Nahum 2

An attacker advances against you, Nineveh. Guard the fortress, watch the road, brace yourselves, marshal all your strength! Nahum. 2:1

Coffman, quoting Alexander Fraser, says, “In the remaining two chapters, he turns to his subject in particular and in detail, setting forth its accomplishment in word-pictures of battle, unrivalled in Hebrew literature.” [1] Boice comments, “This chapter is a masterpiece of ancient literature, unsurpassed for its graphic portrayal of a military assault.” [2]

We need to realize that ancient sieges were terrible things. Defenders were locked inside the city where they often starved or died of disease. The siege of Nineveh was short and was carried on for only three months. The Babylonians led by Nabopolassar and the Medes led by Cyaxares were the main opponents. Some smaller contingents like the Scythians and Cimmerians were also involved in the siege. It appears that many people wanted to get their vengeance upon the cruel and hated Assyrians.

Phillips notes that Nineveh’s suburbs were already full of enemy troops, with the city’s massive walls and towers surrounded by troops. Unfortunately for the invaders, there were walls within the defensive wall, and the main city was virtually impregnable. [3]

“The LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel, though destroyers have laid them waste and have ruined their vines” (2:2). Nahum is clear that it is God who will be fighting this battle. It seems that the Lord pauses to remember both Israel and Judah, who had been devastated by the Assyrians. Of course, the ten tribes of Israel were carried away soon after the Assyrian invasion of Israel in 722 BC. The Assyrians had done much damage to Judah as well. The walled fortress of Lachish was conquered, along with Debir and many other cities in Judah. However, because of an incredible miracle, Jerusalem was spared. Here the Lord vows to restore his people.

“The shields of the soldiers are red; the warriors are clad in scarlet. The metal on the chariots flashes on the day they are made ready; the spears of juniper are brandished” (2:3). We almost have to stop in amazement at the prophet’s detailed description of this great battle that was yet to come. The prophet is likely describing the Babylonians and Medes here. The Greek writer Xenophon claimed that red was a favorite color of the Medes. [4] Utley says, “We know from Assyrian documents that the Assyrians and Babylonians both used red shields and cloaks.” [5] The prophet even foresees the sun flashing on the metal of the chariots so that they appear to be aflame. He also sees the soldiers waving their juniper spears as they threaten their enemies.

“The chariots storm through the streets, rushing back and forth through the squares. They look like flaming torches; they dart about like lightning” (2:4). In ancient times the chariot was a fearful thing. It might even be compared to the battle tank of our day. Pett more fully describes this scene: “The enemies have breached the outer defenses outside the walls, their chariots race through the suburban streets, jostling in their hurry to get at the foe.” [6] This chariot display must have struck terror in the hearts of the Ninevites.

“Nineveh summons her picked troops, yet they stumble on their way. They dash to the city wall; the protective shield is put in place” (2:5). Bible scholar and broadcaster, Warren Wiersbe, says, “He gathers his best officers and gives them orders to protect the wall, but they are so late. They stumble like drunks instead of marching like heroes.” [7] The word for “protective shield” is mantelet. Bible scholars have never been sure what this word is describing. Pfeiffer & Harrison say, “It was some form of movable protection, under cover of which the defenders could make ready their counterthrust.” [8]

The Battle And The River

The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses. Nahum 2:6

We do not know exactly how or why the river gates were thrown open. Jamieson says, “The river wall on the Tigris (the west defense of Nineveh) was 4,530 yards long. On the north, south, and east sides, there were large moats, capable of being easily filled with water from the Khosru.” [9]

Clarke fills us in on some of the history or legend. “The account given by Diodorus Siculus, lib. ii., is very surprising. He begins thus … ‘There was a prophecy received from their forefathers, that Nineveh should not be taken till the river first became an enemy to the city. …that the Euphrates [query, Tigris] being swollen with continued rains, overflowed part of the city, and threw down twenty stadia of the wall.” [10] When we remember that the great city was built with sun-dried blocks, we can understand how they might simply have dissolved with the flooding. So apparently, a large section of the wall collapsed along with the palace.

Boice gives us more information. “At this point, the king, Sardanapalus, remembering an oracle to the effect that Nineveh would only fall when the river itself declared war against it, believed that the oracle was fulfilled and abandoned any hope of saving himself. He built a gigantic funeral pyre in the royal precincts, heaped up large quantities of gold and costly clothes, shut his concubines and eunuchs in a chamber he had made in the midst of the pyre, and then burned himself, his family, his concubines and eunuchs, and the palace.” [11] Boice continues, “The agreement between Nahum’s prophecy and the details of Nineveh’s fall are so great that some unbelieving commentators have declared it a vaticinium ex eventu ( a “prophecy” made after the event).” [12]

“It is decreed that Nineveh be exiled and carried away. Her female slaves moan like doves and beat on their breasts” (2:7). What a sad and tragic picture of conquest and exile. Yet, Assyrian armies had done the same thing to helpless people throughout their history. In the Hebrew, this sentence begins with the mysterious name Huzzab. Scholars have thought that this might be the queen of Nineveh with her female attendants. Others have suggested that it was Ishtar, the main Assyrian goddess with all her “holy” prostitutes. The puzzling thing is that “No queen of Nineveh is known by the name, nor an Assyrian goddess.” [13] Utley does comment: “…Assyrian records show they paraded conquered Queens naked through the streets of their capital.” [14] The sound of pigeons and doves was taken as the sound of grief and mourning.

“Nineveh is like a pool whose water is draining away. ‘Stop! Stop!’ they cry, but no one turns back” (2:8). Everywhere there was the picture of water since water actually brought about the downfall of the great city. Apparently, there were attempts to rally the troops, all in vain. All were fleeing for their lives. Feinberg says, “Flight is uppermost in every mind; commands fall on deaf ears.” [15]

“Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! The supply is endless, the wealth from all its treasures! She is pillaged, plundered, stripped! Hearts melt, knees give way, bodies tremble, every face grows pale” (2:9-10 ). Coffman says, “Looting is the same in all ages and countries. The looting of Assyria is taking place in this verse; and no people who ever lived on earth knew any more about looting than the Assyrians; but now it was their turn to be the looted!” [16]

Nineveh had become “filthy rich.” Not only had she looted numerous kingdoms but she had collected great amounts of tribute from her many subject states. Now all that wealth would be carried away. Boice says, “The royal reports of Nineveh speak again and again of its immeasurable wealth…It is an impressive confirmation of this prophecy that nothing of all this gold and silver has been discovered in the ruins of Nineveh by archaeologists. Nineveh was indeed stripped bare.” [17]

We can hardly imagine the horror felt by the residents. Their faces were all pale, with their knees knocking and hearts melting.

“Where now is the lions’ den, the place where they fed their young, where the lion and lioness went, and the cubs, with nothing to fear? The lion killed enough for his cubs and strangled the prey for his mate, filling his lairs with the kill and his dens with the prey” (2:11-12). The lion was one important emblem of the Assyrian Empire. They crushed many empires like a lion would crush its prey. [18]

Coffman comments: “Due to the remains of animals killed for prey, with leftovers decaying as new prey is brought in, a lion’s den is positively the foulest and most detestable place on earth, an apt figure indeed of the Assyrian capital…” [19] Such was the Assyrian Empire.

When God Is Against A Nation

“I am against you,” declares the LORD Almighty. “I will burn up your chariots in smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will leave you no prey on the earth. The voices of your messengers will no longer be heard.” Nahum 2:13

Biblical author and pastor David Guzik says, “Behold, I am against you: What a terrible thing to hear from God!” [20] We know from Romans 8:31, “… If God is for us, who can be against us?” However, the reverse is also the case: “If God is against us, who can be for us?” Fraser says, “Of all the empires, Nineveh was the one most unashamedly founded upon force and cruelty.” [21] God could not let such a wicked kingdom continue on earth.

Just as there are evil kingdoms even today, there is also a righteous kingdom, and that, of course, is the Kingdom of God. That kingdom is coming, and by faith in Jesus we can all be members of this kingdom. It is hard to imagine, but the whole earth then will be full of the knowledge and glory of the Lord as waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14).

Footnotes

1. Quoted in Coffman, Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible, Commentary on Nahum, v. 2:1ff.

2. Boice, The Minor Prophets, Vol. 2, p. 376.

3. Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 192.

4. Charles F. Pfeiffer & Everett F. Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979), p. 866.

5. Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Nahum, v. 2:3.

6. Pett, Pett’s Commentary on the Bible, Commentary on Nahum, v. 2:4.

7. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT, p. 1465.

8. Pfeiffer & Everett F. Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 866.

9. Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Commentary on Nahum, v. 2:6.

10. Quoted in Clarke, The Adam Clarke Commentary, Commentary on Nahum, v. 2:6.

11. Boice, The Minor Prophets, Vol. 2, pp. 376-377.

12. Ibid., p. 378.

13. Pfeiffer & Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 867.

14. Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Nahum, v. 2:7.

15. Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 195.

16. Coffman, Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible, Commentary on Nahum, v. 2:9.

17. Boice, The Minor Prophets, Vol. 2, p. 377.

18. David Guzik, Enduring Word Bible Commentary, Nahum, vs. 2:8-12.

19. Coffman, Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible, Commentary on Nahum, v. 2:12.

20. Guzik, Enduring Word Bible Commentary, Nahum, v. 2:13.

21. Quoted in Coffman, Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible, Commentary on Nahum, v. 2:1f