Nahum

Ancient World Empires

• Prophets of the Assyrian Period Jonah Joel Amos Hosea Isaiah Micah Zephaniah Nahum

• Prophets of the Babylonian Period Jeremiah Habakkuk Ezekiel Obadiah Daniel

• Prophets of the Persian Period Haggai Zechariah Malachi

The Kingdom Divided (I Kings 12, 2 Chronicles 10) around 1000 B. C. . . .

. . . and stayed that way for over 200 years for Israel and over 300 years for Judah.

Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire“The Assyrian empire became extremely great and powerful with NINEVEH as its

center, all the way until its final destruction by the Chaldeans and the Medes. Nineveh was located in a very desirable place, east of the Tigris River in a very fertile plain. Today the ancient ruins are located just opposite of the present day city of Mosul. NINEVEH was also famous in the ancient world because it was a center for the worship of Ishtar (Astarte) the fertility goddess. The size of NINEVEH is revealed in the Bible, in Jonah 3:3 and 4:11 (A 3 days journey in breadth with over 120,000 people). The classical writers describe NINEVEH as being over 60 miles wide. The city of Nineveh is described in Genesis 10:11 as having been founded by Nimrod, the hunter who built the tower of Babel and led the world into a rebellion against God. The Old Testament also mentions NINEVEH in relation to the prophet Jonah who preached judgment against NINEVEH, and afterward the city repented. The prophet Nahum predicted NINEVEH\'s destruction which came in 612 BC, and the famous city was never rebuilt. In the New Testament Jesus commended the inhabitants of NINEVEH for repenting at the preaching of Jonah, while condemning the Jewish leaders for resisting His own message.” (http://www.bible-history.com/biblestudy/nineveh.html)

Assyrian KingsAssur-nasipal II (885-860 B.C.) A cruel warrior king, he made Assyria into the most fierce fighting machine of ancient world.Shalmaneser II (860-825 B.C.) he was the first Assyrian king to come into conflict with Israel. King Ahab fought against him, and king Jehu paid him tribute.Shansi-adad (825-808 B.C.) Assyria in declineAdad-nirari (808-783 B.C.) Assyria in declineShalmaneser III (783-771 B.C.) Assyria in declineAssur-dayan (771-753 B.C.) Assyria in declineAssur-lush (753-747 B.C.) Assyria in declineTiglath-pileser III (Pul) (747-727 B.C.) He carried the Northern Kingdom of Israel into captivity.Shalmaneser IV (727-722 B.C.) He besieged Samaria and died during the siege.Sargon II (722-705 B.C.) He completed the destruction of Samaria and the captivity of Israel.Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.) He was the most famous of the Assyrian kings, he mentions the name of Hezekiah on his prism. His army was defeated at the gates of Jerusalem by the Angel of the Lord. He also conquered Babylon.Esar-haddon (681-668 B.C.) He rebuilt Babylon and conquered Egypt. He was one of Assyria's greatest kings.Assur-banipal (668-626 B.C.) He destroyed the Thebes in Egypt and collected a great library, innumerable clay tablets were found.Assur-etil-ilani (626-607 B.C.) It was under his reign that the Assyrian Empire fell.

Jonah prophesied in the early days of the developing empire.

By the time of Micah

(745-725), Assyria was

moving in on the Northern

Kingdom (Israel).

Assyria at the Turn of the 7th Century

By the time of Nahum (660-630), Assyria had reached its height.

Specific Advice for Reading Nahum• The book of Nahum is a carefully crafted, brilliantly executed piece of

poetry in which a whole variety of prophetic forms—hymn, salvation, doom, taunt, dirge—are carefully interwoven so as to effect what is basically a “woe oracle” over Nineveh (Assyria), along with a salvation oracle to Judah. Part of Nahum’s mastery is his immediate introduction of Yahweh (1:2–6), followed by the interweaving of oracles against Nineveh and to Judah, without mentioning Judah until 1:15 and Nineveh until 2:8 (the NIV supplies the names earlier to help the reader through the alternating pattern in the first oracle; see “A Walk through Nahum”). All of this is expressed in wonderful poetic style with a whole variety of parallelisms (see How to 1, p. 198–99) and evocative imagery. An alertness to these various structural and metaphorical matters will enhance your reading of this book.

Specific Advice for Reading Nahum• For the biblical/historical background to Nahum you may want to read 2

Kings 17–23 and 2 Chronicles 33–34. Three things about this background are essential for understanding Nahum: First, he is prophesying while Assyria is still at the height of her powers (Nah 1:12), having earlier established her presence in Egypt by conquering Thebes (3:8; ca. 663 B.C.). Second, Assyria was well known among the ancients—indeed, the records of her own kings verify it—as the most cruel of conquerors; her treacheries were legendary and barbaric, including the total destruction of peoples that were conquered (as with Israel, for example, who all but lost her identity when the people were resettled in Assyria and the land itself was resettled with pagans; see 2 Kgs 17:3–6, 24–41). Third, during the whole period in which Nahum could have prophesied, the kings of Judah (Manasseh and Josiah) were vassals of Assyria. All of this means that Nahum’s prophesying was politically incorrect in every way—except from Yahweh’s point of view.

Specific Advice for Reading Nahum• Another important matter: Nahum (like Obadiah) is primarily directed against

a foreign nation. As it always is in the Hebrew prophets, the theology that lies behind this is Yahweh’s sovereignty over the entire universe, including all the nations as well as Judah, plus his covenant with Abraham in which he promised that “whoever curses you I will curse” (Gen 12:3). Judah’s servitude to Assyria—plus her present political insignificance (except for Assyria’s need for access to Egypt)—is to be understood in the light of God’s omnipotence and justice. Be alert also for the reasons for Yahweh’s judgments against Assyria: Besides her idolatries (Nah 1:14), her most pronounced sin is cruelty and injustice; she has enslaved nations (3:4), her cruelty is endless (3:19), and her merchants have stripped the lands clean (3:16). Against these evils, God’s own goodness and compassion (1:7) stand as polar opposites.

• Fee, G. D., & Stuart, D. K. (2002). How to read the Bible book by book: a guided tour (pp. 241–242). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

A Walk Through Nahum

1:1–8Triumph of the Divine Warrior

Note how the opening psalm is not case-specific, but introduces Yahweh as triumphant in the holy war, who as the all-powerful Ruler of the cosmos (vv. 4–5) takes vengeance on his enemies (vv. 2, 6, 8)—while at the same time he is the God who is slow to anger, good, and compassionate (vv. 3, 7; echoing Exod 34:4–6).

– Fee, G. D., & Stuart, D. K. (2002). How to read the Bible book by book: a guided tour (p. 242). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

A Walk Through Nahum

1:9–2:2Nineveh’s Ruin and Judah’s Salvation

The NIV helps you see the alternation between comfort to Judah (1:12–13, 15; 2:2) and judgment of Nineveh (1:9–11, 14; 2:1) by adding their names at the appropriate places. After reading them in their canonical order, you might also try reading each set together to get the sense of crescendo in each case. Observe that the last in the series (2:1–2) also serves to set in motion the vision that follows.

– Fee, G. D., & Stuart, D. K. (2002). How to read the Bible book by book: a guided tour (p. 242). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

A Walk Through Nahum

2:3–13Vision and Taunt over Nineveh’s Fall

Note how Nahum now picks up “the attacker” from 2:1, describing in striking images the nature of Assyria’s overthrow at the hands of Babylon (vv. 3–4, 9–10), while Nineveh’s own mustering of troops will be of no avail (vv. 5–8). In light of that vision, Nahum then taunts Assyria as a lion (Assyria’s national symbol) without a den (vv. 11–12), concluding with a word from Yahweh that summarizes both the vision and the taunt (v. 13).

– Fee, G. D., & Stuart, D. K. (2002). How to read the Bible book by book: a guided tour (p. 242). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

A Walk Through Nahum

3:1–7A Pronouncement of Woe and Taunt over Nineveh

Listen to the powerful imagery in the short lines of the pronouncement of doom (vv. 1–3), again with Babylonian troops in view, while the reason for doom (v. 4) uses the imagery of an alluring harlot as the means of enslaving the nations. Note also how this taunt (vv. 5–7) begins the way 2:11–13 ends: “ ‘I am against you,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”

– Fee, G. D., & Stuart, D. K. (2002). How to read the Bible book by book: a guided tour (p. 242). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

A Walk Through Nahum

3:8–19Concluding Taunts and Dirge over Assyria’s Fall

After a satirical taunt over Nineveh (vv. 8–11; in light of her destruction of Thebes in Egypt), Nahum presents a series of insults (vv. 12–17) and concludes with a satirical dirge (vv. 18–19) that ends with a question. The only other prophetic book to end this way is Jonah, also regarding Nineveh, whose question stands in instructive contrast to this one.

– Fee, G. D., & Stuart, D. K. (2002). How to read the Bible book by book: a guided tour (p. 243). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Outline of Nahum

I. A psalm of God’s majesty, 1:1–2:2 A. God’s vengeance upon sinners and His goodness toward His own people, 1:2–11 B. The coming restoration of Judah, 1:12–2:2II. Prophecy of the fall of Nineveh, 2:3–3:19 A. The siege and destruction of the city, 2:3–13 B. Reason for Nineveh’s fall, 3:1–19

• Archer, G., Jr. (1994). A survey of Old Testament introduction (3rd. ed., p. 391). Chicago: Moody Press.