The Strand Study Bible

NAHUM

Author : Nahum Theme : The Fall of Nineveh (Assyria) Book’s Main Characters : The Nation of Assyria

About the Author : Nahum, whose name means “comfort,” was a Judean prophet, who prophesied against the nation of Assyria, sometime between 663 - 625 BC (Nah 3:8-12). Nahum lived in Elkosh (an unidentified city near Capernaum, in Galilee) and began his writing ministry sometime during King Josiah’s reign. Nahum was therefore a contemporary of Zephaniah and Jeremiah, in Jerusalem. Nahum prophesized his sentence of destruction against Nineveh approximately 628 BC (c. 12 years after King Josiah had taken office in 640 BC). About the Book : The prophet’s name gives us an indication as to the purpose of the book. Nahum’s calling was to give comfort to Judah, following the destruction of Israel. Nahum did this by announcing Jehovah’s coming judgment upon Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. Nahum’s prophesy took place approximately 152 years after Jonah had delivered his message to that same nation c. 780 BC. Around 16 years after Nahum’s prophecy, Assyria fell to Babylon (612 BC). Helpful Background : After the fall of Israel to Assyria in 721 BC, the southern two tribes, called Judah, were all that remained in the land (II Ki 17:5-6 & 18:10-11). Within 80 short years after Israel’s fall, Judah had become dangerously backslidden and, like Israel, was ready to be judged. Hoping to reverse the seemingly inevitable chastisement and to help young King Josiah with the kingdom, God in his mercy raised up three prophets: Nahum , Zephaniah , and Jeremiah . By 621 BC (after just seven years of preaching by these three men), revival broke out and the nation of Judah began to turn around spiritually. However, by the time King Josiah died (in 609 BC), the spiritual movement had ended and God had to destroy Judah and Jerusalem through Nebuchadnezzar (king of Babylon) from 605-585 BC. Notes of Interest : 1. Nahum is not quoted in the NT 2. Prophecies are referred to 32 times in Nahum . 3. There are 2 inset maps used in the book of Nahum . They are numbered chronologically (#243-244). Outline of Nahum : 1. The Utter Destruction of Nineveh (Nah 1-3) Nahum 1 God’s anger toward Nineveh (Note - Nahum’s prophecy took place around 5 The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.

1. that is, “God embodies a burning zeal for righteous- ness and justice” Exo 20:5 & 34:14 & Deut 4:24 2. Exo 34:7 3. or, “Red Sea” - Exo 14:21 & Josh 2:10 (See - Mt 8:26) 4. or, “Jordan River” – Josh 3:14-17 5. Fulfilled - 612 BC (Fall of Assyria)

the 12th year of King Josiah’s reign) Date Written - c. 628 BC/AM 3372 1 The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. 2 God is 1 jealous, and the LORD reven- geth; the LORD revengeth, and is furi- ous; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. 3 The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, 2 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. 4 He rebuketh the 3 sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the 4 rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.

6 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. 7 The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. The promise of Assyria’s fall to Babylon (Fulfilled - 612 BC) 8 5 But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies. P 9 What do ye imagine against the LORD? 5 he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time. P

10 For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as 1:1a A “ burden ” was a prophecy full of weighty judgment (like a mill-stone hanged about one’s neck). God was about to hang Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire, with a “Babylonian noose” (Zeph 2:13-15). 1:1b The phrase ( the vision of Nahum ) means that Nahum is speaking for the LORD here. This is why the “words” of the LORD OF HOSTS are not in blue within the book of Nahum. 1:3 God is slow to anger. Unlike us, God does not have a quick temper making Him eager to execute judgment (II Pet 3:8-9). 1:9 God’s judgment upon Nineveh would be so complete that He would not need to do it a second time. Secular historians tell us that Nineveh’s judgment by the hands of the Babylonians was so severe that the world lost track of her existence for the next 2,400 years, that is, until archaeologists dug up her remains in the mid 1800’s. 1410