Nahum chapter 1
1:1 Nineveh was the Assyrian capital situated on the Tigris River. It fell to Babylon in 612 B.C. See note on Jonah
1:1-3.
1:2 Jealous (Hebrew qano, "zealous", or "jealous"). Nahum is not ascribing human imperfection to God. Rather, the
thought is that God is the One who embodies a burning zeal for righteousness and justice, quickly arises to the
defense of His own, and executes judgment on those who are not His own or who hurt those who are.
1:4 Bashan, Carmel, and Lebanon were all fertile, hilly areas. Bashan is in the Golan Heights. Mount Carmel is a long
range between the valley of Jezreel and the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon is the forested region north of Israel's
border. These areas are pictured by the prophet as being devastated by the coming of God in judgment.
1:5-8 The Lord is pictured pouring out judgment like fire. The mountains quake and the earth is burned at his
presence. Yet, He is a stronghold in the day of trouble to all those who trust in him. Like all the prophets, Nahum
predicts both judgment and hope conditioned on man's response to God.
1:9 The prophet predicts the utter end of Nineveh. His prediction was fulfilled in 612 B.C when the city was destroyed
by the Babylonians. It was never rebuilt and has remained a desolate ruin to this day.
1:11 The wicked counselor who will come forth from Assyria may refer to Sennacherib who ruled from 705 to 681 B.C.
and invaded Judah in 701 B.C.
1:12 Quiet, and likewise many is an Assyrian phrase implying unity. The idiom means that they are so united that
they make the noise of only one person.
Nahum chapter 2
2:2 Hath turned away is better translated "will restore." God will restore Judah after the fall of Assyria.
2:3-7 The Medo-Babylonian army is composed of mighty men. Its favorite color was red or "scarlet" (Ezekiel 23:14).
The "shields" of the invaders were bright red and must have struck terror into the hearts of the defenders as the
army approached the city. The reference to the gates of the rivers may refer to the statement in the Babylonian
Chronicle that the flooding river made breaches in the city wall. Huzzab is unclear. It may refer to a goddess whose
devotees beat their breasts because she had been taken captive. The taking of a city's gods as spoil in battle is well
attested in ancient Near Eastern literature.
2:11-13 The rapacity and ferocity of the Assyrians is well documented in the annals of her cruel kings. The lion was
the national symbol of Assyria. Here Nineveh is pictured as the dwelling of the lions.
Nahum chapter 3
3:1-6 Nineveh is called the bloody city and is pictured as a harlot whose witchcrafts and whoredoms shall be brought
down to the dust. Discover means to "uncover." Thus, Nineveh shall be exposed for what she is: the mistress of the
nations.
3:7-10 The prophet predicts the ultimate destruction of mighty Nineveh in the prophetic present: Nineveh is laid
waste. The reference to populous No should be translated "No-amon" (City of Amun), known to Greeks as Thebes
and today as Luxor. It was the capital of Eighteenth through Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt and was the favorite burial
place of the Pharaohs of that period. Thebes, however, fell to the Assyrians in 663 B.C and served as an appropriate
warning to the people of Nineveh. Put and Lubim refer to the districts of Libya.