- The Prophet
- From Elkosh which was probably a town in Judah
- May have been active during Josiah's reform
- Name means "one who is comforted" - his prophecies
concerning the destruction of Assyria, Judah's enemy, would have been a comfort to Judah
as well as to Nahum
- The Book
- Time of the prophecy - late 7th century B.C.E.
- Written as the Assyrian empire is beginning to collapse
- Looks ahead to coming destruction of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria,
which occurs in 612 B.C.E.
- Some of the finest examples of Hebrew poetry in the Old Testament
- 1:2-15 beautifully expresses God's power and His eventual dealing
with His enemies
- 2-3 powerfully captures the fear and confusion the defeated defenders
of a city experience
- The Content
- Destruction of Nineveh (2-3)
- The Assyrian capital had felt itself to be stronger than any enemy -
Assyria was the lion who preyed upon other nations and destroyed them (2:11-12)
- Now Nineveh's defenses (2:4-6), army (3:13), and leaders (3:18) all
collapse and Nineveh is shamelessly plundered (2:9)
- Nineveh meets the same fate it had brought to other cities (3:8-9)
- Those nations which had been controlled by Assyria now rejoice at
Nineveh's destruction (2:5-7, 3:19)
- God vs. His enemies (1:2-15)
- God does take vengeance on His enemies
- Such vengeance might be slow in coming but it comes (1:2-3)
- God's vengeance is complete and does not have to be repeated (1:9) -
Nahum here quotes an old Assyrian proverb, using it against them
- God deals with His enemies because He is jealous (1:2) - He allows no
one to "play God" indefinitely
- God's power enables Him to carry through His plans most effectively
(1:4-8)
- Nahum used the destruction of Nineveh as an example of how God would
someday deal with all of His enemies and provide peace for His people (1:15)