NAHUM
34 Nahum
Assyria
(Northern Kingdom already in Assyrian exile)
Little is known about Nahum
He came from the town of Elkosh (whose location we can’t
identify with certainty)
Capernaum (Kaphar-Nahum): “Village of Nahum”
His name means “comfort” or “compassion,”
His message of Assyria’s doom would certainly have
comforted the people of Judah, who had suffered
because of Assyria.
Slide 2
Nahum – The man…
Slide 3
Nahum - His Time
Nahum lived a century after Jonah
Nahum mentions the capture of the Egyptian city of Thebes,
which occurred in 663 BC, and
He predicted the fall of Nineveh, which took place in 612 BC;
These dates place him in Judah during the reigns of
Manasseh (695–642) and Josiah (640–609).
His contemporaries would have been Jeremiah,
Zephaniah, and Habakkuk.
This book was written in Jerusalem (soon after 709 b.c.) where
Nahum witnessed the invasion of Sennacherib and the
destruction of his host (2 Kgs 19:35).
It is believed to have been written between 663 – 612 (cf.
3:8).
Est. Year BC
From / To
848 / 841
835 / 835
Period
Pre-Exile
Pre-Exile
Address
Edom
Judah
Jonah
Amos
Hosea
782 / 753
760 / 753
755 / 715
Pre-Exile
Pre-Exile
Pre-Exile
Assyria
Israel
Israel
lsaiah
740 / 680
Pre-Exile
Judah
Micah
735 / 700
Pre-Exile Judah, Israel in Exile
Judah
Nahum
Zephaniah
Jeremiah
Habakkuk
664 / 654
632 / 628
627 / 580
609 / 605
Pre-Exile Judah, Israel in Exile
Pre-Exile Judah, Israel in Exile
Pre-Exile Judah, Israel in Exile
Pre-Exile Judah, Israel in Exile
Daniel
Ezekiel
605 / 535
593 / 571
Judah also In Exile
Judah also In Exile
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
520 / 520
520 / 480
432 / 424
Post-Exile
Post-Exile
Post-Exile
Prophet
Obadiah
Joel
Assyria
Judah
Judah
Judah
Judah
Judah
Returned Jew
Returned Jew
Returned Jew
Chronological Summary
• 903 B.C. Rise of Nineveh
• 759 B.C. The warning of Jonah
• 722 B.C. Destruction of Northern Kingdom
• 709 B.C. The Invasion of Sennacherib
• 663 B.C. The Prophecy of Nahum
• 625 B.C. The Destruction of Assyria
Slide 5
Nahum
Slide 6
Nahum – The message
Nahum, as God’s prophet, announced the fall of Nineveh,
capital city of the Assyrian Empire, the world’s greatest city.
Jonah had announced Nineveh’s doom over a century before,
but God had relented because the people had repented.
The Lord was longsuffering to spare the city that long, since
the Assyrians had returned to their evil ways.
But, “YHWH will not acquit the wicked”
Demonstrates for all peoples, for all time, the
governmental method of God with the Gentile nations
God will forgive sin repented of;
He will not condone sin persisted in
Nahum’s message was directed especially to the Assyrians, but
he was careful to encourage the people of Judah as well.
Slide 7
Nahum - OUTLINE
Key verses: Nahum 1:2, 7
I. GOD IS JEALOUS: NINEVEH WILL FALL (1:1–15)
A. God declares His anger — 1:1–8
B. God speaks to Nineveh — 1:9–11, 14
C. God encourages Judah — 1:12–13, 15
II. GOD IS JUDGE: HOW NINEVEH WILL FALL (2:1–13)
A. The invaders appear and advance — 2:1–4
B. The city is captured — 2:5–10
C. The conquerors taunt their captives — 2:11–13
III. GOD IS JUST: WHY NINEVEH WILL FALL
A. Her ruthless bloodshed — 3:1–3
B. Her idolatry — 3:4–7
C. Her pride and self-confidence — 3:8–19
(3:1–19)
There is a point of no return,
For nations… For individuals…
A message of the justice of God.
Nineveh’s Doom
• Declared
• Described
• Deserved
The decisive test of prediction is fulfillment
– Did it happen as it was declared and described?
Slide 8
The Book of Nahum
Slide 9
Nineveh
• 1st Mention (Gen 10:11-12).
• Hammurabi (1792-1750 b.c.) Referred to Nineveh.
• Shalmaneser III (859-824 b.c.) made the city of Nineveh a base
for military operations.
During his reign Israel came into contact with Nineveh.
He wrote that he fought a coalition of kings of Aram
and others including ”Ahab the Israelite“ (in 853 b.c.).
Later he wrote that he received tribute from ”Jehu, son
of Omri,“ who is pictured in the Black Obelisk of
Shalmaneser.
(Neither of these events is mentioned in the Bible. )
• Ashur-dan III (772-754 b.c.) Jonah preached to the Ninevites.
Slide
10
Nineveh
• Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727 b.c.) Azariah, king of Judah (790- 739
b.c.), paid tribute to Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727 b.c. ).
Menahem, king of Israel (752-742 b.c.), did the same
(2 Kgs 15:14-23).
In 731 b.c. Ahaz, king of Judah (732-715 b.c.), became a
vassal of Tiglath-Pileser III, and Assyria invaded Damascus in
the Syro- Ephraimite war.
• Shalmaneser V (727-722 b.c.) besieged Samaria and defeated it in
722 b.c., thus defeating the Northern Kingdom
(2 Kgs 17:3-6; 18:9-10).
• Sennacherib (705-681 b.c.) 21 years later (in 701 b.c.), Sennacherib
(705-681 b.c.) invaded Judah and destroyed 46 Judean towns and
cities.
After encircling Jerusalem, 185,000 of Sennacherib’s soldiers
were killed overnight and Sennacherib returned to Nineveh
(2 Kgs 18:17-18; 19:32-36; Isa 37:36
Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria,
He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor
come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. By the
way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not
come into this city, saith the LORD. For I will defend this city, to
save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.
And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD
went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred
fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the
morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib
king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at
Nineveh. 2 Kgs 19:32-36
Slide
11
Nineveh
• Esarhaddon (681-669 b.c.) regarded Judah as a vassal kingdom,
He wrote in a building inscription,
“I summoned the kings of the Hittite land [Aram] and
[those] across the sea, Ba’lu, king of Tyre, Manasseh,
king of Judah . . . “ (Daniel David Luckenbill, Ancient
Records of Assyria and Babylonia. 2 vols. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1926-7, 2:265).
• Ashurbanipal (669-612 b.c.) In 669 b.c. Ashurbanipal succeeded
his father Esarhaddon as king of Assyria.
He may have been the king who released Manasseh king of
Judah (2 Chr 33:10-13).
Ashurbanipal defeated Thebes in Egypt in 663 and brought
treasures to Nineveh from Thebes, Babylon, and Susa.
He established an extensive library at Nineveh.
• The city of Nineveh fell to the Babylonians, Medes, and Scythians
in August 612 b.c.
Slide
12
Nineveh
Nineveh was a city of vast extent, and was then the center of
the civilization and commerce of the world,
It had become a “bloody city all full of lies and robbery”
(Nahum 3:1)
It had robbed and plundered all the neighboring nations.
It was strongly fortified on every side, defying and taunting
every enemy;
Yet, it was to be utterly destroyed as a punishment for the
great wickedness of its inhabitants.
An event by God’s hand that would change the face of
Asia.
Slide
13
Nineveh
Nineveh is no more…
In the seventh century BC, the very mention of Nineveh
brought fear to people’s hearts,
Today, Nineveh is mentioned primarily by Bible students,
archeologists, and people interested in ancient history.
Sic transit gloria! Thus fades glory…
Nahum makes it clear that God is the Judge of the nations,
that “[p]ride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18 nkjv).
Slide 14
Nahum
1] The burden of Nineveh.
The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite
“Nahum” = “consolation” or “comfort,” appropriate for his
ministry to Judah.
“Elkoshite”: His hometown was Elkosh, but is unknown.
Jerome said it was in Galilee;
some say, Capernaum [“village of Nahum”?]
“...Jealous”: “exacting exclusive devotion.” (Websters)
Ex 20:3-6 (avengeth, not “revengeth.”)
Slide
15
Nah 1:1
The Burden
Slide 16
Nah 1:1
1] The burden of Nineveh.
The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
Nahum characterizes his inspired message as both a “burden”
and a “vision,” something he felt and something he saw.
“burden” simply means “to lift up”; something you pick up
and carry
It was often used to describe prophetic messages that
announced judgment.
Isaiah used the word ten times in his prophecy as he
wrote about “the burden of Babylon” (Isa. 13:1), “the
burden of Moab” (Isa. 15:1), etc.
The Vision
Slide 17
Nah 1:1
1] The burden of Nineveh.
The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
These burdens came as a result of the visions God gave His
prophets (“seers”) of dreadful events determined for the nations.
It wasn’t easy to be a prophet and see what lay in the future,
and they felt the burden of their messages.
Nineveh isn’t mentioned by name until Nahum 2:8, but its
destruction is the theme of the book.
God is jealous
Slide 18
Nah 1:2
2] God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD
revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on
his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.
Jealousy is a sin if it means being envious of what others have
and wanting to possess it,
but it’s a virtue if it means cherishing what we have and
wanting to protect it.
A faithful husband and wife are jealous over one another and do
everything they can to keep their relationship exclusive.
“Jealous” and “zealous” come from the same root, for when
you’re jealous over someone, you’re zealous to protect the
relationship.
God is jealous
Slide 19
Nah 1:2
2] God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD
revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on
his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.
Since God made everything and owns everything, He is envious
of no one, but since He is the only true God, He is jealous over
His glory, His name, and the worship and honor that are due to
Him alone.
In the second commandment, God prohibited the worship of
idols and backed up the prohibition with this reason:
“for I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God” (Ex. 20:5).
God is jealous
Slide 20
Nah 1:2
2] God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth,
and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries,
and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.
Hosea described Israel as being married to the Lord in a covenant
relationship.
Any breach of that covenant aroused His jealous love.
He will not share His people with false gods any more than a
husband would share his wife with his neighbor.
“For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is
Jealous, is a jealous God” (Ex 34:14 nkjv).
“For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” (Deut.
4:24; 6:15; 32:16, 21; 1 Kings 14:22).
Nineveh was a city given over to iniquity, especially idolatry and cruelty.
God’s jealous love burned against their pride and willful breaking of
His law.
Slide 21
Nah 1:2 the LORD will take vengeance
2] God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth,
and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries,
and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.
vengeance is usually presented as a sin.
Jesus and Paul warned about it (Matt. 5:38–48; Rom. 12:17–21).
But a just and holy God cannot see people flouting His law and do
nothing about it.
“It is mine to avenge; I will repay. … I will take vengeance on my
adversaries and repay those who hate me” (De 32:35, 41).
God’s people prayed to God to avenge them when other nations
attacked them.
“O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongs — O God, to whom
vengeance belongs, shine forth!” (Ps. 94:1).
When God takes vengeance by judging people, it’s because He is a
holy God and is jealous (zealous) for His holy law.
Slide 22
Nah 1:2 He reserves wrath for his enemies
2] God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD
revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on
his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.
God’s anger isn’t like human anger, which can be selfish and
out of control.
His is a holy anger, a righteous indignation against all that
defies His authority and disobeys His law.
God’s people ought to exercise a holy anger against sin (Eph.
4:26)
If we can stand by and do nothing
while innocent, helpless people
are mistreated and exploited,
then something is wrong with us.
Slide 23
Nah 1:3 God is slow to anger
3] The 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.
God was “furious” / “filled with wrath” niv);
In v6, Nahum described God’s “indignation” as so fierce and
powerful that it is “poured out like fire” with the power to
“shatter” the rocks (niv).
However, v3 assures us that God’s wrath isn’t a fit of rage or
a temper tantrum; for “the Lord is slow to anger”
(see Jonah 4:2; Ex. 34:6; Num. 14:18).
Slide 24
Nah 1:3 God is slow to anger
3] The 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.
The character of God: jealousy, vengeance, and anger.
The God that Nahum introduces to us is a jealous God who is angry
at sin (Nah. 1:2),
but He is also a good God who cares for His people (v.7).
Nahum invites us (as Paul put it) to “consider the goodness and
severity of God” (Rom. 11:22 nkjv).
“God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16), but He is also light (1:5), and His
love is a holy love.
He is a refuge for those who trust Him, but He is an “overwhelming
flood” to those who are His enemies.
God is great in power
Slide 25
Nah 1:3
3] The 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.
God is so powerful that if His anger were not a holy anger and if He
were not “slow to anger,”
He could easily destroy everything with a word….
He controls the forces of nature.
He opened the Red Sea for the people of Israel to march
through,
He can turn off the rain and make the most fruitful areas of the
land languish (v. 4).2
At Sinai, He made the mountain shake (Ex. 19:18),
He can cause the people of the world to tremble (Hb 12:18–21)
Slide 26
Nah 1:3
God will not acquit the wicked
3] The 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.
God does not, cannot, ignore sin and evil deeds.
Wickedness will bring His wrath.
Num 32:23 …. and be sure your sin will find you out.
Ge 44:16; Ps 90:8, 139:11, 140:11; Pr 13:21; Is 3:11; 59:1-2, 12; Ro 2:9; 1Co 4:5
1Co 5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is
called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or
an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
1Co 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not
deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers
of themselves with mankind,
Eph 5:5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous
man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and
whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the
lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
3] The 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.
4] He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up
all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the
flower of Lebanon languisheth.
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.
God is the moral ruler of the universe;
He is a righteous judge.
Penalties must be paid…
Slide
27
Nah 1:3-5
Slide
28
Nah 1:6-11
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.
8] But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end
of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his
enemies.
9] What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an
utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.
10] For while they be folden together as thorns, and while
they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as
stubble fully dry.
11] There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil
against the LORD, a wicked counsellor.
God speaks to Nineveh
9] What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an
utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.
God informs the leaders of Assyria that He knows their plots
(vv. 9, 11) and will cause all of their plans to fail.
When the proud nations plot against God, He laughs at
them and turns their schemes into confusion
Ps. 2:1–4
1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a
vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and
the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and
against his anointed, saying, 3 Let us break their bands
asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 4 He that
sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have
them in derision.
Slide 29
Nah 1:9
10] For while they be folden together as thorns, and while
they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured
as stubble fully dry.
11] There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil
against the LORD, a wicked counsellor.
The Assyrians had plotted against Judah in the days of King
Hezekiah, and God thwarted their plans (Isa. 36 — 37), but
the Lord wouldn’t allow this to happen a second time.
Instead of marching out triumphantly, the leaders would be
like drunks entangled in thorn bushes, and stubble burned
in a prairie fire
Slide 30
Nah 1:10 God speaks to Nineveh
11] There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil
against the LORD, a wicked counsellor.
“...a wicked counsellor”: Heb. “a counsellor of Belial.”
Senecherib’s invasion: (3X) 2Kgs 18-29; 2Chr 32, Isa 36-37.
The plotter mentioned in v11 is the king of Assyria.
Slide 31
Nah 1:11 God speaks to Nineveh
God speaks to Judah
12] Thus saith the LORD; Though they be 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.
13] For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will
burst thy bonds in sunder.
Although the Assyrian army outnumbered the army of Judah,
and Assyria had more allies to help them fight,
that didn’t mean Assyria was bound to win,
for God was fighting on behalf of Judah.
Rom 8:28-39
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be
for us, who can be against us?
Slide 32
Nah 1:12–13
12] Thus saith the LORD; Though they be 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.
“...quiet and likewise many...”: Long forgotten Assyrian legal
formula, discovered on Assyrian legal tablets:
“Even though your entire nation joins as one person to
resist me, nevertheless I shall overcome you.”
[New Scofield Reference Bible, pp.950-951.]
Slide
33
Nah 1:12 quiet and likewise many
God speaks to Judah
13] For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will
burst thy bonds in sunder.
The Lord had used Assyria to chasten Judah in the past, but
that would not happen again.3
This time, God would break the yoke and remove the
shackles that Assyria had put on Judah, and Assyria would
attack them no more.
Slide 34
Nah 1:13
12 Thus saith the LORD; Though they be 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. 13 For now will I break his yoke from
off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder.
The coming judgment on Nineveh (in return for her terrible
atrocities on various nations including Israel, the Northern
Kingdom, in 722 b.c.) would bring great comfort to the afflicted
Judah (1:12).
Judah had felt the threat of the Assyrian Empire breathing
down her neck.
Assyria had defeated much of Judah and had even
surrounded Jerusalem in 701 b.c.
During much of Manasseh’s reign Judah had to pay tribute
to Assyria.
Slide 35
Nah 1:12-13 The Comfort to Judah
Slide 36
Nah 1:14 God speaks to Nineveh
14] And the LORD hath given a commandment concerning
thee, that no more of thy name be 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.
God addresses the king of Assyria in v14, making three
declarations:
(1) his dynasty will end, because he will have no descendants;
(2) the help of his gods and goddesses will end, because they
will be destroyed; and
(3) his life will end, because God will prepare his grave.
What a solemn message for a man who was sure his plans would
succeed!
Why would God do all these things?
The answer is plain: “You are vile!”
15] Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that
bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah,
keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the
wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly
cut off.
“...feet of him…”: cf: Isa 52:7; Rom 10:13-15
Eph 6:15 ….And your feet shod with the preparation of
the gospel of peace; ….
In ancient days, news was carried by couriers – runners.
Watchmen on the walls scanned the horizon hoping that
messengers would bring good news.
Slide
37
Nah 1:15 feet of him
15] Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that
bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah,
keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the
wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly
cut off.
You find this same statement in Isa 52:7, where the
messenger announced the defeat of Babylon,
Paul quoted the verse in Rom 10:15 and applied it to the
proclamation of the gospel to lost sinners
“...feet of him…”: In this case the courier would announce
that Nineveh was fallen and the Assyrian army defeated and
in disarray.4
Judah could now live in peace and enjoy her annual feasts
and regular religious festivals.
Slide
38
Nah 1:15 feet of him
15] Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that
bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah,
keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the
wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly
cut off.
We don’t usually think of feet as being beautiful, but they
certainly are beautiful when they enable a messenger to carry
good news that God has defeated our enemies.
To Judah, it meant that Assyria was completely destroyed
and could never again invade her land.
To us who trust Christ, it means that He has completely
defeated sin, death, and Satan, and that we are now free
to enjoy the blessings of salvation.
Slide
39
Nah 1:15 feet of him
(For the diligent student.)
1) Construct a rough timeline which includes
a) the rise of Nineveh,
b) the warning of Jonah,
c) the destruction of the Northern Kingdom,
d) the attempted invasion of the Southern Kingdom,
e) the prophecy of Nahum, and
f) the final destruction of Assyria.
2) What were the military and strategic advantages of
Nineveh?
The weaknesses?
3) List 12 prophecies of Nahum that were fulfilled from the
known history of Nineveh.?
Slide
40
Study Questions Nahum 1
(For the diligent student.)
4) Nahum means “comfort.” To whom and how?
5) Why can’t a righteous judge let a guilty person “off the
hook”?
6) Senecherib’s invasion is mentioned 3 times in
Scripture (2 Kgs 18-29; 2 Chr 32, Isa 36-37).
What was the result and how was it achieved?
Slide
41
Study Questions Nahum 1
(“Where two people agree, one is redundant.”)
1) What does it mean that God is “jealous”? (Ex 20:3-6)
2) Should husbands and wives be jealous?
3) Contrast the messages and contexts of Jonah and Nahum.
Slide
42
Discussion Questions
(For the truly dedicated.)
Compile other prophecies of Gentile nations and their
fulfillment in confirmed (archeological and other) history.
Slide
43
Research Projects Nahum 1
In 612 BC, the Medes and the Babylonians united to attack
Nineveh, and the Lord used them to judge the evil city.
Slide 44
Nah 2:1–13 God Is Judge:
How Nineveh Will Fall
Slide
45
Nah 2:1-3 Judgment upon Nineveh
1] He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face:
keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins
strong, fortify thy power mightily.
2] For the LORD hath turned away the excellency of Jacob,
as the excellency of Israel: for the emptiers have
emptied them out, and marred their vine branches.
3] The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant
men are in scarlet: the chariots shall be with flaming
torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees
shall be terribly shaken.
“He...”: or, the disperser, or, hammer.
Cyaxares and Nabopolassar: Medo and Babylonian forces
destroy it in 612 b.c.
Slide 46
Nah 2:1–4 The invaders appear
The guards on the walls of the city see the army advancing and
the officers issue orders and encourage their soldiers.
You can almost hear the sharp commands:
“Guard the fortress, watch the road, brace yourself, marshal
all your strength!” (v. 1 niv).
Above all the noise, the voice of the Lord is heard as He speaks
to Israel and Judah and assures them that they will be restored
and reunited. (v. 2).5
The invading army is formidable with its manpower, armor,
weapons, and chariots (vv. 3–4).
Already their shields are red with blood.
The chariots look like flames of fire as they dash here and
there in the streets of the city, and the soldiers find it easy to
slaughter the defenseless people.
4] The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle
one against another in the broad ways: they shall
seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings.
5] He shall recount his worthies: they shall stumble in
their walk; they shall make haste to the wall thereof,
and the defence shall be prepared.
6] The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace
shall be dissolved.
Slide
47
Nah 2:4-6 Judgment upon Nineveh
5] He shall recount his worthies: they shall stumble in
their walk; they shall make haste to the wall thereof, and
the defence shall be prepared.
“He” in verse 5 refers to the king of Assyria, who had plotted
against the Lord and His people (1:9).
He gathers his best officers and gives them orders to protect
the wall, but they are too late.
They stumble like drunks instead of marching like heroes.
The leaders were sure their fortress was impregnable, but
their defenses proved to be their undoing.
Slide 48
Nah 2:5 The city is captured
6] The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace
shall be dissolved.
The Khoser River flowed through the city, so the invaders
dammed it up and then released the water
The Tigris overflowed, took out a section of the wall as
well as some building and the city became like a pool of
water…
2 ½ miles of wall were along the Tigris.
Slide 49
Nah 2:6 The city is captured
7] And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be
brought up, and her maids shall lead her as with the
voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts.
It was a simple matter for the Medes and Babylonians to enter
the city and take control.
They can’t take credit for the victory;
It was decreed by God that the city be destroyed and
the inhabitants be killed or taken captive.
The invaders were but God’s instruments to
execute His will.
Slide 50
Nah 2:7 The city is captured
8] But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water: yet they shall
flee away. Stand, stand, shall they cry; but none shall
look back.
9] Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold: for
there is none end of the store and glory out of all the
pleasant furniture.
First, the soldiers line up the prisoners to march them off to
their own lands, where they’ll become slaves.
Nahum compares the exodus to water draining out of a
pool.
Then the soldiers begin looting this fabulously wealthy city,
and the people watch with dismay.
Slide
51
Nah 2:8-9 Judgment upon Nineveh
10] She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart
melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is
in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness.
“Hearts melt, knees give way, bodies tremble, every face
grows pale” (v. 10 niv).
Nineveh is being treated the way she treated others; her sins
had found her out.
Slide 52
Nah 2:10 The city is captured
11] Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the
feedingplace of the young lions, where the lion, even
the old lion, walked, and the lion’s whelp, and none
made them afraid?
12] The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and
strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with
prey, and his dens with ravin.
13] Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts,
and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the
sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off
thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy
messengers shall no more be heard.
Slide
53
Nah 2:11-13 Judgment upon Nineveh
Slide 54
Nah 2:11-12 Captive leaders are taunted
11] Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the
feedingplace of the young lions, where the lion, even
the old lion, walked, and the lion’s whelp, and none
made them afraid? 12] The lion did tear in pieces
enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses,
and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin.
As the Assyrian captives are marched away, leaders and
common citizens, and the city’s treasures carried off by their
captors, Nahum taunts the Ninevites by contrasting their
present plight with their former glory.
Slide 55
Nah 2:11-12 Captive leaders are taunted
11] Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the
feedingplace of the young lions, where the lion, even
the old lion, walked, and the lion’s whelp, and none
made them afraid? 12] The lion did tear in pieces
enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses,
and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin.
The image of the lion was often used by the Assyrians in their
art and architecture.
Visit the Assyrian room in any large museum and you will
see huge statues of lions.
Even more, the Assyrians acted like lions as they stalked their
prey and completely devoured their captives.
“Where is the lions’ den now?”
Slide 56
Nah 2:11-12 Captive leaders are taunted
11] Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the
feedingplace of the young lions, where the lion, even
the old lion, walked, and the lion’s whelp, and none
made them afraid? 12] The lion did tear in pieces
enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses,
and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin.
Nahum asks as the city is destroyed.
“Where is all your prey, the treasures you ruthlessly took
from others?”
Lions will normally take to their lair enough food for
themselves and their cubs, but the Assyrians amassed
wealth beyond measure, far more than they needed,
and they did it at the cost of human lives.
Slide 57
Nah 2:13 Captive leaders are taunted
13] Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I
will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall
devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the
earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be
heard.
The Lord announced, “I am against you” (v. 13).
Over a century before, the Lord had sent Jonah to warn Nineveh,
When the city repented, He withdrew His hand of judgment.
But now their time was up and the end had come.
Assyria would be left with no weapons, no leaders, and no
victories to be announced by their messengers.
Instead, Assyria’s enemies would hear the voice of couriers
announcing peace because Assyria had been defeated.
“Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen. 18:25),
God is longsuffering, but there comes a time when His hand
of judgment falls.
“You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the
wicked; you have blotted out their name forever and ever”
(Ps. 9:5 nkjv).
Slide 58
Nahum 3
God Is Just: Why Nineveh Will Fall
Their ruthless bloodshed
Slide 59
Nah 3:1–3
1] Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey
departeth not; 2] The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling
of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping
chariots. 3] The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the
glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great
number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they
stumble upon their corpses:
The Assyrians were clever diplomats who lied to other nations and then
broke their promises and destroyed them.
They slaughtered people without regard for age or sex, and they stacked
up corpses like lumber as warning to anybody who would oppose them.
The shedding of innocent blood is a serious sin that God notes,
remembers, and judges (De 19:11–13; 2Kg 21:16; 24:4; Ps. 106:38; Pr
6:16–17; Is 59:7).
Depraved dictators who authorize the heartless slaying of innocent victims
will someday answer to God for their crimes against Him and humanity.
The Reasons Why
God loved Nineveh: it was His closing comments to Jonah.
But both individuals and nations can cross a line too far…
1] Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery;
the prey departeth not;
2] The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the
wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping
chariots.
3] The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the
glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a
great number of carcases; and there is none end of
their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:
No wonder Nahum called Nineveh “the city of blood” (3:1),
a city noted for its “cruelty”! (3:19).
Slide
60
Nah 3:1-3
• Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 b.c.) boasted,
“I stormed the mountain peaks and took them.
In the midst of the mighty mountain I slaughtered them;
with their blood I dyed the mountain red like wool….
The heads of their warriors I cut off, and I formed them
into a pillar over against their city;
Their young men and their maidens I burned in the fire.”
Regarding one captured leader, he wrote, “I flayed [him], his
skin I spread upon the wall of the city.”
He also wrote of mutilating the bodies of live captives and
stacking their corpses in piles.
— Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria
and Babylonia, 1:148,
Slide
61
Violence & Cruelty
• Shalmaneser II (859-824 b.c.) boasted of his cruelties after
one of his campaigns:
“A pyramid of heads I reared in front of his city.
Their youths and their maidens I burnt up in the flames.”
• Sennacherib (705-681 b.c.) wrote of his enemies,
“I cut their throats like lambs.
I cut off their precious lives [as one cuts] a string.
Like the many waters of a storm I made [the contents of]
their gullets and entrails run down upon the wide earth….
Their hands I cut off.”
Slide
62
Violence & Cruelty
• Ashurbanipal (669-626 b.c.) described his treatment of a
captured leader in these words:
“I pierced his chin with my keen hand dagger.
Through his jaw … I passed a rope, put a dog chain
upon him and made him occupy … a kennel.”
In his campaign against Egypt, Ashurbanipal also boasted
that his officials hung Egyptian corpses “on stakes [and]
stripped off their skins and covered the city wall(s) with
them.”
Slide
63
Violence & Cruelty
Their idolatry
Slide 64
Nah 3:4–7
4] Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured
harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her
whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts. 5] Behold, I am
against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts
upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the
kingdoms thy shame. 6] And I will cast abominable filth upon thee,
and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock. 7] And it
shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from
thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence
shall I seek comforters for thee?
Often in Scripture, idolatry is associated with prostitution,
The chief deity of Nineveh was Ishtar, goddess of sexual passion,
fertility, and war, you can understand why Nahum used this metaphor.
People become like the god that they worship (Ps. 115:8), for what we
believe determines how we behave.
In their spiritual blindness, the Assyrians were ensnared by this evil
goddess and were under the control of lust, greed, and violence.
Their idolatry
Slide 65
Nah 3:4–7
4] Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured
harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her
whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts. 5] Behold, I am
against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will discover thy
skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness,
and the kingdoms thy shame. 6] And I will cast abominable filth
upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock.
7] And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall
flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan
her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?
Assyria spread this evil influence to other nations and enslaved them by
their sorcery. (Check the corrupt end-times religious system Rev. 17.)
In ancient times, prostitutes were often shamed by being publicly
exposed, and this is what God promised to do to Nineveh.
God would expose Assyria’s nakedness before all the nations, and this
would be the end of their evil influence.
The magnificent wealthy city would become a heap of ruins.
8] Art thou better than populous No [Amon], that was
situate among the rivers, that had the waters round
about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was
from the sea?
Nahum speaks of the capture and destruction of No-amon,
the Egyptian Thebes, as an accomplished historical fact.
The expedition of Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria, against
Egypt, which resulted in the fall of Thebes, occurred
about 663 b.c.
Hence, the activity of Nahum must be placed
somewhere between 663 and 607 b.c.
Slide
66
Nah 3:8 The Reasons Why
Slide 67
Nah 3:8–10 Pride and self-confidence
8] Art thou better than populous No [Amon], that was situate
among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose
rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea? 9] Ethiopia
and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim
were thy helpers. 10] Yet was she carried away, she went into
captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top
of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all
her great men were bound in chains.
He begins with a fact of history: the defeat of the Egyptian city of
Thebes, or No-Ammon, by the Assyrians, in 663 (vv. 8–11).
Karnak and Luxor in Upper Egypt, is the site of ancient Thebes.
Thebes had many allies, but they couldn’t protect her.
This capital city of Upper Egypt was sure it was safe from any
invader, yet it went down in defeat before Assyria.
Like Nineveh, Thebes was situated by waters that were supposed to
be their defense, but the city fell just the same.
11] Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou
also shalt seek strength because of the enemy.
What Assyria did to the people of Thebes would in turn be
done to them:
their children would be dashed to pieces,
the leaders would become slaves, and
the people would become exiles.
Nahum argues that if this could happen to Thebes, why
couldn’t it happen to Nineveh?
Their pride and self-confidence would be totally destroyed
as the Medes and Babylonians captured the city.
Nineveh would drink the cup of God’s wrath and become
drunk (see Ps. 75:8; Isa. 51:17; Jer. 25:14ff.).
Slide 68
Nah 3:11 Pride and self-confidence
Slide 69
Nah 3:12-14 Pride and self-confidence
12] All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the first ripe
figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of
the eater.
13] Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates
of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the
fire shall devour thy bars.
14] Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go
into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the brick kiln.
The conquest would be so easy, it would be like ripe figs dropping
into a person’s mouth (Nah. 3:12).
The ferocious Assyrian soldiers would be drained of their strength
and be like women: weak, afraid, and unable to meet the.6
They wouldn’t be able to bar the gates or stop the enemy from
setting fire to them, nor would they be able to repair the walls or
carry water to put out the fires.
Pride and self-confidence
15] There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut
thee off, it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make
thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many
as the locusts.
The next image is that of insects.
The invading soldiers would sweep through the land and
the city like a plague of grasshoppers or locusts and wipe
everything out.
Slide 70
Nah 3:15
Slide 71
Nah 3:16-17 Pride and self-confidence
16] Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of
heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away.
17] Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as
the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in
the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away,
and their place is not known where they are.
The Babylonian merchants were also like locusts as they
collected all the treasures they could find.
The Assyrian leaders were like locusts that go to sleep on the
wall on a cold day, but when the sun comes up, they feel the
heat and fly away.
The king and his council were overconfident, like locusts
sleeping on the wall, but when the invasion occurred, they flew
off to a safe place!
18] Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles
shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon
the mountains, and no man gathereth them.
Assyria was like a scattered flock with sleeping.
Slide 72
Nah 3:18 Pride and self-confidence
19] There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is
grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the
hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness
passed continually?
Assyria was like a wounded body with no way to be healed.
They had no allies to rescue them, for all the other nations
would rejoice when they heard that the Assyrian Empire
was no more.
Slide 73
Nah 3:19 Pride and self-confidence
19] There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is
grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the
hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy
wickedness passed continually?
Like the book of Jonah, the book of Nahum ends with a
question: “for who has not felt your endless cruelty?”
Nineveh has come to a place where there is no healing for her
people.
There is a line that people — and nations — cannot cross
without the inevitability of judgment…
Slide 74
Nah 3:19 Pride and self-confidence
19] There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is
grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the
hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy
wickedness passed continually?
God punishes cruel nations that follow inhumane policies
and brutal practices (Amos 1 — 2).
Whether it’s practicing genocide, exploiting the poor,
supporting slavery, or failing to provide people with the
necessities of life, the sins of national leaders are known
by God, and He eventually judges.
If you question that fact, go and search for Nineveh.
Slide 75
Nah 3:19 Pride and self-confidence
1) The Assyrian fortresses surrounding the city would be
easily captured (Nahum 3:12).
The fortified towns in Nineveh’s environs began to fall
in 614 b.c., including Tabris, present-day Sharif-Khan, a
few miles NW of Nineveh. (Babylonian Chronicle.)
2) The besieged Ninevites would prepare bricks and mortar
for emergency defense walls (Nahum 3:14).
“To the south of the gate, the moat is still filled with
fragments of stone and mud bricks from the walls,
heaped up when they were breached.”
[A.T. Olmstead History of Assyria, Chicago
University of Chicago Press, 1951, p.637.]
Slide
76
Nahum = Prophecies Fulfilled
Slide
77
Nahum = Prophecies Fulfilled
3) The city gates would be destroyed (Nahum 3:13).
“The main attack was directed from the northwest and the brunt
fell upon the Hatamti gate at this corner…within the gate are
traces of the counterwall raised by the inhabitants in their last
extremity.”
[A.T. Olmstead History of Assyria, Chicago University
of Chicago Press, 1951, p.637.]
4) In the final hours of the attack the Ninevites would be drunk
(Nahum 1:10; 3:11).
“The Assyrian king… distributed to his soldiers meats and
liberal supplies of wine and provisions… while the whole army
was thus acrousing, the friends of Arbakes learned from some
deserters of the slackness and drunkenness which prevailed in
the enemy’s camp and made an unexpected attack by night”
[Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historia 2.26.4.]
5) Nineveh would be destroyed by a flood (Nah 1:8; 2:6, 8).
In the third year of the siege, heavy rains caused a nearby
river to flood part of the city and break art of the Walls
[Bibliotheca Historia 2.26.9; 2.27.13.]
Xenophon referred to terrifying thunder (presumably with a
storm) associated with the city’s capture
[Xenophon Anabasis, 3.4.12.]
Also the Khosr River, entering the city from the NW
at the Ninlil Gate and running through the city in a
SW direction may have flooded because of heavy
rains, or the enemy may have destroyed its sluice
gate.
Slide
78
Nahum = Prophecies Fulfilled
6) Nineveh would be destroyed by fire (Nah 1:10; 2:13; 3:15)
Archeological excavations at Nineveh have revealed
charred wood, charcoal, and ashes.
“There was no question about the clear traces of
burning of the temple (as also in the palace of
Sennacherib), for a layer of ash about two inches thick
lay clearly defined in places on the southeast side
about the level of the Sargon pavement.”
[R. Campbell Thompson and R.V. Huchinson, A
Century of Exploration at Nineveh, London, 1929.]
Slide
79
Nahum = Prophecies Fulfilled
Slide
80
Nahum = Prophecies Fulfilled
7) The city’s capture would be attended by a great massacre of
people (Nahum 3:3).
“In two battles fought on the plain before the city the
rebels defeated the Assyrians… So great was the
multitude of the slain that the flowing stream, mingled with
their blood, changed its color for a considerable distance.”
[Diodorus, Bibliotheca Historia, 2.26.6-7.]
8) Plundering and pillaging would accompany the overthrow of
the city (Nahum 2:9-10).
Babylonian Chronicle: “Great quantities of the spoil from
the city, beyond counting, they carried off. The city [they
turned] into a mound and ruin heap”
[Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and
Babylonia, 2.420.]
9) When Nineveh would be captured its people would try to
escape (Nahum 2:8).
“Sardanapalus (another name for King Sin-shar-iskun)
sent away his three sons and two daughters with much
treasure into Paphlagonia, to the governor of Kattos,
the most loyal of his subjects.”
[Diodorus, Bibliotheca Historia, 2.420.]
10) The Ninevite officers would weaken and flee. Babylonian
Chronicle:
“[The army] of Assria deserted [lit. ran away before] the
king”
[Luckenbill, Ancient Records of
Assyria and Babylonia, 2.420.]
Slide
81
Nahum = Prophecies Fulfilled
Slide
82
Nahum = Prophecies Fulfilled
11) Nineveh’s images and idols would be destroyed (Nah 1:9, 14)
“The statue of the goddess Ishtar lay headless in the debris
of Nineveh’s ruins”
[R. Campbell Thompson and R. W.
Hutchinson, Annals of Archeology and
Anthropology, 19, pp. 55-6.]
12) Nineveh’s destruction would be final (Nahum 1:9,14).
Many cities of the ancient Near East were rebuilt after being
destroyed (e.g., Samaria & Jerusalem) but not Nineveh.
Every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
Deu 12:8; Jdg 17:6; 21:25; Prv 12:15; 21:2
= Absolutely no fear of God.
Slide
83
A Measure of Distress
Slide
84
Nahum Study Questions
(For the diligent student.)
1) Who ultimately defeated Assyria and how?
2) What were the attendant circumstances to the fall of Nineveh?
3) Which ones were beyond the control of either the attackers or
defenders?
4) How did Nineveh “sell nations through her whoredoms and
families through its witchcrafts”? (3:4)
5) How is the express comparison with Thebes (“No-Amon”)
relevant?
6) Is America over due for judgment? Why or why not.
(“Where two people agree, one is redundant.”)
1) Why was Nineveh destroyed?
Is there a parallel with America?
2) What does the repeated phrase, “Every man did that which
was right in his own eyes” mean, and how is it relevant to
America today?
3) Why does America appear overdue for judgment?
Why hasn’t it occurred? Will it? When?
Slide
85
Nahum Discussion Questions
(For the truly dedicated.)
Research various viewpoints on the following questions:
• Why does America appear overdue for judgment?
• Why hasn’t it occurred?
• Will it?
• When?
Slide
86
Nahum Research Projects
1
Nineveh was destroyed by the Medes and Babylonians in 612 BC, but
the empire didn’t collapse immediately. Remnants of the army and of
political leadership struggled on until they were overpowered in 609 at
the battle of Haran. But when Nineveh fell, it was the death knell for the
empire.
2
Lebanon on the north, Carmel on the east, and Bashan on the west were
known for their fruitfulness. See Isaiah 2:13; 33:9; and 35:2.
3
Isaiah 10:5–18 explains that Assyria was God’s tool (“the rod of My
anger” nkjv) to chasten Judah because of her idolatry, but the Assyrians
had gone too far and been too ruthless. In his pride, the king of Assyria
had boasted of his past victories, so the Lord announced that He would
humble him. This God did when His angel destroyed 185,000 Assyrian
soldiers in one night (37:36–38; see 10:16).
4
Nahum 1:15 in our English versions is 2:1 in the Hebrew text.
What a contrast between the announcement of peace in 1:15 and
the declaration of war in 2:1!
Slide 87
Nahum - Notes
5
“Jacob” probably refers to Judah, the southern kingdom, and Israel
refers to the northern kingdom that was dispersed by Assyria in 722–
721 Since this promise has not been fulfilled, its fulfillment awaits the
return of Christ when He will establish His kingdom and restore the
splendor of the Jewish nation.
6
This image is not meant to demean women in any way, whether
civilians or in the armed forces, or to suggest that women lack strength
and courage. The biblical examples of Rahab, Deborah, Jael, Ruth,
and Esther prove that Scripture can magnify the courage and service
of dedicated women.
However, we must keep in mind that the ancient world was a
masculine society; women were kept secluded and certainly wouldn’t
have been expected to participate in battles.
Phrases like “weak as a woman” were current; both Isaiah (19:16)
and Jeremiah (50:37; 51:30) used them.
Slide 88
Nahum - Notes
Slide 89
Nahum - Bibliography
• Adams, Thomas W. The Day of the Lord, PO Box 9481, Corpus
Christi TX 78469, willie@cccorpus.org.
• Barker, K. L. (2001). Vol. 20: Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah
(electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American
Commentary (116). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers
• Boice, James Montgomery, The Minor Prophets (2 vols), Zondervan
Publishing Co., Grand Rapids MI, 1986.
• Dean, W. J., Micah, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol 15, Wm. B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids MI, 1950.
• Feinberg, Charles L., The Minor Prophets, Moody Press, Chicago IL,
1948.
• Fruchtenbaum, A. G. (1983). Vol. 74: The Messianic Bible Study
Collection (12). Tustin, Calif.: Ariel Ministries
• Gesenius, William, Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon, ed. S. P.
Tregelles, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI, 1957.
• Ironside, H.A., Notes on the Minor Prophets, Loizeaux Brothers,
New Jersey, 1909.
• Jamieson, Robert, Faucett, A.R., & Brown, David, Commentary of
the Old and New Testaments, 6 vols., Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., Grand Rapids, MI, 1948.
• Josephus, Wars of the Jews, VI.9.2; Antiquities, XII, 7.3; also 1 Mac
3:41; 2 Mac 8:11, 25.
• Kaiser, Walter, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai,
Zechariah, Malachi, Vol 21 of Mastering the Old Testament, Word
Publishing, Dallas TX, 1992.
• Keil, C.F., & Delitcsch, F., Commentary on the Old Testament, 10
vols., trans. from the German, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.,
Grand Rapids, MI, 1976.
• McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee,
Thomas Nelson Publishers Nashville, TN, 1981;
Slide 90
Nahum - Bibliography
Slide 91
Nahum - Bibliography
• Missler, Chuck, Compiled Supplemental Notes: Prophets to the
Gentiles Jonah, Nahum & Obadiah, © 2011 Koinonia House Inc.
• Orelli, C.V., The Twelve Minor Prophets, Kock & Klock Christian
Publisher, Minneapolis MN, 1897.
• Pfeiffer, Charles F., The Wycliffe Bible Commentary: Old
Testament, Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1962.
• Pusey, E. B., The Minor Prophets, 2 Vols, Baker Book House,
Grand Rapids MI, 1950.
• Rosenberg, Rabbi A. J., The Twelve Prophets, Vol 2, Judaica
Press, New York, 1992.
• Salus, Bill, Isralestine, High Way/Anomalos Publishing House,
Crane, 2008.
• Spence, H. D. M. and Joseph S. Exell, ed., The Pulpit Commentary,
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI, 1950.
Slide 92
Nahum - Bibliography
• Theological Dictionary of The Old Testament, Gerhard Kittel (ed.),
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI 1978.
• Unger, Unger’s Commentary on the Old Testament, Moody Press,
Chicago, IL, 1981, 2:1939-40.
• Von Orelli, C., The Twelve Minor Prophets, (reprint of T& T Clark,
1897) Klock & Klock Christian Publisher, Minneapolis MN, 1977
reprint.
• Walvoord, John F., The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An
Exposition of the Scriptures, Victor Books, Wheaton, IL 1983-c1985.
• Wiersbe, Warren W., Wiersbe’s Bible Commentary: Old Testament,
Victor Books, Wheaton, IL, 1993.
• www.silverbearcafe.com/private/rothschild.html.