah 1:12

Again assuming that this passage refers mainly to the armies of Sennacherib, this is a remarkable prophecy of the miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem. "Though they (the Assyrians) be quiet (asleep), and likewise many (185,000), yet thus shall they be cut down (all slain), when he (the angel of the Lord) shall pass through" (2Ki 19:35)."

Defender: Nah 1:14

Over and over again Nahum prophesies the utter demise - not only of Sennacherib (2Ki 19:36, 2Ki 19:37) and his descendants - but eventually even of Nineveh and the entire Assyrian empire. This was completely fulfilled."

Defender: Nah 1:15

This beautiful pre-Christian gospel message evidently was repeated and extended by Isaiah, sometime after the miraculous deliverance from Sennacherib (Isa 52:7)."

TSK: Nah 1:1

burden : Isa 13:1, Isa 14:28, Isa 15:1, Isa 21:1, Isa 22:1, Isa 23:1; Jer 23:33-37; Zec 9:1

Nineveh : Gen 10:11; Jon 3:3, Jon 3:4; Zep 2:13

TSK: Nah 1:2

God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth : or, The Lord is a jealous God, and a revenger, Exo 20:5, Exo 34:14; Deu 4:24; Jos 24:19; Isa 42:13; Eze 38:18, Eze 39:25; Joe 2:18; Zec 1:14, Zec 8:2

revengeth : Deu 32:35, Deu 32:42; Psa 94:1; Isa 59:17, Isa 59:18; Rom 12:19, Rom 13:4; Heb 10:30

is furious : Heb. that hath fury, Lev 26:28; Job 20:23; Isa 51:17, Isa 51:20, Isa 59:18, Isa 63:3-6, Isa 66:15; Jer 4:4, Jer 25:15, Jer 36:7; Lam 4:11; Eze 5:13, Eze 6:12, Eze 8:18, Eze 36:6; Mic 5:15; Zec 8:2

reserveth : Deu 32:34, Deu 32:35, Deu 32:41-43; Jer 3:5; Mic 7:18; Rom 2:5, Rom 2:6; 2Pe 2:9

TSK: Nah 1:3

slow : Exo 34:6, Exo 34:7; Neh 9:17; Psa 103:8, Psa 145:8; Joe 2:13; Jon 4:2; Jam 1:19

great : Job 9:4; Psa 62:11, Psa 66:3, Psa 147:5; Eph 1:19, Eph 1:20

and will : Num 14:18; Job 10:14

his way : Exo 19:16-18; Deu 5:22-24; 1Ki 19:11-13; Job 38:1; Psa 18:7-15, Psa 50:3; Psa 97:2-5, Psa 104:3; Isa 19:1, Isa 66:15; Dan 7:13; Hab 3:5-15; Zec 9:14; Mat 26:64; Rev 1:7

TSK: Nah 1:4

rebuketh : Job 38:11; Psa 104:7, Psa 106:9, Psa 114:3, Psa 114:5; Isa 50:2, Isa 50:3, Isa 51:10; Amo 5:8; Mat 8:26

and drieth : Jos 3:13-15; Psa 74:15; Isa 19:5-10, Isa 44:27; Eze 30:12

Bashan : Isa 33:9; Amo 1:2

TSK: Nah 1:5

mountains : 2Sa 22:8; Psa 29:5, Psa 29:6, Psa 68:8, Psa 97:4, Psa 97:5, Psa 114:4, Psa 114:6; Isa 2:12-14; Jer 4:24; Hab 3:10; Mat 27:51, Mat 28:2; Rev 20:11

the hills : Jdg 5:5; Psa 46:6, Psa 97:5; Isa 64:1, Isa 64:2; Mic 1:4

the earth : 2Pe 3:7-12

TSK: Nah 1:6

can stand : Psa 2:12, Psa 76:7, Psa 90:11; Isa 27:4; Jer 10:10; Mal 3:2; Rev 6:17

abide : Heb. stand up

his fury : Nah 1:2; Deu 32:22, Deu 32:23; Isa 10:16; Lam 2:4, Lam 4:11; Eze 30:16; Rev 16:1, Rev 16:8

TSK: Nah 1:7

Lord : 1Ch 16:34; Ezr 3:11; Psa 25:8, Psa 100:5, 136:1-26, Psa 145:6-10; Jer 33:11; Lam 3:25; Rom 11:22; 1Jo 4:8-10

strong hold : or, strength, Psa 18:1, Psa 18:2, Psa 27:5, Psa 62:6-8, Psa 71:3, Psa 84:11, Psa 91:1, Psa 91:2, Psa 144:1, Psa 144:2; Pro 18:10; Isa 25:4, Isa 26:1-4, Isa 32:2

in the : Psa 20:1, Psa 50:15, Psa 59:16, Psa 86:7, Psa 91:15; Isa 37:3, Isa 37:4

and he : Psa 1:6; Mat 7:23; Joh 10:27; Gal 4:9; 2Ti 2:19

that : 1Ch 5:20; 2Ch 16:8, 2Ch 16:9, 2Ch 32:8, 2Ch 32:11, 2Ch 32:21; Psa 84:12; Jer 17:7, Jer 17:8; Dan 3:28; Dan 6:23; Mat 27:43

TSK: Nah 1:8

with : Isa 8:7, Isa 8:8, Isa 28:17; Eze 13:13; Dan 9:26, Dan 11:10,Dan 11:22, Dan 11:40; Amo 8:8, Amo 9:5, Amo 9:6; Mat 7:27; 2Pe 3:6, 2Pe 3:7

the place : Nah 1:1, Nah 2:8; Zep 2:13

darkness : Job 30:15; Pro 4:19; Isa 8:22; Jer 13:16; Mat 8:12

TSK: Nah 1:9

do : Nah 1:11; Psa 2:1-4, Psa 21:11, Psa 33:10; Pro 21:30; Isa 8:9, Isa 8:10; Eze 38:10,Eze 38:11; Act 4:25-28; 2Co 10:5

he : 1Sa 3:12, 1Sa 26:8; 2Sa 20:10

TSK: Nah 1:10

while they be : 2Sa 23:6, 2Sa 23:7; Mic 7:4; 1Th 5:2, 1Th 5:3

drunken : Nah 3:11; 1Sa 25:36; 2Sa 13:28; Jer 51:39, Jer 51:57

they shall : Psa 68:2; Isa 9:18, Isa 10:17-19, Isa 27:4; Mal 4:1

TSK: Nah 1:11

one : Nah 1:9; 2Ki 18:13, 2Ki 18:14, 2Ki 18:30, 2Ki 19:22-25; 2Ch 32:15-19; Isa 10:7-15

wicked counsellor : Heb. counsellor of Belial, 1Sa 2:12; 2Sa 20:1; 2Ch 13:7

TSK: Nah 1:12

cut down : Heb. shorn, Isa 7:20

pass : Nah 1:15; Exo 12:12; Isa 8:8; Dan 11:10

Through : etc. or, If they would have been at peace, so should they have been many, and so should they have been shorn, and he should have passed away. yet. 2Ki 19:35, 2Ki 19:37; Isa 10:32-34, Isa 14:24-27, Isa 17:14, Isa 30:28-33, Isa 31:8, Isa 37:36

I will : Isa 30:19, Isa 51:22, Isa 60:18-20; Joe 2:19; Rev 7:16

TSK: Nah 1:13

will I : Isa 9:4, Isa 10:27, Isa 14:25; Jer 2:20; Mic 5:5, Mic 5:6

will burst : Psa 107:14; Jer 5:5

TSK: Nah 1:14

given : Psa 71:3; Isa 33:13

that : Psa 109:13; Pro 10:7; Isa 14:20-22

out : Exo 12:12; Lev 26:30; Isa 19:1, Isa 46:1, Isa 46:2; Jer 50:2

I will make : Nah 3:4-6; 2Ki 19:37; 2Ch 32:21

for : 1Sa 3:13; Dan 11:21

TSK: Nah 1:15

upon : Isa 40:9, Isa 40:10, Isa 52:7; Luk 2:10,Luk 2:14; Act 10:36; Rom 10:15

keep : Heb. feast

perform : Psa 107:8, Psa 107:15, Psa 107:21, Psa 107:22, Psa 116:12-14, Psa 116:17, Psa 116:18

the wicked : Heb. Belial, Nah 1:11, Nah 1:12

no : Isa 37:36-38

he : Nah 1:14; Isa 29:7, Isa 29:8

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Nah 1:1

The burden - Jerome: "The word משׂא mas's'â' , ‘ burden’ is never placed in the title, except when the vision is heavy and full of burden and toil."

Of Nineveh - The prophecy of Nahum again is very stern and awful. Nineveh, after having "repented at the preaching of Jonah,"again fell back into the sins whereof it had repented, and added this, that, being employed by God to chasten Israel, it set itself, not to inflict the measure of God’ s displeasure, but to uproot the chosen people, in whom was promised the birth of Christ . It was then an antichrist, and a type of him yet to come. Jonah’ s mission was a call to repentance, a type and forerunner of all God’ s messages to the world, while the day of grace and the world’ s probation lasts. Nahum, "the full of exceeding comfort,"as his name means, or "the comforter"is sent to Joh 16:6, Joh 16:8. "reprove the world of judgment."He is sent, prominently, to pronounce on Nineveh its doom when its day of grace should be over, and in it, on the world, when it and "all the works therein shall be burned up"2Pe 3:10.

With few words he directly comforts the people of God Nah 1:15; elsewhere the comfort even to her is indirect, in the destruction of her oppressor. Besides this, there is nothing of mercy or call to repentance, or sorrow for their desolation (as in Jer 3:12; Jer 8:18, Jer 8:21), but rather the pouring out of the vials of the wrath of God upon her and on the evil world, which resists to the end all God’ s calls and persecutes His people. The Book of Jonah proclaims God, "a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, who repents Him of the evil."Nahum speaks of the same attributes, yet closes with, "and will not at all acquit the wicked.": "The Merciful Himself, who is by Nature Merciful, the Holy Spirit, seemeth, speaking in the prophet, to laugh at their calamity."All is desolation, and death. The aggression against God is retorted upon the aggressor; one reeling strife for life or death; then the silence of the graveyard. And so, in its further meaning , "the prophecy belongs to the close of the world and the comfort of the saints therein, so that whatsoever they see in the world, they may hold cheap, as passing away and perishing and prepare themselves for the Day of Judgment, when the Lord shall he the Avenger of the true Assyrian."

So our Lord sets forth the end of the world as the comfort of the elect. "When these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh"Luk 21:28. This is the highest fulfillment of the prophecy, for "then will the wrath of God against the wicked be fully seen, who now patiently waiteth for them for mercy."

The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite - o "He first defines the object of the prophecy, whereto it looks; then states who spake it and whence it was;"the human instrument which God employed. The fuller title, "The book of the vision of Nahum"(which stands alone) probably expresses that it was not, like most prophecies, first delivered orally, and then collected by the prophet, but was always (as it is so remarkably) one whole. "The weight and pressure of this ‘ burden.’ may be felt from the very commencement of the book."

Barnes: Nah 1:2

God is jealous and the Lord revengeth - Rather (as the English margin) God "very jealous and avenging is the Lord."The Name of God, יהוה ( YHVH ), "He who Is,"the Unchangeable, is thrice repeated, and thrice it is said of Him that He is an Avenger. It shows both the certainty and greatness of the vengeance, and that He who inflicts it, is the All-Holy Trinity, who have a care for the elect. God’ s jealousy is twofold. It is an intense love, not bearing imperfections or unfaithfulness in that which It loves, and so chastening it; or not bearing the ill-dealings of those who would injure what It loves, and so destroying them. To Israel He had revealed Himself as "a Exo 20:5-6 jealous God, visiting iniquity but shewing mercy;"here, as jealous for His people against those who were purely His enemies and the enemies of His people (see Zec 1:14), and so His jealousy burns to their destruction, in that there is in them no good to be refined, but only evil to be consumed.

The titles of God rise in awe; first, "intensely jealous"and "an Avenger;"then, "an Avenger and a Lord of wrath;"One who hath it laid up with Him, at His Command, and the more terrible, because it is so; the Master of it, (not, as man, mastered by it; having it, to withhold or to discharge; yet so discharging it, at last, the more irrevocably on the finally impenitent. And this He says at the last, "an Avenger to His adversaries,"(literally, "those who hem and narrow Him in"). The word "avenged"is almost appropriated to God in the Old Testament, as to punishment which He inflicts, or at least causes to be inflicted , whether on individuals Gen 4:15, Gen 4:24; 1Sa 24:12; 2Sa 4:8; 2Ki 9:7; Jer 11:20; Jer 15:15; Jer 20:12, or upon a people, (His own Lev 26:25; Psa 99:8; Eze 24:8 or their enemies Deu 32:41, Deu 32:43; Psa 18:48; Isa 34:8; Isa 35:4; Isa 47:3; Isa 59:17; Isa 61:2; Isa 63:4; Mic 5:14; Jer 46:10; Jer 50:15, Jer 50:28; Jer 51:6, Jer 51:11, Jer 51:36; Eze 25:14, Eze 25:17, for their misdeeds. In the main it is a defect . Personal vengeance is mentioned only in characters, directly or indirectly censured, as Samson Jdg 15:7; Jdg 16:20 or Saul . It is forbidden to man, punished in him, claimed by God as His own inalienable right. "Vengeance is Mine and requital"(Deu 32:35, compare Psa 94:1). "Thou shalt not avenge nor keep up against the children of My people"Lev 19:18. Yet it is spoken of, not as a mere act of God, but as the expression of His Being. "Shall not My soul be avenged of such a nation as this?"Jer 5:9, Jer 5:29; Jer 9:9.

And a Reserver of wrath for His enemies - The hardened and unbelieving who hate God, and at last, when they had finally rejected God and were rejected by Him, the object of His aversion. It is spoken after the manner of men, yet therefore is the more terrible. There is that in God, to which the passions of man correspond; they are a false imitation of something which in Him is good, a distortion of the true likeness of God, in which God created us and whisk man by sin defaced. : "Pride doth imitate exaltedness: whereas Thou Alone art God exalted over all. Ambition, what seeks it, but honors and glory? Whereas Thou alone art to be honored above all and glorious for evermore. The cruelty of the great would fain be feared; but who is to be feared but God alone, out of whose power what can be wrested or withdrawn, when, or where, or whither, or by whom? The tendernesses of the wanton would fain be counted love: yet is nothing more tender than Thy charity; nor is aught loved more healthfully than that Thy truth, bright and beautiful above all. Curiosity makes semblance of a desire of knowledge; whereas Thou supremely knowest all. Yea, ignorance and foolishness itself is cloaked under the name of simplicity and uninjuriousness: because nothing is found more single than Thee; and what less injurious, since they are his own works which injure the sinner?

Yea, sloth would fain be at rest; but what stable rest beside the Lord? Luxury affects to be called plenty and abundance; but Thou art the fullness and never-failing plenteousness of incorruptible pleasures. Prodigality presents a shadow of liberality: but Thou art the most overflowing Giver of all good. Covetousness would possess many things; and Thou possessest all things. Envy disputes for excellency: what more excellent than Thou? Anger seeks revenge: who revenges more justly than Thou? Fear startles at things unaccustomed or sudden, which endanger things beloved, and takes forethought for their safety; but to Thee what unaccustomed or sudden, or who separats from Thee what Thou lovest? Or where but with Thee is unshaken safety? Grief pines away for things lost, the delight of its desires; because it would have nothing taken from it, as nothing can from Thee. Thus doth the soul seek without Thee what she finds not pure and untainted, until she returns to Thee. Thus, all pervertedly imitate Thee, who remove far from Thee, and lift themselves up against Thee. But even by thus imitating Thee, they imply Thee to be the Creator of all nature; whence there is no place, whither altogether to retire from Thee."And so, in man, the same qualities are good or bad, as they have God or self for their end. : "The joy of the world is a passion. Joy in the Holy Spirit or to joy in the Lord is a virtue. The sorrow of the world is a passion. The sorrow according to God which works salvation is a virtue. The fear of the world which hath torment, from which a man is called fearful, is a passion. The holy tear of the Lord, which abides forever, from which a man is called reverential, is a virtue. The hope of the world, when one’ s hope is in the world or the princes of the world, is a passion. Hope in God is a virtue, as well as faith and charity. Though these four human passions are not in God, there are four virtues, having the same names, which no one can have, save from God, from the Spirit of God."in man they are "passions,"because man is so far "passive"and suffers under them, and, through original sin, cannot hinder having them, though by God’ s grace he may hold them in.

God, without passion and in perfect holiness, has qualities, which in man were jealousy, wrath, vengeance, unforgivingness, a "rigor of perfect justice toward the impenitent, which punishes so severely, as though God had fury;"only, in Him it is righteous to punish man’ s unrighteousness. Elsewhere it is said, "God keepeth not for ever"Psa 103:9, or it is asked, "will He keep forever?"Jer 3:5, and He answers, "Return, and I will not cause Mine anger to fall upon you, for I am merciful, saith the Lord, I will not keep for ever"Jer 3:12. Man’ s misdeeds and God’ s displeasure remain with God, to be effaced on man’ s repentance, or "by his hardness and impenitent heart man treasureth up unto himself wrath in the day of wrath and of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will reward each according to his works"Rom 2:5-6.

Barnes: Nah 1:3

The Lord is slow to anger - Nahum takes up the words of Jonah Jon 4:2 as he spoke of God’ s attributes toward Nineveh, but only to show the opposite side of them. Jonah declares how God is "slow to anger,"giving men time of repentance, and if they do repent, "repenting Him also of the evil;"Nahum, that the long-suffering of God is not "slackness,"that "He is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

And strong in power - Divine long-suffering gees along with Divine power. God can be long-suffering, because He can, whenever He sees good, punish. His long-suffering is a token, not of weakness, but of power. He can allow persons the whole extent of trial, because, when they are past cure, He can end it at once. "God is a righteous judge, strong and patient, and God wraths every day"Psa 7:11. The wrath comes only at the last, but it is ever present with God. He cannot but be displeased with the sin; and so the Psalmist describes in the manner of men the gradual approximation to its discharge. "If he (the sinner) will not return (from evil or to God), He will whet His sword; He hath trodden His bow and directed it: He hath prepared for him instruments of death; He hath made his arrows burning"Psa 7:12-13. We see the arrow with unextinguishable fire, ready to be discharged, waiting for the final decision of the wicked, whether he will repent or not, but that still "the Day of the Lord will come"2Pe 3:9-10. "He will not at all acquit."

The words occur originally in the great declaration of God’ s attributes of mercy by Moses, as a necessary limitation of them ; they are continued to God’ s people, yet with the side of mercy predominant Jer 30:11; Jer 46:28; they are pleaded to Himself Num 14:18; they are the sanction of the third commandment Exo 20:7; Deu 5:11. He "will not acquit"of His own will, apart from His justice. So He saith, "I can of Mine own self do nothing"Joh 5:30, i. e., (in part), not as unjust judges, who "call good evil and evil good,"following their own will, not the merits of the case; but, "as I hear, I judge, and My judgment is just."He cannot even have mercy and spare unjustly, nor without the lowliness of penitence. Even if it is Jerusalem, over which He wept, or His "companion, His own familiar friend"Psa 55:14, He, who is no "accepter of persons,"cannot of mere favor forgive the impenitent.

The Lord hath His way in the whirlwind and in the storm - The vengeance of God comes at last swiftly, vehemently, fearfully, irresistibly. "When they say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them"1Th 5:3, and all creation stands at the command of the Creator against His enemies. "He shall take to Him His jealousy for complete armor, and make the creature His weapon, for the revenge of His enemies"(Wisd. 5:17).

And the clouds are the dust of His feet - Perhaps the imagery is from the light dust raised by an earthly army, of which Nahum’ s word is used Eze 26:10. The powers of heaven are arrayed against the might of earth. On earth a little dust, soon to subside; in heaven, the whirlwind and the storm, which sweep away what does not bow before them. The vapors, slight on outward seeming, but formed of countless multitudes of mist-drops, are yet dark and lowering, as they burst, and resistless. "The Feet of God are that power whereby He trampleth upon the ungodly."So it is said to the Son, "Sit Thou on My Right Hand until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool."Tempests have also, without figure, been used to overthrow God’ s enemies (Exo 14:27; Jos 10:11; Jdg 5:20; 1Sa 2:10; and 1Sa 7:10; 2Sa 22:15).

Barnes: Nah 1:4

He rebuketh the sea and maketh it dry - Delivering His people, as He did from Pharaoh Psa 106:9, the type of all later oppressors, and of antichrist. "His word is with power; to destroy them at once with one rough word (Wisd. 12:9). The restlessness of the barren and troubled sea is an image of the wicked. "And drieth up all the rivers"Isa 57:20, as He did Jordan. His coming shall be far more terrible than when all the hearts of the inhabitants of the land did melt. "Bashan languisheth and Carmel; and the flower of Lebanon languisheth"Jos 2:11. Bashan was richest in pastures; Carmel, according to its name, in gardens and vineyards; Lebanon, in vines also and fragrant flowers Hos 14:7; Son 4:11, but chiefly in the cedar and cypress; it had its name from the whiteness of the snow, which rests on its summit. These mountains then together are emblems of richness, lasting beauty, fruitfulness, loftiness; yet all, even that which by nature is not, in the variety of seasons, wont to fade, dries up and withers before the rebuke of God. But if these thing are "done in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?"All freshness, beauty, comeliness, show of outward nature, shall fade as grass; all ornament of men’ s outward graces or gifts, all mere show of goodness, shall fall off like a leaf and perish. If the glory of nature perishes before God, how much more the pride of man! Bashan also was the dwelling-place of the race of giants, and near Libanus was Damascus; yet their inhabitants became as dead men and their power shrank to nothing at the word of God.

Barnes: Nah 1:5

The mountains quaked at Him, and the hills melted - As of their own accord. The words are a renewal of those of Amos Amo 9:13. Inanimate nature is pictured as endowed with the terror, which guilt feels at the presence of God. All power; whether greater or less, whatsoever lifteth itself up, shall give way in that Day, which shall be "upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up"Isa 2:13-14. "And the earth is burned"(rather lifteth itself up; as an an earthquake it seems, as it were, to rise and sink down, lifting itself as if to meet its God or to flee. What is strongest, shaketh; what is hardest, melteth; yea, the whole world trembles and is removed. : "If,"said even Jews of old, "when God made Himself known in mercy, to give the law to His people, the world was so moved at His presence, how much more, when He shall reveal Himself in wrath!"The words are so great that they bear the soul on to the time, when the heaven and earth shall flee away from the Face of Him "Who sitteth on the throne, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat"Rev 20:11; 2Pe 3:10. And since all judgments are images of the Last, and the awe at tokens of God’ s presence is a shadow of the terror of that coming, he adds,

Barnes: Nah 1:6

Who can stand before His indignation? - This question appeals to our own consciences, that we cannot . It anticipates the self-conviction at every day of God’ s visitation, the forerunners of the lust. The word rendered "indignation"is reserved almost exclusively to denote the wrath of God. : "Who can trust in his own righteousness, and, for the abundance of his works or consciousness of his virtues, not be in need of mercy? ‘ Enter not into judgment with Thy servant, O Lord, for in Thy sight shall no man living be justified;’ and in Job it is said truly, ‘ Behold He put no trust in His servants, and His Angels He charged with folly. How much less in them that dwell in houses of’ clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which ewe crushed before the moth?’ Job 4:18-19. It were needless now to prove, that man’ s own deserts suffice to no one, and that we are not saved but by the grace of God, ‘ for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God’ Rom 3:23. Wherefore he saith, ‘ before His indignation,’ standing face to Face before Him in wrath."

Literally, "in the Face of:"guilt cannot look in the face of man, how much less, of God. The bliss of the righteous is the punishment of the wicked, to behold God face to Face. For "whoever trusts in his own works deserves His indignation. and thinking he stands, righteously does he fall."

His fury is poured out - נתך is used of the pouring out of God’ s wrath, Jer 7:20; Jer 42:18; 2Ch 12:7 (as more commonly שׁפך here its native meaning is brought out the more, by adding כאש .

Like fire - , sweeping away, like a torrent of molten fire, him who presumes that be can stand before His Face, as He did the cities of the plain Gen. 19, the image of the everlasting fire, which shall burn up His enemies on every side. "And rocks are thrown down"Psa 97:3; Psa 50:3; Psa 68:3; Psa 18:8. The rocks are like so many towers of nature, broken down and crushed "by Him"literally, "from Him."It needs not any act of God’ s. He wills and it is done. Those who harden themselves, are crushed and broken to pieces, the whole fabric they had built for themselves and their defenses, crumbling and shivered. If then they, whose hearts are hard as rocks, and bold against all peril, and even Satan himself, whose "heart is as firm as a stone, yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone"Job 41:24, shall be crushed then, who shall abide?

Barnes: Nah 1:7

The Lord is good: a stronghold in the day of trouble - " Good and doing good,"and full of sweetness; alike good and mighty; good in giving Himself and imparting His goodness to His own; yea "none is good, save God"Luk 18:19; Himself the stronghold wherein His own amy take refuge; both in the troubles of this life, in which "He will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able"1Co 10:13, and in that Day, which shall hem them in on every side, and leave no place of escape except Himself.

And He knoweth them that tuust in Him - So as to save them; as Rahab was saved when Jericho perished, and Lot out of the midst of the overthrow and Hezekiah from the host of Sennacherib. He knows them with an individual, ever-present, knowledge. He says not only, "He shall own them,"but He ever "knoweth them."So it is said; "The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous"Psa 1:6; "The Lord knoweth the, days of the upright"Psa 37:18; and our Lord says, "I know My sheep"Joh 10:14, Joh 10:27; and Paul, "The Lord knoweth them that are His"2Ti 2:19. God speaks of this knowledge also in the past, of His knowledge, when things as yet were not, "I have known thee by name;"or of loving kindness in the past, "I knew thee in the wilderness"Hos 13:5, "you alone have I known of all the families of the earth"Amo 3:2, its contrariwise our Lord says, that He shall say to the wicked in the Great Day, "I never knew you"Mat 7:23. That God, being what He is, should take knowledge of us, being what we are, is such wondrous condescension, that it involves a purpose of love, yea, His love toward us, as the Psalmist says admiringly, "Lord, what is man that Thou takest knowledge of him?"Psa 144:3.

Them that trust in Him - It is a habit, which has this reward; "the trusters in Him,""the takers of refuge in Him."It is a continued unvarying trust, to which is shown this everpresent love and knowledge.

Yet this gleam of comfort only discloses the darkness of the wicked. Since those who trust God are they whom God knows, it follows that the rest He knows not. On this opening, which sets forth the attributes of God toward those who defy Him and those who trust in Him, follows the special application to Nineveh.

Barnes: Nah 1:8

But with an overrunning flood He will make an utter end of the place thereof - that is, of Nineveh, although not as yet named, except in the title of the prophecy, yet present to the prophet’ s mind and his hearers, and that the more solemnly, as being the object of the wrath of God, so that, although unnamed, it would be known so to be. Image and reality, the first destruction and the last which it pictures, meet in the same words. Nineveh itself was overthrown through the swelling of the rivers which flowed around it and seemed to be its defense (see the note at Nah 2:6). Then also, the flood is the tide of the armies, gathered from all quarters, Babylonians , Medes, Persians, Arabians, Bactrians, which like a flood should sweep over Nineveh and leave nothing standing. It is also the flood of the wrath of God, in whose Hands they were and who, by them, should "make a full end of it,"literally, "make the place thereof a thing consumed,"a thing which has ceased to be. For a while, some ruins existed, whose name and history ceased to be known; soon after, the ruins themselves were effaced and buried . Such was the close of a city, almost coeval with the flood, which had now stood almost as many years as have passed since Christ came, but which now defied God. Marvelous image of the evil world itself, which shall flee away from the face of Him who sat on the throne, "and there was found no place for it"Rev 20:11.

And darkness shall pursue His enemies - Better, "He shall pursue His enemies into darkness"Darkness is, in the Old Testament, the condition, or state in which a person is, or lives; it is not an agent, which pursues. Isaiah speaks of the "inhabitants of darkness"Isa 42:7, "entering unto darkness"Isa 47:5; "those who are in darkness"Isa 49:9. "The grave is all darkness"Psa 88:12; Job 17:13, "darkness, and the shadow of death"Job 10:21. Hence, even Jews rendered , "He shall deliver them to hell."Into this darkness it is said, God shall pursue them, as other prophets speak of being "driven forth into darkness". The darkness, the motionless drear abode, to which they are driven, anticipates the being cast into "the outer darkness, where shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."Rup.: "The vengeance of God on"these who remain "His enemies"to the last, "ends not with the death of the body; but evil spirits, who are darkness and not light, pursue their souls, and seize them."They would not hear Christ calling to them, "Walk, while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you"Joh 12:35. "They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof"Job 24:13. "They loved darkness rather than light"Joh 3:19. And so they were driven into the darkness which they chose and loved.

Barnes: Nah 1:9

The prophet had in few words summed up the close of Nineveh; he now upbraids them with the sin, which should bring it upon them, and foretells the destruction of Sennacherib. Nineveh had, before this, been the instrument of chastising Israel and Judah. Now, the capture of Samaria, which had cast off God, deceived and emboldened it. Its king thought that this was the might of his own arm; and likened the Lord of heaven and earth to the idols of the pagan, and said, "Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand?"2Ki 18:35. He sent "to reproach the living God"2Ki 19:16 and "defied the Holy One of Israel"(see 2 Kings 19:15-34). His blasphemy was his destruction. It was a war, not simply of ambition, or covetousness, but directly against the power and worship of God.

"What will ye so mightily devise", "imagine against the Lord?"He Himself, by Himself, is already "making an utter end."It is in store; the Angel is ready to smite. Idle are man’ s devices, when the Lord doeth. "Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us"Isa 8:10. While the rich man was speaking comfort to his soul as to future years, God was making an utter end. "Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee."

Affliction shall not rise up the second time - Others have understood this, "affliction shall not rise up the second time,"but shall destroy at once, utterly and finally (compare 1Sa 26:8; 2Sa 20:10): but:

(1) the idiom there, "he did not repeat to him,"as we say, "he did not repeat the blow"is quite different;

(2) it is said "affliction shall not rise up,"itself, as if it could not. The causative of the idiom occurs in 2Sa 12:11, "lo, I will cause evil to rise up against thee;"as he says afterward, "Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more"Nah 1:12. "God,"He had said, "is good for a refuge in the day of affliction;"now, personifying that affliction, he says, that it should be so utterly broken, that it should rise up no more to vex them, as when a serpent’ s head is, not wounded only but, crushed and trampled underfoot, so that it cannot again lift itself up. The promises of God are conditioned by our not falling back into sin. He saith to Nineveh, "God will not deliver Judah to thee, as He delivered the ten tribes and Samaria."Judah repented under Hezekiah, and He not only delivered it from Sennacherib, but never afflicted them again through Assyria. Renewal of sin brings renewal or deepening of punishment. The new and more grievous sins under Manasseh were punished, not through Assyria but through the Chaldeans.

The words have passed into a maxim, "God will not punish the same thing twice,"not in this world and the world to come, i. e., not if repented of. For of the impenitent it is said, "destroy them with a double destruction"Jer 17:18. Chastisement here is a token of God’ s mercy; the absence of it, or prosperous sin, of perdition; but if any refuse to be corrected, the chastisement of this life is but the beginning of unending torments.

Barnes: Nah 1:10

For while they be leiden together as thorns - that is, as confused, intertwined, sharp, piercing, hard to be touched, rending and tearing whosoever would interfere with its tangled ways, and seemingly compact together and strong; "and while they are drunken as their drink", not "drinkers"only but literally, "drunken,"swallowed up, as it were, by their drink which they had swallowed, mastered, overcome, powerless, "they shall be derogated as stubble fully dry", rapidly, in an instant, with an empty crackling sound, unresisting, as having nothing in them which can resist. Historically, the great defeat of the Assyrians, before the capture of Nineveh, took place while its king, flushed with success, was giving himself to listlessness; and having distributed to his soldiers victims, and abundance of wine, and other necessaries for banqueting, the whole army was negligent and drunken."

In like way Babylon was taken amid the feasting of Belshazzar Dan. 5:1-30; Benhadad was smitten, while "drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him"1Ki 20:16. And so it may well be meant here too, that Sennacherib’ s army, secure of their prey, were sunk in revelry, already swallowed up by wine, before they were swallowed up by the pestilence, on the night when the Angel of the Lord went out to smite them, and, from the sleep of revelry, they slept the sleep from which they shall not awake until the Judgment Day. God chooses the last moment of the triumph of the wicked, when he is flushed by his success, the last of the helplessness of the righteous, when his hope can be in the Lord alone, to exchange their lots. "The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked comes in his stead"Pro 11:8. Spiritually , "the false fullness of the rich of this world, is real leanness; the greenness of such grass (for all flesh is grass) is real dryness. Marvelous words, "fully dry."For what is dryness but emptiness?"They are perfected, but in dryness, and so perfectly prepared to be burned up. "The thorns had, as far as in them lay, choked the good seed, and hated the Seed-corn, and now are found, like stubble, void of all seed, fitted only to be burned with fire. For those who feast themselves "without fear is reserved the blackness of darkness forever"Jud 1:12-13.

Barnes: Nah 1:11

There is one come out of thee - that is, Nineveh, "that imagineth"deviseth, , "evil, Lord, Sennacherib, against the the rod of God’ s anger"Isa 10:5-7, yet who "meant not so,"as God meant. "And this was his counsel,"as is every counsel of Satan, "that they could not resist him, and so should withdraw themselves from the land of God, "into a land like their own"Isa 36:16-17, but whose joy and sweetness, its vines and its fig-trees, should not be from God, but from the Assyrian, i. e., from Satan.

Barnes: Nah 1:12

Though they be quiet and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down - Literally, "If they be entire,"i. e., sound unharmed, unimpaired in their numbers, unbroken in their strength, undiminished, perfect in all which belongs to war; "and thus many even thus shall they be mown down (or shorn), and he passeth away". With might outwardly unscathed, "without hand"Dan 2:34, and "thus many,"i. e., many, accordingly, as being unweakened; as many as they shall be, "so shall they be mown down, and he,"their head and king, "shall pass away and perish"(compare Psa 48:4). Their numbers shall be, as their condition before, perfect; their destruction as their numbers, complete. It is wonderful how much God says in few words; and how it is here foretold that, with no previous loss, a mighty host secure and at ease, in consequence of their prosperity, all are at one blow mown down, like the dry grass before the scythe, are cut off and perish; and one, their king, "passeth away,"first by flight, and then by destruction. As they had shorn the glory of others Isa 7:20, so should they be shorn and cut down themselves.

Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more - o . Unless by new guilt thou compel Me. God always relieves us from trouble, as it were with the words, "sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee"Joh 5:14. In the end, afflictions shall be turned into joy, and "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be anymore paid"Rev 21:4.

Barnes: Nah 1:13

For now will I break his yoke from off thee - God, lest His own should despair, does not put them off altogether to a distant day, but saith, now. Historically, the beginning of the fall is the earnest of the end. By the destruction of Sennacherib, God declared His displeasure against Assyria; the rest was matter of time only. Thus, Haman’ s wise men say to him, "If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him"Est 6:13; as He saith in Isaiah, "I will break the Assyrian in My land, and upon My mountains tread him underfoot; then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders"Isa 14:25. : "In that He saith, not ‘ I will loose,’ ‘ will undo,’ but ‘ I will break,’ ‘ will burst,’ He sheweth that He will in such wise free Jerusalem, as to pour out displeasure on the enemy. The very mode of speaking shows the greatness of His displeasure against those who, when for the secret purpose of His judgments they have power given them against the servants of God, feed themselves on their punishments, and moreover dare to boast against God, as did the Assyrian, ‘ By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom’ Isa 10:13."

Barnes: Nah 1:14

And the Lord hath given a commandment concerning thee, O Assyrian - In the word "I have afflicted thee,"the land of Israel is addressed, as usual in Hebrew, in the feminine; here, a change of gender in Hebrew shows the person addressed to be different. : "By His command alone, and the word of His power, He cut off the race of the Assyrian, as he says in Wisdom, of Egypt, "Thine Almighty word leaped down from heaven, out of Thy royal throne; as a fierce man of war into the midst of a land of destruction, and brought Thine unfeigned commandment as a sharp sword, and standing up filled all things with death,"(Wisd. 18:15, 16), or else it may be, He gave command to the Angels His Ministers. God commands beforehand, that, when it comes to pass, it may be known "that not by chance,"nor by the will of man, "nor without His judgment but by the sentence of God"the blow came.

No move of thy name be sown - As Isaiah saith, "the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned"Isa 14:20. He prophesies, not the immediate but the absolute cessation of the Assyrian line. If the prophecy was uttered at the time of Sennacherib’ s invasion, seventeen years before his death, not Esarhaddon only, but his son Asshurbanipal also, whose career of personal conquest, the last glory of the house of the Sargonides and of the empire, began immediately upon his father’ s reign of thirteen years, was probably already born. Asshurbanipal in this case would only have been thirty-one, at the beginning of his energetic reign, and would have died in his fifty-second year. After him followed only an inglorious twenty-two years. The prophet says, "the Lord hath commanded."The decree as to Ahab’ s house was fulfilled in the person of his second son, as to Jeroboam and Baasha in their sons. It waited its appointed time, but was fulfilled in the complete excision of the doomed race.

Out of the house of thy gods will I cut off graven image and molten image - As thou hast done to others Isa 37:19, it shall be done to thee. : "And when even the common objects of worship of the Assyrian and Chaldean were not spared, what would be the ruin of the whole city!"So little shall thy gods help thee, that "there shalt thou be punished, where thou hopest for aid. ‘ Graven and molten image’ shall be thy grave; amid altar and oblations, as thou worshipest idols,"thanking them for thy deliverance, "shall thy unholy blood be shed,"as it was by his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer. Isa 37:38. "I will make it thy grave"; , what God makes remains immovable, cannot be changed. But He "maketh thy grave"in hell, where not only that rich man in the Gospel hath his grave; but all who are or have been like him, and especially thou, O Asshur, of whom it is written, "Asshur is there and all her company; his graves are about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword. Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living"Eze 32:22-23. "Graven and molten image,"the idols which men adore, the images of their vanity, the created things which they worship instead of the true God (as they whose god is their belly), in which they busy themselves in this life, shall be their destruction in the Day of Judgment.

For thou art vile - Thou honoredst thyself and dishonoredst God, so shalt thou be dishonored , as He saith, "Them that honor Me I will honor, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed"1Sa 2:30. So when he had said to Edom, "thou art greatly despised"Oba 1:2, he adds the ground of it, "The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee. For thou art vile"Oba 1:3. Great, honored, glorious as Assyria or its ruler were in the eyes of men, the prophet tells him, what he was in himself, being such in the eyes of God, light, empty, as Daniel said to Belshazzar, "Thou art weighed in the balances, and found wanting"Dan 5:27, of no account, vile .

Barnes: Nah 1:15

Behold upon the mountains, the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace - From mountain-top to mountain-top by beacon-fires they spread the glad tidings. Suddenly the deliverance comes, sudden its announcement. "Behold!"Judah, before hindered by armies from going up to Jerusalem, its cities taken 2Ki 18:13, may now again "keep the feasts"there, and "pay the vows,"which "in trouble she promised;""for the wicked one,"the ungodly Sennacherib, "is utterly cut off, he shall no more pass through thee;""the army and king and empire of the Assyrians have perished."But the words of prophecy cannot be bound down to this. These large promises, which, as to this world, were forfeited in the next reign, when Manasseh was taken captive to Babylon, and still more in the seventy years’ captivity, and more yet in that until now, look for a fulfillment, as they stand.

They sound so absolute. "I will afflict thee no more,""the wicked shall no more pass through thee,""he is utterly (literally, the whole of him) cut off."Nahum joins on this signal complete deliverance from a temporal enemy, to the final deliverance of the people of God. The invasion of Sennacherib was an avowed conflict with God Himself. It was a defiance of God. He would make God’ s people, his; he would "cut it off that it be no more a people, and that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance"Psa 83:4. There was a more "evil counselor"behind, whose agent was Sennacherib. He, as he is the author of all murders and strife, so has he a special hatred for the Church, whether before or since Christ’ s Coming. Before, that he right cut off that Line from whom "the Seed of the woman"should be born, which should destroy his empire and crush himself, and that he might devour the Child who was to be born Rev 12:4.

Since, because her members are his freed captives, and she makes inroads on his kingdom, and he hates them because he hates God and Christ who dwells in them. As the time of the birth of our Lord neared, his hate became more concentrated. God overruled the hatred of Edom or Moab, or the pride of Assyria, to His own ends, to preserve Israel by chastising it. Their hatred was from the evil one, because it was God’ s people, the seed of Abraham, the tribe of Judah, the line of David. If they could be cut off, they of whom Christ was to be born according to the flesh, and so, in all seeming, the hope of the world, were gone. Sennacherib then was not a picture only, he was the agent of Satan, who used his hands, feet, tongue, to blaspheme God and war against His people. As then we have respect not to the mere agent, but to the principal, and should address him through those he employed (as Elisha said of the messenger who came to slay him, "is not the sound of his master’ s feet behind him?"2Ki 6:32), so the prophet’ s words chiefly and most fully go to the instigator of Sennacherib, whose very name he names, Belial. It is the deliverance of the Church and the people of God which he foretells, and thanks God for.

To the Church he says in the Same of God, "Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more"Nah 1:12. The yoke which He will burst is the yoke of the oppressor, of which Isaiah speaks, and which the Son, to be born of a Virgin, "the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace,"was to break Isa 9:4, Isa 9:6; the yoke of sin and the bands of fleshly pleasure and evil habits, wherewith we were held captive, so that henceforth we should walk upright, unbowed, look up to heaven our home, and "run the way of Thy commandments when Thou hast set my heart at liberty."Behold, then, "upon the mountains,"i. e., above all the height of this world, "the feet of him that bringeth good tidings,"i. e., of remission of sins and sanctification by the Spirit and the freedom and adoption as sons, and the casting out of the Prince of this world, "that publisheth peace.""O Judah,"thou, the true people of God, "keep thy solemn feasts,"the substance of the figures of the law. : "He who is ever engaged on the words, deeds and thoughts of Him, who is by nature Lord, the Word of God, ever lives in His days, ever keeps Lord’ s days. Yea he who ever prepares himself for the true life and abstains from the sweets of this life which deceive the many, and who cherishes not the mind of the flesh but chastens the body and enslaves it, is ever keeping the days of preparation. He too who thinks that Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us, and that we must keep festival, eating the flesh of the Word, there is no time when he keeps not the Passover, ever passing over in thought and every word and deed from the affairs of this life to God, and hasting to His city. Moreover whoso can say truthfully, we have risen together with Christ, yea and also, He hath together raised us and together seated us in the heavenly places in Christ, ever lives in the days of Pentecost; and chiefly, when, going up into the upper room as the Apostles of Jesus, he gives himself to supplication and prayer, that he may become meet for the rushing mighty wind from heaven, which mightily effaces the evil in men and its fruits, meet too for some portion of the fiery tongue froth God.": "Such an one will keep the feast excellently, having the faith in Christ fixed, hallowed by the Spirit, glorious with the grace of adoption. And he will offer to God spiritual sacrifice, consecrating himself for an odor of sweetness, cultivating also every kind of virtue, temperance, continence, fortitude, endurance, charity, hope, love of the poor, goodness, longsuffering: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Every power of the enemy, which before had dominion over him, shall pass through no more, since Christ commanded the unclean spirits to depart into the abyss and giveth to those who love Him power to resist the enemy, and subdue the passions, and destroy sin and tread on serpents and scorpions and every power of the enemy."

And these feasts were to he kept "in the spirit not in the letter. For what avails it to keep any feast wilhout, unless there be the feast of contmplation in the soul?". Wherefore he adds, "and pay thy vows,"i. e., thyself, whom in Baptism thou hast vowed: for the Wicked One shall no more pass through thee. : "For from what time, O Judah, Christ, by dying and rising again, hallowed thy feasts, he can no longer pass through thee. Thenceforth he perished wholly. Not that he has, in substance, ceased to be, but that the death of the human race, which through his envy came into this world, the two-fold death of body trod soul, wholly perisheth. Where and when did this Belial perish? When died the death which he brought in, whence himself also is called Death? When Christ died, then died the death of our souls; and when Christ rose again, then perished the death of our bodies. When then, O Judah thou keepest thy feast, remember that thy very feast is He, of whom thou savest that by dying He conquered death and by rising He restored life. Hence it is said, Belial shall no more pass through thee.

For if thou look to that alone, that Sennacherib departed, to return no more, and perished, it would not be true to say, Belial hath wholly perished! For after him many a Belial, such as he was, passed through time, and hurt thee far more. Perchance thou sayest, ‘ so long as Nineveh standest, how savest thou, that Belial has wholly perisited? So long as the world standeth, how shall I be comforted, that death hath perished? For lo! persecutors tamed with death have stormed, and besides them, many sons of Belial, of whom antichrist will be the worst. How then sayest thou, that Belial has wholly perished?’ It follows, "the Scatterer hath gone up before thee."To Judah in the flesh, Nebuchadnezzar who went up against Nineveh, was worse than Sennacherib. Who then is He who went up before thee, and dispersed the world, that great Nineveh, that thou shouldest have full consolation? Christ who descended, Himself ascended; and as He ascended, so shall He come to disperse Nineveh, i. e., to judge the world. What any persecutor doth meanwhile, yea or the Devil himself or antichrist, takes nothing from the truth, that Belial hath "wholly perished.""The prince of this world is cast out."For nothing which they do, or can do, hinders, that both deaths of body and soul are swallowed up in His victory, who hath ascended to heaven? Belial cannot in the members kill the soul, which hath been made alive by the death of the Head, i. e., Christ; and as to the death of the body, so certain is it that it will perish, that thou mayest say fearlessly that it hath perished, since Christ the Head hath risen."

Each fall of an enemy of the Church, each recovery of a sinful soul being a part of this victory, the words may be applied to each. The Church or the soul are bidden to keep the feast and pay their vows, whatever in their trouble they promised to God. Jerome: "It is said to souls, which confess the Lord, that the devil who, before, wasted thee and bowed thee with that most heavy yoke hath, in and with the idols which thou madest for thyself, perished; keep thy feasts and pay to God thy vows, singing with the angels continually, for no more shall Belial pass through thee, of whom the apostle too saith, What concord hath Christ with Belial? The words too, Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that brings good tidings, that publishes peace"belong, in a degree, to all preachers of the Gospel. : "No one can preach peace, who is himself below and cleaves to earthly things. For warn are for the good things of earth. If thou wouldest preach peace to thyself and thy neighbor, be raised above the earth and its goods, riches and glory. Ascend to the heavenly mountains, whence David also, lifting up his eyes, hoped that his help would come."

Poole: Nah 1:1

The burden: when the prophets were sent to denounce future judgments against a nation or city, the word was usually called the burden of that nation or city; as, the burden of Moab, Isa 15:1 ; of Egypt, Isa 19:1 ; of Babylon, Isa 13:1 ; of Damascus, Isa 17:1 . So here the calamities foretold are called the burden of Nineveh. Nineveh was the mother city of the Assyrian kingdom, and so, by a synecdoche, is here to be interpreted as including the whole kingdom, which is threatened with destruction in the destruction of Nineveh. It was a city very ancient, built by Asshur, son of Nimrod; repaired and enlarged by Ninus, giving name to the city he repaired, Nineveh, A.M. 1905, or 1908.

The book either because written and sent to Nineveh, or else because written and left to be read by posterity. The vision, or prophecy, for prophets were of old called seers, 1Sa 9:9 , and their prophecies were called visions; or it may include the manner in which Nahum was informed what was coming upon Nineveh, God revealed, and the prophet foresaw the things.

Nahum his name speaks a comforter , but it is to God’ s people, to whom he gives notice of the destruction of their oppressors. His family, place of birth, and time of prophesying, are somewhat uncertain; perhaps he might prophesy in the time of Hezekiah, when the ten tribes were carried captive by Shalmaneser.

The Elkoshite: whether this speaks Nahum’ s family, or town where born or his country in general, is not certain, but probably it is the village Elkosh in Galilee, by which he is here called.

NAHUM

THE ARGUMENT

THE prophet Nahum is one of those prophets whose family and country are concealed, and it would be more labour than profit to spend time on the inquiry after the one or other. He is styled the Elkoshite, and possibly born and bred in Elkosh, a town of Galilee, an obscure place, of which perhaps we had heard no more, had it not been written that this man was born there, to allude to that of the psalmist, Psa 87:5 . The time of his appearing in public to discharge his prophetic office is much more material, being a key to the whole prophecy. Now it is certain that Nahum was a prophet in office whilst the kingdom of Assyria was not only standing, but whilst it was standing in its glory and entire strength, whilst it was dangerous and terrible to its neighbours. It is to me evident that Nahum prophesied before the destruction of Sennacherib’ s army, for he foretelleth the death of Sennacherib, Nah 1:14 . It is certain also he appeared after Hoshea and the ten tribes were carried captives by Shalmaneser. This was either in A.M. 3229, as Helvicus, or 3283, as Archbishop Usher and Doctor Lightfoot, in the ninth year of Hoshea, which was the sixth of Hezekiah, 2Ki 18:10 , and some few years before the death of Shalmaneser, whose son Sennacherib succeeded, and invaded Egypt and Judah in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah, eight years after Samaria was taken and the ten tribes were captivated; within which time, and probably toward the fifth of those eight, Nahum is sent a prophet to quiet, support, and encourage Hezekiah and his subjects against all the threats and power of the Assyrian tyrant, who threatened to destroy Judah and Jerusalem, from accomplishing whereof the tyrant shall be so far that God will turn it to his ruin; and here, as a very fit season, the prophet declareth the final and utter ruin of the Assyrian empire and its capital city Nineveh, as a just revenge for all their oppressions of their neighbours, but especially in revenge of their reiterated violence against Israel and Judah: on account of which good tidings the prophet hath his name Nahum, which in the Hebrew is from a word signifying to comfort; and also to repent; indeed repentance is preparatory to comfort; and though his preaching against Nineveh be the comfort of Jerusalem, no doubt he called Jerusalem to repent, which is probably collected from Nah 1:15 , O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows. This whole prophecy, except the 15th verse of this chapter, is directed against Nineveh, head city of the Assyrian kingdom, and against the whole kingdom; which, with all sorts of men and women in it, are threatened with very sore and heavy judgments, with final desolation, or captivity, for their sins; all which was fulfilled by the Lord, using the Babylonian and Median power to overthrow this power of Assyria, and particularly by the joint forces of Nabopollassar and Astyages, as is by the most learned Archbishop Usher observed, in A. M, 3378. Yet others tell us the final ruin of the Assyrian kingdom, foretold by Nahum, came much sooner, and that in the death of Esarhaddon, or Assaradinus, the Assyrian monarchs did expire. But though I determine not the number of years during which this threatened monarchy did stand, yet, be they fewer or more, Nahum’ s prophecy was fulfilled in the destruction of Nineveh and the subversion of the Assyrian monarchy, and the Jews were no more infested by the Assyrian though they were by the Babylonian kingdom. The things then spoken of by Nahum do in the letter and historical part of them concern the times between the twelfth or fourteenth of Hezekiah and the end of the Assyrian monarchy. And a skilful observer of the histories of those times would be best able to interpret this prophet, nor shall any do it tolerably well without recourse to those histories, which, though not cited here at large, (which brief annotations admit not,) yet have not been quite neglected; and what errors in applying the histories and computation of times are here committed, all will candidly excuse who know the obscurity and uncertainty of those times.

NAHUM CHAPTER 1

The majesty of God in goodness to his people, and severity against his enemies.

The burden: when the prophets were sent to denounce future judgments against a nation or city, the word was usually called the burden of that nation or city; as, the burden of Moab, Isa 15:1 ; of Egypt, Isa 19:1 ; of Babylon, Isa 13:1 ; of Damascus, Isa 17:1 . So here the calamities foretold are called the burden of Nineveh. Nineveh was the mother city of the Assyrian kingdom, and so, by a synecdoche, is here to be interpreted as including the whole kingdom, which is threatened with destruction in the destruction of Nineveh. It was a city very ancient, built by Asshur, son of Nimrod; repaired and enlarged by Ninus, giving name to the city he repaired, Nineveh, A.M. 1905, or 1908.

The book either because written and sent to Nineveh, or else because written and left to be read by posterity. The vision, or prophecy, for prophets were of old called seers, 1Sa 9:9 , and their prophecies were called visions; or it may include the manner in which Nahum was informed what was coming upon Nineveh, God revealed, and the prophet foresaw the things.

Nahum his name speaks a comforter , but it is to God’ s people, to whom he gives notice of the destruction of their oppressors. His family, place of birth, and time of prophesying, are somewhat uncertain; perhaps he might prophesy in the time of Hezekiah, when the ten tribes were carried captive by Shalmaneser.

The Elkoshite: whether this speaks Nahum’ s family, or town where born or his country in general, is not certain, but probably it is the village Elkosh in Galilee, by which he is here called.

Poole: Nah 1:2

God the mighty God, so the French version, and the Hebrew la implieth it.

Is jealous his love is fervent for his people, his displeasure hot against his and their enemies, whose idolatries he will not long bear against himself, nor their cruelties and rage against his people; but, as jealous for his people’ s good, and for his own glory, he will appear and act: so Isa 42:13 Eze 39:25 Zec 1:14 8:2 .

The Lord Jehovah, the everlasting and unchangeable God, the same always towards his people. Revengeth ; as supreme Governor, who by office is, and accounts himself, bound to right the oppressed, and to punish the oppressor; so vengeance is the Lord’ s, and he will repay.

The Lord revengeth it is repeated for confirming the truth, and to affect the wicked with terror, and to awaken them to a timely repentance; to affect God’ s own people with joy and hope, that they may wait on him till they see the vengeance from God, mighty, judge, zealous, unchangeable, and eternal.

Is furious Heb. is Lord or Master of fury ; not like furious men, who cannot command or govern their anger, but grow suddenly furious, and as suddenly pour it forth, whether seasonably or unseasonably they regard not; but God, who here threatens enemies, and comforts his friends, is as much Lord of his anger, as he is Lord of power and wisdom to execute his displeasure in fittest time.

Will take vengeance when it is most seasonable he should do it he most certainly will do it.

He reserveth wrath: this explains the former phrase,

Lord of fury God restrains and keeps in his own anger, which grows greater by the sufferings of his people and sins of his enemies.

God the mighty God, so the French version, and the Hebrew la implieth it.

Is jealous his love is fervent for his people, his displeasure hot against his and their enemies, whose idolatries he will not long bear against himself, nor their cruelties and rage against his people; but, as jealous for his people’ s good, and for his own glory, he will appear and act: so Isa 42:13 Eze 39:25 Zec 1:14 8:2 .

The Lord Jehovah, the everlasting and unchangeable God, the same always towards his people. Revengeth ; as supreme Governor, who by office is, and accounts himself, bound to right the oppressed, and to punish the oppressor; so vengeance is the Lord’ s, and he will repay.

The Lord revengeth it is repeated for confirming the truth, and to affect the wicked with terror, and to awaken them to a timely repentance; to affect God’ s own people with joy and hope, that they may wait on him till they see the vengeance from God, mighty, judge, zealous, unchangeable, and eternal.

Is furious Heb. is Lord or Master of fury ; not like furious men, who cannot command or govern their anger, but grow suddenly furious, and as suddenly pour it forth, whether seasonably or unseasonably they regard not; but God, who here threatens enemies, and comforts his friends, is as much Lord of his anger, as he is Lord of power and wisdom to execute his displeasure in fittest time.

Will take vengeance when it is most seasonable he should do it he most certainly will do it.

He reserveth wrath: this explains the former phrase,

Lord of fury God restrains and keeps in his own anger, which grows greater by the sufferings of his people and sins of his enemies.

Poole: Nah 1:3

The Lord is slow to anger not slack, as some count slackness, 2Pe 3:9 , either in performing promise, or executing threats; but very wisely patient and long-suffering, which is ever tempered with great mercy, and both are joined together in his providence and in his word: see Exo 34:6 Num 14:18 Neh 9:17 Psa 103:8 145:8 Joe 2:13 Jon 4:2 .

Anger just displeasure conceived and expressed: the Lord doth not presently entertain resentments of displeasure, nor make sinners feel them; he doth now, as he long hath, forborne you, O sinful Ninevites, O cruel Assyrians! but consider it, his slow anger will be the heavier when it falls on you.

Great in power most mighty in power, which restrains the rage of enemies, defends and supports his oppressed ones, and in a moment can destroy those that have deserved, yet fear not his anger: that the Assyrians are not yet destroyed is the effect of patience, not of impotence, in the God of Israel.

And will This is spoken to awaken the secure kingdom, in which many, it is like, were as the scoffers, 2Pe 3:4 , ready to say, All things do continue as they were, there will be no change, no judgment against the wicked. But our prophet assures such, that as there is great power with God, he can, so there is exact justice and stedfast resolution, he will judge.

Not at all acquit neither pronounce them innocent by sentence of judgment, nor let them escape as if innocent by a perpetuated forbearance in the course of his providence; but, sooner or later, in due season the wickedness or righteousness of them shall be upon them.

The wicked the incorrigible, hardened, and persisting sinner.

The Lord hath his way either the methods of his providence, his usual path; or else his way, intimating the unerring steadiness of providence, the straight and known path; however to us it may seem, yet certainly God knows and keeps the right way.

In the whirlwind which riseth suddenly, and with violence beareth before it all things that stand in its way; which none can prevent, which no man can calm, which is attended with terror and amazement, Job 27:20 Isa 17:13 29:6 Amo 1:14 : so will destruction from the mighty and just displeasure of God come upon his adversaries, and on you Ninevites and Assyrians, when you shall fall before his whirlwind and tempest; so all impenitent sinners perish, Pro 1:27 .

In the storm the Hebrew speaks a dreadful tempest, which makes men full of horror; it is an elegant ingemination of the same thing, to affect hearers the more.

The clouds are the dust of his feet though he be surrounded with darkness, yet as an army afar off is discovered by the dust that their feet raise, so will God at last appear as an enemy with great power marching against his enemies, and from above, as well as from the darkness of clouds, destroy them. This is spoken after the manner of man, and must be applied as beseems God.

Poole: Nah 1:4

He rebuketh: he once did rebuke, as Exo 14:21 ; he still can, as a lord rebuketh his servant, or a general rebukes his soldier, by word or look, Isa 1 Isa 2 .

The sea literally understood, or figuratively, it imports still that he can deliver his people, and destroy his adversaries, as of old he did.

And maketh it dry his word or will doth as speedily do this thing, as it doth proceed from God; he commands, and it is done.

And drieth up all the rivers: so Jordan saw or heard the rebuke of our God, and fled, or was driven back, Jos 3:15,16 Ps 114:3 ; and what he once did upon Jordan, that he can do on all other rivers: and so are we to understand the words.

Bashan it lay eastward of Jordan, was the kingdom of Og; it was famous for oaks, Eze 27:6 ; for cattle also, as bulls, Psa 22:12 , and rains, Deu 32:14 ; and was given to the half tribe of Manasseh.

Languisheth grows barren, as if under a consumptive languishing, is not longer sufficient to feed the cattle that were wont to feed and grow fat upon it.

Carmel a very fruitful mountain, either in the confines of Zebulun and Asher northward, Jos 12:22 , where Elijah by fire from heaven contended with and convicted the Baalites; or else this Carmel might be that where Nabal dwelt, 1Sa 25:2 , famous for its rich pastures; this was more southward than the other, and not far from Hebron.

The flower whatever flourished and was beautiful, trees, their blossoms, and the flowers which were wont to be the glory of it.

Lebanon a mountain that runs from the coast of the Phoenician Sea westward, for one hundred and twenty-five miles more or less eastward; and verging toward Arabia, it is the north boundary of Judea, and divides it front Syria; famous for its fruitfulness, as for its height.

Languisheth loseth its strength and virtue; both the product, and the very soil that produceth too, soon fall into a consumption.

Poole: Nah 1:5

The mountains the more known mountains of that country were mentioned Nah 1:4 , now the prophet doth extend his speech to all mountains, how great soever, and how fast soever their foundations are laid.

Quake tremble at his rebuke; not only are shaken by earthquakes from natural causes, disposed by God’ s power and wisdom, but are shaken and tremble under the effects of his extraordinary presence, Jud 5:4 Job 9:5 Psa 29:6 Jer 10:10 .

At him by his power, or at his displeasure, or indeed at his presence, Psa 68:8 , and so the Chaldee paraphrast.

The hills the lesser hills, distinguished from mountains, or else it is a confirming ingemination of what he had said.

Melt: God’ s rebuke is as fire; mountains and hills, like wax, melt down before it, Psa 114:6-8 .

The earth which seems to be secure against the fury of the fire, yet proves combustible under the fire of God’ s wrath.

Is burnt or else, is taken away, withdraws itself, lifts up itself, as sometimes in earthquakes; or, as the Gallic version, mounteth up in fire; the Hebrew imports all these.

The world the habitable world.

All that dwell therein whether they be far off or near to Israel; both men, and all the rest of the creatures, whose abode is on earth, are wonderfully shaken, affrighted, and overwhelmed at the tokens of God’ s rebuke.

Poole: Nah 1:6

Who can stand before his indignation? since God can do all this, who among the Assyrians, who among the Ninevites, what kingdom or monarchy, is mighty enough to resist or defeat the counsel and power of this God, who will ere long rebuke, and pour out his indignation upon them.

Who can abide be able to endure, or continue in flourishing, peaceful, safe, or joyful state? It is much the same with standing, before mentioned.

The fierceness of his anger this explains the former; the heat of his anger is his indignation, and no creature can bear it.

His fury: fury in man speaks somewhat culpable and blameworthy, but in God it cannot be so, it is the intenseness of his just and wise displeasure.

Is poured out with most righteous and wise direction by God himself who is as Nah 1:2 , which see.

Like fire not in the unsteadiness and unruliness, but in the vehemency, spreading nature, and irresistible force of it; as in Sodom’ s overthrow.

The rocks are thrown down by him though foundations do support other things, yet they cannot support themselves against their God when once angry.

Poole: Nah 1:7

The Lord is good though so terrible to his enemies, to obstinate sinners, yet he is as gentle, kind, and good to his people, to Israel; so the Chaldee paraphrast.

Is good in his just severity he continueth to be good. None of that consuming anger comes from any want of goodness in God; yea, it is as much an effect of his goodness, as just punishments on incorrigible malefactors are the effects of goodness in a judge or magistrate. But here the prophet intends rather the kindness and grace of God towards his people, to whom he doth good, and will do more. Psa 73:1 119:68 .

A strong hold it might have been rendered, good to be a strong hold, as the Hebrew affix imports, and is sometimes rendered. Though Israel seems to be exposed to the violence of enemies, and to be without any munition or fortress, yet verily the Lord their God is for a defence and fortress to them, Psa 31:3 61:3 Pro 18:10 , and is their strength also in that fortress.

In the day of trouble at all times of affliction and danger, when outward pressures fill us with anguish and fears.

Knoweth discerneth, approveth, owneth, and will make it appear that he doth preserve, that he may deliver his peculiar ones. He knows the wicked, and will restrain, rebuke, and destroy them; he knows the good, and will protect, rescue, and save them.

Them whether you consider them in a body and community, or by themselves apart, or singly.

That trust believe, depend, and wait on God, they that depend by faith, and wait with hope.

In him on God, or on Christ, or on the word and promise of God. So God was to those that trusted in his word of promise in Hezekiah’ s time.

Poole: Nah 1:8

But or And , or Therefore , since God is so good to Israel oppressed by Assyria, and so terrible, just, and mighty to punish oppressors.

With an overrunning flood his judgments, like a mighty flood that overfloweth all banks, and scorns all that might check it, shall swallow up Assyria and Nineveh. which was in part effected by Phraortes about A.M. 3312, and in part by his son Cyaxares, who broke the Assyrian kingdom, and took Nineveh.

He the Lord, by the Medes, will make an utter end, will destroy, so that it shall never recover or be rebuilt,

of the place thereof of Nineveh, that is, Nineveh itself. So in Scripture sometimes the place is said to perish when the thing itself doth, as Dan 2:35 Rev 12:8 20:11 .

Darkness: troubles, desolating afflictions, extreme evils. in Scripture style, are called darkness, Job 15:22 17:12 Psa 35:6 55:5 Ecc 5:17 Isa 42:7 59:9 , &c.; Joe 2:2 .

Shall pursue not a single calamity, which is soon at an end, but indeed a succession of calamities, a continued course of them, shall pursue: so Phraortes began, Cyaxares continued, Scythians helped on, and Astyages finally, with four hundred thousand men, finished the pursuit in the sack and ruin of Nineveh after two years’ siege.

His enemies the Ninevites and Assyrians.

Poole: Nah 1:9

Having declared the dreadfulness of God’ s power and anger against the wicked, his goodness towards his people, and denounced future destruction against the Ninevites and Assyrians, he doth now expostulate with them, would know what it is they think of God, what it is they design against him, and on what ground they flatter themselves into such an attempt.

Against the Lord the God of Israel; for however you, O Ninevites and Assyrians, will look only upon a poor, afflicted people, (weakened by many wars,) and design to swallow them up, yet they are the people of the Lord, and you design against him what you design against them.

He will make an utter end he will make your utter desolation to be the issue of your projects, and the punishment of your sins: see Nah 1:8 .

Affliction shall not rise up the second time when that storm which shall overthrow you is past, no other shall arise, because you shall be no more; as if the prophet had said, God will at once and for ever destroy your empire and city.

Poole: Nah 1:10

This gives us account how this desolation shall be effected.

While they be folded together as thorns they should be like thorns easily burnt, and like thorns folden together, which burn together, and help to destroy each other, or are all together cast into the fire.

While they are drunken as drunkards as men drunken, and unable to help themselves, are easily destroyed, so shall the Assyrians be; or, drunk with pleasures and pride, they shall be surprised, and ruined, and easily overthrown.

They shall be devoured as stubble fully dry: this fully expresseth the speedy, irresistible, and total destruction that the anger of God will bring upon them; as the fire burns up all the dried stubble, so shall the wrath of God destroy the enemies of Israel and of Israel’ s God.

Poole: Nah 1:11

There is one: this is a very usual dialect to express an uncertain number; several are contained in such one; though if you will determine it to one single person, it is very like it may be Sennacherib or Rabshakeh. Come out: from Nineveh he set forth on that expedition against Judea in the days of Hezekiah.

Of thee Nineveh. That imagineth evil against the Lord; consulteth, hath formed, and resolved upon it. So it is evident by his blasphemies against the Lord, Isa 36:7,18,20 37:10,24,29 2Ch 32:14,15,17,19 . And he imagined evil against the people of the Lord, 2Ch 32:1 .

A wicked counsellor one whose counsels and projects are without any regard to right and equity, who by injustice and oppressions, who by frauds and deceits, by blood and slaughter, designs his own greatness, and the ruin of his neighbours.

Poole: Nah 1:12

Thus saith the Lord: this addeth weight to his prediction, it comes under the great seal of Heaven.

Though they be quiet, and likewise many or, If they would have been quiet and peaceable towards my people, Israel, they, i.e. the Assyrians, should have been many, &c.; but I think it is nearer to the intent of the place to retain our version. Though they, citizens of Nineveh, and people of Assyria, be quiet, be secure, and fear no danger, because of their strength and victories, and likewise many; as appears by the mighty army with which they besieged Jerusalem, in which one hundred and eighty-five thousand were cut off in one night.

Yet thus irresistibly, suddenly, and universally, as is foretold Nah 1:10 ,

shall they be cut down: the prophet varieth his phrase, for, Nah 1:10 , he speaks of it as done by fire, here he speaks of cutting down, intimating that it was the sword which should cut them off.

When he shall pass through either God, the mighty and terrible One, passing over as a flood, as it is Nah 1:8 ; or else the angel of the Lord, as 2Ki 19:35 .

Though I the Lord, who am good to my people,

have afflicted thee O Israel,

I will afflict thee no more chastised by the Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, hast thou been, O my people, but I will no more use that rod; for they should soon cease to be a nation that ruleth, and be conquered and oppressed by others.

Poole: Nah 1:13

The Lord confirms the prediction, by declaring how it should be done.

Now ere long; and in few years after this was done, though we cannot precisely determine how soon it was.

I will break as that which is broken into pieces,

his yoke Sennacherib’ s, or rather the tyranny and oppression of the Assyrian kingdom,

from off thee O Israel, and Jerusalem.

And will burst thy bonds those unjust impositions and edicts, which, as strong bonds, fastened his heavy yoke upon thy neck. They are the bonds of Assyria, as laid upon Israel; they are Israel’ s bonds, as borne by Israel.

Poole: Nah 1:14

The Lord God of Israel, against whom thou imaginest evil, hath given a commandment; determined with himself, and given charge to the Medes, which in due season they will observe, and, with assistance of the Chaldeans, will fitly execute.

Concerning thee or against thee, Sennacherib; thy royal family, and the whole kingdom of Assyria. That no more of thy name be sown: though Esar-haddon, son to this Sennacherib, did succeed his father, yet may it be rather said he was never sown. he never took root, but was like seed that, falling on the surface of the earth, there withers and dies; or else, none shall bear thy name and title, but hereafter thy kingdom shall be swallowed up by the power, and silenced in the name, of the Babylonian or Chaldean monarchy.

The house of thy gods temples built for their heathenish worship.

Gods idols, intimating the number of them, and the chiefest of them.

I will cut off destroy and abolish; so idolatrous conquerors were God’ s servants to cut off idolatrous worship and idols of the conquered nations: so did this Sennacherib destroy the idols of the conquered, 2Ki 18:33,34 Isa 37:19 ; so should they do against the Assyrian idols, who were appointed of God to waste Nineveh.

Cut off the graven image: either it respecteth the universal destruction of the idols, all cut off, not one left; or rather some one more noted, depended on, worshipped, called Nisroch , Isa 37:38 , by some thought to be the sun; but nothing in particular is elsewhere recorded of this idol, or its worship.

And the molten image: added either to intimate that all idols should fall in the future ruin of the kingdom, or to let us know that neither the worth of the metal of which the image was made, and the curiosity of the work, nor yet the pretext of sacred as a god, should be any safeguard to it.

I will make thy grave thou shalt not have a royal, magnificent tomb made by thy successor, or such as honour thee, but thou shalt be either buried in obscurity, or else thy tomb shall relate thy vileness, as it is reported it did by this inscription under Sennacherib’ s statue in an Egyptian temple, Eiv eme orwn eusebhv estw , Learn to fear God who lookest on me.

For thou art vile despised since thy defeat before Jerusalem; or rather hast been a vile, profane despiser of God, whom thou hast blasphemed and reproached, and an oppressor of men, whom thou hast slain or enslaved, unworthy of life, and unworthy of a grave when dead.

Poole: Nah 1:15

Behold: as this speaks some unexpected thing, so it calls for our heeding and minding of it.

Upon the mountains over which he must needs come that either came from the Assyrian camp, where the miraculous slaughter was made, or from Nineveh, where the fugitive defeated tyrant was slain; many mountains environing Jerusalem, and lying dispersed in Judea, over which the messengers came, who brought news of Sennacherib’ s death, or downfall of the Assyrian kingdom.

Good tidings good news indeed to an oppressed and weakened people, at which they might well rejoice indeed, if it be considered what this tyrant intended, see Isa 10:5-31 now he is dead who designed the mischief.

Publisheth proclaimeth, and tells to every one he meets.

Peace not by league or friendship with the Assyrian, but as the consequent of his death, and overthrow of his kingdom.

Keep thy solemn feasts be careful to serve God and worship him, ye that are his people. Perform thy vows, made in thy deep distress, when all seemed lost and forlorn. The wicked; that wicked counsellor, Nah 1:11 , the violent oppressor, proud Sennacherib, who shall fall by the sword, or rather is fallen by it, in his own land, when this messenger of glad tidings came, Isa 37:7,37,38 .

Shall no more pass through thee neither as a conqueror who beareth all down before him, nor as a triumpher glorifying in his acquists which in progress he takes view of.

He is utterly cut off murdered by his sons, his kingdom shaken by intestine troubles arising on the slaughter of his army, and an anarchy, or interregnum, whilst the two brethren parricides warred with the third for the crown, and all three were in that juncture, as in an opportune season, invaded, subdued, and destroyed by Merodach-baladan king of Babylon: see Isa 10 .

Haydock: Nah 1:1

Burden, or threat. (Worthington) ---

Septuagint, "assumption," (Haydock) when the prophet saw in spirit the impending ruin. (Theodoret) ---

Allegorically, Nahum is "the comforter" of the just, shewing that God will avenge their cause against Ninive, "the beautiful," and destroy the world, ( kosmos, which also means "beautiful,") after which the saints shall reign in eternal glory. (Worthington) ---

We have describe Ninive, Jonas i. (Calmet) ---

It was overturned first in the year of the world 3257, and again in the year 3378. (Usher) ---

Elcesite. Some think that Elcesai was the father of Nahum; but most suppose that it was a village Galilee. (Calmet)

Haydock: Nah 1:2

The Lord. The six following verses (Haydock) tend to excite attention. (Calmet)

Haydock: Nah 1:3

Cleanse. Literally, cleansing, he will not make innocent." (Haydock) ---

The same expression is rendered, No man of himself is innocent before thee, Exodus xxxiv. 7. (Calmet) ---

Septuagint, "the innocent he will not deem innocent." (Haydock) ---

No man is perfect in God’s sight, (Calmet) though they may appear to be such to others. (Haydock) ---

None can escape punishment, if he be treated with rigour. De Dieu translates, "he will not utterly evacuate," or destroy, which seems very correct, Jeremias xxx. 11., and Numbers xiv. 18. ---

Dust. He walks upon them as we do on dry land.

Haydock: Nah 1:4

Desert, as at the Red Sea, Psalm cv. 9. ---

Languisheth. The most fruitful places produce nothing, when God is angry.

Haydock: Nah 1:5

Made. Septuagint, "shaken." ---

Quaked. Hebrew and Septuagint, "risen." (Calmet)

Haydock: Nah 1:6

Like fire. Septuagint, "melts kingdoms."

Haydock: Nah 1:7

Hope. Septuagint, "fear." He approves of his faithful servants. (Haydock)

Haydock: Nah 1:8

Thereof; viz. of Ninive. (Challoner) ---

This is connected with Ver. 1. (Haydock) ---

Ninive was taken by the waters of the Tigris overflowing, at the first siege. (Diodorus ii.; Atheneus xii.) ---

The like might happen at the second, though profane authors be silent. (Calmet) ---

Many think that the flood means great armies, Isaias viii. 7. ( Forerius ; Vatable) ---

Septuagint, "He will utterly destroy: those who rise up and his enemies, darkness," &c. (Haydock) ---

Chaldean, The.[Theodotion?] and Aq.[Aquila?] adopt the same sense, but Symmachus, &c., agree with us. (Calmet)

Haydock: Nah 1:9

Affliction. Septuagint add, "for the same thing, or together." (Haydock) ---

:Many hence infer, that those who have been slain by God, like the Sodomites, &c., will not be condemned to hell. (Origen, i. Ezec.; St. Jerome.; St. Thomas Aquinas, [Summa Theologiae] 3. p. q. 59. a. 5.) ---

But this principle cannot be always correct. (Calmet) ---

Their temporal suffering might usher in eternal ones. (St. Gregory, Mor. xviii. 12.) ---

Ninive shall perish; so that a second blow will not be requisite, 1 Kings xxvi. 8. (Drusius) (Calmet)

Haydock: Nah 1:10

Dry. The Assyrians, feasting in the hopes that they would speedily become masters of Jerusalem, were cut off in one night. (Worthington) ---

God's enemies cannot escape; as when a thorn bush has taken fire, all must perish, Psalm lvii. 10., and Isaias ix. 18. (Calmet)

Haydock: Nah 1:11

Forth. Some understand this of Sennacherib. But as his attempt against the people seems to have been prior to the prophecy of Nahum, we may better understand it of Holofernes. (Challoner) ---

One. Septuagint, "a most wicked thought against the Lord, devising opposition." (Haydock) ---

We may render, "hath come," &c., alluding to Sennacherib and Rabsaces, Isaias xxxvi. 18. and xxxvii. 23. (Calmet)

Haydock: Nah 1:12

Perfect. That is, however strong or numerous their forces may be, they shall be cut off, and their prince or leader shall pass away and disappear. (Challoner) ---

If there were many just at Ninive, or among the Jews, (Calmet) a moderate chastisement would suffice. (Haydock) ---

The latter have been afflicted; now their enemies shall suffer. Septuagint have read otherwise: (Calmet) "the Lord, reigning over the great waters; thus shall they be divided, and thou shalt be heard of no more." (Haydock)

Haydock: Nah 1:13

Asunder. Ezechias was tributary to Assyria, 4 Kings xviii. 14. After the fall of Ninive, its yoke was removed. (Calmet)

Haydock: Nah 1:14

Commandment. That is, a decree concerning thee, O king of Ninive, thy seed shall fail, &c. (Challoner) ---

His son Asarhaddon succeeded; but soon the line was extinct. (Worthington) ---

No alarm shall be spread by thee. ---

Grave. Sennacherib was slain in the temple: (Isaias xxxvii. 38.; Calmet) or the idols were deemed unclean by the victors. (Eurip.[Euripides?] Troad.) (Haydock)

Haydock: Nah 1:15

Peace. Sentinels were established on the hills. ---

Festivals. St. Jerome quotes the Book of Paralipomenon as saying (Calmet) that the Jews could not observe the Passover in the first month. But they did it in the second, after they knew that Sennacherib was slain, 2 Paralipomenon xxxii. (Haydock) ---

This passage does not, however, appear at present in Scripture, and it could not speak of the second month (Calmet) following Nisan, (Haydock) as the king was slain forty-five days (Tobias i. 22.; Greek 55.) after his return to Ninive; and some time must have elapsed before he could get thither, and the news arrive in Judea. (Calmet) ---

Belial; the wicked one, viz. the Assyrian. (Challoner)

Gill: Nah 1:1

The burden of Nineveh,.... Of the city of Nineveh, and the greatness of it; see Gill on Jon 1:2; See Gill on Jon 3:3; Jonah was sent to this city to threaten it with ruin for its sins; at that time the king and all his people humbled themselves and repented, and the threatened destruction was averted; but they relapsing to their former iniquities, this prophet foretells what would be their certain fate; very rightly therefore the Targum, and some other Jewish writings ^m, observe, that Jonah prophesied against this city of old; and that Nahum prophesied after him a considerable time, perhaps at a hundred years distance. This prophecy is called a burden; it was taken up by the prophet at the command of the Lord, and was carried or sent by him to Nineveh; and was a hard, heavy, grievous, and burdensome prophecy to that city, predicting its utter ruin and desolation; and which, as Josephus ⁿ says, came to pass hundred fifteen years after this prophecy; and which event is placed by the learned Usher ^o in the year of the world 3378 A.M., and which was 626 B.C.; and by others ^p in the year of the world 3403 A.M., of the flood 1747, in 601 B.C.; but by Dean Prideaux ^q and Mr. Whiston ^r, in 612 B.C.;

the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite; no other prophecy is called, a book but this, as Abarbinel observes; and gives this reason for it, because the other prophets immediately declared their prophecies, as Jonah; but Nahum never went to the Ninevites, but wrote his prophecy in a book, and sent it to them. It is called "the book of the vision"; what it contains being made known to him by the Lord in a vision, as was common; hence the prophets are called seers; and the prophet is described by the place of his birth, an Elkoshite; though some think he is so called from his father, whose name was Helkesi, and said to be a prophet too, as Jerom relates; and with this agrees the Targum, which calls him Nahum of the house or family of Koshi; but Jarchi says that Elkosh was the name of his city; Aben Ezra and Kimchi are in doubt which to refer it to, whether to his city, or to his ancestors; but there seems no reason to doubt but that he is so called from his native place; since Jerom ^s says, that there was a village in Galilee called Helkesi in his days, and which he had seen; though scarce any traces of the old buildings could be discerned, it was so fallen to ruin, yet known, to the Jews; and was shown him by one that went about with him; and which is, by Hesychius ^t the presbyter, placed in the tribe of Simeon. This is another instance, besides that of Jonah, disproving the assertion of the Jews, that no prophet rose out of Galilee, Joh 7:52.

Gill: Nah 1:2

God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth,.... He is jealous of his own honour and glory, and for his own worship and ordinances; and will not give his glory to another, nor his praise to graven images; and therefore will punish all idolaters, and particularly the idolatrous Assyrians: he is jealous for his people, and cannot bear to see them injured; and will avenge the affronts that are offered, and the indignities done unto them:

the Lord revengeth, and is furious; or, is "master of wrath" ^u; full of it, or has it at his command; can restrain it, and let it out as he pleases, which man cannot do; a furious and passionate man, who has no rule over his spirit. The Lord's revenging is repeated for the confirmation of it; yea, it is a third time observed, as follows; which some of the Jewish writers think has respect to the three times the king of Assyria carried the people of Israel captive, and for which the Lord would be revenged on him, and punish him:

the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries; on all his adversaries; particularly the Assyrians are here meant, who were both the enemies of him and of his people. The Targum explains it,

"that hate his people:''

vengeance belongs to the Lord, and he will repay it sooner or later; if not immediately, he will hereafter; for it follows:

and he reserveth wrath for his enemies: and them for that; if not in this world, yet in the world to come; he lays it up among his treasures, and brings it forth at his pleasure. The word "wrath" is not in the text; it is not said what he reserves for the enemies of himself and church; it is inconceivable and inexpressible.

Gill: Nah 1:3

The Lord is slow to anger,.... He is not in haste to execute it; he takes time for it, and gives men space for repentance. Nineveh had had a proof of this when it repented at the preaching of Jonah, upon which the Lord deferred the execution of his wrath; but lest they should presume upon this, and conclude the Lord would always bear with them, though they had returned to their former impieties; they are let to know, that this his forbearance was not owing to want of power or will in him to punish: since he is

great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked; he is able to execute the wrath he threatens, and will by no means clear the guilty, or let them go free and unpunished; though he moves slowly, as he may seem in the execution of his judgments, yet they shall surely be brought on his enemies, and be fully accomplished:

the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet; he spoke to Job out of the whirlwind; he descended on Mount Sinai in a storm and tempest; and the clouds are his chariots; in which he rides swiftly; and which, for their appearance and number, are like the dust raised by a multitude of horsemen riding full speed, The wrath of God may be compared to a whirlwind, and a storm, which is sometimes hastily and suddenly executed upon men: respect seems to be had to the armies of the Medes and Chaldeans against the Assyrians; who, as the Babylonians against the Jews, came up as clouds, and their chariots as the whirlwind, Jer 4:13; and the figures beautifully describe the numbers of them, the force with which they came; and in an elegant manner represent the vast quantity of dust raised by an army in full march; at the head of which was the Lord himself, ordering, directing, and succeeding, before whom none can stand.

Gill: Nah 1:4

He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry,.... As he did the Red sea, when the children of Israel passed through it as on dry land; which shows his power and sovereignty over it; that it is at his command, as a servant at his master's; and since the wind and sea obey him, what is it he cannot do? see Isa 50:2;

and drieth up all the rivers; that is, he can do it if he will; he divided the waters of Jordan, through the midst of which the Israelites passed on dry ground; and will dry up the river Euphrates, to make way for the kings of the east; and as for Tigris, on the banks of which the city of Nineveh stood, of which the inhabitants boasted, and in which they trusted for their security, he could dry up, and make way for the enemy to enter in; or make that their enemy, and overflow them with it, as he did; see Nah 1:8. By the "sea" and "rivers" may be meant the whole Assyrian empire, and many nations and people, as Jarchi and Abarbinel interpret it, of whom it consisted; see Jer 51:36;

Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth; when the Lord restrains the heavens from giving rain, then Bashan, famous for its fat pastures and fruitful meadows, and Carmel for its rich grain fields, and Lebanon for its tall shadowy cedars, these, and the glory of all, wither and fade away, being parched and dried up for want of moisture. These were places in the land of Israel, but may be put for like flourishing and fruitful hills and countries in the land of Assyria, which should become desolate; see Psa 107:33.

Gill: Nah 1:5

The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt,.... As Sinai of old did, when the Lord descended on it, Exo 19:18. Mountains figuratively signify kings and princes; and hills large countries, as Jarchi and Abarbinel observe, and the inhabitants of them; particularly the kingdoms and nations belonging to the Assyrian empire, which would tremble and quake, and their hearts melt with fear, when they should hear of the destruction of Nineveh their chief city; and of the devastation made by the enemy there and in other parts, under the direction of the Lord of hosts; his power and providence succeeding him:

and the earth is burnt at his presence; either when he withholds rain from it, and so it be comes parched and burnt up with the heat of the sun; or when he rains fire and brimstone on it, as he did on Sodom and Gomorrah; or consumes any part of it with thunder and lightning, as he sometimes does; nay, if he but touch the mountains, they smoke; see Psa 104:32;

yea, the world, and all that dwell therein; as in the last day, at the general conflagration, when the world, and all the wicked inhabitants of it, will be burnt up; see 2Pe 3:10.

Gill: Nah 1:6

Who can stand before his indignation?.... No creature whatever; no man nor body of men; not Nineveh, and the inhabitants of it; nor the whole Assyrian empire:

and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? not the great men of the earth; not kings or generals of armies; not kingdoms and nations, ever so numerous and powerful; but all must be consumed by him, who is a consuming fire; see Jer 10:10;

his fury is poured out like fire; or like metal that is melted by fire, and poured out by the force of it; or like fire of lightning poured out of the heavens, which is quick, powerful, and penetrating, and there is no resisting it:

and the rocks are thrown down by him; by the Lord, by his wrath and fury; kingdoms that seemed as strong and immovable as rocks and mountains are thrown down; as such have been by the force of fire bursting from the midst of them, as Etna, Vesuvius, and others.

Gill: Nah 1:7

The Lord is good,.... To Israel, as the Targum adds; to Hezekiah and his, people, that betook themselves to him, and put their trust in him; whom he defended and preserved from the king of Assyria, to whom he was dreadful and terrible, destroying his army in one night by an angel; and so delivered the king of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from that terror that had seized them, and that danger they were exposed unto; and so the Lord is good in himself, in the perfections of his nature, in the works of his hands, in all his persons to his people, that fear him, trust in him, and seek him, and wait for him, and on him:

a strong hold in the day of trouble; or, he is "good for a strong hold" ^w, &c. it was a day of trouble, rebuke, and blasphemy, with Hezekiah and his people, when they were besieged by the army of Sennacherib king of Assyria, and had received from Rabshakeh by his orders a railing and reproaching letter; and then the Lord was a strong hold to them, to whom they betook themselves, and he protected and defended them. The whole time of this life is a time of trouble to the saints, though it is but a day, a short time; in which they meet with much from their own corrupt hearts, and the sin that dwells in them; from Satan and his temptations; from carnal professors, their principles and practices; and from a profane and persecuting world; and from the Lord himself, who sometimes lays his afflicting hand upon them, and hides his face from them; and yet he is their rock and their refuge, their strong tower and place of defence; where they find safety and plenty in all their times of distress and want:

and he knoweth them that trust in him; in his word, as the Targum; and they are such that know him, and are sensible of the vanity of all other objects of trust; who betake themselves to him for shelter and protection; lean and stay themselves upon him, and commit all unto him, and expect all from him: these he knows, loves, and has the strongest affection for; he approves of them, and commends their faith and confidence; he takes notice of them, visits them, and makes himself known unto them, even in their adversity; he owns and acknowledges them as his own, claims his right in them now, and will confess them hereafter; and he takes care of them that they perish not, whoever else do; see Psa 1:6; he knows the necessities of those that trust in him, as Jarchi; he knows them for their good, takes care of them, provides for, them, and watches over them, as Kimchi. The ancients formerly had their γνωστηρας and μυνητας, "notores" ^x, such as knew them, and were their patrons and defenders; as when a Roman citizen was condemned to be whipped or crucified in a province where he was not known, and claimed the Roman privileges, such persons were his witnesses and advocates; and thus the Lord is represented as one that knows his people, and is their patron and advocate. The goodness of God expressed in this text is set off with a foil by the terribleness of his wrath and vengeance against his enemies.

Gill: Nah 1:8

But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof,.... Of Nineveh, against whom this prophecy was, and upon whom it lay as a burden, Nah 1:1; and now though the Lord was good to them that trust in him, and a strong hold to them in a time of trouble; yet he was determined to destroy their enemies the Assyrians, and Nineveh their chief city; and that by the means of a powerful army, which, like a flood or inundation of water breaking in, overruns and carries all before it; and very fitly may the Medes and Babylonians, who joined together in an expedition against Nineveh, be compared to such a flood for their number and force; since, as the historian tells ^y us, they were no less than four hundred thousand men: though this may be literally understood; for as the same writer ^z observes,

"there was an oracle received by the Ninevites from their ancestors, that Nineveh could never be taken by any, unless the river (on which it stood) first became an enemy to it; and so it was, that, in the third year of the siege, the river, being swelled with continual rains, overflowed part of the city, and broke down the wall for the space of two and half miles; hence the king concluded the oracle was fulfilled, and gave up all hopes of safety; and through the breach of the wall the enemy entered, and took the city;''

and an "utter end" was made of it, and of the place of it, insomuch that historians and geographers disagree about it; some say it was situated upon the river Euphrates, others upon the river Tigris, which is the most correct; some say on the east of that river, others on the west; some will have it to be above the river Lycus, and others below it; so true is that of Lucian ^a, that Nineveh is now entirely lost, and no traces of it remain; nor can one easily say where it once was; and travellers in general, both ancient and modern, agree that it lies wholly in ruins, and is a heap of rubbish. Benjamin Tudelensis ^b, who travelled into these parts in the twelfth century, relates, that between Almozal or Mosul, and Nineveh, is only a bridge, and it (Nineveh) is a waste; but there are villages, and many towers. Haitho, an Armenian ^c, who wrote more than a hundred years after the former, says,

"this city (Nineveh) at present is wholly destroyed; but, by what yet appears in it, it may be firmly believed that it was one of the greatest cities in the world.''

Monsieur Thevenot ^d, who was upon the spot in the last century, observes,

"on the other side of the river (Tigris from that on which Mosul stands) at the end of the bridge begins the place, where, in ancient times, stood the famous city of Nineveh. --There is nothing of it, (adds he) now to be seen, but some hillocks, which (they say) are its foundations, the houses being underneath; and these reach a good way below the city of Mosul:''

and darkness shall pursue his enemies; the enemies of God and his people, who would make such a devastation of Nineveh; even he would cause all manner of calamities, often signified in Scripture by darkness, to follow and overtake them; so that they should be brought into the most uncomfortable and distressed condition imaginable.

Gill: Nah 1:9

What do ye imagine against the Lord?.... O ye Ninevites or Assyrians; do you think you can frustrate the designs of the Lord, resist his power, and hinder him from executing what he has threatened and has determined to do? or what mischief is it you devise against his people, which is the same as against himself? can you believe that you shall prosper and succeed, and your schemes be carried into execution, when he, the all wise and all powerful Being, opposes you?

he will make an utter end; of you, as before declared, and will save his people; which may be depended on will certainly be the case:

affliction shall not rise up the second time; either this should be the last effort the Assyrians would make upon the Jews, which they made under Sennacherib, and this the last time they would afflict them; or rather their own destruction should be so complete that there would be no need to repeat the stroke, or give another blow; the business would be done at once. This seems to contradict a notion of some historians and chronologers, who suppose that Nineveh was destroyed at two different times, and by different persons of the same nations; and so the whole Assyrian empire was twice ruined, which is not likely in itself, and seems contrary to this passage; for though some ascribe it to Arbaces the Mede, and Belesis the Babylonian as Diodorus Siculus ^e; and others to Cyaxares the Mede as Herodotus ^f, and to Nebuchadnezzar the first, or Nabopolassar the Babylonian in a later period; so Tobit ^g says it was taken by Nebuchadnezzar and Ahasuerus, the same with the Cyaxares of Herodotus; yet all seem to agree that it was taken by the conjunct forces of the Medes and Babylonians; and there are some things similar ^h in all these accounts, which show that there was but one destruction of Nineveh, and of the Assyrian empire.

Gill: Nah 1:10

For while they be folden together as thorns,.... Like them, useless and unprofitable, harmful and pernicious, fit only for burning, and, being bundled together, are prepared for it; and which is not only expressive of the bad qualities of the Ninevites, and of the danger they were in, and what they deserved; but of the certainty of their ruin, no more being able to save themselves from it, than a bundle of thorns from the devouring fire:

and while they are drunken as drunkards; dead drunk, no more able to help themselves than a drunken man that is fallen; or who were as easily thrown down as a drunken man is with the least touch; though there is no need to have recourse to a figurative sense, since the Ninevites were actually drunk when they were attacked by their enemy, as the historian relates ⁱ; that the king of Assyria being elated with his fortune, and thinking himself secure, feasted his army, and gave them large quantities of wine; and while the whole army were indulging themselves, the enemy, having notice of their negligence and drunkenness by deserters, fell upon them unawares in the night, when disordered and unprepared, and made a great slaughter among them, and forced the rest into the city, and in a little time took it:

they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry; as easily, and as inevitably and irrecoverably.

Gill: Nah 1:11

There is one come out of thee,.... That is, out of Nineveh, as the Targum explains it; meaning Sennacherib, who had his royal seat and palace there; or Rabshakeh that was sent from hence by him with a railing and blaspheming letter to the king of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. This is said to be at the present time of writing this prophecy, though it was after it, because of the certainty of it, as is usual in prophetic language; unless it can be thought that this prophecy was delivered out exactly at the time when Sennacherib had entered Judea, and was before the walls of Jerusalem; but not yet discomfited, as after predicted:

that imagineth evil against the Lord; against the people of the Lord, as the Targum; formed a scheme to invade the land of Judea, take the fenced cities thereof, and seize upon Jerusalem the metropolis of the nation, and carry the king, princes, and all the people captive as Shalmaneser his father had carried away the ten tribes:

a wicked counsellor; or "a counsellor of Belial" ^k; who, by Rabshakeh, advised Israel not to regard their king, nor trust in their God but surrender themselves up to him, 2Ki 18:29.

Gill: Nah 1:12

Thus saith the Lord, though they be quiet, and likewise many,.... The Assyrian army under Sennacherib before Jerusalem, though they were quiet and secure and thought themselves out of all danger; not at all fearing that the besieged would sally out against them they being so numerous, and therefore betook themselves to sleep and rest:

yet thus shall they be cut down; or "shorn" ^l; as the wool is shorn off the back of a sheep with sheers; or grass or corn is mowed with a scythe; or else as the hair of a man's head and beard are shaved with a razor; which sometimes was done, not only in a way of ignominy and contempt, as David's servants were served by Hanun, 2Sa 10:4; but as a token of servitude; hence those words of the poet ^m,

"after thou art a servant, dost thou let thy hair grow?''

upon which it is observed ⁿ, that it belongs to freemen to let the hair grow; and so the philosopher says ^o, to let the hair grow, or to nourish it, is commendable with a Lacedemonian, for it is a sign of liberty; for it is not for him who lets his hair grow to do any servile work; and it was usual with conquerors to shave the conquered, and such as were carried captives ^p, which some think is referred to in Deu 32:42; and render the latter clause of that verse,

"and there shall be captivity, by reason of the head of nakedness of the enemy;''

that is, there should be captives whose heads should be made bare, or shaved by the enemy the conqueror ^q; hence the king of Assyria, when a conqueror, is compared to a sharp razor, that should shave the head, and feet, and beard, even all sorts of people, Isa 7:20; but now he and his army should be shaved themselves; that is, conquered, slain, or taken captives, and become slaves, and treated with contempt; all which may be taken into the sense of this phrase, and serve to illustrate it:

when he shall pass through; when the angel should pass through the camp of the Assyrians, then were they cut down by him in great numbers, a hundred and fourscore and five thousand slain at once, 2Ki 19:35;

though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more: or "any longer" ^r; though the Lord had afflicted the people of the Jews by the Assyrian king, the rod of his anger, again and again, yet after this he would afflict them no more by him; for otherwise they were afflicted afterwards, yet not by the Assyrians, but by the Babylonians, Syrians, and Romans, Some understand this, as before, of the Ninevites and Assyrians, that should be utterly destroyed at once, and their affliction should not be a second time; see Nah 1:9; so Abarbinel: or, "I will not hear thee any more" ^s; as he did formerly, when they repented at the preaching of Jonah.

Gill: Nah 1:13

For now will I break his yoke from off thee,.... The Assyrian yoke from off the Jews, who had been obliged to pay tribute, or send presents to the king of Assyria, from the times of Ahaz; and were in bondage, while shut up and besieged by his army, and the country all around laid under contribution; from all which they were delivered when his army was in that dreadful manner destroyed:

and will burst thy bonds in sunder; and set thee entirely free from the bondage of the enemy, and all fear of it; a type of that freedom from the yoke of sin, Satan, and the law, which the people of God have by Jesus Christ.

Gill: Nah 1:14

And the Lord hath given a commandment concerning thee,.... This is directed to Sennacherib king of Assyria, as the Targum expresses it; and so Jarchi and Kimchi; and signifies the decree of God concerning him, what he had determined to do with him, and how things would be ordered in Providence towards him, agreeably to his design and resolution:

that no more of thy name be sown; which is not to be understood that he should have no son and heir to succeed him; for Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead, 2Ki 19:37; and after him, according to Ptolemy's canon, Saosduchinus and Chyniladanus but the memory of his name should no be spread in the earth; or the fame of it, with any marks of honour and glory, but of shame and disgrace. So the Targum,

"neither shall be any memory of thy name any more:''

out of the house of thy gods will I cut of the graven image and the molten image; called "the house of Nisroch his god", 2Ki 19:37; where he was slain; and some say that after that it ceased to be a place of worship, being polluted with his blood. Josephus ^t calls it his own temple, where he usually worshipped, for which he had a peculiar regard, and for his god Nisroch; but who this deity was is not certain. Selden says ^u, he knew nothing, nor had read anything of him, but what is mentioned in the Scripture. Some of the Jewish writers ^w take it to be a plank of Noah's ark; and Mr. Basnage ^x is of opinion that it is Janus represented by Noah's ark, who had two faces, before and behind; a fit emblem of Noah, who saw two worlds, one before, and another after the flood. Some say Dagon the god of the Philistines is meant, which is not likely; See Gill on Isa 37:38; but, be he who he will, there were other idols besides him, both graven and molten, in this temple, as is here expressed; very probably here stood an image of Belus or Pul, the first Assyrian monarch, and who; was deified; and perhaps Adrammelech the god of the Sepharvites was another, since one of Sennacherib's sons bore this name; and it was usual with the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Babylonians, to give the names of their gods to their princes, or insert them in theirs: here also might be the Assyrian Venus, Derceto, Semiramis, and others: fishes also were worshipped by the Assyrians, in honour of Derceto; and doves in remembrance of Semiramis, said to be nourished by one in her infancy, and turned into one at her death; hence those creatures became sacred in Assyria, and were not suffered to be touched and killed, as Philo observed at Askelon; See Gill on Hos 11:11; and Lucian ^y at Hieropolis in Syria; where, he says, of all birds, they think the dove most holy; so that they count it very unlawful to touch them; and if by chance they do, they reckon themselves unclean that whole day; hence you may see them frequently in their houses conversing familiarly with them, generally feeding on the ground, without any fear; and he also says ^z the Assyrians sacrifice to a dove, and which he must have known, since he himself was an Assyrian, as he tells us; but, whatever these graven and molten images were, it is here predicted they should be utterly demolished. The sense is, that whereas Sennacherib's empire should be destroyed, and his capital taken, the temple where he worshipped would be defaced, and all his gods he gloried of, all his images, both graven and molten, would be cut to pieces, falling into the conqueror's hands, as was usual in such cases; these would not be able to defend him or his, or secure them from the vengeance of God, whom he had blasphemed:

I will make thy grave, for thou art vile: the Targum is,

"there will I put thy grave;''

that is, in the house of thy god, as Aben Ezra, Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, interpret it; where he was slain by two of his sons, as before observed; and this judgment came upon him by the will of God, because he was a loose vile creature; because he had vilified the true God, and reproached him, as unable to deliver Hezekiah and his people out of his hands. The Targum paraphrases it,

"because this is easy before me;''

what the Lord could easily do, make his idol temple his grave; or, however, take away his life, and lay his honour in the dust: or it may be rendered, "I will put upon thy grave that thou art vile" ^a; he, who thought to have a superb monument over his grave, and an epitaph inscribed on it to his immortal honour, as kings used to have; this shall be the sepulchral inscription,

"here lies a vile, wicked, and contemptible man;''

so Abarbinel. There was a statue of this king in an Egyptian temple, as Herodotus ^b relates, according, as many think, with this inscription on it,

"whosoever looks on me, let him be religious;''

though I rather think it was a statue of Sethon the priest of Vulcan, and last king of Egypt. Here ends the first chapter in some Hebrew copies, and in the Syriac and Arabic versions, and in Aben Ezra.

Gill: Nah 1:15

Behold upon the mountains,.... Of the land of Israel, as the Targum; or those about Jerusalem:

the feet of him that bringeth good tidings; see how they come one after another with the news of the havoc and slaughter made in the army of Sennacherib by an angel in one night; of his flight, and of the dealt, of him by the hands of his two sons; and, after that, of the destruction of Nineveh, and of the whole Assyrian empire; all which were good tidings to the Jews, to whom the Assyrians were implacable enemies, and whose power the Jews dreaded; and therefore it must be good news to them to hear of their defeat and ruin, and the messengers that brought it must be welcome to them:

that publisheth peace; to the Jewish nation, who might from hence hope for peaceable and prosperous times: like expressions with these are used in Isa 52:7 on account of the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity; and are applied by the apostle to Gospel times and Gospel preachers, Rom 10:15 as these may also, and express the good tidings of victory obtained by Christ over sin, Satan, the world, hell and death; and of salvation wrought out, and peace made by him; it being usual for the prophets abruptly and at once to rise from temporal to spiritual and eternal things, particularly to what concern the Messiah, and the Gospel dispensation; See Gill on Isa 52:7,

O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts; of the passover, pentecost, and tabernacles; which had been interrupted or omitted through the invasion of the land, and the siege of Jerusalem, by the enemy; but now, he being gone and slain, they had full liberty, and were at leisure to attend these solemnities:

perform thy vows; which they had made when in distress, when the enemy was in their land, and before their city; promising what they would do, if it pleased God to deliver them out of his hands, and now they were delivered; and therefore it was incumbent on them to make good their promises, and especially to offer up their thanksgivings to God for such a mercy; see Psa 50:14,

for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off; or Belial, the counsellor of Belial, as in Nah 1:11 the king of Assyria; who, though he had passed through their land, had invaded it, and made devastation in it, should do so no more; being dead, cut off in a judicial way, through the just judgment of God, suffering his sons to take away his life while in the midst of his idolatrous worship; and this may reach, not only to him, and his seed after him, being wholly cut off, but to the whole Assyrian empire, who should none of them ever give any further trouble to Judah.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Nah 1:1

¹ tn Heb “of Nineveh.”

² tn Or “Nahum of Elkosh” (NAB, NRSV).

NET Notes: Nah 1:2

¹ tn Heb “jealous.” The Hebrew term קַנּוֹא (qanno’, “jealous, zealous”) refers to God’s zealous protection of his people and his furious judgment against his enemies. The root קָנָא (qana’) can denote jealous envy (Gen 26:14; 30:1; 37:11; Pss 37:1; 73:3; 106:16; Prov 3:31; 23:17; 24:1, 19; Ezek 31:9), jealous rivalry (Eccl 4:4; 9:6; Isa 11:13), marital jealousy (Num 5:14, 15, 18, 25, 30; Prov 6:34; 27:4), zealous loyalty (Num 11:29; 25:11, 13; 2 Sam 21:2; 1 Kgs 19:10, 14; 2 Kgs 10:16; Ps 69:10; Song 8:6; Isa 9:6; 37:32; 42:13; 59:17; 63:15; Zech 1:14; 8:2), jealous anger (Deut 32:16, 21; Ps 78:58), and zealous fury (Exod 34:14; Deut 5:9; 29:19; 1 Kgs 14:22; Job 5:2; Pss 79:5; 119:139; Prov 14:30; Isa 26:11; Ezek 5:13; 8:3; 16:38, 42; 23:25; 35:11; 36:5, 6; 38:19; Zeph 1:18). See BDB 888 s.v. קָנָא; E. Reuter, TDOT 13:47-58.

² tn The syntax of this line has been understood in two ways: (1) as a single clause with the Lord as the subject: “A jealous and avenging God is the Lord” (NRSV; NASB) or “The Lord is a jealous and avenging God” (NIV); and (2) as two parallel clauses: “God is jealous, and the Lord avenges” (KJV). The LXX reflects the latter. Masoretic accentuation and Hebrew syntax support the former. Accentuation links קַנּוֹא וְנֹקֵם (qano’ vÿnoqem, “jealous and avenging”) together rather than dividing them into separate clauses. Normal word order suggests that קַנּוֹא וְנֹקֵם (“jealous and avenging”) are attributive adjectives modifying אֵל (’el, “God”). In verbless clauses such as this, the predicate normally precedes the subject; thus, “a jealous and avenging God” (אֵל קַנּוֹא וְנֹקֵם, ’el qanno’ vÿnoqem) is the predicate and “the Lord” (יְהוָה, yÿhvah) is the subject.

³ tn Or “exceedingly wrathful”; Heb “a lord of wrath.” The idiom “lord of wrath” (וּבַעַל חֵמָה, uva’al khemah) means “wrathful” or “full of wrath” (Prov 22:24; 29:22). The noun “lord” (בַעַל) is used in construct as an idiom to describe a person’s outstanding characteristic or attribute (e.g., Gen 37:19; 1 Sam 28:7; 2 Kgs 1:8; Prov 1:17; 18:9; 22:24; 23:2; 24:8; Eccl 7:12; 8:8; 10:11, 20; Isa 41:15; 50:8; Dan 8:6, 20); see IBHS 149-51 §9.5.3.

⁴ tn The term נָקַם (naqam, “avenge, vengeance”) is used three times in 1:2 for emphasis. The Lord will exact just retribution against his enemies (the Assyrians) to avenge their wickedness against his people (Judah).

⁵ tn The verb “rage” (נָטַר, natar) is used elsewhere of keeping a vineyard (Song 1:6; 8:11-12) and guarding a secret (Dan 7:28). When used of anger, it does not so much mean “to control anger” or “to be slow to anger” (HALOT 695 s.v.) but “to stay angry” (TWOT 2:576). It describes a person bearing a grudge, seeking revenge, and refusing to forgive (Lev 19:18). It is often used as a synonym of שָׁמַר (shamar, “to maintain wrath, stay angry”) in collocation with לְעוֹלָם (lÿ’olam, “forever, always”) and לָעַד (la’ad, “continually”) to picture God harboring rage against his enemies forever (Jer 3:5, 12; Amos 1:11; Ps 103:9). The long-term rage depicted by נָטַר (“maintain rage”) serves as an appropriate bridge to the following statement in Nahum that the Lord is slow to anger but furious in judgment. God seeks vengeance against his enemies; he continually rages and maintains his anger; he is slow to anger, but will eventually burst out with the full fury of his wrath.

NET Notes: Nah 1:3

¹ tn Heb “long of anger,” i.e., “slow to anger” (Exod 34:6; Num 14:18; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Pss 86:15; 103:8; 145:8; Prov 14:29; 15:18; 16:32; Neh 9:17) or restraining anger (Jer 15:15; Prov 25:15). Cf. NCV “The Lord does not become angry quickly.”

² tc The BHS editors suggest emending MT “power” (כֹּחַ, koakh) to “mercy” (חֶסֶד, khesed) as in Exod 34:6; Num 14:18; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Ps 103:8; Neh 9:17. However, this is unnecessary, it has no textual support, and it misses the rhetorical point intended by Nahum’s modification of the traditional expression.

sn This is an allusion to the well-known statement, “The Lord is slow to anger but great in mercy” (Exod 34:6; Num 14:18; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Ps 103:8; Neh 9:17). Nahum subtly modifies this by substituting “great in mercy” with “great in power.” God’s patience at the time of Jonah (Jonah 4:2) one century earlier (ca. 750 b.c.), had run out. Nineveh had exhausted the “great mercy” of God and now would experience the “great power” of God.

³ tn Or “he will certainly not acquit [the wicked]”; KJV “and will not at all acquit the wicked.” The root נָקַה (naqah, “to acquit”) is repeated for emphasis. The phrase “he will certainly not allow the wicked to go unpunished” (וְנַקֵּה לֹא יְנַקֶּה, vÿnaqqeh lo’ yÿnaqqeh) is an emphatic construction (see GKC 215 §75.hh; IBHS 584-88 §35.3.1).

⁴ tn The words “the wicked” are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied in the translation; they are implied when this idiom is used (Exod 34:7; Num 14:18). In legal contexts the nuance “the guilty” is most appropriate; in nonlegal contexts the nuance “the wicked” is used.

⁵ tn Heb “His way is in the whirlwind” (so NIV). The noun דַּרְכּוֹ (darko, “his way”) is nuanced here in a verbal sense. The noun דֶּרֶךְ (derekh) often denotes a “journey” (Gen 28:20; 30:36; 45:23; Num 9:10; Josh 9:13; 1 Sam 21:6; 1 Kgs 18:27). The verb דָּרַךְ (darakh) often means “to tread a path” (Job 22:15) and “to march out” (Judg 5:21). The Lord is portrayed as the Divine Warrior marching out to battle (Exod 15:1-12; Deut 33:2; Judg 5:4-5; Pss 18:7-15; 68:4-10, 32-35; 77:16-19; Mic 1:3-4; Hab 3:3-15).

⁶ tn Heb “clouds are dust.”

⁷ tn Heb “of his feet.”

NET Notes: Nah 1:4

¹ tn The term גָּעַר (ga’ar) often denotes “reprimand” and “rebuke” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). When it is used in the context of a military attack, it denotes an angry battle cry shouted by a mighty warrior to strike fear into his enemies to drive them away (e.g., 2 Sam 23:16; Isa 30:17; Pss 18:15; 76:6; 80:17; 104:7). For example, the parallel Ugaritic term is used when Baal utters a battle cry against Yamm before they fight to the death. For further study see, A. A. MacIntosh, “A Consideration of Hebrew g`r,” VT 14 (1969): 474; P. J. van Zijl, “A Consideration of the root ga’ar (“rebuke”),” OTWSA 12 (1969): 56-63; A. Caquot, TDOT 3:49-53.

² sn The “sea” is personified as an antagonistic enemy, representing the wicked forces of chaos (Pss 66:6; 72:8; 80:12; 89:26; 93:3-4; Isa 50:2; Mic 7:12; Hab 3:8; Zech 9:10).

³ tn This somewhat unusual use of the preterite (וַיַּבְּשֵׁהוּ, vayyabbÿshehu) follows a participle which depicts characteristic (present-time) action or imminent future action; the preterite depicts the subsequent present or future-time action (see IBHS 561-62 §33.3.5).

⁴ sn The Assyrians waged war every spring after the Tigris and Euphrates rivers dried up, allowing them to cross. As the Mighty Warrior par excellence, the Lord is able to part the rivers to attack Assyria.

⁵ tn The term אֻמְלַל (’umlal, “withers”) occurs twice in this verse in MT. The repetition of אֻמְלַל is also supported by the Dead Sea Scrolls (4QpNah). The BHS editors suggest emending the first occurrence of אֻמְלַל (“withers”) to דָּלְלוּ (dollu, “languishes”) to recover the letter ד (dalet) in the partial acrostic. Several versions do, in fact, employ two different verbs in the line (LXX, Syr, Targum, and Vg). However, the first verb at the beginning of the line in all of the versions reflects a reading of אֻמְלַל. Although several elements of an acrostic are present in Nahum 1, the acrostic is incomplete (only א [alef] to כ [kaf] in vv. 2-8) and broken (several elements are missing within vv. 2-8). There is no textual evidence for a complete, unbroken acrostic throughout the book of Nahum in any ancient Hebrew mss or other textual versions; it is most prudent simply to leave the MT as it stands.

NET Notes: Nah 1:5

¹ tn Or “because of him.” The Hebrew preposition מִמֶּנּוּ (mimmenu) is taken in a causal sense (“because of him”) by NASB, NJPS; however, it is taken in a locative sense (“before him”) by KJV, NKJV, NRSV, NIV. On the other hand, the LXX rendered it in a separative sense: ἀπ' αὐτοῦ (ap autou, “from him”). The parallelism between 1:5a and 1:5b seems to favor the locative nuance: “The mountains quake before him (מִמֶּנּוּ), the earth is laid waste before him (מִפָּנָיו, mifanayv).”

² tn Traditionally, “the hills melt.” English versions typically render הִתְמֹגָגוּ (hitmogagu) as “melt” (KJV, NRSV, NIV, NJPS) or “dissolve” (NASB). The LXX renders it ἐσαλεύθησαν (esaleuqhsan, “are shaken”). The Hebrew root has a range of meanings: (1) “to melt,” of courage (Ps 107:26) or troops retreating (“melting away” in fear) in battle (1 Sam 14:16); (2) “to dissolve,” of mountains dissolving due to erosion (Amos 9:13); (3) “to quake, shake apart,” of mountains quaking, swaying backwards and forwards, coming apart, and collapsing in an earthquake (Amos 9:5; Pss 46:6 [7]; 75:3 [4]). The latter fits the imagery of v. 5 (violent earthquakes): the earth trembles in fear at the approach of the Divine Warrior (e.g., Hab 3:6).

³ tn Or “is upheaved”; or “heaves.” There is debate whether the originally unpointed Hebrew verb וַתִּשָּׂא (vattissa’) should be vocalized as וְתִּשָּׂא (vÿttissa’; NASB “is upheaved”; NRSV, NJPS “heaves”) from the root נָשָׂא (nasa’, “to lift up”) or as וַתִּשָּׁא (vattisha’, “is devastated, laid waste”) from the root שֹׁאָה (sho’ah, “to devastate, lay waste”). The vocalization וְתִּשָּׂא is attested in the Masoretic tradition and the Greek versions: Origen (“was raised up”), Symmachus (“was moved”), and Aquila (“shivered”). However, וְתִּשָּׂא demands an intransitive (“heaves”) or passive (“is upheaved”) sense which is not attested for the Qal stem. The vocalization וַתִּשָּׁא (“is devastated, laid waste”) is supported by the Syriac and Vulgate. The revocalization of the MT וְתִּשָּׂא (“is lifted up”) to וַתִּשָּׁא (“is devastated”) is suggested by the BHS editors and several Hebrew lexicons (HALOT 726 s.v. נשׁא; BDB 670-71 s.v. נָשָׂא). The revocalization involves only the difference between the form שׂ (sin) and שׁ (shin) and is followed in the present translation.

⁴ sn The phrase “the world and all its inhabitants” is used to stress the universal dimensions of God’s revelation of his glory and his acts of judgment (e.g., Pss 33:8; 98:7; Isa 18:3; 26:9, 18; Lam 4:12).

⁵ tn The words “are laid waste” are not in the Hebrew text, but are an implied repetition from the previous line.

NET Notes: Nah 1:6

¹ tn Heb “stand before” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, NLT). The Hebrew verb עָמַד (’amad, “stand”) here denotes “to resist, withstand.” It is used elsewhere of warriors taking a stand in battle to hold their ground against enemies (Judg 2:14; Josh 10:8; 21:44; 23:9; 2 Kgs 10:4; Dan 11:16; Amos 2:15). It is also used of people trying to protect their lives from enemy attack (Esth 8:11; 9:16). Like a mighty warrior, the Lord will attack his enemies, but none will be able to make a stand against him; none will be able to hold their ground against him; and none will be able to protect themselves from his onslaught (Pss 76:7[8]; 147:17; Mal 3:2).

² tn Heb “Who can stand before his indignation?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer; it is translated here as an emphatic denial. The Hebrew noun זַעַם (za’am, “indignation, curse”) connotes the angry wrath or indignant curse of God (Isa 10:5, 25; 13:5; 26:20; 30:27; Jer 10:10; 15:17; 50:25; Ezek 21:36; 22:24, 31; Hab 3:12; Zeph 3:8; Pss 38:4; 69:25; 78:49; 102:11; Lam 2:6; Dan 8:19; 11:36). It depicts anger expressed in the form of punishment (HALOT 276 s.v.; TWOT 1:247).

³ tn Heb “Who can rise up against…?” The verb יָקוּם (yaqum, “arise”) is here a figurative expression connoting resistance. Although the adversative sense of בְּ (bet) with יָקוּם (yaqum, “against him”) is attested, denoting hostile action taken against one’s enemy (Mic 7:6; Ps 27:12), the locative sense (“before him”) is preferred due to the parallelism with לִפְנֵי (lifney, “before him”).

⁴ tn Heb “Who can rise up against the heat of his anger?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer which is translated as an emphatic denial to clarify the point.

⁵ tn Or “burst into flames.” The Niphal perfect נִתְּצוּ (nittÿtsu) from נָתַץ (natats, “to break up, throw down”) may denote “are broken up” or “are thrown down.” The BHS editors suggest emending the MT’s נִתְּצוּ (nittÿtsu) to נִצְּתּוּ (nitsÿtu, Niphal perfect from יָצַת [yatsat, “to burn, to kindle, to burst into flames”]): “boulders burst into flames.” This merely involves the simple transposition of the second and third consonants. This emendation is supported by a few Hebrew mss (cited in BHS apparatus). It is supported contextually by fire and heat motifs in 1:5-6. The same metathesis of נִתְּצוּ and נִצְּתּוּ occurs in Jer 4:26.

⁶ tn Heb “before him” (so NAB, NIV, TEV).

NET Notes: Nah 1:7

¹ tn The Masoretic disjunctive accent marker (zaqeph parvum) divides the lines here. Most English versions reflect this line division (KJV, RSV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NKJV). Some extend the line: “Yahweh is better than a fortress” (NJB); “The Lord is good to those who hope in him” (NJPS); and “The Lord is good to those who trust him” (NEB). This issue is complicated by the textual problems in this verse.

² tn The preposition לְ (lamed) probably functions in an emphatic asseverative sense, suggested by D. L. Christensen, “The Acrostic of Nahum Reconsidered,” ZAW 87 (1975): 22. This explains the preceding statement: the Lord is good to his people (1:7a) because – like a fortress – he protects them in time of distress (1:7b).

³ tc Some ancient versions read, “The Lord is good to those who trust him.” The MT reads לְמָעוֹז (lÿma’oz, “a fortress”): the noun מָעוֹז (ma’oz, “fortress”) with the preposition לְ (lÿ, see below). However, the LXX reflects the reading לְמֵעִיז (lÿme’iz, “to those who trust [him]”): the Hiphil participle from עוּז (’uz, “seek refuge”) with the preposition לְ. The variants involve only different vocalizations and the common confusion of vav (ו) with yod. Most English versions follow the traditional Hebrew reading (KJV, RSV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NKJV); however, several others follow the alternate Greek reading (NEB, NJPS). The BHS editors and several other scholars favor the LXX tradition; however, the Masoretic tradition has been defended by others. The Masoretic tradition is supported by the Dead Sea Scrolls (4QpNah). The problem with the LXX reading is the absence of the direct object in the Hebrew text; the LXX is forced to supply the direct object αὐτόν (auton, “him”; for a similar addition of the direct object αὐτόν by the LXX, see Amos 9:12). The main objection to the MT reading לְמָעוֹז (“a fortress”) is that לְ is hard to explain. However, לְ may be taken in a comparative sense (Cathcart: “Yahweh is better than a fortress in time of distress”) or an asseverative sense (Christensen: “Yahweh is good; indeed, a fortress in time of distress”). See K. J. Cathcart, Nahum in the Light of Northwest Semitic (BibOr), 55; idem, “More Philological Studies in Nahum,” JNSL 7 (1979): 4; D. L. Christensen, “The Acrostic of Nahum Reconsidered,” ZAW 87 (1975): 22. Elsewhere, the Lord is commonly portrayed as a “fortress” (מָעוֹז) protecting his people (Pss 27:1; 28:8; 31:3, 5; 37:39; 43:2; 52:9; Isa 17:10; 25:4; 27:5; Joel 4:16; Jer 16:19; Neh 8:10; Prov 10:29).

⁴ sn The phrase “time of distress” (בְּיוֹם צָרָה) refers to situations in which God’s people are oppressed by enemy armies (Isa 33:2; Jer 14:8; 15:11; 16:19; Obad 12; Pss 20:2; 37:39). Nahum may be alluding to recent Assyrian invasions of Judah, such as Sennacherib’s devastating invasion in 701 b.c., in which the Lord protected the remnant within the fortress walls of Jerusalem (2 Kgs 18-19; 2 Chr 32; Isa 36-37).

⁵ tn Heb “he knows” or “he recognizes.” The basic meaning of the verb יָדַע (yada’) is “to know,” but it may denote “to take care of someone” or “to protect” (HALOT 391 s.v.; see Gen 39:6; Job 9:21; Ps 31:8). Most English versions render it as “know” here (KJV, RSV, NASB, NKJV) but at least two recognize the nuance “protect” (NRSV, NIV [which reads “cares for”]). It often refers to God protecting and caring for his people (2 Sam 7:20; Ps 144:3). When the subject is a king (suzerain) and the object is a servant (vassal), it often has covenantal overtones. In several ancient Near Eastern languages this term depicts the king (suzerain) recognizing his treaty obligation to protect and rescue his servant (vassal) from its enemies. For example, a letter from Abdi-Ashirta governor of Ammuru to the Egyptian king Amenophis III ends with a plea for protection from the raids of the Mittani: “May the king my lord know [= protect] me” (yi-da-an-ni; EA 60:30-32). Similarly, in the treaty between Muwattallis and Alaksandus, the Hittite suzerain assures his vassal that in case he was attacked, “As he is an enemy of you, even so he is an enemy to the Sun; I the Sun, will know [= “protect”] only you, Alaksandus” (see H. B. Huffmon, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew YADA`,” BASOR 181 (1966): 31-37; idem, “A Further Note on the Treaty Background of Hebrew YADA`,” BASOR 184 (1966): 36-38.

⁶ tn Or “those who trust in him” (NIV); NAB “those who have recourse to him.”

NET Notes: Nah 1:8

¹ tn Some scholars connect “in an overwhelming flood” (וּבְשֶׁטֶף עֹבֵר, uvÿshetef ’over) with the preceding line: “he protects those who trust him in an overwhelming flood.” However, others connect it with the following line: “But with an overwhelming flood he will make a complete end of its [Nineveh’s] site.” D. T. Tsumura (“Janus Parallelism in Nah 1:8,” JBL 102 [1983]: 109-11) suggests that it does double duty and should be read with both lines: “he knows those who trust him in an overwhelming flood, / but with an overwhelming flood he will make a complete end of its [Nineveh’s] site.” Connecting it with the preceding line creates a tight parallelism and a balanced 5+5 metrical count. Connecting it with the following line harmonizes with Nah 2:9 [8], which describes the walls of Nineveh being destroyed by flood waters, and with historical evidence (Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica, 2.27.1-3; Xenophon, Anabasis, 3.4.12) and modern archaeological evidence (A. T. Olmstead, History of Assyria, 637). This might be an example of intentional ambiguity: God will protect his people from the very calamity that he will use to destroy his enemies.

² tc Heb “her place.” Alternately, some ancient versions read “his adversaries.” The MT reads מְקוֹמָהּ (mÿqomah, “her place”). This is supported by the Dead Sea Scrolls (מקומה, “her place,” found in 4QpNah) and Symmachus (τῆς τόποῦ αὐτοῦ, th" topou autou, “her place”). The reading of the LXX (τούς ἐπεγειρουμένους, tou" epegeiroumenou", “those who rise up [against Him]”) and Aquila (ἀντισταμενω¡ν, antistamenw>n, “adversaries”) reflect מְקּוֹמיהוּ or מְקִימיהוּ or מְקִּמָיו (“his adversaries”), also reflected in the Vulgate and Targum. Some scholars suggest emending the MT in the light of the LXX to create a tight parallelism between “his adversaries” (מקומיו) and “his enemies” (וְאֹיְבָיו, vÿ’oyÿvayv) which is a parallel word pair elsewhere (Deut 28:7; 2 Sam 22:40-41, 49; Mic 7:6; Ps 59:2). Likewise, Tsumura suggests emending the MT because the text, as it stands, does not have a clear parallel word for “his enemies” (וְאֹיְבָיו) – emending the MT’s מְקוֹמָהּ (“her place”) to מקומיו (“his adversaries”) would result in a parallel word (D. T. Tsumura, “Janus Parallelism in Nah 1:8,” JBL 102 [1983]: 109-11). The BHS editors propose emending the MT in favor of the Greek tradition. The English versions reflect both textual traditions – several follow the MT with “her place” and “its site” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NKJV, NJPS), while others adopt the LXX reading and emend the Hebrew, resulting in “his adversaries” (NRSV) or “those who defy him” (NJB). The MT makes sense as it stands, but the proposed emendation is attractive and involves only the common confusion between ה and יו.

³ tc The BHS editors propose emending the Masoretic reading יְרַדֶּף (yÿraddef, Piel imperfect of רָדַּף [raddaf], “to chase”) to יֶהְדֹּף (yekhdof, Qal imperfect of הָדַף [hadaf], “to thrust away, drive away”). Although הָדַף is used with חֹשֶׁךְ (khoshekh, “darkness”) in Job 18:18 (“he is driven from light into darkness”), the MT makes good sense as it stands, and is supported by the versions. The conjectural emendation has no support and is unnecessary.

NET Notes: Nah 1:9

¹ tn Alternately, “Why are you plotting?” or “What are you plotting?” The term מַה (mah) ordinarily functions as the interrogative pronoun “what?” (HALOT 550-51 s.v.; BDB 552-53 s.v.). It is often used in reproachful, ridiculing questions and in accusations with an insinuation of blame, reproach, or contempt; see Gen 4:10; 37:10; 44:15; Josh 22:16; Judg 8:1; 15:11; 20:12; 1 Sam 29:3; 2 Sam 9:8; 1 Kgs 9:13; 2 Kgs 9:22; 18:19). It is more disparaging than מִי (mi; HALOT 551 s.v. מַה). The LXX translates it with the interrogative pronoun τί (“what?”). R. L. Smith (Micah-Malachi [WBC], 76) takes it as the indefinite pronoun “whatever” (see also BDB 553 s.v. מָה 3; GKC 443-44 §137.c; Num 23:3; 1 Sam 19:3; 20:10; 2 Sam 18:22-23, 29; Job 13:13; Prov 25:8). W. A. Maier (Nahum, 186) takes it as the interrogative adverb “why?” (see also BDB 553 s.v. מָה 2.b; Gen 3:13; 12:18; 26:10; Exod 14:15; 17:2; 2 Kgs 6:33; 7:3; Pss 42:6, 12; 43:5; 52:3; Job 7:21; 15:12; Song 8:4). All three are represented in English versions: “What?” (KJV, NKJV), “Why?” (NRSV, NJPS), and “Whatever” (NASB, NIV).

² tn Less likely, “[What are you] thinking about.” When used with אֶל (’el) the verb חָשַׁב (khashav) may be taken (1) in a hostile sense: “What are you plotting against the Lord?” or (2) in a nonhostile sense: “What are you thinking about the Lord?” The hostile sense is clearly intended when it is used in collocation with the direct object רָעָה (ra’ah, “evil”; Zech 7:10; 8:17; Pss 35:4; 140:3; Prov 16:9) or when it is followed by the preposition עַל (’al; Gen 50:20; 2 Sam 14:13; Jer 11:19; 18:11, 18; 29:11; 48:2; 49:30; Mic 2:3; Nah 1:11; Pss 36:5; Esth 8:3; 9:24, 25; Dan 11:25). It is also used in a hostile sense when followed by the preposition אֶל, as it is here (Jer 49:20; 50:45; Hos 7:15; Nah 1:9). The major lexicons classify this usage in a hostile sense (BDB 363 s.v. חָשַׁב; HALOT 360 s.v. חשׁב). The verb is repeated in Nah 1:11 where it is clearly used in a hostile sense.

³ tn Or “The Lord will completely foil whatever you plot against him”; or “Whatever you may think about the Lord, he [always] brings everything to a conclusion.”

⁴ tc The MT reads צָרָה (tsarah, “distress”). This is supported by the LXX. However, the BHS editors propose emending the MT’s צָרָה (“distress”) to צָרָיו (tsarayv, “his adversaries”). Several English versions follow course (NRSV, NJPS); however, the majority of English versions follow the traditional MT reading (KJV, NASB, NIV, NKJV). The term “distress” (צָרָה, tsarah) is repeated from v. 7: God will not only protect his people in time of “distress” (צָרָה) from the Assyrians (v. 7), he will put an end to “distress” (צָרָה) by destroying the Assyrians (v. 9).

⁵ tn The originally unvocalized consonantal form תקום is vocalized in the MT as תָקוּם (taqum, “will arise”) from קוּם (qum, “to arise”). However, the LXX reflects a vocalization of תִקּוֹם (tiqom, “will take vengeance”) from נָקַם (naqam, “to avenge”). The Masoretic vocalization makes sense and should be retained. The LXX vocalization probably arose under the influence of the three-fold repetition of נקם in Nah 1:2.

NET Notes: Nah 1:10

¹ tn The verb אֻכְּלוּ (’ukkÿlu, “they will be consumed”) is an example of the old Qal passive perfect 3rd person common plural which was erroneously pointed by the Masoretes as Pual perfect 3rd person common plural. The Qal passive of אָכַל (’akhal) occurs several times in the Hebrew Bible, pointed as Pual (e.g., Exod 3:2; Neh 2:3, 13; Isa 1:20; Nah 1:10). For further discussion on the old Qal passive see H. L. Ginsberg, “Studies on the Biblical Hebrew Verb: Masoretically Misconstrued Internal Passives,” AJSL 46 (1929): 53-56; R. J. Williams, “The Passive Qal Theme in Hebrew,” Essays on the Ancient Semitic World, 43-50; Joüon 1:166-67 §58.a; IBHS 373-76 §22.6 (see especially n. 36 on p. 375).

² tn The particle עַד (’ad) is taken as a comparative of degree (“like”) by many lexicographers (BDB 724 s.v. I.3; HALOT 787 s.v. 5), English versions (NASB, NRSV, NJPS), and scholars (W. A. Maier, Nahum, 192; R. L. Smith, Micah-Malachi [WBC], 76; R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah [WEC], 42). Although the comparative sense is rare (1 Sam 11:15; 2 Sam 23:19; 2 Kgs 24:20; 1 Chr 4:27), it is suggested by the similes in v. 10 (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 57, §312). The comparative sense is reflected in the Greek versions of Symmachus, Aquila, and Theodotion. Although Origen took עַד in its more common spatial sense (“up to”), his approach can be dismissed because he misunderstood the entire line: ὅτι ἕως θεμελίου αὐτοῦ ξερσωθήσεται (Joti Jew" qemeliou autou xerswqhsetai, “up to his foundation he shall be laid bare”). The KJV takes עַד in its rare temporal sense (“while”; see BDB 725 s.v. II.2). T. Longman suggests a locative sense: “by the entangled thorns they are like drunkards stinking of drink” (“Nahum,” The Minor Prophets, 2:794, 796; see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 56-57, §310). Because of its difficulty, several scholars have resorted to conjectural emendations of the MT: (1) K. J. Cathcart (Nahum in the Light of Northwest Semitic [BibOr], 61) suggests emending the MT’s עַד to the temporal particle עוֹד (’od, “again”); (2) The BHS editors suggest emending the MT’s כִּי עַד (ki ’ad) to הוֹי עִיר (hoy ’ir, “woe to the city!”) which appears in Nah 3:1; (3) The BHS editors suggest the alternate conjectural emendation of יִבְעֲרוּ כְ (yiv’aru kÿ, “they will burn like …”); (4) H. Junker (Die zwolf kleinen Propheten, 175) suggests emending כִּי עַד (ki ’ad) to כְּיַעַד (kÿya’ad, “like a forest”). Although the Masoretic reading is difficult, it is more plausible than any conjectural emendation.

³ tc The MT reads סִירִים סְבֻכִים (sirim sÿvukhim, “entangled thorn-bushes”), and is supported by the Dead Sea text from Murabba`at: סירים סבכים (see DJD 2:197). The noun סִירִים (“thorn bushes”) is from סִיר (sir, “thorn, thorn bush,” BDB 696 s.v. II סִיר; HALOT 752 s.v. *סִירָה), e.g., Isa 34:13; Hos 2:8; Eccl 7:6. The Qal passive participle סְבֻכִים (sÿvukhim) is from סָבַךְ (savakh, “to interweave,” BDB 687 s.v. סָבַךְ; HALOT 740 s.v. סבך), e.g., Job 8:17, which is related to Assyrian sabaku (“to entwine,” AHw 2:999.a) and Arabic sabaka (“to entwine”; Leslau, 51). The MT is supported by several LXX translators, e.g., Symmachus, Aquila, and Theodotion. It is also reflected in Vulgate’s spinarum perplexi (“thorn-bushes entangled”). On the other hand, the Syriac Peshitta reflects סָרִים סוֹרְרִים (sarim sorÿrim, “your princes are rebels”) which points to orthographic confusion and a different vocalization. Similar textual confusion is apparent in Origen: θεμελίου αὐτοῦ ξερσωθήσεται (qemeliou autou xerswqhsetai, “his foundation shall be laid bare”) seems to reflect יְסֹדָם יְכָבֵּס (yÿsodam yÿkhabbes, “their foundation shall be washed away”) which was caused by orthographic confusion and transposition of consonants. The MT should be retained.

sn This simile compares the imminent destruction of Nineveh to the burning of a mass of entangled thorn-bushes (Job 8:17). When thorn-bushes are entangled they burn quickly and completely ( Eccl 7:6; Isa 34:13).

⁴ tc The MT reading וּכְסָבְאָם סְבוּאִים (ukhÿsav’am sÿvu’im, “and like the drink of drunkards”) is supported by Symmachus (“and as those drinking their drink with one another”) who is known for his wooden literalness to the Hebrew text, and by Vulgate which reads et sicut vino suo inebriati. K. J. Cathcart revocalizes as וּכְסֹבְאִים סְבֻאִים (ukhÿsovÿ’im sÿvu’im, “and like drunkards sodden with drink”; Nahum in the Light of Northwest Semitic [BibOr], 61). Haldar equates Hebrew סָבָא (sava’) with Ugaritic sp’ (“eat”) due to an interchange between ב (bet) and פ (pe), and produces “and as they consume a consuming” (A. Haldar, Studies in the Book of Nahum, 32). Barr argues that the mem (מ) on MT וּכְסָבְאָם (ukhÿsov’am) is enclitic, and he translates the line as “and as the drunken are getting drunk” (J. Barr, Comparative Philology, 33).

tn The MT’s וּכְסָבְאָם is a noun with masculine plural suffix from סֹבֶא (sove’, “drink, liquor”), meaning “their drink, liquor” (e.g., Hos 4:18). This is supported by Symmachus (“their drink”) and is reflected in the Syriac (“in their drink”). The Masoretic סְבוּאִים (sÿvu’im) is the passive participle from סָבָא (sava’, “to drink,” BDB 684-85 s.v. סָבָא). This produces “and like their liquor/drink being drunken.” This makes good sense with the following line in which אֻכְּלוּ (’ukkÿlu, “they will be consumed”) appears. The verb אֻכְּלוּ is frequently used in comparisons of consuming liquor and being consumed like chaff.

⁵ tc The BHS editors propose emending the MT’s מָלֵא (male’, “fully”) to the negative interrogative הֲלֹא (halo’, “Has not…?”) and connecting it with the next line: “Has not one plotting evil marched out from you?” However, this emendation is unnecessary because the MT makes sense as it stands, and there is no textual support for the emendation. The MT is supported by the Greek tradition, the Dead Sea Scrolls (4QpNah), and the other versions.

tn Or “They will be fully consumed like dried stubble.” The term מָלֵא (“fully”) functions either as: (1) an adjective modifying כְּקַשׁ יָבֵשׁ (kÿqash yavesh, “like fully dried stubble”) or (2) an adverb modifying אֻכְּלוּ (’ukkÿlu, “they will be fully consumed”); see BDB 571 s.v. מָלֵא. The adverbial sense is rare, appearing elsewhere only in Jer 12:6; thus, the adjectival sense is more probable. The Hebrew word order also suggests the adjectival sense because מָלֵא follows כְּקַשׁ יָבֵשׁ (kÿqash yavesh) rather than אֻכְּלוּ.

NET Notes: Nah 1:11

¹ tn The words “O Nineveh” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity. The preceding pronoun is feminine singular, indicating the personified city is in view. See 2:1 (2:2 HT).

² tn Heb “a counselor of wickedness”; NASB “a wicked counselor”; NAB “the scoundrel planner.”

NET Notes: Nah 1:12

¹ sn Verse 12 begins with a typical prophetic introduction (“This is what the Lord says”) in language similar to the typical ancient Near Eastern messenger formula (see C. Westermann, Basic Forms of Prophetic Speeches, 100-115). This formula is frequently used to introduce prophetic speeches (e.g., Jer 2:5; Ezek 2:4; Amos 1:3). The messenger formula indicates that the prophet’s message is not his own, but is a revelatory and prophetic oracle from the Lord. It confirms the authenticity of the message.

² tn The syntax of this line is complicated and difficult to translate. The first clause is the concessive protasis of a real condition, while the second is the logical apodosis of a comparative clause. This creates an a fortiori argument: “Even though they are strong and likewise many, so much more will they be cut down and pass away!” The first use of the particle וְכֵן (vÿkhen, “Even though”) introduces a concessive or conditional protasis of a present-time or immediate future-time real condition (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 87, §515; IBHS 636-37 §38.2). The second use of the particle וְכֵן (“so much more…”) introduces the apodosis of a logical resultative clause (see IBHS 641-42 §38.5).

³ tn Or “are strong” (cf. NCV); or “are at full strength” (NAB, NRSV); or “are intact.” Alternately, “Even though they have allies” (cf. NIV, NLT). The Hebrew noun שְׁלֵמִים (shÿlemim, from שָׁלֵם [shalem]) means “complete, healthy, sound, safe, intact, peaceful” (BDB 1023-24 s.v. שָׁלֵם; HALOT 1538-1539 s.v. שָׁלֵם). It can connote “full strength” or “full number” of an object (Gen 15:16; Deut 25:15; Prov 11:1; Amos 1:6, 9). Most commentators view this as a reference to the strength or numbers of the Assyrian army: “strong” (R. L. Smith, Micah-Malachi [WBC], 77-78), “full strength” (NASB, NRSV) or “intact” (T. Longman, “Nahum,” The Minor Prophets, 2:798). On the other hand, NIV and NLT follow the lead of Wiseman who points out that שְׁלֵמִים can refer to military allies: “Even though they will have allies and so be all the more numerous” (D. J. Wiseman, “Is It Peace? Covenant and Diplomacy,” VT 32 [1982]: 311-26). Nahum refers to the allies of the Assyrians elsewhere (Nah 3:15-17).

⁴ tn The particle וְכֵן (vÿkhen, “and moreover”) functions as an emphatic comparative adverb of degree (BDB 486 s.v. כֵּן; IBHS 663, 665-67 §39.3.4). It draws a comparison between שְׁלֵמִים (shÿlemim, “strong”) and רַבִּים (rabbim, “many”) but goes one step further for emphasis. This creates an “A, what is more B!” parallelism: “They are strong – what is more – they are many!”

⁵ tc The MT reads אִם־שְׁלֵמִים וְכֵן רַבִּים (’im-shÿlemim vÿkhen rabbim, “Even though they are strong and numerous”). The complicated syntax of this line led to textual confusion and several textual variants among the versions. For example, the LXX’s κατάρξων ὑδάτων πολλῶν (katarxwn Judatwn pollwn, “ruler of many waters”) reflects מֹשֵׁל מַיִם רַבִּים (moshel mayim rabbim, “ruler of many waters”) which redivides the words, and omits the letter א (aleph) and the word וְכֵן (vÿkhen). Similarly, the Syriac reflects אֶל מֹשְׁלֵי מַיִם רַבִּים (’el mosÿle rabbim, “to the rulers of many waters”). The MT is the most difficult reading and therefore best explains the origin of these textual variants. Moreover, the LXX of Nahum is well-known for its unusual mistranslations of the Hebrew text of Nahum. The LXX butchers v. 12 in several other places (see below). All major English versions follow the MT here.

⁶ tn The particle וְכֵן (vÿkhen, “so much more…”) introduces the apodosis of a logical resultative clause (IBHS 641-42 §38.5). It emphasizes that the action described in the apodosis will occur almost immediately (e.g., 1 Kgs 20:40; Ps 48:6).

⁷ tn Heb “they will be sheared.” The term “cut off” (גָּזָז, gazaz) is ordinarily used to describe the literal actions of “shearing” sheep (Gen 31:19; 38:12-13; Deut 15:19; 18:4; 1 Sam 25:2, 4, 7, 11; 2 Sam 13:23-24; Job 31:20; Isa 53:7) and “cutting” hair (Jer 7:29; Mic 1:16; Job 1:20). It is used figuratively here to describe the destruction of the Assyrian army (BDB 159 s.v. גָּזַז; HALOT 186 s.v. גזז).

sn The expression they will be cut off is an example of a hypocatastasis (implied comparison); Nahum intentionally chose this term to compare the destruction of the Assyrians to the shearing of sheep. This word-play has great rhetorical impact because the Assyrians frequently used sheep imagery when boasting of the ease and brutality with which they defeated their enemies (see D. Marcus, “Animal Similes in Assyrian Royal Inscriptions,” Or 46 [1977]: 92-93). It is both appropriate (poetic justice) and ironic (reversal of situation) that the Assyrians themselves should suffer a fate which they boasted of inflicting upon others. They will be an easy, helpless prey for the Divine Warrior. Their punishment will fit their crimes.

⁸ tc In v. 12 the MT preserves a string of plural forms followed by a seemingly anomalous singular form: וְעָבָר…נָגֹזּוּ…רַבִּים…שְׁלֵמִים (shÿlemim … rabbim … nagozzu … vÿ’avar, “Even though they are numerous…they are many…they will be cut off…and he [?] will pass away”). Several other versions (LXX, Syr, Targum) read the plural form וְעָבָרוּ (vÿ’avaru, “and they will pass away”). Several scholars emend the MT to the plural form, noting that the next word (וְעִנִּתִךְ, vÿ’innitikh) begins with vav (ו); they suggest that the plural ending of וְעָבָרוּ dropped out due to haplography or faulty word division (e.g., T. Longman, “Nahum,” The Minor Prophets, 2:798). Another scholar retains the consonantal text, but repoints the form as an infinitive absolute: “They will be cut off, passing away” (K. J. Cathcart). On the other hand, more conservative scholars defend the MT reading and try to solve the problem by suggesting a shift from a plural referent (the Assyrians) to a singular referent (God or the Assyrian king): “They shall be cut down, when he passes through” (KJV) and “They will be cut off and he will pass over” (R. L. Smith, Micah-Malachi [WBC], 77). Still others suggest that the singular form functions as a collective: “They will be cut off and [they] will pass away” (W. A. Maier, Nahum, 206; K&D 27:15).
However, rather than resorting to textual emendations or performing syntactical improbabilities, the best solution may be simply to posit the presence of a rhetorical, stylistic device. The shift from these plural forms to the concluding singular form may be an example of heterosis of the plural to the singular (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 525 [4.5]). This is a common poetic device used for emphasis, especially at the climactic point in a speech (e.g., Gen 29:27; Num 22:6; 32:25; Job 12:7; 18:2; Esth 9:23; Ps 73:7; Prov 14:1, 9; John 3:11; 1 Tim 2:15).

tn Or “pass away.” The term עָבַר (’avar, “to pass through”) is a key word in Nahum 1; it occurs three times (Nah 1:8, 12, 15 [2:1 HT]). This verb is often used in reference to water, both the raging onset of flood waters (Nah 1:8) and the passive trickling or dwindling away of receding waters (Job 6:15; 11:16).

sn The phrase trickle away is an example of a hypocatastasis (implied comparison); Nahum compares the destruction of the mighty Assyrians with the trickling away of once high waters. This imagery has strong rhetorical impact because the Assyrians often boasted that they overwhelmed their enemies like a flood. It is ironic then that they would soon dwindle away to a mere trickle! This is also an appropriate image in the light of the historical destruction of Nineveh through the use of flood waters, as predicted by the prophet (Nah 2:7-9) and recorded by ancient historians (Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica 2.26-27; Xenophon, Anabasis 3.4.12; also see P. Haupt, “Xenophon’s Account of the Fall of Nineveh,” JAOS 28 [1907]: 99-107).

⁹ tn The terms אֲעַנֵּךְ (’a’annekh, “I will [no longer] afflict you”) and וְעִנִּתִךְ (vÿ’innitikh, “I afflicted you”) are both derived from the root II עָנָה (’anah, “to afflict”). The LXX mistakenly confused this with the more common root I עָנָה (“to answer, respond”). Although it mistranslated the roots, the LXX reflects the same consonantal text as the MT: וְעִנִּתִךְ לֹא אֲעַנֵּךְ (vÿ’innitikh lo’ ’a’annekh, “Although I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no longer”). Some modern English versions supply various terms not in the Hebrew text to indicate the addressee: NIV “O Judah”; NLT “O my people.” Judah is specifically addressed in 1:15 (2:1 HT) and the feminine singular is used there, just as it is in 1:12.

NET Notes: Nah 1:13

¹ tn The particle וְעַתָּה (vÿ’attah, “And now”) often introduces a transition in a prophetic oracle (HALOT 902 s.v. 3.a). It often draws a contrast between a past condition (as described in v. 12) and what will happen in the immediate future (as described in v. 13; see, e.g., Gen 11:6; 2 Sam 2:6; 2 Kgs 12:8). See H. A. Brongers, “Bemerkungen zum Gebrauch des adverbialen we’attah im Alten Testament,” VT 15 (1965): 289-99.

² tn Heb “his”; the referent (Assyria) has been supplied from context.

³ tc The BHS editors propose revocalizing the MT מֹטֵהוּ (motehu, “his yoke bar”) to מַטַּהַוּ (mattahu, “his scepter”). The threat of breaking an enemy’s scepter was a common ancient Near Eastern treaty curse (see D. Hillers, Treaty-Curses and the Old Testament Prophets [BibOr], 61). This proposed revocalization has no external support. The MT is supported by the use of the parallel word pair מוֹטָה/מוֹסֵר (motah, “scepter”/moser, “bonds”) elsewhere (Jer 27:2). The term מוֹטָה is never used in parallelism with מוֹסֵר elsewhere.

sn The terms yoke bar and shackles are figures of speech (hypocatastasis) for Assyrian subjugation of Judah. The imagery of the yoke bar draws an implied comparison between the yoking of a beast of burden to the subjugation of a nation under a foreign power, i.e., vassaldom (Lev 26:13; Jer 27:2; 28:14; Ezek 30:18; 34:27). This imagery also alludes to the Assyrian use of “yoke” imagery to describe their subjugation of foreign nations to the status of vassal. When describing their subjugation of nations, Assyrian rulers frequently spoke of causing them to “pull my yoke.” Sennacherib subjugated Judah to the Assyrian “yoke” in 701 b.c. when he invaded Judah and forced Hezekiah into a position of Assyrian vassal: “I laid waste the large district of Judah and put the straps of my yoke upon Hezekiah, its king” (“Sennacherib: The Siege of Jerusalem,” lines 13-15, in ANET 288).

⁴ tn Heb “from you”; the word “neck” is supplied in the translation as a clarification for the modern reader who may be less familiar with the imagery of a yoke around the neck of farm animals or draft animals.

sn The statement I will break Assyria’s yoke bar from your neck draws an implied comparison (hypocatastasis) between breaking a plowing yoke off the neck of a farming animal and freeing a vassal from the tyranny of an oppressive suzerain through military conquest (Lev 26:13; Isa 58:6; Jer 30:8; Ezek 30:18; 34:27).

⁵ sn The phrase the shackles that are on you draws an implied comparison between the chains and stocks of prisoners or slaves with the burden of international vassaldom to a tyrannical suzerain who demands absolute obedience and requires annual tributary offerings (e.g., Ps 2:3; Isa 52:2; Jer 27:2; 30:8). “Shackles” were the agent of covenantal discipline (e.g., Deut 28:48). Isaiah stated that the Assyrian “yoke” was the Lord’s instrument of discipline (Isa 28:22). The phrase I will tear apart the shackles that are on you draws an implied comparison (hypocatastasis) between removing the iron chains from a prisoner/slave and freeing a vassal from the oppression of a tyrannical suzerain through military conquest (Ps 2:3; Isa 52:2).

⁶ tn Heb “your shackles.”

NET Notes: Nah 1:14

¹ tn Heb “has commanded concerning you.” The referent of the 2nd person masculine singular suffix (“you”) probably refers to the Assyrian king (cf. 3:18-19) rather than to the personified city of Nineveh (so NIV). Elsewhere in the book of Nahum, the city of Nineveh is referred to by the feminine rather than masculine gender. Some modern English versions supply terms not in the Hebrew text to indicate the addressee more clearly: NIV “Nineveh”; NLT “the Assyrians in Nineveh.”

² tn Heb “from your name there will no longer be sown.”

³ tn The MT reading אָשִׂים קִבְרֶךָ (’asim qivrekha, “I will make your grave”) is usually understood as a figure of speech (metonymy of effect) meaning that the Lord will destroy/execute the Assyrian king. On the other hand, the Targum and Syriac treat this as a double-accusative construction – the implied second object of אָשִׂים being מִבֵּית אֱלֹהֶיךָ (mibbet ’elohekha, “the house [i.e., “temple”] of your gods”): “I will make it [the house (i.e., temple) of your gods] your grave.” Cathcart suggests revocalizing the MT אָשִׂים to a Hiphil imperfect אָשִׁיִם (’ashiyim) from שָׁמֵם (shamem, “to devastate”): “I will devastate your grave.” Cathcart notes that the destruction of one’s grave, like the threat of no burial, was a common ancient Near Eastern treaty-curse: “Tombs, especially royal tombs, were often protected by curses directed against persons who might violate and desecrate them, and the very curse kings used to have inscribed on their tombs were precisely the curse of no progeny and no resting-place” (K. J. Cathcart, “Treaty-Curses and the Book of Nahum,” CBQ 35 [1973]: 180-81). This might reflect the background of the ancient Near Eastern kudurru curses which were made against those who might devastate a royal grave and which were put into effect by the gods of the king (see F. C. Fensham, “Common Trends in Curses of the Near Eastern Treaties and Kudurru-Inscriptions Compared with Maledictions of Amos and Isaiah,” ZAW 75 [1963]: 157-59). Despite the fact the king’s grave was allegedly protected by the Assyrian gods, the Lord would nevertheless successfully destroy it, and it would be the Assyrian king who would receive the curse. This approach respects the traditional consonantal text and only involves the revocalization of the MT’s שׂ (sin) to שׁ (shin).

⁴ tn The Hebrew verb קַלֹּוֹתָ (qallota) is usually rendered “you are despised” (e.g., Gen 16:4-5; 1 Sam 2:30). However, it is possible that the Hebrew root קָלַל (qalal) is related to the Assyrian term qalu “accursed” (W. von Soden, “Hebraische Wortforschung,” VTSup 16 [1967]: 295).

NET Notes: Nah 1:15

¹ sn Beginning with 1:15, the verse numbers through 2:13 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 1:15 ET = 2:1 HT, 2:1 ET = 2:2 HT, etc., through 2:13 ET = 2:14 HT. Beginning with 3:1, the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

² tn Heb “the feet of a herald.”

³ tn Heb “a messenger of peace.” The Hebrew noun translated “peace” is sometimes used in reference to deliverance or freedom from enemy attack or destruction (e.g., Jer 4:10; 6:14; 8:11; 12:5; 28:9; 29:7).

⁴ sn The sacred vows to praise God were often made by Israelites as a pledge to proclaim the mercy of the Lord if he would be gracious to deliver (e.g., Gen 28:20; 31:13; Lev 7:16; Judg 11:30, 39; 1 Sam 1:11, 21; 2 Sam 15:7-8; Pss 22:25 [26]; 50:14; 56:12 [13]; 61:5 [6], 8 [9]; 65:1 [2]; 66:13; 116:14, 18; Eccl 5:4 [3]; Jonah 1:16; 2:9 [10]). The words “to praise God” are not in the Hebrew, but are added in the translation for clarification.

⁵ tc The LXX reflects the plural יוֹסִיפוּ (yosifu, “they shall [never]”). The MT reads the singular יוֹסִיף (yosif, “he shall [never]”) which is also found in the Dead Sea Scrolls (4QpNah). The subject of the verb is the singular noun בְּלִיַּעַל (bÿliyya’al, “the wicked one”) which is also misunderstood by the LXX (see below).

⁶ tc The MT reads בְּלִיַּעַל (bÿliyya’al, “the wicked one”; so ASV, NASB). The LXX reading εἰς παλαίωσιν (ei" palaiwsin, “to old age”) mistakenly derived בְּלִיַּעַל from בָּלָה (balah, “to become worn”). There are several places in the book of Nahum where the LXX produced poor translations.

tn Heb “the wicked one.” This is a collective singular and has been translated as a plural.

⁷ tn The term “Assyrians” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied from context for clarity. If left unspecified, the prophetic statement could be understood to mean that the wicked [i.e., wicked conquerors in general] would never again invade Judah. Cf. NLT “your enemies from Nineveh.”

⁸ tn Or “pass through you” (NASB); or “march against you”; NCV “attack you.”

⁹ tn Heb “he.” This is in agreement with the singular “wicked one” in the previous line.

¹⁰ tn Heb “he is completely cut off.”

Geneva Bible: Nah 1:1

The ^{( a )} burden of Nineveh. ^{( b )} The book of the vision of Nahum the ^{( c )} Elkoshite.

The Argument - As those of Nineveh showed themselves prompt and ready to receive the word of God at Jonah's preaching, and so turned to the Lord by repentance, so after a certain time they gave themselves to worldly means to increase their dominion, rather than seeking to continue in that fear of God, and path in which they had begun. They cast off the care of religion, and so returned to their vomit and provoked God's just judgment against them, in afflicting his people. Therefore their city Nineveh was destroyed, and Meroch-baladan, king of Babel (or as some think, Nebuchadnezzar) enjoyed the empire of the Assyrians. But because God has a continual care for his Church, he stirs up his Prophet to comfort the godly, showing that the destruction of their enemies would be for their consolation: and as it seems, he prophesies around the time of Hezekiah, and not in the time of Manasseh his son, as the Jews write.

^{( a )} See Isa 13:1

^{( b )} The vision or revelation, which God commanded Nahum to write concerning the Ninevites.

^{( c )} That is, born in a poor village in the tribe of Simeon.

Geneva Bible: Nah 1:2

God [is] ^{( d )} jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and ^{( e )} [is] furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth [wrath] for his enemies.

^{( d )} Meaning, of his glory.

^{( e )} With his own he is but angry for a time, but his anger is never appeased toward the reprobate, even though he defers it for a time.

Geneva Bible: Nah 1:3

The ^{( f )} 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.

^{( f )} Thus the wicked would make God's mercy an occasion to sin, but the Prophet wishes them to consider his power and justice.

Geneva Bible: Nah 1:6

^{( g )} 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.

^{( g )} If all creatures are at God's commandment, and none are able to resist his wrath, will man flatter himself, and think by any means to escape, when he provokes his God to anger?

Geneva Bible: Nah 1:7

The LORD [is] good, ^{( h )} a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

^{( h )} Lest the faithful should be discouraged by hearing the power of God, he shows them that his mercy appertains to them, and that he has care over them.

Geneva Bible: Nah 1:8

But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the ^{( i )} place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.

^{( i )} Signifying that God will suddenly destroy Nineveh and the Assyrians in such a way, that they will lie in perpetual darkness, and never recover their strength again.

Geneva Bible: Nah 1:9

What do ye ^{( k )} imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.

^{( k )} He shows that the undertakings of the Assyrians against Judah and the Church were against God, and therefore he would so destroy them the first time, that he would not need to return the second time.

Geneva Bible: Nah 1:10

For while [they be] folden together [as] ^{( l )} thorns, and while they are drunken [as] drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.

^{( l )} Though the Assyrians think themselves like thorns that prick on all sides, yet the Lord will set fire on them, and as drunken men are not able to stand against any force, so they will not be able to resist him at all.

Geneva Bible: Nah 1:11

There is [one] ^{( m )} come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counsellor.

^{( m )} Which may be understood either of Sennacherib, or of the whole body of the people of Nineveh.

Geneva Bible: Nah 1:12

Thus saith the LORD; Though [they be] ^{( n )} 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.

^{( n )} Though they think themselves in most safety, and of greatest strength, yet when God will pass by, he will destroy them: nonetheless, he comforts his Church, and promises to stop punishing them by the Assyrians.

Geneva Bible: Nah 1:14

And the LORD hath given a commandment concerning thee, [that] no more of thy name be ^{( o )} 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.

^{( o )} Meaning, Sennacherib, who would have no more children, but be slain in the house of his gods; (2Ki 19:36-37).

Geneva Bible: Nah 1:15

Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth ^{( p )} peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.

^{( p )} Which peace the Jews would enjoy by the death of Sennacherib.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Nah 1:1-15

1 The majesty of God in goodness to his people, and severity against his enemies.

MHCC: Nah 1:1-8

About a hundred years before, at Jonah's preaching, the Ninevites repented, and were spared, yet, soon after, they became worse than ever. Nineveh knows not that God who contends with her, but is told what a God he is. It is good for all to mix faith with what is here said concerning Him, which speaks great terror to the wicked, and comfort to believers. Let each take his portion from it: let sinners read it and tremble; and let saints read it and triumph. The anger of the Lord is contrasted with his goodness to his people. Perhaps they are obscure and little regarded in the world, but the Lord knows them. The Scripture character of Jehovah agrees not with the views of proud reasoners. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is slow to wrath and ready to forgive, but he will by no means acquit the wicked; and there is tribulation and anguish for every soul that doeth evil: but who duly regards the power of his wrath?

MHCC: Nah 1:9-15

There is a great deal plotted against the Lord by the gates of hell, and against his kingdom in the world; but it will prove in vain. With some sinners God makes quick despatch; and one way or other, he will make an utter end of all his enemies. Though they are quiet, and many very secure, and not in fear, they shall be cut down as grass and corn, when the destroying angel passes through. God would hereby work great deliverance for his own people. But those who make themselves vile by scandalous sins, God will make vile by shameful punishments. The tidings of this great deliverance shall be welcomed with abundant joy. These words are applied to the great redemption wrought out by our Lord Jesus and the everlasting gospel, Rom 10:15. Christ's ministers are messengers of good tidings, that preach peace by Jesus Christ. How welcome to those who see their misery and danger by sin! And the promise they made in the day of trouble must be made good. Let us be thankful for God's ordinances, and gladly attend them. Let us look forward with cheerful hope to a world where the wicked never can enter, and sin and temptation will no more be known.

Matthew Henry: Nah 1:1

This title directs us to consider, 1. The great city against which the word of the Lord is here delivered; it is the burden of Nineveh, not only a prophecy, and a weighty one, but a burdensome prophecy, a dead weight to Nineveh, a mill-stone hanged about its neck. Nineveh was the place concerned, and the Assyrian monarchy, which that was the royal seat of. About 100 years before this Jonah had, in God's name, foretold the speedy overthrow of this great city; but then the Ninevites repented and were spared, and that decree did not bring forth. The Ninevites then saw clearly how much it was to their advantage to turn from their evil way; it was the saving of their city; and yet, soon after, they returned to it again; it became worse than ever, a bloody city, and full of lies and robbery. They repented of their repentance, returned with the dog to his vomit, and at length grew worse than ever they had been. Then God sent them not this prophet, as Jonah, but this prophecy, to read them their doom, which was now irreversible. Note, The reprieve will not be continued if the repentance be not continued in. If men turn from the good they began to do, they can expect no other than that God should turn from the favour he began to show, Jer 18:10. 2. The poor prophet by whom the word of the Lord is here delivered: It is the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. The burden of Nineveh was what the prophet plainly foresaw, for it was his vision, and what he left upon record (it is the book of the vision ), that, when he was gone, the event might be compared with the prediction and might confirm it. All the account we have of the prophet himself is that he was an Elkoshite, of the town called Elkes, or Elcos, which, Jerome says, was in Galilee. Some observe that the scripture ordinarily says little of the prophets themselves, that our faith might not stand upon their authority, but upon that of the blessed Spirit by whom their prophecies were indited.

Matthew Henry: Nah 1:2-8

Nineveh knows not God, that God that contends with her, and therefore is here told what a God he is; and it is good for us all to mix faith with that which is here said concerning him, which speaks a great deal of terror to the wicked and comfort to good people; for this glorious description of the Sovereign of the world, like the pillar of cloud and fire, has a bright side towards Israel and a dark side towards the Egyptians. Let each take his portion from it; let sinners read it and tremble; let saints read it and triumph. The wrath of God is here revealed from heaven against him enemies, his favour and mercy are here assured to his faithful loyal subjects, and his almighty power in both, making his wrath very terrible and his favour very desirable.

I. He is a God of inflexible justice, a jealous God, and will take vengeance on his enemies; let Nineveh know this, and tremble before him. Their idols are insignificant things; there is nothing formidable in them. But the God of Israel is greatly to be feared; for, 1. He resents the affronts and indignities done him by those that deny his being or any of his perfections, that set up other gods in competition with him, that destroy his laws, arraign his proceedings, ridicule his word, or are abusive to his people. Let such know that Jehovah, the one only living and true God, is a jealous God, and a revenger; he is jealous for the comfort of his worshippers, jealous for his land (Joe 2:18), and will not have that injured. He is a revenger, and he is furious; he has fury (so the word is), not as man has it, in whom it is an ungoverned passion (so he has said, Fury is not in me, Isa 27:4), but he has it in such a way as becomes the righteous God, to put an edge upon his justice, and to make it appear more terrible to those who otherwise would stand in no awe of it. He is Lord of anger (so the Hebrew phrase is for that which we read, he is furious ); he has anger, but he has it at command and under government. Our anger is often lord over us, as theirs that have no rule over their own spirits, but God is always Lord of his anger and weighs a path to it, Psa 78:50. 2. He resolves to reckon with those that put those affronts upon him. We are told here, not only that he is a revenger, but that he will take vengeance; he has said he will, he has sworn it, Deu 32:40, Deu 32:41. Whoever are his adversaries and enemies among men, he will make them feel his resentments; and, though the sentence against his enemies is not executed speedily, yet he reserves wrath for them and reserves them for it in the day of wrath. Against his own people, who repent and humble themselves before him, he keeps not his anger for ever, but against his enemies he will for ever let out his anger. He will not at all acquit the wicked that sin, and stand to it, and do not repent, Nah 1:3. Those wickedly depart from their God that depart, and never return (Psa 18:21), and these he will not acquit. Humble supplicants will find him gracious, but scornful beggars will not find him easy, or that the door of mercy will be opened to a loud, but late, Lord, Lord. This revelation of the wrath of God against his enemies is applied to Nineveh (Nah 1:8), and should be applied by all those to themselves who go on still in their trespasses: With an over-running flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof. The army of the Chaldeans shall overrun the country of the Assyrians, and lay it all waste. God's judgments, when they come with commission, are like a deluge to any people, which they cannot keep off nor make head against. Darkness shall pursue his enemies; terror and trouble shall follow them, whitersoever they go, shall pursue them to utter darkness; if they think to flee from the darkness which pursues them they will but fall into that which is before them.

II. He is a God of irresistible power, and is able to deal with his enemies, be they ever so many, ever so mighty, ever so hardy. He is great in power (Nah 1:3), and therefore it is good having him our friend and bad having him our enemy. Now here,

1. The power of God is asserted and proved by divers instances of it in the kingdom of nature, where we always find its visible effects in the ordinary course of nature, and sometimes in the surprising alterations of that course. (1.) If we look up into the regions of the air, there we shall find proofs of his power, for he has his ways in the whirlwind and the storm. Which way soever God goes he carries a whirlwind and a storm along with him, for the terror of his enemies, Psa 18:9, etc. And, wherever there is a whirlwind and a storm, God has the command of it, the control of it, makes his way through it, goes on his way in it, and serves his own purposes by it. He spoke to Job out of the whirlwind, and even stormy winds fulfil his word. He has his way in the whirlwind, that is, he goes on undiscerned, and the methods of his providence are to us unaccountable; as it is said, His way is in the sea. The clouds are the dust of his feet; he treads on them, walks on them, raises them when he pleases, as a man with his feet raises a cloud of dust. It is but by permission, or usurpation rather, that the devil is the prince of the power of the air, for that power is in God's hand. (2.) If we cast our eye upon the great deeps, there we find that the sea is his, for he made it; for, when he pleases, he rebukes the sea and makes it dry, by drying up all the rivers with which it is continually supplied. He gave those proofs of his power when he divided the Red Sea and Jordan, and can do the same again whenever he pleases. (3.) If we look round us on this earth, we find proofs of his power, when, either by the extreme heat and drought of summer or the cold and frost of winter, Bashan languishes, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languishes, the choicest and strongest flower languishes. His power is often seen in earthquakes, which shake the mountains (Nah 1:5), melt the hills, and melt them down, and level them with the plains. When he pleases the earth is burnt at his presence by the scorching heat of the sun, and he could burn it with fire from heaven, as he did Sodom, and at the end of time he will burn the world and all that dwell therein. The earth, and all the works that are therein, shall be burnt up. Thus great is the Lord and of great power.

2. This is particularly applied to his anger. If God be an almighty God, we may thence infer (Nah 1:6), Who can stand before his indignation? The Ninevites had once found God slow to anger (as he says Nah 1:3), and perhaps presumed upon the mercy they had then had experience of, and thought they might make bold with him; but they will find he is just and jealous as well as merciful and gracious, and, having shown the justice of his wrath, in the next he shows the power of it, and the utter insufficiency of his enemies to contend with him. It is in vain for the stoutest and strongest of sinners to think to make their part good against the power of God's anger. (1.) See God here as a consuming fire, terrible and mighty. Here is his indignation against sin, and the fierceness of his anger, his fury poured out, not like water, but like fire, like the fire and brimstone rained on Sodom, Psa 11:6. Hell is the fierceness of God's anger, Rev 16:19. God's anger is so fierce that it beats down all before it: The rocks are thrown down by him, which seemed immovable. Rocks have sometimes been rent by the eruption of subterraneous fires, which is a faint resemblance of the fierceness of God's anger against sinners whose hearts are rocky, for none ever hardened their hearts against him and prospered. (2.) See sinners here are stubble before the fire, weak and impotent, and a very unequal match for the wrath of God. [1.] They are utterly unable to bear up against it, so as to resist it, and put by the strokes of it: Who can stand before his indignation? Not the proudest and most daring sinner; not the world of the ungodly; no, not the angels that sinned. [2.] They are utterly unable to bear up under it so as to keep up their spirits, and preserve any enjoyment of themselves: Who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? As it is irresistible, so it is intolerable. Some of the effects of God's displeasure in this world a man may bear up under, but the fierceness of his anger, when it fastens immediately upon the soul, who can bear? Let us therefore fear before him; let us stand in awe, and not sin.

III. He is a God of infinite mercy; and in the midst of all this wrath mercy is remembered. Let the sinners in Zion be afraid, that go on still in their transgressions, but let not those that trust in God tremble before him. For, 1. He is slow to anger (Nah 1:3), not easily provoked, but ready to show mercy to those who have offended him and to receive them into favour upon their repentance. 2. When the tokens of his rage against the wicked are abroad he takes care for the safety and comfort of his own people (Nah 1:7): The Lord is good to those that are good, and to them he will be a stronghold in the day of trouble. Note, The same almighty power that is exerted for the terror and destruction of the wicked is engaged, and shall be employed, for the protection and satisfaction of his own people; he is able both to save and to destroy. In the day of public trouble, when God's judgments are in the earth, laying all waste, he will be a place of defence to those that by faith put themselves under his protection, those that trust in him in the way of their duty, that live a life of dependence upon him, and devotedness to him; he knows them, he owns them for his, he takes cognizance of their case, knows what is best for them, and what course to take most effectually for their relief. They are perhaps obscure and little regarded in the world, but the Lord knows them, Psa 1:6.

Matthew Henry: Nah 1:9-15

These verses seem to point at the destruction of the army of the Assyrians under Sennacherib, which may well be reckoned a part of the burden of Nineveh, the head city of the Assyrian empire, and a pledge of the destruction of Nineveh itself about 100 years after; and this was an event which Isaiah, with whom probably this prophet was contemporary, spoke much of. Now observe here,

I. The great provocation which the Assyrians gave to God, the just and jealous God, for which, though slow to anger, he would take vengeance (Nah 1:11): There is one come out of thee, that imagines evil against the Lord - Sennacherib, and his spokesman Rabshakeh. They framed an evil letter and an evil speech, not only against Hezekiah and his people, but against God himself, reflecting upon him as level with the gods of the heathen, and unable to protect his worshippers, dissuading his people from putting confidence in him, and urging them rather to put themselves under the protection of the great king, the king of Assyria. They contrived to alter the property of Jerusalem, that it should be no longer the city of the Lord, the holy city. This one, this mighty one, so he thinks himself, that comes out of Nineveh, imagining evil against the Lord, brings upon Nineveh this burden. Never was the glorious Majesty of heaven and earth more daringly, more blasphemously affronted than by Sennacherib at that time. He was a wicked counsellor who counselled them to despair of God's protection, and surrender themselves to the king of Assyria, and endeavour to put them out of conceit with Hezekiah's reformation (Isa 36:7); with this wicked counsellor he here expostulates (Nah 1:9): " What do you imagine against the Lord? What a foolish wicked thing it is for you to plot against God, as if you could outwit divine wisdom and overpower omnipotence itself!"Note, There is a great deal imagined against the Lord by the gates of hell, and against the interests of his kingdom in the world; but it will prove a vain thing, Psa 2:1, Psa 2:2. He that sits in heaven laughs at the imaginations of the pretenders to politics against him, and will turn their counsels headlong.

II. The great destruction which God would bring upon them for it, not immediately upon the whole monarchy (the ruin of that was deferred till the measure of their iniquity was full), but,

1. Upon the army; God will make an utter end of that; it shall be totally cut off and ruined at one blow; one fatal stroke of the destroying angel shall lay them dead upon the spot; affliction shall not rise up the second time, for it shall not need. With some sinners God makes a quick despatch, does their business at once. Divine vengeance goes not by one certain rule, nor in one constant track, but one way or other, by acute diseases or chronical ones, by slow deaths or lingering ones, he will make an utter end of all his enemies, who persist in their imaginations against him. We have reason to think that the Assyrian army were mostly of the same spirit, and spoke the same language, with their general, and now God would take them to task, though they did but say as they were taught; and it shall appear that they have laid themselves open to divine wrath by their own act and deed, Nah 1:10. (1.) They are as thorns that entangle one another, and are folded together. They make one another worse, and more inveterate against God and his Israel, harden one another's hearts, and strengthen one another's hands, in their impiety; and therefore God will do with them as the husbandman does with a bush of thorns when he cannot part them: he puts them all into the fire together. (2.) They are as drunken men, intoxicated with pride and rage; and such as they shall be irrecoverably overthrown and destroyed. They shall be as drunkards, besotted to their own ruin, and shall stumble and fall, and make themselves a reproach, and be justly laughed at. (3.) They shall be devoured as stubble fully dry, which is irresistibly and irrecoverably consumed by the flame. The judgments of God are as devouring fire to those that make themselves as stubble to them. It is again threatened concerning this great army (Nah 1:12) that though they be quiet and likewise many, very secure, not fearing the sallies out of the besieged upon them, because they are numerous, yet thus shall they be cut down, or certainly shall they be cut down, as grass and corn are cut down, with as little ado, when he shall pass through, even the destroying angel that is commissioned to cut them down. Note, The security of sinners, and their confidence in their own strength, are often presages of ruin approaching.

2. Upon the king. He imagined evil against the Lord, and shall he escape? No (Nah 1:14): " The Lord has given a commandment concerning thee; the decree has gone forth, that thy name be no more sown, that thy memory perish, that thou be no more talked of as thou hast been, and that the report of thy mighty actions be dispersed upon the wings of fame and celebrated with her trumpet."Because Sennacherib's son reigned in his stead, some make this to point at the overthrow of the Assyrian empire not long after. Note, Those that imagine evil against the Lord hasten evil upon themselves and their own families and interests, and ruin their own names by dishonouring his name. It is further threatened, (1.) That the images he worshipped should be cut off from their temple, the graven image and the molten image out of the house of his gods, which, some think, was fulfilled when Sennacherib was slain by his two sons, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, by which barbarous parricide we may suppose the temple was looked upon as defiled, and was therefore disused, and the images were cut off from it, the worshippers of those images no longer attending there. Or it may be taken more generally to denote the utter ruin of Assyria; the army of the enemy shall lay all waste, and not spare even the images of their gods, by which God would intimate to them that one of the grounds of his controversy with them was their idolatry. (2.) That Sennacherib's grave shall be made there, some think in the house of his god; there he is slain, and there he shall be buried, for he is vile; he lies under this perpetual mark of disgrace, that he had so far lost his interest in the natural affection of his own children that two of them murdered him. Or it may be meant of the ignominious fall of the Assyrian monarchy itself, upon the ruins of which that of Babylon was raised. What a noise was made about the grave of that once formidable state, but now despicable, is largely described, Eze 31:3, Eze 31:11, Eze 31:15, Eze 31:16. Note, Those that make themselves vile by scandalous sins God will make vile by shameful punishments.

III. The great deliverance which God would hereby work for his own people and the city that was called by his name. The ruin of the church's enemies is the salvation of the church, and a very great salvation it was that was wrought for Jerusalem by the overthrow of Sennacherib's army.

1. The siege shall hereby be raised: " Now will I break his yoke from off thee, by which thou art kept in servitude, and will burst thy bonds asunder, by which thou seemest bound over to the Assyrian's wrath."That vast victorious army, when it forced free quarters for itself throughout all the land of Judah, and lived at discretion there, was as yokes and bonds upon them. Jerusalem, when it was besieged, was, as it were, bound and fettered by it; but, when the destroying angel had done his work, Jerusalem's bonds were burst asunder, and it was set at liberty again. This was a figure of the great salvation, by which the Jerusalem that is above is made free, is made free indeed.

2. The enemy shall be so weakened and dispirited that they shall never make any such attempt again, and the end of this trouble shall be so well gained by the grace of God that there shall be no more occasion for such a severe correction. (1.) God will not again afflict Jerusalem; his anger is turned away, and he says, It is enough; for he has by this fright accomplished his whole work upon Mount Zion (Isa 10:12), and therefore " though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more; "the bitter portion shall not be repeated unless there be need and the patient's case call for it; for God doth not afflict willingly. (2.) The enemy shall not dare again to attack Jerusalem (Nah 1:15): The wicked shall no more pass through thee as they have done, to lay all waste, for he is utterly cut off and disabled to do it. His army is cut off, his spirit cut off, and at length he himself is cut off.

3. The tidings of this great deliverance shall be published and welcomed with abundance of joy throughout the kingdom, Nah 1:15. While Sennacherib prevailed, and carried all before him, every day brought bad news; but now, behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, the feet of the evangelist; he is seen coming at a distance upon the mountains, as fast as his feet will carry him; and how pleasant a sight is it once more to see a messenger of peace, after we have received so many of Job's messengers! We find these words made use of by another prophet to illustrate the mercy of the deliverance of the people of God out of Babylon (Isa 52:7), not that the prophets stole the word one from another (as those did, Jer 23:30), but speaking by the same Spirit, they often used the same expressions; and it may be of good use for ministers to testify their consent to wholesome truths (1Ti 6:3) by concurring in the same forms of sound words, 2Ti 1:13. These words are also quoted by the apostle, both from Isaiah and Nahum, and applied to the great redemption wrought out for us by our Lord Jesus, and the publishing of it to the world by the everlasting gospel, Rom 10:15. Christ's ministers are those messengers of good tidings, that preach peace by Jesus Christ. How beautiful are the feet of those messengers! How welcome their message to those that see their misery and danger by reason of sin! And observe, He that brings these good tidings brings with them a call to Judah to keep her solemn feasts and perform her vows. During the trouble, (1.) The ordinary feasts had been intermitted. Inter arma silent leges - The voice of law cannot be heard amidst the shouts of battle. While Jerusalem was encompassed with armies they could not go thither to worship; but now that the embargo is taken off they must return to the observance of their feasts; and the feasts of the Lord will be doubly sweet to the people of God when they have been for some time deprived of the benefit of them and God graciously restores them their opportunities again, for we are taught the worth of such mercies by the want of them. (2.) They had made vows to God, that, if he would deliver them out of this distress, they would do something extraordinary in his service, to his honour; and now that the deliverance is wrought they are called upon to perform their vows; the promise they had then made must now be made good, for better it is not to vow than to vow and not to pay. And those words, The wicked shall no more pass through thee, may be taken as a promise of the perfecting of the good work of reformation which Hezekiah had begun; the wicked shall not, as they have done, walk on every side, but they shall be cut off, and the baffling of the attempts from the wicked enemies abroad is a mercy indeed to a nation when it is accompanied with the restraint and reformation of the wicked at home, who are its more dangerous enemies.

Keil-Delitzsch: Nah 1:1

The heading runs thus: "Burden concerning Nineveh; book of the prophecy of Nahum of Elkosh." The first sentence gives the substance and object, the second the form and author, of the proclamation which follows. משּׂא signifies a burden, from נשׂא , to lift up, to carry, to heave. This meaning has very properly been retained by Jonathan, Aquila, Jerome, Luther, and others, in the headings to the prophetic oracle. Jerome observes on Hab 1:1 : "Massa never occurs in the title, except when it is evidently grave and full of weight and labour."On the other hand, the lxx have generally rendered it λῆμμα in the headings to the oracles, or even ὅρασις, ὅραμα, ῥῆμα (Isaiah 13ff., Isa 30:6); and most of the modern commentators since Cocceius and Vitringa, following this example, have attributed to the word the meaning of "utterance,"and derived it from נשׂא , effari . But נשׂא has no more this meaning than נשׂא קול can mean to utter the voice, either in Exo 20:7 and Exo 23:1, to which Hupfeld appeals in support of it, or in 2Ki 9:25, to which others appeal. The same may be said of משּׂא , which never means effatum , utterance, and is never placed before simple announcements of salvation, but only before oracles of a threatening nature. Zec 9:1 and Zec 12:1 form no exception to this rule. Delitzsch (on Isa 13:1) observes, with regard to the latter passage, that the promise has at least a dark foil, and in Nahum 9:1ff. the heathen nations of the Persian and Macedonian world-monarchy are threatened with a divine judgment which will break in pieces their imperial glory, and through which they are to be brought to conversion to Jehovah; "and it is just in this that the burden consists, which the word of God lays upon these nations, that they may be brought to conversion through such a judgment from God"(Kliefoth). Even in Pro 30:1 and Pro 31:1 Massâ' does not mean utterance. The words of Agur in Pro 30:1 are a heavy burden, which is rolled upon the natural and conceited reason; they are punitive in their character, reproving human forwardness in the strongest terms; and in Pro 31:1 Massâ' is the discourse with which king Lemuel reproved his mother. For the thorough vindication of this meaning of Massâ' , by an exposition of all the passages which have been adduced in support of the rendering "utterance,"see Hengstenberg, Christology , on Zec 9:1, and O. Strauss on this passage. For Nineveh , see the comm. on Jon 1:2. The burden, i.e., the threatening words, concerning Nineveh are defined in the second clause as sēpher châzōn , book of the seeing (or of the seen) of Nahum, i.e., of that which Nahum saw in spirit and prophesied concerning Nineveh. The unusual combination of sēpher and châzōn , which only occurs here, is probably intended to show that Nahum simply committed his prophecy concerning Nineveh to writing, and did not first of all announce it orally before the people. On hâ'elqōshı̄ (the Elkoshite), see the Introduction.

Keil-Delitzsch: Nah 1:2-3

The description of the divine justice, and its judicial manifestation on the earth, with which Nahum introduces his prophecy concerning Nineveh, has this double object: first of all, to indicate the connection between the destruction of the capital of the Assyrian empire, which is about to be predicted, and the divine purpose of salvation; and secondly, to cut off at the very outset all doubt as to the realization of this judgment. Nah 1:2. "A God jealous and taking vengeance is Jehovah; an avenger is Jehovah, and Lord of wrathful fury; an avenger is Jehovah to His adversaries, and He is One keeping wrath to His enemies. Nah 1:3. Jehovah is long-suffering and of great strength, and He does not acquit of guilt. Jehovah, His way is in the storm and in the tempest, and clouds are the dust of His feet." The prophecy commences with the words with which God expresses the energetic character of His holiness in the decalogue (Exo 20:5, cf. Exo 34:14; Deu 4:24; Deu 5:9; and Jos 24:19), where we find the form קנּוא for קנּא . Jehovah is a jealous God, who turns the burning zeal of His wrath against them that hate Him (Deu 6:15). His side of the energy of the divine zeal predominates here, as the following predicate, the three-times repeated נקם , clearly shows. The strengthening of the idea of nōqēm involved in the repetition of it three times (cf. Jer 7:4; Jer 22:29), is increased still further by the apposition ba'al chēmâh , possessor of the wrathful heat, equivalent to the wrathful God (cf. Pro 29:22; Pro 22:24). The vengeance applies to His adversaries, towards whom He bears ill-will. Nâtar , when predicated of God, as in Lev 19:18 and Psa 103:9, signifies to keep or bear wrath. God does not indeed punish immediately; He is long-suffering ( ארך אפּים , Exo 34:6; Num 14:18, etc.). His long-suffering is not weak indulgence, however, but an emanation from His love and mercy; for He is g^e dōl - kōăch , great in strength (Num 14:17), and does not leave unpunished ( נקּה וגו after Exo 34:7 and Num 14:18; see at Exo 20:7). His great might to punish sinners, He has preserved from of old; His way is in the storm and tempest. With these words Nahum passes over to a description of the manifestations of divine wrath upon sinners in great national judgments which shake the world ( שׂערה as in Job 9:17 = סערה , which is connected with סוּפה in Isa 29:6 and Psa 83:16). These and similar descriptions are founded upon the revelations of God, when bringing Israel out of Egypt, and at the conclusion of the covenant at Sinai, when the Lord came down upon the mountain in clouds, fire, and vapour of smoke (Exo 19:16-18). Clouds are the dust of His feet. The Lord comes down from heaven in the clouds. As man goes upon the dust, so Jehovah goes upon the clouds.

Keil-Delitzsch: Nah 1:4-6

"He threateneth the sea, and drieth it up, and maketh all the rivers dry up. Bashan and Carmel fade, and the blossom of Lebanon fadeth. Nah 1:5. Mountains shake before Him, and the hills melt away; the earth heaveth before Him, and the globe, and all the inhabitants thereon. Nah 1:6. Before His fury who may stand? and who rise up at the burning of His wrath? His burning heat poureth itself out like fire, and the rocks are rent in pieces by Him." In the rebuking of the sea there is an allusion to the drying up of the Red Sea for the Israelites to pass through (cf. Psa 106:9); but it is generalized here, and extended to every sea and river, which the Almighty can smite in His wrath, and cause to dry up. ויּבּשׁהוּ for וייבּשׁהוּ , the vowelless י of the third pers. being fused into one with the first radical sound, as in ויּדּוּ in Lam 3:53 (cf. Ges. §69, Anm. 6, and Ewald §232-3). Bashan, Carmel, and Lebanon are mentioned as very fruitful districts, abounding in a vigorous growth of vegetation and large forests, the productions of which God could suddenly cause to fade and wither in His wrath. Yea more: the mountains tremble and the hills melt away (compare the similar description in Mic 1:4, and the explanation given there). The earth lifts itself, i.e., starts up from its place (cf. Isa 13:13), with everything that dwells upon the surface of the globe. תּשּׂא from נשׂא , used intransitively, "to rise,"as in Psa 89:10 and Hos 13:1; not conclamat s. tollit vocem (J. H. Michaelis, Burk, Strauss). תּבל , lit., the fertile globe, always signifies the whole of the habitable earth, ἡ οἰκουμένη ; and יושׁבי בהּ , not merely the men (Ewald), but all living creatures (cf. Joe 1:18, Joe 1:20). No one can stand before such divine wrath, which pours out like consuming fire (Deu 4:24), and rends rocks in pieces (1Ki 19:11; Jer 23:29; cf. Jer 10:10; Mal 3:2).

Keil-Delitzsch: Nah 1:7-8

But the wrath of God does not fall upon those who trust in the Lord; it only falls upon His enemies. With this turn Nahum prepares the way in Nah 1:7. for proclaiming the judgment of wrath upon Nineveh. Nah 1:7. "Good is Jehovah, a refuge in the day of trouble; and He knoweth those who trust in Him. Nah 1:8. And with an overwhelming flood will He make an end of her place, and pursue His enemies into darkness." Even in the manifestation of His wrath God proves His goodness; for the judgment, by exterminating the wicked, brings deliverance to the righteous who trust in the Lord, out of the affliction prepared for them by the wickedness of the world. The predicate טוב is more precisely defined by the apposition למעוז וגו , for a refuge = a refuge in time of trouble. The goodness of the Lord is seen in the fact that He is a refuge in distress. The last clause says to whom: viz., to those who trust in Him. They are known by Him. "To know is just the same as not to neglect; or, expressed in a positive form, the care or providence of God in the preservation of the faithful"(Calvin). For the fact, compare Psa 34:9; Psa 46:2; Jer 16:19. And because the Lord is a refuge to His people, He will put an end to the oppressor of His people, viz., Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire, and that with an overwhelming flood. Sheteph , overwhelming, is a figure denoting the judgment sweeping over a land or kingdom, through the invasion of hostile armies (cf. Isa 8:7; Dan 11:26, Dan 11:40). עבר , overflowed by a river (cf. Isa 8:8; Hab 3:10; Dan 11:40). עשׂה כלה , to put an end to anything, as in Isa 10:23. מקומהּ is the accusative of the object: make her place a vanishing one. כּלה , the fem. of כּלה , an adjective in a neuter sense, that which is vanishing away. The suffix in מקומהּ refers to Nineveh in the heading (Nah 1:1): either Nineveh personified as a queen (Nah 2:7; Nah 3:4), is distinguished from her seat (Hitzig); or what is much more simple, the city itself is meant, and "her place"is to be understood in this sense, that with the destruction of the city even the place where it stood would cease to be the site of a city, with which March aptly compares the phrase, "its place knoweth man no more"(Job 7:10; Job 8:18; Job 20:9). איביו are the inhabitants of Nineveh, or the Assyrians generally, as the enemies of Israel. ירדּף־חשׁך , not darkness will pursue its enemies; for this view is irreconcilable with the makkeph : but to pursue with darkness, chōshekh being an accusative either of place or of more precise definition, used in an instrumental sense. The former is the simpler view, and answers better to the parallelism of the clauses. As the city is to vanish and leave no trace behind, so shall its inhabitants perish in darkness.

Keil-Delitzsch: Nah 1:9-11

The reason for all this is assigned in Nah 1:9. Nah 1:9. "What think ye of Jehovah? He makes an end; the affliction will not arise twice. Nah 1:10. For though they be twisted together like thorns, and as if intoxicated with their wine, they shall be devoured like dry stubble. Nah 1:11. From thee has one come out, who meditated evil against Jehovah, who advised worthlessness." The question in Nah 1:9 is not addressed to the enemy, viz., the Assyrians, as very many commentators suppose: "What do ye meditate against Jehovah?"For although châshabh 'el is used in Hos 7:15 for a hostile device with regard to Jehovah, the supposition that 'el is used here for ‛al , according to a later usage of the language, is precluded by the fact that חשׁב על is actually used in this sense in Nah 1:11. Moreover, the last clause does not suit this view of the question. The word, "the affliction will not stand up, or not rise up a second time,"cannot refer to the Assyrians, or mean that the infliction of a second judgment upon Nineveh will be unnecessary, because the city will utterly fall to the ground in the first judgment, and completely vanish from the earth (Hitzig). For צרה points back to בּיום צרה , and therefore must be the calamity which has fallen upon Judah, or upon those who trust in the Lord, on the part of Nineveh or Asshur (Marck, Maurer, and Strauss). This is confirmed by Nah 1:11 and Nah 1:15, where this thought is definitely expressed. Consequently the question, "What think ye with regard to Jehovah?"can only be addressed to the Judaeans, and must mean, "Do ye think that Jehovah cannot or will not fulfil His threat upon Nineveh?"(Cyr., Marck, Strauss). The prophet addresses these words to the anxious minds, which were afraid of fresh invasions on the part of the Assyrians. To strengthen their confidence, he answers the question proposed, by repeating the thought expressed in Nah 1:8. He (Jehovah) is making an end, sc. of the enemy of His people; and he gives a further reason for this in Nah 1:10. The participial clauses עד סירים to סבוּאים are to be taken conditionally: are (or were) they even twisted like thorns. עד סירים , to thorns = as thorns ( עד is given correctly by J. H. Michaelis: eo usque ut spinas perplexitate aequent ; compare Ewald, §219). The comparison of the enemy to thorns expresses "firmatum callidumque nocendi studium" (Marck), and has been well explained by Ewald thus: "crisp, crafty, and cunning; so that one would rather not go near them, or have anything to do with them"(cf. 2Sa 23:6 and Mic 7:4). כּסבאם סבוּאים , not "wetted like their wet"(Hitzig), nor "as it were drowned in wine, so that fire can do no more harm to them than to anything else that is wet"(Ewald); for סבא neither means to wet nor to drown, but to drink, to carouse; and סבוּא means drunken, intoxicated. סבא is strong unmixed wine (see Delitzsch on Isa 1:22). "Their wine"is the wine which they are accustomed to drink. The simile expresses the audacity and hardiness with which the Assyrians regarded themselves as invincible, and applies very well to the gluttony and revelry which prevailed at the Assyrian court; even if the account given by Diod. Sic. (ii. 26), that when Sardanapalus had three times defeated the enemy besieging Nineveh, in his great confidence in his own good fortune, he ordered a drinking carousal, in the midst of which the enemy, who had been made acquainted with the fact, made a fresh attack, and conquered Nineveh, rests upon a legendary dressing up of the facts. אכּלוּ , devoured by fire, is a figure signifying utter destruction; and the perfect is prophetic, denoting what will certainly take place. Like dry stubble: cf. Isa 5:24; Isa 47:14, and Joe 2:5. מלא is not to be taken, as Ewald supposes (§279, a ), as strengthening יבשׁ , "fully dry,"but is to be connected with the verb adverbially, and is simply placed at the end of the sentence for the sake of emphasis (Ges., Maurer, and Strauss). This will be the end of the Assyrians, because he who meditates evil against Jehovah has come forth out of Nineveh. In ממּך Nineveh is addressed, the representative of the imperial power of Assyria, which set itself to destroy the Israelitish kingdom of God. It might indeed be objected to this explanation of the verse, that the words in Nah 1:12 and Nah 1:13 are addressed to Zion or Judah, whereas Nineveh or Asshur is spoken of both in what precedes (Nah 1:8 and Nah 1:10) and in what follows ( Nah 1:12 ) in the third person. On this ground Hoelem. and Strauss refer ממּך also to Judah, and adopt this explanation: "from thee (Judah) will the enemy who has hitherto oppressed thee have gone away"(taking יצא as fut. exact. , and יצא מן as in Isa 49:17). But this view does not suit the context. After the utter destruction of the enemy has been predicted in Nah 1:10, we do not expect to find the statement that it will have gone away from Judah, especially as there is nothing said in what precedes about any invasion of Judah. The meditation of evil against Jehovah refers to the design of the Assyrian conquerors to destroy the kingdom of God in Israel, as the Assyrian himself declares in the blasphemous words which Isaiah puts into the mouth of Rabshakeh (Isa 36:14-20), to show the wicked pride of the enemy. This address merely expresses the feeling cherished at all times by the power of the world towards the kingdom of God. It is in the plans devised for carrying this feeling into action that the יעץ בּליּעל , the advising of worthlessness, consists. This is the only meaning that בּליּעל has, not that of destruction.

Keil-Delitzsch: Nah 1:12-14

The power of Nineveh will be destroyed, to break the yoke laid upon Judah. Nah 1:12. "Thus saith Jehovah, Though they be unconsumed, and therefore numerous, yet are they thus mowed down, and have passed away. I have bowed thee down, I will bow thee down no more. Nah 1:13. And now shall I break his yoke from off thee, and break thy fetters in pieces. Nah 1:14. And Jehovah hath given commandment concerning thee, no more of thy name will be sown: from the house of thy God I cut off graven image and molten work: I prepare thy grave; for thou art found light." To confirm the threat expressed in Nah 1:8-11, Nahum explains the divine purpose more fully. Jehovah hath spoken: the completeness and strength of her army will be of no help to Nineveh. It is mowed down, because Judah is to be delivered from its oppressor. The words שׁלמים to ועבר refer to the enemy, the warlike hosts of Nineveh, which are to be destroyed notwithstanding their great and full number. Shâlēm , integer , with strength undiminished, both outwardly and inwardly, i.e., both numerous and strong. וכן רבּים , and so, i.e., of such a nature, just because they are of full number, or numerous. וכן נגוזּוּ , and so, i.e., although of such a nature, they will nevertheless be mowed down. גּזז , taken from the mowing of the meadows, is a figure denoting complete destruction. ועבר is not impersonal, actum est, sc. de iis , but signifies it is away, or has vanished. The singular is used with special emphasis, the numerous army being all embraced in the unity of one man: "he paints the whole people as vanishing away, just as if one little man were carried off"(Strauss). With וענּתך the address turns to Judah. The words are not applicable to the Assyrians, to whom Abarbanel, Grotius, Ewald, and Hitzig refer this clause; for Asshur is not only bowed down or chastened, but utterly destroyed. ענּתך refers to the oppression which Judah had suffered from the Assyrians in the time of Ahaz and Hezekiah. This shall not be repeated, as has already been promised in Nah 1:9 . For now will the Lord break the yoke which this enemy has laid upon Judah. ועתּה , but now, is attached adversatively to ענּתך . The suffix to מטהוּ refers to the enemy, which has its seat in Nineveh. For the figure of the yoke, cf. Lev 26:13; Jer 27:2; Jer 28:10; Eze 34:27, etc.; and for the fact itself, Isa 10:27. The words do not refer to the people of the ten tribes, who were pining like slaves in exile (Hitzig); for Nahum makes no allusion to them at all, but to Judah (cf. Nah 1:15), upon whom the Assyrians had laid the yoke of tribute from the time of Ahaz. This was first of all shaken off in the reign of Hezekiah, through the overthrow of Sennacherib; but it was not yet completely broken, so long as there was a possibility that Assyria might rise again with new power, as in fact it did in the reign of Manasseh, when Assyrian generals invaded Judah and carried off this king to Babylon (2Ch 33:11). It was only broken when the Assyrian power was overthrown through the conquest and destruction of Nineveh. This view, which is required by the futures 'eshbōr and 'ănattēq , is confirmed by Nah 1:14, for there the utter extermination of Assyria is clearly expressed. V^e tsivvâh is not a perfect with Vav rel. ; but the Vav is a simple copula: " and (= for) Jehovah has commanded."The perfect refers to the divine purpose, which has already been formed, even though its execution is still in the future. This purpose runs thus: "Of thy seed shall no more be sown, i.e., thou wilt have no more descendants"("the people and name are to become extinct,"Strauss; cf. Isa 14:20). It is not the king of Assyria who is here addressed, but the Assyrian power personified as a single man, as we may see from what follows, according to which the idols are to be rooted out along with the seed from the house of God, i.e., out of the idol temples (cf. Isa 37:38; Isa 44:13). Pesel and massēkhâh are combined, as in Deu 27:15, to denote every kind of idolatrous image. For the idolatry of Assyria, see Layard's Nineveh and its Remains , ii. p. 439ff. אשׂים קברך cannot mean, "I make the temple of thy god into a grave,"although this meaning has already been expressed in the Chaldee and Syriac; and the Masoretic accentuation, which connects the words with what precedes, is also founded upon this view. If an object had to be supplied to אשׂים from the context, it must be pesel ūmassēkhâh ; but there would be no sense in "I make thine idol into a grave."There is no other course left, therefore, than to take קברך as the nearest and only object to אשׂים , "I lay, i.e., prepare thy grave," כּי קלּות , because, when weighed according to thy moral worth (Job 31:6), thou hast been found light (cf. Dan 5:27). Hence the widespread opinion, that the murder of Sennacherib (Isa 37:38; 2Ki 19:37) is predicted here, must be rejected as erroneous and irreconcilable with the words, and not even so far correct as that Nahum makes any allusion to that event. He simply announces the utter destruction of the Assyrian power, together with its idolatry, upon which that power rested. Jehovah has prepared a grave for the people and their idols, because they have been found light when weighed in the balances of righteousness.

Keil-Delitzsch: Nah 1:15

Judah hears the glad tidings, that its oppressor is utterly destroyed. A warlike army marches against Nineveh, which that city cannot resist, because the Lord will put an end to the oppression of His people. Nah 1:15. "Behold, upon the mountains the feet of the messengers of joy, proclaiming salvation! Keep thy feasts, O Judah; pay thy vows: for the worthless one will no more go through thee; he is utterly cut off." The destruction of the Assyrian, announced in Nah 1:14, is so certain, that Nahum commences the description of its realization with an appeal to Judah, to keep joyful feasts, as the miscreant is utterly cut off. The form in which he utters this appeal is to point to messengers upon the mountains, who are bringing the tidings of peace to the kingdom of Judah. The first clause is applied in Isa 52:7 to the description of the Messianic salvation. The messengers of joy appear upon the mountains, because their voice can be heard far and wide from thence. The mountains are those of the kingdom of Judah, and the allusion to the feet of the messengers paints as it were for the eye the manner in which they hasten on the mountains with the joyful news. מבשּׂר is collective, every one who brings the glad tidings. Shâlōm , peace and salvation: here both in one. The summons, to keep feasts, etc., proceeds from the prophet himself, and is, as Ursinus says, "partim gratulatoria, partim exhortatoria." The former, because the feasts could not be properly kept during the oppression by the enemy, or at any rate could not be visited by those who lived at a distance from the temple; the latter, because the chaggı̄m , i.e., the great yearly feasts, were feasts of thanksgiving for the blessings of salvation, which Israel owed to the Lord, so that the summons to celebrate these feasts involved the admonition to thank the Lord for His mercy in destroying the hostile power of the world. This is expressed still more clearly in the summons to pay their vows. בּליּעל , abstract for concrete = אישׁ בל , as in 2Sa 23:6 and Job 34:18. נכרת is not a participle, but a perfect in pause.

Constable: Nah 1:1

I. Heading 1:1

The writer introduced this book as an oracle concerning Nineveh. An oracle is a message from Yahweh that usually announces judgment. It is sometimes called a "burden" because it frequently contains a message that lay heavy on the prophet's heart. This book records the vision that Nahum the Elkoshite received from the Lord.

"Having been founded by Nimrod (Gen. 10:8-12), Nineveh had a long history. It was located on the east bank of the Tigris River, which formed the western and southern boundaries of the city. A wall extended for eight miles around the northern and eastern boundaries. The section of the city within the walls was nearly three miles in diameter at its greatest width, and it held a population that has been estimated to have been as high as 150,000. The three days' walk required to traverse Nineveh (. . . Jon. 3:3) is no exaggeration."¹⁰

As noted above, the location of Elkosh is presently uncertain. The two most likely general locations are Mesopotamia or Canaan. I tend to think that Elkosh was in Judah since all the other Old Testament prophets were from Canaan and Nahum prophesied during the history of the surviving kingdom of Judah (ca. 650 B.C.).

Nahum evidently used "Nineveh," the capital of the Assyrian Empire, to stand for the whole empire in some places as well as for the city in others. In some texts the city is definitely in view, as is obvious from the fulfillment of the prophecy, but in others all of Assyria seems to be in view.¹¹

Constable: Nah 1:2-14

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.

Constable: Nah 1:2-8

A. The anger and goodness of Yahweh 1:2-8

"The opening verses of Nahum form a prologue dominated by the revelation of God's eternal power and divine nature in creation (cf. Rom 1:20). As in Romans 1:18-32, this revelation is characterized preeminently by God's justice, expressed in retribution (v. 2) and wrath (vv. 2-3, 6) that shake the entire creation (vv. 3-6)."¹²

"The seventh-century minor prophets focused on the justice of God as exhibited in powerful judgment on an international scale."¹³

1:2 Nahum drew a picture of Yahweh as a God who is jealous for His chosen people (cf. Exod. 20:5; 34:14; Deut. 4:24; 5:9). That is, He greatly desires their welfare (cf. Deut. 6:15). He is also an avenging God who takes vengeance on all who violate His standards of righteousness (what is right), though not with human vindictiveness. Third, He is full of wrath against those who oppose Him and disregard His grace, those who set themselves up as His adversaries and enemies (cf. Deut. 32:35, 41). The repetition of avenging, vengeance, and wrathful in this verse creates a strong impression of an angry God. The word "wrath" (Heb. hemah) means "to be hot" and describes burning rage and intense fury. Why was God so angry? The rest of the oracle explains that it was the behavior of the Ninevites that had aroused His anger.¹⁴

"Verse 2 lays a foundation for the entire prophecy: all that follows is rooted in this revelation of the justice and burning zeal of the Lord exercised on behalf of his people."¹⁵

1:3 However, Yahweh was not out of control in His anger. His anger was slow in coming to the boiling point (cf. Exod. 34:6; Num. 14:18). He waited as long as possible to pour out His judgment (cf. 2 Pet. 3:9).¹⁶ This accounts for His allowing the Assyrians to abuse the Israelites for so long. Patience is sometimes a sign of weakness, but not so with the Lord. He is also great in power, which makes the prospect of His releasing His anger terrifying (cf. Deut. 8:17-18). He will not pass over any guilty person and leave him or her unpunished but will bring them to judgment eventually. Whirlwinds and storms manifest this angry aspect of God's character and His power (cf. Job 9:17). He is so great that the clouds are for Him what the dust on the ground is for humans (cf. 2 Sam. 22:10; Ps. 18:9). The great clouds overhead are like dust to the great God who resides in the heavens.

Verses 2 and 3 repeat "Yahweh" five times. This literary device has the effect of underlining the identity of Israel's covenant God. There should be no mistake whom Nahum was describing even though he drew attention to characteristics of the Lord that were not the ones that His people liked to think about.¹⁷

1:4 A simple word from Yahweh can cause the humanly uncontrollable sea and the rivers to dry up. The Lord had demonstrated this power when He parted the Red Sea and stopped the Jordan River from flowing (Exod. 14:21; Josh. 3:16). It can make Bashan, Carmel, and Lebanon, normally lush, productive regions, wither away. The Lord had likewise sent many droughts on various parts of Canaan to encourage His people to return to Him (cf. 1 Kings 17-18). It is heat that causes bodies of water to dry up and bodies of land to wither away, but it is the heat of God's wrath in judgment that is sometimes behind this physical heat.

1:5 Yahweh produces earthquakes and landslides, other evidences of His awesome power. Mountains are the most stable physical features on this planet, yet God can move them. Mt. Sinai quaked when God revealed Himself there (Exod. 19:18). His very presence can cause the entire earth and all its inhabitants to convulse and upheave. The vast Assyrian Empire, therefore, was not too much for Him to overthrow.

1:6 No one can continue to exist if Yahweh is indignant with him or her.¹⁸ The Hebrew word translated "indignant," za'am, means to be enraged, like boiling water. No one can endure Yahweh's burning anger. Nahum made these points strongly by using two rhetorical questions. The Assyrians should have learned this truth when God destroyed their army, as it surrounded Jerusalem, in one night (2 Kings 18). Yahweh's wrath pours out like fire and then even solid rocks break up (cf. 1 Kings 19:11). How much less will human flesh and manmade walls stand against His anger!

1:7 In contrast, Yahweh is also good, not just angry and vengeful (cf. Rom. 11:22). He Himself is a more secure hiding place than any mountain, hill, or great city, like Nineveh, when people face trouble (cf. Ps. 27:1; 37:39; 43:2; 52:7). Furthermore He knows those who take refuge in Him by drawing near to Him and resting their confidence in Him. He takes note of those who trust in Him as well as those who incur His wrath. Whereas the previous revelations of God reflect His imminent dealings with the Assyrians, this aspect of His character (name) should have encouraged the Israelites to trust and obey Him.

1:8 Nahum returned to the wrathful aspect of God's character because that was the focus of his oracle. Without identifying Nineveh, the prophet described Yahweh destroying it totally and permanently as with a tidal wave.¹⁹ This could and probably does describe an unrestrained army invasion (cf. Isa. 8:7-8; Jer. 47:2; Dan. 9:26; 11:40). However, when the Medes, Babylonians, and Scythians jointly overthrew Nineveh, its rivers overflowed and washed away part of Nineveh's walls.²⁰

Using another figure, Yahweh said He would pursue His enemies until He caught up with them and killed them, even if it took all night. Normally battles ceased at nightfall and resumed at daybreak because fighting became so difficult at night. But the Lord would not let night stop Him from pursuing and slaying His enemies. They would not escape from Him simply because time passed. Darkness also has the metaphorical connotation of evil, spiritual lostness, and eternal judgment (e.g., Job 17:13; Ps. 82:5; 88:12; Prov. 4:19; 20:20; Isa. 8:22; 42:7; Jer. 23:12; Matt. 4:16; 8:12; John 3:19; Col. 1:13; 1 Pet. 2:9; Jude 6; Rev. 16:10).

The Lord is angry with those who abuse others, especially those who abuse His people, and He will punish them. This section stresses the justice, power, and goodness of Yahweh.

Constable: Nah 1:9-11

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 reveal Yahweh's plans for Nineveh (vv. 1-11, 14) and Judah (vv. 12-13) in chiastic form.

Constable: Nah 1:9-11

1. The consumption of Nineveh 1:9-11

1:9 Yahweh will frustrate and destroy all attempts to thwart His will. Even though they may appear to succeed at first, they will not endure. Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, had besieged Jerusalem once (1 Kings 18), but the Assyrians never did so a second time. Their plan to oppose God's people was really opposition to Him, and He did not permit it to succeed. Once Nineveh fell, it was never rebuilt.²¹

1:10 Tangled (Heb. sebukim) thorns are tough to penetrate, but they are no match for fire. Likewise the Ninevites, as confused as they would be when their city was under attack, would be no match for the consuming fire of Yahweh's wrath (cf. v. 6). Many of the Ninevites were confused because they were drunk (Heb. sebu'im). Yahweh would destroy them as easily and quickly as fire burned up the dead stalks left in fields after harvest.

1:11 Since the Lord will destroy any plot against Him and His people (v. 9), the Assyrians were in trouble. One of the Assyrians had gone forth who plotted evil against Him. This is probably a reference to Sennacherib. He was wicked and worthless because He had opposed Yahweh (cf. 2 Kings 18).

Constable: Nah 1:12-13

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 Israelites to believe since the Assyrians had been their dreaded enemy for centuries. Even though the Lord had afflicted the Israelites, He would afflict them no longer. Evidently He meant that He would not afflict them with the Assyrians any longer since other nations did afflict them after Assyria passed off the scene. This is the only place in the prophecy where, "Thus says the LORD," occurs, guaranteeing that what He said would definitely happen.

1:13 The Lord promised to break Assyria's oppression of the Israelites as when someone removed a yoke from the neck of an ox or the chains that bound a prisoner. For years the Israelites had to endure Assyrian oppression including invasion, occupation, and taxation (cf. 2 Kings 19:20-37; 2 Chron. 32:1-7; Isa. 37:27-38).

Constable: Nah 1:14

3. The termination of Nineveh 1:14

The subject reverts back to Nineveh.

Yahweh had commanded His heavenly host to manage the world's affairs so Nineveh's name (or perhaps the king of Nineveh's name) would not continue forever. This does not mean that succeeding generations would be completely ignorant of Nineveh and its rulers.²² But the residents, particularly the king, would have no surviving descendants (heirs).

The Lord also promised to destroy Nineveh's idols and remove them from their temples. The Assyrians often carried off the idols of the nations they conquered to demonstrate the superiority of their gods over those of the conquered. The conquering Medes, however, despised idolatry and did away with multitudes of images that existed in Nineveh.²³ Yahweh would prepare Nineveh's grave since He would bury the contemptible city. It was a great curse in the ancient Near East to have no descendants, and it was a great humiliation to have no gods, but both fates would befall Nineveh.

Constable: Nah 1:15--Hab 1:1

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 Nineveh's demise. As in the previous section, he also gave promises of Israel's restoration.

"Nahum portrays [the] siege, reproduces its horrors and its savagery, its cruelties and mercilessness, in language so realistic that one is able to see it and feel it. First comes the fighting in the suburbs. Then the assault upon the walls. Then the capture of the city and its destruction."²⁴

The section begins, as the first major one did (cf. 1:2-8), with an emphasis on Yahweh who contrasts with the human destroyer of Nineveh. Humans can destroy, but it takes Yahweh to deliver. This section is also chiastic, as was 1:9-14.

Constable: Nah 1:15--2:3

A. The sovereign justice of Yahweh 1:15-2:2

1:15 This is the first verse of chapter 2 in the Hebrew Bible. Nahum called his audience to give attention. Someone was coming over the mountains with a message of peace. Consequently the people of Judah could celebrate their feasts; they had a future. They should pay their vows to the Lord because He had answered their prayers. The wicked Assyrians would never again pass through their land, as they had done in the past. The message was that they had been cut off, like a piece of a garment, and so would be no threat in the future. The prophet spoke as if Nineveh had already fallen and a messenger had just arrived with the news.

"So complete was its [Nineveh's] destruction that when Xenophon passed by the site about 200 years later, he thought the mounds were the ruins of some other city. And Alexander the Great, fighting in a battle nearby, did not realize that he was near the ruins of Nineveh."²⁵

The Apostle Paul quoted the first part of this verse in Romans 10:15 in reference to those messengers who bring similar good news, namely, the gospel.

"The message is one of peace, a peace from external oppression and a new kind of peace with the God who is the giver of all life."²⁶

2:1 Nahum turned from addressing the people of Judah to the people of Nineveh. He used the Hebrew prophetic perfect tense, which predicts future events as though they were past, to heighten belief in their certainty. One who would scatter would come up against Nineveh. "Scatterer" is a common figure for a victorious king (cf. Ps. 68:1; Isa. 24:1; Jer. 52:8). Consequently the Ninevites should man their fortress, watch the road for the coming invader, and strengthen themselves. These measures would prove futile because the Lord would destroy the city, but Nahum was speaking ironically.

"Sennacherib had spent no less than six years building his armory, which occupied a terraced area of forty acres. It was enlarged further by Esarhaddon and contained all the weaponry required for the extension and maintenance of the Assyrian empire: bows, arrows, quivers, chariots, wagons, armor, horses, mules, and equipment (cf. Ezek 23:24; 39:9). The royal road' had been enlarged by Sennacherib to a breadth of seventy-eight feet, facilitating the movement of troops."²⁷

Even though the Ninevites did all these things they could not escape overthrow. The invader proved to be Cyaxeres the Mede and Nabopolassar the Babylonian.²⁸ However, the "scatterer" behind them was Yahweh.

2:2 Turning back to Judah again (1:15), the prophet repeated that Yahweh would restore Israel to its former glory. Whereas a destroyer would destroy Nineveh (v. 1), Yahweh would restore Judah. Its fate would be the opposite of Nineveh's. Nineveh presently enjoyed great glory but would suffer destruction, while Israel, having experienced devastation, would become splendid again. "Israel" was a name connected with Israel's glory while "Jacob" recalls the perverse aspects of the nations experience, reflecting its patriarch's names and life experience.²⁹ The invading Assyrians doubtless destroyed many of Israel's grapevines, but vine branches also symbolized the Israelites (cf. Ps. 80:8-16; Isa. 5:1-7). The devastater of Israel had been Assyria and it would be the Babylonians. The promise probably looks beyond Israel's restoration after the Assyrians' devastation to her restoration after all her devastations throughout history. This restoration will take place in the Millennium.

Guzik: Nah 1:1-15

Nahum 1 - Coming Judgment on Nineveh

A. The character of the God who brings judgment.

1. (1) The burden of Nahum.

The burden against Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

a. The burden: In the prophets, a burden is a "heavy" message of weighty importance, heavy in the sense that it produces sorrow or grief.

i. "Massa comes from the verb 'to lift up' (nasa), and so it can mean 'to carry' or 'to lift up the voice.' From the first meaning comes the translation 'burden,' or 'load'; and from the second meaning we get the translation 'oracle,' or 'utterance.'" (Wolf, in his commentary on Isaiah) Grammatically, we may be able to say "oracle," but since these are heavy oracles, we are justified in calling them burdens.

ii. "Massa not only signifies a burden, but also a thing lifted up, pronounced, or proclaimed; also a message. It is used by the prophets to signify the revelation which they have received from God to deliver to any particular people." (Clarke)

b. Against Nineveh: The capital of the Assyrian Empire was Nineveh, the city that heard the preaching of Jonah a hundred years before and repented. Nahum will address a city that has slipped back into sin, and is again ripe for judgment.

i. Among other things, the Prophecy of Nahum shows us that God not only deals with individuals as individuals, He also deals with nations as nations. "This is the prophecy which sets forth, more clearly than any other, the truth concerning the wrath of God, in its national application." (Morgan) Nations will be held to account by God.

ii. Nineveh was an ancient, famous city. It was founded by the first world dictator, Nimrod (Genesis 10:11) "From Nineveh's walls, temples, palaces, inscriptions, and reliefs, mute yet elaborate witness is given to a city that flourished up to its destruction in 612 B.C. Accordingly, the magnificent buildings, artistic designs, and water-supply projects of Nineveh have resulted in its being likened to ancient Versailles." (Major Cities of the Biblical World)

c. The book of the vision: This was more than a message communicated to Nahum in words or phrases from God. Because this is a vision, in some way Nahum saw it. When we see the vivid, descriptive way Nahum writes we understand that the book records what he saw in his vision.

i. Isaiah 2:1 says: The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Isaiah saw a word, and in some sense Nahum also did.

d. Nahum the Elkoshite: We don't know anything else about Nahum or the city of Elkosh. The name Nahum is an abbreviated form of the name Nehemiah, which means "Comfort of Yahweh." It may be that Elkosh was in the region of Galilee, because the city of Capernaum (Matthew 4:13, Mark 9:33, John 2:12) was named after Nahum (Kephar-Nahum, "City of Nahum").

i. We don't know exactly when Nahum gave this prophecy. He mentions the destruction of the Egyptian city No Amon (Thebes) in Nahum 3:8 and Thebes fell to the Assyrians in 663 B.C., so Nahum must have been written after that. Nineveh was destroyed 50 years after No Amon (612 B.C.).

ii. It is likely that Nahum was written during the height of Nineveh's power. "It was concerned with Nineveh, and was delivered almost certainly when she was at the height of her power." (Morgan)

2. (2-8) The judgments of a merciful God.

God is jealous, and the LORD avenges; the LORD avenges and is furious. The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies; the LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked. The LORD has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, and dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts. The mountains quake before Him, the hills melt, and the earth heaves at His presence, yes, the world and all who dwell in it. Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure 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 stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him. But with an overflowing flood He will make an utter end of its place, and darkness will pursue His enemies.

a. The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: Nahum begins his prophecy by considering the character of the God who brings judgment.

· God is jealous: How can it be said that God is jealous? "God's jealousy is love in action. He refuses to share the human heart with any rival, not because He is selfish and wants us all for Himself, but because He knows that upon that loyalty to Him depends our very moral life . . . God is not jealous of us: He is jealous for us." (Redpath in Law and Liberty)

· The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries: Man needs to understand that he can't fight against God and hope to prevail. Everyone who sets themselves against God will end up receiving His vengeance.

· The LORD is slow to anger: God is far more patient than man. Though there is a time and place where He does display His anger, it doesn't come quickly or capriciously. "God's sword of justice is in its scabbard: not rusted in it - it can be easily withdrawn - but held there by that hand that presses it back into its sheath, crying, 'Sleep, O sword, sleep; for I will have mercy upon sinners, and will forgive their transgressions.'" (Spurgeon)

· And great in power: Knowing God's power should make us trust in His help (because He is able to help) and to fear His judgment (knowing that He judges with power).

· Will not at all acquit the wicked: God is not like an unjust judge who simply lets the guilty go out of a false sense of compassion. We can't just figure that God will say, "Let's let bygones be bygones" when we get to heaven. Sin must be accounted for, because He will not acquit the wicked. Every sin will be paid for - either in hell or at the cross - but God will not acquit the wicked. "Never once has he pardoned an unpunished sin; not in all the years of the Most High, not in all the days of his right hand, has he once blotted out sin without punishment." (Spurgeon)

· The LORD has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm: God's power is so great that it controls the mightiest forces known to man. A huge whirlwind or storm is nothing to God, because He has His way in them.

· His fury is poured out like fire: When God is resisted long enough and rejected strongly enough, eventually His judgment comes. He is slow to anger, but when it does come His fury is poured out like fire. Understanding this should make man quick to repent and wary of presuming on God's patience.

· The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble: Those who love Him and trust Him see the goodness of God, and find protection in His stronghold - which is the LORD Himself. "Remember that it is only a day; it is not a week, nor a month, and God will not permit the devil to add an extra hour to that day; it is a 'day of trouble.' There is an end to all our griefs." (Spurgeon)

· He knows those who trust in Him: Not only does He know them in the sense of identification, but also in the sense of relationship. Trust implies relationship, and God knows those who trust in Him. "Once more, dear friends, this word 'know' here means loving communion . . . God knows us; he knows our prayers and tears, he knows our wishes, he knows that we are not what we want to be, but he knows what we do desire to be. He knows our aspirations, our sighs, our groans, our secret longings, our own chastenings of spirit when we fail; he has entered into it all. He says, 'Yes, dear child, I know all about you; I have been with you when you thought you were alone. I have read what you could not read, the secrets of your own heart that you could not decipher I have known them all, and I still know them.'" (Spurgeon)

b. How important it is to know that the LORD is good!

· God is good in His very being - it is His very nature to be good

· God is good independently - no one must help Him be good

· God is eternally and unchangeably good

· God is good in each one of His Divine Persons

· God is good in all His acts of grace

· God is good in all His plans and purposes for our life

c. With an overflowing flood He will make an utter end of its place: Taking into account the character of God, though His slow to anger and good, He cannot forever overlook the sin and rebellion of the Assyrians. Their end in judgment will come like an overflowing flood.

i. The overflowing flood was fulfilled both figuratively and literally. "According to secular accounts, during the final siege of Nineveh by a rebel army of Persians, Medes, Arabians, and Babylonians, unusually heavy rains caused the rivers to flood and to undermine the city's walls, which then collapsed . . . the invading armies entered the city through this breach in its defenses." (Boice)

ii. The utter end of its place was also literally fulfilled. "Not only were these people lost from history, even the city was lost until it was discovered by archaeologists, beginning in the 1840's." (Boice)

iii. "The author is not expressing some personal feeling of vindication over some hurt by the oppressor, nor even a nationalistic chauvinism that pagan nations must be punished. Rather, Yahweh is applying his universal standard against evil, no matter who is responsible." (Baker)

B. Nineveh destroyed, Judah delivered.

1. (9-11) The destruction of Nineveh.

What do you conspire against the LORD? He will make an utter end of it. Affliction will not rise up a second time. For while tangled like thorns, and while drunken like drunkards, they shall be devoured like stubble fully dried. From you comes forth one who plots evil against the LORD, a wicked counselor.

a. He will make an utter end of it: Nineveh was ripe for a devastating judgment. This was not a harsh chastening; this was utter destruction to come upon the city. The promise "Affliction will not rise up a second time" sounds encouraging, until we realize that it will not rise up a second time because the judgment will be so severe the first time.

b. They shall be devoured like stubble fully dried: The dry leftover stalks of grass are ready to be devoured by the smallest flame. This is how ripe Nineveh is for judgment, and how complete the fire of judgment will be when it comes.

2. (12-13) The deliverance of Zion.

Thus says the LORD: "Though they are safe, and likewise many, yet in this manner they will be cut down when he passes through. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more; for now I will break off his yoke from you, and burst your bonds apart."

a. Though they are safe: The enemies of Zion looked mighty; they were safe and many. Yet they will be devastated by the judgment that the LORD promised.

b. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more: God's people looked weak and afflicted; yet God promises that they will be strengthened and restored. The power of their oppressors will be broken (I will break off his yoke from you).

i. Could not the believer today, who is trapped or oppressed by sin, ask God to break the yoke of sin? It must be done with a complete willingness to walk in the freedom God gives, but only God can break off the power of the things that bind us.

3. (14) The end of the wicked in Assyria.

The LORD has given a command concerning you: "Your name shall be perpetuated no longer. Out of the house of your gods I will cut off the carved image and the molded image. I will dig your grave, for you are vile."

a. Your name shall be perpetuated no longer: The city of Nineveh was once instantly recognized as one of the great "power cities" of the world. God promises to bring this wicked city so low that they lose their legacy and name among the nations.

b. I will dig your grave, for you are vile: In this vivid - almost extreme - imagery, God warns Nineveh of its coming judgment and destruction.

4. (15) Blessing in Judah.

Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good tidings, who proclaims peace! O Judah, keep your appointed feasts, perform your vows. For the wicked one shall no more pass through you; he is utterly cut off.

a. Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good tidings, who proclaims peace! The contrast between the fate of the godly and wicked is nothing but good news to Nahum and the people of God.

i. Isaiah 52:7 uses a similar expression, but Isaiah marvels at the beauty of the feet of him who brings good news. Nahum would certainly agree, because those who bring good tidings have beautiful feet; they partner with God for the salvation of men. The feet speak of activity, motion, and progress, and those who are active and moving in the work of preaching the gospel have beautiful feet.

ii. In Isaiah, the good news is the coming of the Messiah. In Nahum, the good news is the defeat of the enemies of God's people. Revelation 17 and 18 describe the fall of Babylon, representing the world system and all of its support structure. Revelation 18:9-19 shows how the kings and merchants of the earth mourned the fall of Babylon, but Revelation 18:20 through 19:6 shows how heaven rejoiced over the fall of the world system. What was mourned on earth was applauded in heaven, and the same principle applies in Nahum's prophecy of Nineveh's fall.

iii. "Rejoicing is not in this context gleeful gloating at the misfortune of others . . . Rather it is pleasure at the vindication of God and his promises." (Baker)

b. O Judah, keep your appointed feasts, perform your vows: Knowing the grace and mercy of God to His people should not make the believer careless in obedience, it should make the believer more careful to obey every word of the LORD.

© 2001 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Commentary -- Other

Critics Ask: Nah 1:2

NAHUM 1:2 —Does God get angry?

PROBLEM: Nahum declares that God “avenges and is furious.” Indeed, God is often represented as being angry in the Bible (cf. Isa. 26:20 ; Jer. 4:8 ). At the same time, the Bible urges believers not to be angry, since it is a sin (cf. Gal. 5:20 ). But if it is a sin, then how can God do it?

SOLUTION: Anger as such is not sinful. It depends on the purpose, nature, and/or object of anger. Even Jesus, our perfect moral example, was angry at sin (cf. Matt. 23:15-36 ). Paul exhorted us, “Be angry, and do not sin” ( Eph. 4:26 ). In short, we should be angry at sin, but we should not sin in being angry. The problem with human anger, even in the good sense of anger at sin, is that it is easy to carry it too far so that we sin in our anger. Unlike God, who is “slow to anger” ( Neh. 9:17 ), we are often quick to anger. In short, there is good and bad anger for humans.   

GOOD ANGER BAD ANGER   

Over sin Over being sinned against   

Against sin Against sinners   

Expressed righteously Expressed unrighteously   

Being slow to anger Being quick to anger   

Done in justice Done in retaliation   

Evidence: Nah 1:1-6

Here is a revelation of God's divine attributes . He is jealous. He takes vengeance. He becomes furious and wrath-filled. Yet, this wrath-filled, jealous God is slow to anger. He holds back His terrible wrath because He is rich in mercy. He is not wilfing that any perish, but warns that He will by no means acquit the wicked. How do we know this? Primarily because He gives us His word that justice will be done. Reason also demands it. It is reasonable that murderers, rapists, thieves, etc., be punished. If His creation--massive tornadoes, huge douds, the vast seas, rivers, flowers and mountains bow at His presence, how much more will sinful man be subject to His power? No one can stand before His indignation.

Evidence: Nah 1:7

He gives us the good news of the gospel . It was His goodness that provided Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, and that is our stronghold in the Day of Trouble. It is there that wicked men are not merely acquitted, but also justified and made righteous before God.

Evidence: Nah 1:9

See Psalm 2.

Evidence: Nah 1:15

God sees as beautiful, the lowly feet of those who preach His glorious gospel (see Rom 10:15 ).

Introduction / Outline

JFB: Nahum (Book Introduction)

NAHUM means "consolation" and "vengeance"; symbolizing the "consolation" in the book for God's people, and the "vengeance" coming on their enemies. In the first chapter the two themes alternate; but as the prophet advances, vengeance on the capital of the Assyrian foe is the predominant topic. He is called "the Elkoshite" (Nah 1:1), from Elkosh, or Elkesi, a village of Galilee, pointed out to JEROME [Preface in Nahum] as a place of note among the Jews, having traces of ancient buildings. The name Capernaum, that is, "village of Nahum," seems to take its name from Nahum having resided in it, though born in Elkosh in the neighborhood. There is another Elkosh east of the Tigris, and north of Mosul, believed by Jewish pilgrims to be the birthplace and burial place of the prophet. But the book of Nahum in its allusions shows a particularity of acquaintance with Palestine (Nah 1:4), and only a more general knowledge as to Nineveh (Nah 2:4-6; Nah 3:2-3).

His graphic description of Sennacherib and his army (Nah 1:9-12) makes it not unlikely that he was in or near Jerusalem at the time: hence the number of phrases corresponding to those of Isaiah (compare Nah 1:8-9, with Isa 8:8; Isa 10:23; Nah 2:10, with Isa 24:1; Isa 21:3; Nah 1:15, with Isa 52:7). The prophecy in Nah 1:14 probably refers to the murder of Sennacherib twenty years after his return from Palestine (Isa 37:38). The date of his prophecies, thus, seems to be about the former years of Hezekiah. So JEROME thinks. He plainly writes while the Assyrian power was yet unbroken (Nah 1:12; Nah 2:11-13 Nah 3:15-17). The correspondence between the sentiments of Nahum and those of Isaiah and Hezekiah, as recorded in Second Kings and Isaiah, proves the likelihood of Nahum's prophecies belonging to the time when Sennacherib was demanding the surrender of Jerusalem, and had not yet raised the siege (compare Nah 1:2, &c., with 2Ki 19:14-15; Nah 1:7, with 2Ki 18:22; 2Ki 19:19, 2Ki 19:31; 2Ch 32:7-8; Nah 1:9, Nah 1:11, with 2Ki 19:22, 2Ki 19:27-28; Nah 1:14, with 2Ki 19:6-7; Nah 1:15; Nah 2:1-2, with 2Ki 19:32-33; Nah 2:13, with 2Ki 19:22-23). The historical data in the book itself are the humiliation of Israel and Judah by Assyria (Nah 2:2); the invasion of Judah (Nah 1:9, Nah 1:11); and the conquest of No-ammon, or Thebes, in Upper Egypt (Nah 3:8-10). Tiglath-pileser and Shalmaneser had carried away Israel. The Jews were harassed by the Syrians, and impoverished by Ahaz' payments to Tiglath-pileser (2Ch. 28:1-27; Isa 7:9). Sargon, Shalmaneser's successor, after the reduction of Phœnicia by the latter, fearing lest Egypt should join Palestine against him, undertook an expedition to Africa (Isa 20:1-6), and took Thebes; the latter fact we know only from Nahum, but the success of the expedition in general is corroborated in Isa 20:1-6. Sennacherib, Sargon's successor, made the last Assyrian attempt against Judea, ending in the destruction of his army in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah (713-710 B.C.). As Nahum refers to this in part prophetically, in part as matter of history (Nah 1:9-13; Nah 2:13), he must have lived about 720-714 B.C., that is, almost a hundred 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 603 B.C.

The prophecy is remarkable for its unity of aim. Nahum's object was to inspire his countrymen, the Jews, with the assurance that, however alarming their position might seem, exposed to the attacks of the mighty Assyrian, who had already carried away the ten tribes, yet that not only should the Assyrian (Sennacherib) fail in his attack on Jerusalem, but Nineveh, his own capital, be taken and his empire overthrown; and this, not by an arbitrary exercise of Jehovah's power, but for the iniquities of the city and its people. His position in the canon is seventh of the minor prophets in both the Hebrew and Greek arrangement. He is seventh in point of date.

His style is clear, elegant, and forcible. Its most striking characteristic is the power of representing several phases of an idea in the briefest sentences, as in the majestic description of God in the commencement, the conquest of Nineveh, and the destruction of No-ammon [EICHORN]. DE WETTE calls attention to his variety of manner in presenting ideas, as marking great poetic talent. "Here there is something sonorous in his language there something murmuring; with both these alternates something that is soft, delicate, and melting, as the subject demands." Excepting two alleged Assyrian words (Nah 3:17), English Version, "crowned," or princes, and English Version, "captains," or satraps (used by Jer 51:27), the language is pure. These two, doubtless, came to be known in Judea from the intercourse with Assyria in the eighth and seventh centuries B.C.

JFB: Nahum (Outline)

• JEHOVAH'S ATTRIBUTES AS A JEALOUS JUDGE OF SIN, YET MERCIFUL TO HIS TRUSTING PEOPLE, SHOULD INSPIRE THEM WITH CONFIDENCE. HE WILL NOT ALLOW THE ASSYRIANS AGAIN TO ASSAIL THEM, BUT WILL DESTROY THE FOE. (Nah 1:1-15)
• THE ADVANCE OF THE DESTROYING FORCES AGAINST NINEVEH, AFTER IT WAS USED AS GOD'S ROD FOR A TIME TO CHASTISE HIS PEOPLE: THE CAPTURE OF THAT LION'S DWELLING, ACCORDING TO THE SURE WORD OF JEHOVAH. (Nah 2:1-13)
• REPETITION OF NINEVEH'S DOOM, WITH NEW FEATURES; THE CAUSE IS HER TYRANNY, RAPINE, AND CRUELTY: NO-AMMON'S FORTIFICATIONS DID NOT SAVE HER; IT IS VAIN, THEREFORE, FOR NINEVEH TO THINK HER DEFENSES WILL SECURE HER AGAINST GOD'S SENTENCE. (Nah. 3:1-19)

TSK: Nahum 1 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Nah 1:1, The majesty of God in goodness to his people, and severity against his enemies.

Poole: Nahum (Book Introduction)

THE ARGUMENT

THE prophet Nahum is one of those prophets whose family and country are concealed, and it would be more labour than profit to spend time on the inquiry after the one or other. He is styled the Elkoshite, and possibly born and bred in Elkosh, a town of Galilee, an obscure place, of which perhaps we had heard no more, had it not been written that this man was born there, to allude to that of the psalmist, Psa 87:5 . The time of his appearing in public to discharge his prophetic office is much more material, being a key to the whole prophecy. Now it is certain that Nahum was a prophet in office whilst the kingdom of Assyria was not only standing, but whilst it was standing in its glory and entire strength, whilst it was dangerous and terrible to its neighbours. It is to me evident that Nahum prophesied before the destruction of Sennacherib’ s army, for he foretelleth the death of Sennacherib, Nah 1:14 . It is certain also he appeared after Hoshea and the ten tribes were carried captives by Shalmaneser. This was either in A.M. 3229, as Helvicus, or 3283, as Archbishop Usher and Doctor Lightfoot, in the ninth year of Hoshea, which was the sixth of Hezekiah, 2Ki 18:10 , and some few years before the death of Shalmaneser, whose son Sennacherib succeeded, and invaded Egypt and Judah in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah, eight years after Samaria was taken and the ten tribes were captivated; within which time, and probably toward the fifth of those eight, Nahum is sent a prophet to quiet, support, and encourage Hezekiah and his subjects against all the threats and power of the Assyrian tyrant, who threatened to destroy Judah and Jerusalem, from accomplishing whereof the tyrant shall be so far that God will turn it to his ruin; and here, as a very fit season, the prophet declareth the final and utter ruin of the Assyrian empire and its capital city Nineveh, as a just revenge for all their oppressions of their neighbours, but especially in revenge of their reiterated violence against Israel and Judah: on account of which good tidings the prophet hath his name Nahum, which in the Hebrew is from a word signifying to comfort; and also to repent; indeed repentance is preparatory to comfort; and though his preaching against Nineveh be the comfort of Jerusalem, no doubt he called Jerusalem to repent, which is probably collected from Nah 1:15 , O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows. This whole prophecy, except the 15th verse of this chapter, is directed against Nineveh, head city of the Assyrian kingdom, and against the whole kingdom; which, with all sorts of men and women in it, are threatened with very sore and heavy judgments, with final desolation, or captivity, for their sins; all which was fulfilled by the Lord, using the Babylonian and Median power to overthrow this power of Assyria, and particularly by the joint forces of Nabopollassar and Astyages, as is by the most learned Archbishop Usher observed, in A. M, 3378. Yet others tell us the final ruin of the Assyrian kingdom, foretold by Nahum, came much sooner, and that in the death of Esarhaddon, or Assaradinus, the Assyrian monarchs did expire. But though I determine not the number of years during which this threatened monarchy did stand, yet, be they fewer or more, Nahum’ s prophecy was fulfilled in the destruction of Nineveh and the subversion of the Assyrian monarchy, and the Jews were no more infested by the Assyrian though they were by the Babylonian kingdom. The things then spoken of by Nahum do in the letter and historical part of them concern the times between the twelfth or fourteenth of Hezekiah and the end of the Assyrian monarchy. And a skilful observer of the histories of those times would be best able to interpret this prophet, nor shall any do it tolerably well without recourse to those histories, which, though not cited here at large, (which brief annotations admit not,) yet have not been quite neglected; and what errors in applying the histories and computation of times are here committed, all will candidly excuse who know the obscurity and uncertainty of those times.

Poole: Nahum 1 (Chapter Introduction)

NAHUM CHAPTER 1

The majesty of God in goodness to his people, and severity against his enemies.

MHCC: Nahum (Book Introduction)

This prophet denounces the certain and approaching destruction of the Assyrian empire, particularly of Nineveh, which is described very minutely. Together with this is consolation for his countrymen, encouraging them to trust in God.

MHCC: Nahum 1 (Chapter Introduction)

(Nah 1:1-8) The justice and power of the Lord.

(Nah 1:9-15) The overthrow of the Assyrians.

Matthew Henry: Nahum (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Prophecy of Nahum

The name of this prophet signifies a comforter; for it was a charge given to all the prophets, Comfort you, comfort you, my people: and even this prophet, though wholly taken up in foretelling the destruction of Nineveh, which speaks terror to the Assyrians, is, even in that, comforter to the ten tribes of Israel, who, it is probable, were now lately carried captives into Assyria. It is very uncertain at what time he lived and prophesied, but it is most probable that he lied in the time of Hezekiah, and prophesied against Nineveh, after the captivity of Israel by the king of Assyria, which was in the ninth year of Hezekiah, and before Sennacherib's invading Judah, which was in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah, for to that attempt, and the defeat of it, it is supposed, the first chapter has reference; and it is probable that it was delivered a little before it, for the encouragement of God's people in that day of treading down and perplexity. It is the conjecture of the learned Huetius that the two other chapters of this book were delivered by Nahum some years after, perhaps in the reign of Manasseh, and in that reign the Jewish chronologies generally place him, somewhat nearer to the time when Nineveh was conquered, and the Assyrian monarchy reduced, by Cyaxares and Nebuchadnezzar, some time before the first captivity of Judah. It is probable that Nahum did by word of mouth prophesy many things concerning Israel and Judah, as it is certain that Jonah did (2Ki 14:25), though we have nothing of either of them in writing, but what related to Nineveh, of which though a great and ancient city, yet probably we should never have heard in sacred writ if the Israel of God had not had some concern in it.

Matthew Henry: Nahum 1 (Chapter Introduction)

In this chapter we have, I. The inscription of the book, (Nah 1:1). II. A magnificent display of the glory of God, in a mixture of wrath and justice against the wicked, and mercy and grace towards his people, and the discovery of his majesty and power in both (Nah 1:2-8). III. A particular application of this (as most interpreters think) to the destruction of Sennacherib and the Assyrian army, when they besieged Jerusalem, which was a very memorable and illustrious instance of the power both of God's justice and of his mercy, and spoke abundance of terror to his enemies and encouragement to his faithful servants (Nah 1:9 -16).

Constable: Nahum (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title and Writer

The title of the book comes from the name of its writer.

We know nothing about Nahum ("consolation" or "comfort") other than what we read in this book. His name proved significant since he brought comfort and consolation to the Judeans with his prophecies. He was "the Elkoshite" (1:1), so he evidently came from a town named Elkosh, but the location of such a town is yet to be discovered. Scholars have suggested that it stood near Nineveh, in Galilee, near Capernaum (City of Nahum?), east of the Jordan River, or somewhere in Judah. Since he was a Jewish prophet and evidently lived after the fall of Samaria in 722 B.C., a location in Judah seems most likely to me. Perhaps the Assyrians had carried his family away to Mesopotamia when they conquered the kingdom of Israel and Nahum somehow managed to return to Judah later.¹ This may explain Nahum's familiarity with things Assyrian.

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 Nahum was responsible for the whole work.

"Every one of the forty-seven verses of this short prophecy has been attacked by higher critics as being spurious. Contemporary critical scholarship tends to hold that at least one-third of the material was written by someone other than Nahum."²

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 capital, Nineveh, which happened in 612 B.C., so he must have written this book between 663 and 612 B.C. Nineveh fell to a combined force of Medes, Babylonians, and Scythians.³

There is some evidence that points to Nahum writing shortly after Thebes fell. First, Nahum's description of Nineveh (1:12; 3:1, 4, 16) does not fit the city as it existed between 626 and 612 B.C. when Ashurbanipal's sons, Ashur-etil-ilani (626-623 B.C.) and Sin-shar-ishkun (623-612 B.C.), ruled over it. Second, the Southern Kingdom of Judah was under the yoke of Assyria when Nahum wrote (1:13, 15; 2:1, 3), a condition that marked the reign of Manasseh (697-642 B.C.) more than that of Josiah (640-609 B.C.). Third, if Nahum wrote after 654 B.C., his rhetorical question in 3:8 would have had little or no force since Thebes rose to power again in that year.⁴ Thus a date of composition between 660 and 650 B.C. seems most likely.

Place of Composition

No one knows for sure where Nahum was when he wrote the book, and our lack of knowledge of his hometown complicates the task of discovering the place of composition. However, traditionally Nahum lived and ministered in Judah, so most conservative scholars assume he wrote somewhere in that kingdom.

Audience and Purpose

Nahum was a Jewish prophet and wrote primarily for the Jewish people. While the main subject of his prophesying was Nineveh, his message was for the Jews.

This book claims to be an oracle (1:1, an uplifting and or threatening prophecy). While most of the book threatens Nineveh with destruction, there are also words of comfort for the people of Judah (1:12, 15; 2:2). Nahum revealed that Yahweh would destroy Nineveh as punishment for the Assyrians' cruelty to many nations, including the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C. and Judah. This was a comforting message for the remaining Jews who were presently living under Assyria's shadow in Judah. Assyria had destroyed many Judean cities and had even besieged Jerusalem, unsuccessfully, in 701 B.C. The purpose of Nahum's book, then, was to announce Nineveh's fall and thereby comfort the Judean Jews with the assurance that their God was indeed sovereign and just.

"God is a just governor of the nations who will punish wicked Nineveh and restore His own people."⁵

Literary form

Nahum contains a prophecy of the future destruction of a city that did fall. Critics of the Bible who do not believe that the prophets could possibly predict the future have tried to explain what Nahum wrote as a description of the fall of Nineveh after the fact. Some of them consider the book as a piece of liturgy written for the Israelites' annual "enthronement festival" in Jerusalem. This festival supposedly celebrated Yahweh's enthronement over His people, though there is no biblical evidence that it ever occurred. Other ancient Near Eastern nations conducted similar enthronement festivals. The Book of Nahum was, according to this view, a collection of writings of various literary types that an editor compiled to magnify Yahweh's greatness by reflecting on Nineveh's destruction.

While conservatives reject this low view of prophecy, it is obvious that the book does consist of several different types of literature, as do most of the other prophetical books. We believe that God guided Nahum to express the messages He gave him in a variety of ways using several different forms of expression.

Nahum was a poet . He has been called "the poet laureate among the Minor Prophets."⁶ He wrote in a very vivid and powerful style.

"Nahum was a great poet. His word pictures are superb, his rhetorical skill is beyond praise."⁷

"His reverence for the almighty, trust in divine justice and goodness, condemnation of national iniquity, positive conviction that God will keep His word--these are qualities of true greatness. Add to that Nahum's mighty intellect, his patriotism and courage, his rare, almost unequaled, gift of vivid presentation, and he indeed looms as one of those outstanding figures in human history who have appeared only at rare intervals."⁸

Message⁹

The story that Nahum told is a story of the utter and irrevocable destruction of a great city and a great people. Nahum told the story as prophecy, but what he predicted is now history. Nahum lived when Assyria was threatening Judah's existence. The prophet predicted that God would destroy the proud and cruel capital of the Assyrian Empire, Nineveh. So thorough was Ninevah's destruction that for centuries travelers passed over its ruins without knowing that this mighty and terrible city lay buried beneath their feet. Only in fairly modern times have archaeologists laid bare its ruins. Such was the literal and complete fulfillment of Nahum's prophecy.

The message of Nahum is quite compact. It is clear in statement, logical in argument, and definite in its declarations. In form, it is a vision, a vision of Yahweh, of Yahweh's anger, and of Yahweh acting in anger. Its permanent value is its unique picture of the wrath of God. The prophet begins the revelation of his vision by painting an angry Yahweh (1:2). This is not an aspect of God's character that is popular in our day, but it is one that is prominent throughout the Bible.

Notice first the prophet's vision of God.

All the prophets were impressed with a characteristic of God that shaped their prophecies. Isaiah saw God's holiness. Jeremiah saw God's judgment. Ezekiel saw God's glory. And Nahum saw God's wrath.

Nahum used seven words to describe God's anger: jealous, avenging, wrathful, angry, indignant, fierce, and furious. They all occur in a very brief passage (1:2-3) in the Hebrew text heightening the solemnity of Yahweh's anger. "Jealous," in Hebrew, as in English, presupposes love and expresses an emotional, subjective action. God's jealousy is not self-centered or petty but expresses His zealous concern for the welfare of those He loves. "Avenging" does not mean retaliating but executing retribution, paying back to someone what that one deserves. It expresses a volitional action, an objective rather than a subjective response. "Wrathful" suggests a change in God's attitude. The word comes from a root meaning to cross over, and it was used to describe the Israelites crossing over to the other side of the Jordan River. This word suggests the idea that God crossed over from His typical attitudes of tenderness and compassion to an unusual attitude, for Him, of judgment. "Angry" has the idea of hard breathing and pictures God as laboring over a condition that disturbs Him. "Indignant" is also a pictorial word and suggests God foaming at the mouth because He is so angry. "Fierce" means burning, and "furious" means hot. Both of these last adjectives add even more intensity to the other strong words that describe Yahweh's anger.

Every Hebrew word that describes anger occurs in this short description of Yahweh in 1:2-3. The total impression Nahum wanted to create was that of a very, very angry God. This was not, however, just a piece of rhetoric in which an extremely agitated prophet attributed to God feelings that were in his own heart. It is a careful and remarkable description of the character of God.

As the revelation unfolds, we move from a threefold description of the anger of God to an exposition of that threefold description. I say it is a threefold description of the anger of God because the name "Yahweh" appears three times in verse 2, and then it appears three more times in the next six verses. In verse 2 we have proclamation; this is what God is like. Then in verses 3-8 we have explanation. Let's consider first Nahum's proclamation concerning the character of God (1:2).

Yahweh is jealous and avenging (1:2a). The order of these aspects of God's anger indicates that His passion precedes His action. The second proclamation is that He is avenging and wrathful (1:2b). Here the order is reversed; God's action grows out of His passion. The third proclamation, that Yahweh takes vengeance on His adversaries and reserves wrath for His enemies (1:2c) reveals that God directs His passion and action discriminately, not carelessly or capriciously. This is a very important revelation of God's anger because it is the reverse of what usually characterizes angry people. People are controlled by their anger, but God controls His anger. God's passion leads to action but only against those whom God chooses to make the objects of His wrath.

The explanation of God's anger follows in verses 3-8. Verse 3a explains that Yahweh is a jealous and avenging God (v. 2a). His passion precedes His action. "He is slow to anger and great in power, and will by no means leave the guilty unpunished." Verses 3b-6 explain that Yahweh is avenging and wrathful (v. 2b). His action grows out of His passion. Verses 7-8 explain that Yahweh takes vengeance on His adversaries and reserves wrath for His enemies (v. 2c). His anger is discriminating.

Often human anger is out of control. Anyone near it gets hurt, not just the object of one's anger. Human anger often results in other mistakes that the angry person makes, the fallout of his anger. That is never true of God's anger. He is slow to anger; He never explodes or looses His temper. His anger is measured; He is never out of control. His anger is focused on the particular object or objects of His wrath. Innocent people never suffer because of His anger. He never makes mistakes because He is angry. He is always in full control of Himself and of everything that happens when He is angry.

We turn now from Nahum's vision of the anger of God to his vision of the vengeance of God. Nahum revealed why God acts in vengeance--the reason for divine judgment--when God acts in vengeance--the principle of divine judgment--and how God acts in vengeance--the method of divine judgment.

Why does God act in judgment? According to Nahum, there is a Godward reason and a manward reason. In 1:11 we have the sin against God: pride. This was the fundamental sin of the Assyrians against God. We see it clearly in Sennacherib's invasion of Jerusalem (Isa. 36). Pride expressed in rebellion against God's sovereign control over His creation was one of Nineveh's greatest sins. The other sin for which God judges is manward: cruelty. We see this in 3:1-4. The Assyrians were notorious for their oppression and cruelty toward their fellowmen. These were the two great sins of Assyria Godward and manward, and they are the primary reason God gets angry and acts in judgment. It is interesting that these two sins almost always go together, as they did in Assyria. Where there is pride against God there is usually cruelty toward other people. Jesus taught that the two greatest commandments were to love God wholeheartedly and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matt. 22:37-39). When people do this, they are not proud or cruel. Why does God judge? He judges to punish pride and to protect people.

The second question about the judgment of God that Nahum answered was, When does God judge? What is the principle by which God judges? Again, we can look at the answer to this question from two viewpoints: God's and man's. God judges after long patience. A hundred years earlier God had sent Jonah with a message of repentance to Nineveh. The people had repented, and God had relented. But then the people repented of their repentance. They returned to their former pride and cruelty. Now, after long waiting, God was about to avenge. From the human viewpoint, God judges when sin has become exceeding sinful. He waits for people to repent, but if they do not, He steps in to judge (3:18-19; cf. Gen. 15:16; 1 Cor. 11:31).

How does God act in vengeance? The answer reveals God's method. He used natural and supernatural forces to destroy Nineveh. The Babylonians invaded the city through a breach in the wall that the flooding Tigris River had opened up. God supernaturally controlled weather conditions so the walls gave way. He then led human soldiers to storm through that opening and take the city. For centuries it was undiscoverable because its destruction was so complete.

We turn now to the abiding message of this book for our own age and every age.

One aspect of the message of Nahum is what it says about God. Nahum teaches the reader that to believe in God's love is to be sure of His wrath. If God is never angry, He does not love. His anger grows out of His love. Can you look at sin, pride, oppression, and cruelty and not be moved? Then you do not love. Do you not care that Christians are being persecuted for their faith and are being executed daily in over 30 countries in the world? Do you not care that pride is keeping people from acknowledging their need for God in your country? Do you not care that women are being abused and children neglected by fathers who are so selfish that they think only of their own pleasures? Then you are incapable of love. If God cannot burn with hatred, He is a God incapable of love. To believe in His love is to be sure of His wrath.

A corollary to this revelation is another truth about God that Nahum reveals. God's love always interprets His wrath. Whenever we observe some instance of God's vengeance, we must remember that it springs from His love. We cannot always make the connection, and we may not be able to explain the connection to ourselves and others. But there is a connection. God's vengeance proves the depth of His love.

The message of this book also concerns people. One sin against which God acts in vengeance is pride that says I don't need Him. I am sufficient in myself. I am greater than others. If people persist in this sin throughout their lives and refuse to bow the knee to God, they will experience His eternal wrath. If believers lift themselves up in pride, God will bring them down in His hot anger. Another sin that God judges is cruelty toward our fellow man. Our present fascination with violence reflects both pride and cruelty. Unless we repent we will all likewise perish. Pride and cruelty are even worse when people have turned from them in repentance and then repented of their repentance and returned to practice them with greater gusto than ever. These were the great sins of the ancient Assyrians, and they are the sins of modern man.

There is a message of hope in Nahum as well. It is the revelation that God's wrath is discriminating. God is absolutely just. He will not punish the innocent with the guilty. He will not lose control when He judges. Nahum 1:7 reminds us that, "Yahweh is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him."

I would express the message of the book this way. God's discriminating anger and vengeance against pride and cruelty arise from His great love.

Constable: Nahum (Outline)

Outline

I. Heading 1:1

II. Nineveh's destruction declared 1:2-14

A. The anger and goodness of Yahweh 1:2-8

B. Yahweh's plans for Nineveh and Judah 1:9-14

1. The consumption of Nineveh 1:9-11

2. The liberation of Judah 1:12-13

3. The termination of Nineveh 1:14

III. Nineveh's destruction described 1:15-3:19

A. The sovereign justice of Yahweh 1:15-2:2

B. Four descriptions of Nineveh's fall 2:3-3:19

1. The first description of Nineveh's fall 2:3-7

2. The second description of Nineveh's fall 2:8-13

3. The third description of Nineveh's fall 3:1-7

4. The fourth description of Nineveh's fall 3:8-19

Constable: Nahum

Nahum

Bibliography

Armerding, Carl E. "Nahum." In Daniel-Minor Prophets. Vol. 7 of The Expositor's Bible Commentary. 12 vols. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein and Richard P. Polcyn. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1985.

Bewer, J. A. The Literature of the Old Testament. 3rd ed. New York: Columbia University, 1962.

Bury, J. B.; S. A. Cook; and F. E. Adcock, eds. The Cambridge Ancient History. 12 vols. 2nd ed. reprinted. Cambridge, Eng.: University Press, 1928.

Calkins, Raymond. The Modern Message of the Minor Prophets. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1947.

Chisholm, Robert B., Jr. "A Theology of the Minor Prophets." In A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, pp. 397-433. Edited by Roy B. Zuck. Chicago: Moody Press, 1991.

Craigie, Peter C. Twelve Prophets. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1985.

Dyer, Charles H., and Eugene H. Merrill. The Old Testament Explorer. Nashville: Word Publishing, 2001.

Feinberg, Charles Lee. Jonah Micah and Nahum. The Major Messages of the Minor Prophets series. New York: American Board of Missions to the Jews, 1951.

Freeman, Hobart E. Nahum Zephaniah Habakkuk. Everyman's Bible Commentary series. Chicago: Moody Press, 1973.

Johnson, Elliott E. "Obadiah." In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, pp. 1493-1504. Edited by John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck. Wheaton: Scripture Press Publications, Victor Books, 1985.

Johnston, Gordon H. "Nahum's Rhetorical Allusions to Neo-Assyrian Conquest Metaphors." Bibliotheca Sacra 159:633 (January-March 2002):21-45.

_____. "Nahum's Rhetorical Allusions to Neo-Assyrian Treaty Curses." Bibliotheca Sacra 158:632 (October-December 2001):415-36.

_____. "Nahum's Rhetorical Allusions to the Neo-Assyrian Lion Motif." Bibliotheca Sacra 158:631 (July-September 2001):287-307.

Keil, Carl Friedrich. The Twelve Minor Prophets. 2 vols. Translated by James Martin. Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament. Reprint ed. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1949.

Luckenbill, Daniel David, ed. Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylon. 2 vols. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1926-27.

Maier, Walter A. The Book of Nahum: A Commentary. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959; reprint ed., Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1980.

The New Bible Dictionary, 1962. S.v. "Nineveh," by D. J. Wiseman.

Patterson, Richard D. Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah. Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary series. Chicago: Moody Press, 1991.

Pritchard, James B., ed. The Ancient Near East in Pictures. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1954.

_____, ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. 3rd ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969.

Thomas, D. Winton., ed. Documents from Old Testament Times. New York: Harper & Row, 1958.

Thompson, R. Campbell, and Hutchinson, R. W. A Century of Exploration at Nineveh. London: Luzac, 1929.

Yadin, Yigael. The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1963.

Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Nahum (Book Introduction)

THE PROPHECY OF NAHUM.

INTRODUCTION.

Nahum, whose name signifies a comforter, was a native of Elcese, or Elcesai, supposed to be a little town in Galilee. He prophesied after the ten tribes were carried into captivity, and foretold the utter destruction of Ninive by the Babylonians and Medes; which happened in the reign of Josias, (Challoner) in the sixteenth year, when the father of Nabuchodonosor and the grandfather of Cyrus entirely ruined Ninive, and divided the empire between them, (Calmet) in the year of the world 3378. (Usher) Tobias xiv. 16. --- Nahum was probably on the spot when he proclaimed this beautiful prediction, which yields not to any work of profane authors. He might have been carried captive by Salmanasar, as he alludes to the captivity of Israel and to the blasphemies of Sennacherib. We cannot, therefore, place his prophecy before the fifteenth year of Ezechias. (Calmet) --- He appeared about fifty years after Jonas, when the Ninivites had relapsed, and were destroyed in the space of one hundred and thirty-five years, as a figure of the subversion of idolatry by Christ's preaching the gospel of peace. (Worthington) NAHUM 1

Gill: Nahum (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO NAHUM

This book is called, in the Vulgate Latin version, "the Prophecy of Nahum"; and in the Syriac and Arabic versions, "the Prophecy of the Prophet Nahum"; and in Nah 1:1; it is called "the Book of the Vision of Nahum"; which is very singular; and from whence we learn of what place this prophet was; but of this more will be said on that verse. His name signifies "consolation": and though the subject of his prophecy chiefly relates to the destruction of the Assyrian empire, and of Nineveh, the chief city of it; yet this was a comfort to the people of the Jews, that an enemy so powerful, and who was so troublesome to them, and whom they dreaded, should one day be destroyed. In what age Nahum lived is not said; and writers very much disagree about it. Some make him to be the most ancient of all the prophets; who suppose him to prophesy of the destruction of Nineveh, before the reigns of Joash king of Judah, and Jehu king of Israel, as Huetius ^a observes; and others bring him down as low, placing him after Ezekiel, in the times of Zedekiah, Clemens of Alexandria ^b; neither of which is likely. The Jewish chronologers ^c generally make him to live in the times of Manasseh, and so Abarbinel; but Josephus ^d, with more probability, puts him in the times of Jotham; though perhaps what the greater number of interpreters give into may be most correct; as that he lived in the times of Hezekiah, and was contemporary with Isaiah, Hosea, Amos, and Micah; and that this prophecy was delivered out after the ten tribes were carried captive by the king of Assyria, which was in the sixth year of Hezekiah, and before Sennacherib's invasion of Judea, and siege of Jerusalem, which was in the fourteenth year of his reign; and which is thought to be referred to in the "first" chapter of this prophecy. Mr. Whiston ^e places him in the year of the world A. M. 3278, or 726 B.C.; and says that he foretold the destruction of Nineveh an hundred fifteen years before it came to pass, so says Josephus ^f. How long this prophet lived, and where he died, and was buried, is uncertain. Pseudo-Epiphanius ^g says he died and was buried in Begabar. Isidore ^h says it was in Bethafarim; both which are to be corrected by Dorotheus, who calls the place Bethabara, as Huetius ⁱ observes; the same where John was baptizing, Joh 1:28; but Benjamin of Tudela ^k says his grave was to be seen in a place called Einsiphla, in the land of Chaldea; and speaks of a synagogue of this prophet in the province of Assyria ^l; but on these things we cannot depend. Of the authority of this prophecy there need be no doubt, as appears from the inscription of the book, the sublimity and majesty of the style, and its agreement with other prophets; see Nah 1:15; compared with Isa 52:7; and the accomplishment of the prophecies contained in it, which respect the ruin of the Assyrian empire, and particularly Nineveh, the metropolis of it; the cause of which were their sins and transgressions, the inhabitants thereof were guilty of, and are pointed at in it.

Gill: Nahum 1 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO NAHUM 1

This chapter begins with the title of the book, showing the subject matter of it; and describing the penman of it by his name and country, Nah 1:1; which is followed with a preface to the whole book; setting forth the majesty of a jealous and revenging God; the power of his wrath and fury; of which instances are given in exciting tempests; drying up the sea and the rivers; making the most fruitful mountains barren, which tremble before him; yea, even the whole world, and the inhabitants thereof, his indignation being intolerable; and yet he is slow to anger, good to them that trust in him, whom he knows, and whose protection he is in a time of trouble, Nah 1:2. Next the destruction of the Assyrian empire, and of the city of Nineveh, is prophesied of; and is represented as an utter and an entire destruction, and which would come upon them suddenly and unawares, while they were in their cups, Nah 1:8. A particular person among them is spoken of, described as a designing wicked man, an enemy to the Lord and his people, thought to be Sennacherib king of Assyria, Nah 1:11; from whose evil designs, yoke and bondage, the Jews should be delivered; and he and his posterity be cut off, because of his vileness, Nah 1:12; and the chapter is concluded with tidings of joy to Judah, who are exhorted to keep their feasts and perform their vows on this occasion, Nah 1:15.