Nahum 1

Introduction

Nahum is yet another mysterious prophet; like several other minor prophets, there is little known about his life outside the text. In the first verse, we will learn that he was an Elkoshite. However, we cannot be at all certain where Elkosh was located. We will discuss some of the problems with this city’s identification later. Nahum prophesied to the Southern Kingdom of Judah (1:15b) since the Northern Kingdom was already in captivity with the Assyrians. The name “Nahum” appears only twice in the Bible (Nah. 1:1 and Luk. 3:25). The name in Hebrew has to do with “comfort” or “compassion.” [1]

Regarding the time frame of Nahum’s work, we can be a little more certain. In chapter 3:8-10, we are told about the destruction of No-Amon (Thebes or modern-day Luxor), the capital of Upper Egypt. This destruction took place in 663 BC by the Assyrian King Assurbanipal. Obviously, Nahum had to live sometime after this destruction. From history, we know that Nineveh was destroyed by the Babylonians and the Medes in 612 BC. Nahum’s ministry had to fall between these two dates. [2] British Bible scholar Donald Guthrie feels that the ministry of Nahum fell between 621 and 612 BC. [3] That is about as close as we can call it.

Nahum prophesied about Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria. We know from the Bible that Nineveh was founded by Nimrod, who lived shortly after the flood (Gen. 10:8-12). The city is mentioned in the ancient Code of Hammurabi around 2200 BC. [4] Nineveh may well have been the largest city in the world. The last verse in the Book of Jonah (4:11) relates that there were more than 120,000 infants in the city. That helps us understand its great size.

James Montgomery Boice, American theologian and religious broadcaster, tells us that the inner city had a wall eight miles in circumference (13 km.). The wall was 100 feet high (30 m.), and it was wide enough that three chariots could race abreast around it. [5] In Jonah 3:3, we learn that it took Jonah three days to go through the city.

Nineveh had the distinction of possessing what may be called the oldest library in the world. King Ashurbanipal (660-631 BC) established a collection of over 30,000 cuneiform clay tablets and fragments. These sources dealt with many subjects such as literature, history, medicine, and astronomy. The library was buried in Nineveh’s destruction, and its discovery transformed many of our understandings of the ancient world.

Unfortunately, Nineveh was a very wicked city. The two basic sins of the city were its ruthless military power and its unscrupulous commerce. [6] John Phillips, Anglican Bible scholar, remarks that “Nineveh was a monument to tyranny.” [7] Nineveh was so wicked that God had sent the prophet Jonah to her over one hundred years before. At that time, the whole city had deeply repented and was spared. The same would not be true in the prophet Nahum’s time. The great city would be destroyed. Phillips says, “Nineveh vanished into oblivion so completely that for centuries even the place where it had stood was forgotten.” [8] It was only in the 19th century that Nineveh was rediscovered and excavated.

A prophecy concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. Nahum 1:1

The Hebrew word for prophecy is massa or “burden.” We can only guess at how great the burden of prophecy was that Nahum bore. He had this in common with most of the prophets. It was not just a burden, but it came as a vision. The prophet had seen something in the spiritual world and felt greatly obligated to share this image. It concerned Nineveh, the Assyrian capital city. This was the focus of Nahum’s work. Phillips comments: “Nahum was given the assignment to preach the downfall of Nineveh. A century earlier, Jonah would gladly have given his life for the task.” [1]

As we mentioned in the introduction, Nahum was a native of the city of Elkosh. There are various opinions among scholars as to where this city existed. The city of Capernaum on the northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee has been suggested as Nahum’s hometown. Interestingly, Capernaum means “Village of Nahum” in Hebrew. However, there can be no certainty that our Nahum came from that city. Two early Christian writers, Jerome and Eusebius, place the little city of Elkosh in Galilee. [2] Several scholars feel that this view has a lot to commend it. Of course, Nahum, who was from Galilee, prophesied to the southern kingdom of Judah.

“The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on his foes and vents his wrath against his enemies” (1:2). The noted F. B. Meyer says of this section: “Nahum 1:1-8 forms a magnificent preamble combining the goodness and severity of God. His dealings with mankind are wrapped in mystery, but he is good and the stronghold of his saints….” [3] Biblical professor Charles L. Feinberg comments: “Nahum’s description of the character of God is unsurpassed for grandeur and majesty.” [4]

The prophet begins with an acrostic poem. Verse 2 starts with the first Hebrew letter aleph, verse three begins with the second Hebrew letter beth, and so on through most of the chapter and through the Hebrew alphabet. This was obviously some mnemonic device that was used in Bible times.

We are told of some wonderful and amazing characteristics about the God we serve. He is a jealous God. Jealous and zealous come from the same Hebrew root. Because God is jealous, he is zealous to maintain his covenant, to protect his people, to keep them from worshipping foreign gods. God is zealous to guard and maintain his relationship with his people.

God takes vengeance and exercises wrath upon his enemies. Henry Ward Beecher once said, “A person that does not know how to be angry does not know how to be good.” [5] Thomas Fuller wrote of anger, “He who lacks it has a maimed mind.” [6] There are times when we should be angry. This is called “righteous indignation.” We are to express it when God and his word are abused in our society. This is about the only kind of anger we are allowed to have.

God had every right to be angry at the city of Nineveh. After all, he had warned the city of its evil ways through the ministry of Jonah over a century before. Both prophets spoke of God’s coming judgment. God is coming with great wrath to judge the living and the dead (Isaiah 13:9; 13:13). Hebrews 10:31 says, “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

“The LORD is slow to anger but great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet” (1:3). What a picture of God who is riding on the whirlwind and the storm. If we really believed that God rode on the storm, it would give us a lot more comfort in life’s storms around us. Bob Utley, US Baptist Bible scholar, comments, “‘The Lord is slow to anger.’ This is a key phrase in the description of YHWH’s character, found first in Exod. 34:6-7, and it became a liturgical description of YHWH.” [7] God is slow to anger, but when his anger is kindled, it burns white hot.

It is clear in Scripture that God chose the Assyrians to discipline his people. It is also clear that Assyria went too far (Isa. 10:5ff.). Such a thing happened when God chose Jehu to put an end to evil Ahab’s reign. What resulted was an awful bloodbath of even innocent people.

For one thing, the Assyrians were unbelievably cruel. Phillips describes some of their practices against enemies: “Some had their tongues torn out by the roots. Others were flayed alive; their skins were stretched out on the city walls to terrify any who might entertain ideas of rebellion. Still others were impaled on sharpened spikes and left to scream away their last days and hours in excruciating torment. The kings of Assyria gloated over such torture in their inscriptions.” [8] Assyria would pay dearly for her cruelty.

“He rebukes the sea and dries it up; he makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither and the blossoms of Lebanon fade” (1:4). Utley says, “Weather awed the ancient world!” [9] The Hebrews were also fascinated by the sea and really almost fearful of it. When the Lord comes in the judgment of the last days, we are told that there will be no more seas (Rev. 21:1). God’s wrath could touch the luscious lands as well. The Bashan, or what is now part of the Golan Heights, was famed for its rich pasturage. Mount Carmel was known for its vineyards, and of course Lebanon was well-known for its rich forests. These would all languish because of God’s wrath (cf. Joel 1:10).

Early British Wesleyan commentator, Adam Clarke, comments: “The description of the coming of Jehovah, from the third to the sixth verse, is dreadfully majestic…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?” [10]

“The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it. Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him” (1:5-6). How great and awesome is our God! This description reminds us of God’s appearance on Mt. Sinai as the Ten Commandments were given. “Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently” (Exo. 19:18). We can imagine how much more awesome is the power of God when he comes with indignation. That anger was about to be expressed toward the wicked city of Nineveh.

“The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him” (1:7). What a contrast we see in God’s nature. The same God who can come with fiery anger upon the wicked can come with comfort and blessing for those who trust in him. The Apostle Paul says of him: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Cor. 1:3-4).

“But with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness” (1:8). How accurately this verse describes the end of Nineveh. Christian Church commentator James Burton Coffman defines it, saying: “Without the great and totally unexpected flood that demolished the city wall and opened it up to the invader, it was exceedingly unlikely that the siege of Nineveh would have been successful. Melting snows sent the Tigris and its tributaries into an extraordinarily high flood stage; that was the real ruin of Nineveh, and it was totally of God.” [11] English Bible scholar Peter Pett adds: “Two hundred years later, when Xenophon saw it, it was an unrecognizable mass of debris. And eventually its whereabouts became totally forgotten.” [12]

“Whatever they plot against the LORD he will bring to an end; trouble will not come a second time” (1:9). Bible Scholar Robert Jamieson and associates say, “There will be no need of his inflicting on you a second blow: He will make an utter end of you once for all.” [13] God spared Nineveh once in the days of Jonah but he would not do it again.

“They will be entangled among thorns and drunk from their wine; they will be consumed like dry stubble” (1:10). Phillips says, “Speaking derisively, he likened the Assyrians to a bramble bush, a patch of tangled thorns that were harmful but vulnerable to fire.” [14] Thorns are not good for much. They are harmful especially when they are all tangled up. The best solution is to toss the whole mess into the fire. Thorns burn quite well.

It is interesting that when the king of Nineveh saw that all was lost, he gathered his wives, servants, concubines, and himself into a large funeral pyre. They all died in the blaze. [15] How true the words of Nahum!

“From you, Nineveh, has one come forth who plots evil against the LORD and devises wicked plans. This is what the LORD says: ‘Although they have allies and are numerous, they will be destroyed and pass away. Although I have afflicted you, Judah, I will afflict you no more. Now I will break their yoke from your neck and tear your shackles away” (1:11-13). The prophet Zephaniah tells us what Nineveh said of herself, “…I am the one! And there is none besides me…” (Zep. 2:15). Pett relates this account: “The story is told of a great man who planned great things. He brought great turmoil on the world, and when challenged by God, cried, ‘And who are you?’ And when his world collapsed, and he lay in his coffin, God quietly bent down and asked, ‘and who are you?’ And closed the lid.” [16]

The magnitude of God’s judgment became apparent when Sennacherib tried to invade Jerusalem. In 2 Kings 18:17ff., the Assyrian field commander came to Jerusalem scoffing, ridiculing, and threatening the Jews. It looked like all was lost. But good King Hezekiah trusted in God to keep the city safe. He also trusted in the good words from the prophet Isaiah. “That night the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning – there were all the dead bodies!” (2 Ki. 19:35). With that awful supernatural defeat, Sennacherib, who had done much to build the Assyrian Empire, quickly fled back to Nineveh. Later he was cut down by his own sons.

“The LORD has given a command concerning you, Nineveh: ‘You will have no descendants to bear your name. I will destroy the images and idols that are in the temple of your gods. I will prepare your grave, for you are vile’” (1:14). Nineveh was a land of idolatry, particularly in the worship of Ishtar. But Nineveh’s idols were doomed. Jamieson says, “The Medes under Cyaxares, the joint destroyers of Nineveh with the Babylonians, hated idolatry, and would delight in destroying its idols.” [17] Not only would her idols disappear, but her people would disappear as well. God would leave Nineveh no natural descendants.

“Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your festivals, Judah, and fulfill your vows. No more will the wicked invade you; they will be completely destroyed” (1:15). Here the prophet quotes from Isaiah 52: “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” This same verse will later be picked up by Paul and used in Romans 10:15. The prophet uses the Hebrew word me-va-ser twice in this verse. It means that they were to bear tidings.

It is interesting that the city of Mevaseret Zion is today located very near the Western entrance of modern Jerusalem. The city’s name in Hebrew means “herald to Zion.” It is doubly interesting that many evangelical Christians live in this city, and they have the delightful task of being heralds of the gospel message to God’s dear people, the Jews. Indeed, they have truly beautiful feet on the mountains of Israel.

Footnotes

1. Bob Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Nahum, Int. https://www.freebiblecommentary.org/old_testament_studies/VOL10BOT/VOL10BAOT_introduction.html

2. James Burton Coffman, Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible, Commentary on Nahum (Abilene, TX., Christian University Press, Intro.,1983-1999). https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/bcc/nahum-1.html.

3. D. Guthrie, J.A. Motyer, A.M. Stibbs, D. J. Wiseman, The New Bible Commentary: Revised (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1970), p. 762.

4. James Montgomery Boice, The Minor Prophets, Vol. 2 (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1986), 370.

5. Ibid., p. 371.

6. D. Guthrie, et. al., The New Bible Commentary: Revised, p. 762.

7. John Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1998), p. 184.

8. Ibid., p. 186.

Chapter 1

1. Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 185.

2. Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Nahum, v. 1:1f.

3. F. B. Meyer, Meyer’s Commentary, Nahum, v. 1:1-15.

4. Charles L. Feinberg, The Minor Prophets (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1990), p. 189.

5. Quoted in Warren W. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2007), p. 1464.

6. Ibid.

7. Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Nahum, v. 1:3.

8. Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 185.

9. Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Nahum, v. 1:1f.

10. Adam Clarke, The Adam Clarke Commentary, Commentary on Nahum, 1832, v. 1:4. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/acc/nahum-1.html.

11. Coffman, Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible, Commentary on Nahum, v. 2:6.

12. Peter Pett, Pett’s Commentary on the Bible, Commentary on Nahum, 2013, v. 1:8. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/pet/nahum-1.html.

13. Robert Jamieson; A.R. Fausset, & David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Commentary on Nahum, 1871, v. 1:9. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/jfb/nahum-1.html.

14. Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets p. 189.

15. Coffman, Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible, Commentary on Nahum, v. 1:10.

16. Pett, Pett’s Commentary on the Bible, Commentary on Nahum, vs. 1:11-13.

17. Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Commentary on Nahum, v. 1:4.