THE
BOOK OF NAHUM
LESSON 2: CHAPTERS 1-3
Lord God,
You sent Your holy prophets to speak Your words of truth to Your covenant people.
Nahum of Elkosh was one such man who boldly obeyed Your call to a prophetic
ministry. Sometimes, men like Nahum carried Your words of comfort and
salvation, but at other times, words of doom and Divine Judgment. Your last
prophet was Jesus the Messiah, Your Supreme Prophet. He called us to lives of
righteousness and promised eternal salvation to those who submitted to His New
Covenant Kingdom through the Sacrament of Christian Baptism. Give us the will
and the courage, Lord God, to remain faithful to our baptismal vows, our love for
You, and our love for our neighbor on our journey through this earthly life to
eternal salvation in the company of saints and angels in the next life. Amen.
Part 1: The Destruction of Nineveh Decreed
He will raise his hand against the north and bring Assyria down in ruins;
he will make Nineveh a waste, as dry as a desert.
Zechariah 2:13
Dates of Prominent Kings of Judah, Egypt, and Assyria
King Sennacherib (ruled 705-681 BC) of Assyria completed his new palace at Nineveh in 694 BC, including reliefs commemorating his 701 BC siege of Lachish.
Pharaoh Tirhakah became Pharaoh of Ethiopia and Egypt and an ally of King Hezekiah against the Assyrians in 690 BC.
King Sennacherib of Assyria attacked Jerusalem a second time in 688 BC This time, the city withstood his siege because God struck his army with a plague, and he withdrew back to Assyria.
King Hezekiah was king of Judah from 716-686 BC.
King Manasseh was king of Judah from 687-642 BC.
King Sennacherib of Assyria was murdered by his sons in 681 BC.
King Esarhaddon of Assyria (ruled 681-669) died on the way to campaign against Egypt.
King Ashurbanipal I of Assyria (ruled 669-631) is regarded as the last great Assyrian king.
King Amon was the king of Judah (ruled 642-640).
King Josiah was king of Judah (ruled 640-609 BC). He was killed at the Battle of Megiddo by Pharaoh Necho II, who ruled 610-595 BC.
King Assuretililani was the king of Assyria (ruled 631-627 BC). His fate is unclear due to a lack of records.
Sinsumulisir took the Assyrian throne in 627 BC, after a rebellion, and reigned for only three months.
King Sinsariskun (ruled 627-612 BC) was the son of Ashurbanipal I. He was killed by the forces of the Neo-Babylonians and Medes at the fall of Nineveh in 612 BC.
Ashurbanipal II (ruled 612-609 BC), possibly the son of King Sinsariskun, was defeated by the Babylonians at the siege of Harran and probably killed since his fate was unknown. He was never formally crowned king of Assyria since he was unable to undergo a traditional coronation at Assur.
Dates may vary according to the source. Most dates are from the New Jerusalem Bible.
Assyrian dates are from other sources.
Nahum 1:1 ~ Superscription
1 Prophecy [massa = oracle] about Nineveh. Book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.
Verse 1 is the superscription that announces the identity of the inspired writer and
the theme of his message. According to the superscription, Nahum was an
Elkoshite. The location of Elkosh is unknown, but many scholars believe it was
a town in southern Judah, later called Elcesei, between Jerusalem and Gaza. If
they are correct, it would explain Nahum's interest in the triumph of Judah
(1:15; 2:2).
Prophets like Nahum received divine communications through oracles (audible encounters), visions, and dreams. An oracle [massa] from God is a divine message. The same term is also used to introduce the oracles against Gentile nations (Isaiah 13:1; 15:1; Zechariah 9:1; etc.). Visions were visual prophecies. Some examples include Daniel's vision of the "son of man," the Pre-incarnate Christ, in Daniel 7:13-14, and St. John's visions of the heavenly court in the Book of Revelation.
Prophets received oracles and visions to announce God's punishment against Israel's enemies and to remind the covenant people to remember to be obedient to their covenant with Yahweh and to turn away from sin before they also experienced the Lord's judgment. God used His prophets to call upon all people to turn to and trust in the Lord of history (CCC 64, 2595). He also used them to help prepare Israel for the coming of the Messiah and the institution of the New and eternal Covenant prophesied by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 34:31-34). Jesus referred to Himself as a prophet in Matthew 13:57, Luke 4:24, and 13:33. He was God's Supreme Prophet, as prophesized in Deuteronomy 18:17-19.
Nahum 1:2-8 ~ Acrostic Psalm of the Wrath of Yahweh
Verses 2-10 are an incomplete acrostic (alphabetical) psalm. It contains only 11
verses, using only the first half of the Hebrew alphabet, describing the
theophany and judgment of Yahweh.
Aleph
2 Yahweh is a jealous and vengeful God, Yahweh takes vengeance, he is rich in wrath; Yahweh takes vengeance on his foes, he stores up fury for his enemies.
3 Yahweh is slow to anger but great in power, Yahweh never lets evil go unpunished.
Bet
In storm and whirlwind, he takes his way, the clouds are the dust stirred up by his feet.
Gimel
4 He rebukes the sea, dries it up, and makes all the rivers run dry.
Dalet
... Bashan and Carmel wither, the greenery of the Lebanon withers too.
He
5 The mountains tremble before him, the hills reel;
Waw
the earth collapses before him, the world and all who live in it.
Zain
6 His fury—who can withstand it? Who can endure his burning wrath?
Het
His anger pours out like fire and the rocks break apart before him.
Tet
7 Yahweh is better than a fortress in time of distress;
Yod
he recognizes those who trust in him 8 even when the flood rushes on;
Kaph
he will make an end once and for all of those who defy him, and pursue his foes into darkness.
Question: How often is God's Divine Name invoked in this hymn?
Answer: Six times.
Question: What did Yahweh tell Moses about His Divine Name in Exodus 3:15?
Answer: Yahweh told Moses: "You are to tell the Israelites, Yahweh, the God of your
ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has sent
me to you. This is my name for all time, and thus I am to be invoked for all
generations to come" (NJB).
God's Divine Name, Yahweh, appears more than any other name or title for God in Sacred Scripture (about 6,800 times). See the document "The Many Names of God."
Typical of other hymns or psalms in praise of God, the adjectives describe the person of Yahweh (verses 2a, 3b), and the verbs describe His marvelous actions (verses 3b-4). The poem contains three sections:
In the Bible, God is often described as "jealous" as in 1:2 (cf. Ex 20:5-6; 34:6-7, 14; Dt 5:9; 6:15; Josh 24:19) to emphasize Yahweh alone is to receive His people's worship and the fact that justice is as central to God's divine judgment as mercy. The Hebrew root word translated as "vengeance," naqam (Strong's Bible Dictionary, # 5358), should not be interpreted to mean the same as when applied to human actions (Navarre: Minor Prophets, page 219). When Scripture relates that God "takes vengeance" on His enemies, it means He acts to right a wrong or injustice. We are reminded that Yahweh is slow to anger but great in power, Yahweh never lets evil go unpunished (verse 3). St. Thomas Aquinas wrote: "In God, power and essence, will and intelligence, wisdom and justice, form one unity, so that there can be nothing in divine power that is not also at the same time in the just will of God or in his wise understanding (Summa Theologiae, 1, 25, 5, ad 1).
The beginning of the poem describes God as "jealous and vengeful," but then, verse 3b describes the Lord in an impressive theophany which reveals Him in the elements of the whirlwind, storm, and clouds in verses 3b-6, reaffirming the awe-inspiring presence of Yahweh by borrowing expressions from the theophany at Mount Sinai (cf. Ex 19:16-25; also see Is 6:1-10).
Verses 4-6 reveal negative natural phenomena as signs of divine judgment (cf. Jer 14:3-7). Those events illustrating God's judgment prove that He cannot permit continuing sin, injustice, and crimes against humanity; therefore, He always prevails over them. After Jesus returns in glory at the end of time, the Final Judgment will reveal that God's justice triumphs over all injustices (CCC 1040).
In verses 7-8, God's goodness is linked to His mercy and is likewise celebrated in the Psalms and liturgical hymns (cf. Ps 34:9; 100:5; 135:3; 145:9). Nahum praises God's goodness, seen in the way He protects those who trust Him and remain loyal, and He utterly destroys their enemies.
Nahum 1:9-14 ~ Prophetic Messages of Judgement on Judah and Assyria
9 What are your thoughts about Yahweh? He it is who makes a final end: his
adversaries will not rise up a second time; 10 like a thicket of tangled
brambles, like dry straw, they will be burnt up completely.
To Assyria: 11
From you has emerged someone plotting evil against Yahweh, one of Belial's counselors.
To Judah: 12 Yahweh says this: Unopposed and many though they be, they will be cut down and
pass away. Though I have made you suffer, I shall make you suffer no more, 13
for now I shall break his yoke which presses hard on you and snap your chains.
To the king of
Nineveh: 14 As for you, this is Yahweh's decree: You will have no heirs to your
name, from the temple of your gods I shall remove carved image and cast image,
and I shall devastate your tomb, for you are accursed!
This section appears to be a dialogue that the prophet had with the covenant people of Judah and the Assyrians. Some verses are addressed to the Judahites and Assyrians together (1:9-10), while some are just to the Assyrians (1:11, 14) and some just to the people of the Southern Kingdom of Judah (1:12-13). The "someone plotting evil" probably refers to Assyrian king Sennacherib, who invaded many cities of Judah in 701 BC (2 Kng 18:13-19:37). He is accused of being a counselor of Belial, the personification of wickedness. Belial means "worthlessness" and is frequently used in the Old Testament as a proper name (see Dt 13:13). It is translated as "wicked" in Deuteronomy 15:9; Psalms 41:8; 101:3; Proverbs 6:12, etc. In the New Testament, it appears only in 2 Corinthians 6:15, where it is a name for Satan. The expression "son" or "man of Belial" refers to a worthless, lawless person (see Judg 19:22; 20:13; 1 Sam 1:16; 2:12).
Through His prophet, Yahweh addresses His covenant people of the Southern Kingdom with a dire warning in verses 12-13.
Nahum 2:1 ~ Comfort for Judah
2:1 To Judah: See on the mountains the feet of the herald! Peace!' he proclaims.
Judah, celebrate your feasts, carry out your vows, for Belial will never pass
through you again; he has been utterly destroyed.
This brief encouragement for the Southern Kingdom of Judah, promising that Belial/Satan would never overcome them, is followed by a brief introduction explaining the significance of the end of Nineveh, followed by a powerful poem about the assault and destruction of the city (2:2-3:19).
Part 2: The Destruction of Nineveh Described
Nahum 2:3-11 ~ The Assault on Nineveh
2 The destroyer has advanced on you, guarding the siege-works, watching the
road, bracing himself, mustering great strength! 3 (For Yahweh has restored the
vine of Jacob, yes, the vine of Israel, although the plunderers had plundered
them, although they had snapped off their vine-shoots!) 4 The shields of his
fighting men show red, his warriors are dressed in scarlet; the metal of the
chariots sparkles as he prepares for battle; the horsemen are impatient for
action; 5 the chariots storm through the streets, jostling one another in the
squares; they look like blazing flames, like lightning they dash to and fro. 6
His captains are called out; stumbling as they go, they speed towards the wall,
and the mantelet is put in position. 7 The sluices of the River are opened, and
the palace melts in terror. 8 Beauty is taken captive, carried away, her
slave-girls moaning like doves 9 and beating their breasts. Nineveh is like a
lake, whose waters are draining away. Stop! Stop!' But no one turns back. 10
Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!' There is no end to the treasure, a mass
of everything you could desire! 11 Ravaged, wrecked, ruined! Heart fails and
knees give way, anguish is in the loins of all, and every face grows pale!
"The destroyer" in verse two is the Babylonian army attacking Nineveh. Verse 3 interrupts the sequence of ideas in verses 2 and 4 and may allude to the well-beloved poem of Israel as the vine of Yahweh in Isaiah 5:1-7.
Question: Read Isaiah 5:1-7. How did Yahweh take care of His vineyard in Israel, and what
are the symbolic references?
Answer: He placed it on a fertile hillside, referring to the Promised Land of Israel. He
cleared it of stones representing the Canaanites. He planted it with healthy
Israelites to serve Him. He gave them a watch tower represented by the
prophets. He hewed a press, referring to establishing the Jerusalem Temple to
teach the people about holiness and how to offer Him worship. But instead of
fine grapes of good works, they yielded wild grapes of bad behavior.
Question: Then God asked the people a rhetorical question: What more could He have done
for His vineyard that He had not done (Is 5:4)? What is the answer to God's
question?
Answer: The answer to God's question is that He did everything He could to ensure their
relationship with Him and their prosperity.
Verse
3 tells us that God restored His precious vine of Jacob despite Judah's
failures.
Question: What did Jesus reveal in John 15:1-7 at His Last Supper Discourse?
Answer: Jesus is the True Vine.
Verses 4-11 provide a vivid and logical description of the Babylonian soldiers attacking and taking possession of Nineveh. The mantelet in verse 6 is a shelter to protect the besiegers attacking the city wall.
Nahum 2:12-14 ~ Yahweh's Sentence Passed on the Lion of Assyria
12 Where is the lions' den now, the cave of the lion's whelps, where the
lion and lioness walked with their cubs and no one molested them, 13 where the
lion would tear up food for his whelps and strangle the kill for his mates,
where he filled his caverns with prey and his lairs with spoil? 14 Look, I am
against you! " declares Yahweh Sabaoth " I shall send your chariots up in smoke,
and the sword will devour your whelps; I shall cut short your depredations on
earth, and the voices of your envoys will be heard no more.
The image of the lion describes the power and cruelty of the Assyrian kings against other people. It is a very different image from the smoke and ashes to which the Babylonians reduce the once great city. "Look [Behold] I am against you" (verse14) is a typical solemn declaration of Yahweh's divine judgment, repeated in 3:5 (see Jer 51:25, Ezek 21:8; 29:10; 35:3; 38:3; 39:1).
The last of Nahum's descriptive poem captures the sheer terror of the people of Nineveh as the Babylonians poured through the city streets. Nahum 2:4-3:17 covers these topics:
Part 3: The Destruction of Nineveh Deserved
Nahum 3:1-7 ~ Yahweh's Sentence Passed on Nineveh's Sins
3:1 Disaster to the city of blood, packed throughout with lies, stuffed with booty, where
plundering has no end! 2 The crack of the whip! The rumble of wheels! Galloping
horse, jolting chariot, 3 charging cavalry, flashing swords, gleaming spears, a
mass of wounded, hosts of dead, countless corpses; they stumble over corpses " 4
because of the countless whorings of the harlot, the graceful beauty, the
cunning witch, who enslaved nations by her harlotries and tribes by her
spells. 5 Look, I am against you! " declares Yahweh Sabaoth " I shall lift your
skirts as high as your face and show your nakedness to the nations, your shame
to the kingdoms. 6 I shall pelt you with filth, I shall shame you and put you
in the pillory. 7 Then all who look at you will shrink from you and say,
Nineveh has been ruined!' Who will mourn for her? Where would I find people to
comfort you?
These verses describe the cruelty of the Assyrians (verse 1) and the ferocity of the Babylonians and Medes (verses 2-3). Again, Nahum gives a vivid and horrifying description of the Babylonian Army, as Yahweh's agent of judgment makes their assault on Nineveh. The reason for the devastation is given in verse 4: because of the countless whorings of the harlot, the graceful beauty, the cunning witch, who enslaved nations by her harlotries and tribes by her spells. God is a loving Father to humanity, but He is not a permissive parent. To call humanity back to righteous behavior, He delivers fierce judgment to keep it from total self-destruction. "Whorings/harlotry" is used in Scripture as a symbolic image for departing from worshiping Yahweh to worshiping false gods (cf. Is 1:2; 23:15-16; Jer 2:20; 3:1, 6, 8; Ezek 16:15, 16, 28, 31, 35, 41; etc.). Nineveh will be punished as an adulteress (Ezek 16:36-43; 23:25-30; Hos 2:5). The punishment for adultery under Mosaic Law was death (Lev 20:10). You will recall that when the Ninevites responded to Jonah's call to repentance, they acknowledged Yahweh as the One God (Jon 3:5). To apostatize from belief in God was symbolized as "adultery" in Scripture (cf. Ezek 23:37). When the Ninevites rejected Yahweh and again embraced their pagan gods, they became guilty of the sin of adultery in abandoning the Divine Spouse.
5 Look, I am against you! " declares Yahweh Sabaoth
"Look" or "Behold" in other translations, "I am against you" is a curse judgment/lawsuit
delivered against an enemy of God (cf. Nah 2:14;
Jer 21:13; 23:31; 50:31; 51:25;
Ezek 21:3; 26:3; 28:22; 29:2; etc.). Nineveh's destructions would be a warning
to others who dared to oppose Yahweh and bring suffering to the innocent.
The Church sees the severity of Nineveh's judgment as prefiguring the Last/Final Judgment. Catechism 677 teaches: "God's triumph over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgment after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world."
Nahum 3:8-11 ~ The Lesson of Thebes
8 Are you better off than No-Amon situated among rivers, her defenses the seas,
her rampart the waters? 9 In Ethiopia and Egypt lay her strength, and it was
boundless; Put and the Libyans served in her army. 10 But she too went into
exile, into captivity; her little ones too were dashed to pieces at every
crossroad; lots were drawn for her nobles, all her great men were put in
chains. 11 You too will become drunk, you will go into hiding; you too will
have to search for a refuge from the enemy.
Verse 8 alludes to the Assyrian conquest of Thebes (No-Amon), the capital city of New Kingdom Egypt, located along the Nile River about 500 miles from the Mediterranean Sea. In 663 BC, the Assyrians captured Thebes and added its name to a list of cities plundered and destroyed by King Ashurbanipal and his Assyrian army. Since Thebes threw out the Assyrians and regained independence in 654 BC, and Nahum does not mention that event, many Biblical scholars speculate that the Book of Nahum may have been written between 663 and 654 BC.
According to Nahum, the conquerors of Thebes will find themselves conquered even though the Thebans, like the Assyrians, had many allies (verse 9). Just as it happened at Thebes, the people of Nineveh will be carried away into captivity, her children put to death, and her leaders bound in chains (verse 10).
Nahum 3:12-15a ~ Nineveh's Preparations Useless
12 Your fortifications are all fig trees, with early ripening figs: as soon as
they are shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater. 13 Look at your people:
you are a nation of women! The gates of your country gape open to your enemies;
fire has devoured their bars! 14 Draw yourselves water for the siege,
strengthen your fortifications! Into the mud with you, puddle the clay, repair
the brick-kiln! 15 There the fire will burn you up, the sword will cut you
down.
In verses 12-15, Nahum compares Nineveh's fortresses to fig trees and her soldiers to defenseless women (verse 13). The enemy has torn open her gates; fire and the enemy's swords have ravaged the city.
Nahum 3:15b-17 ~ The Locusts Fly Away
15b Make yourselves as numerous as locusts, make yourselves as numerous as the hoppers,
16a let your commercial agents outnumber the stars of heaven, 17a your
garrisons, like locusts, and your marshals, like swarms of hoppers! They settle
on the walls when the day is cold. The sun appears, 16b the locusts spread
their wings, they fly away, 17b away they fly, no one knows where.
Nahum compares Nineveh's many merchants, soldiers, and generals/princes to swarming grasshoppers who fly off without putting up a fight. Some Biblical scholars suggest the order of the sentences in this passage has been misplaced; therefore, the NJB, like other translations, has reordered verses 16-17.
Nahum 3:18-19 ~ A Funeral Lament
18 Alas, your shepherds are asleep, king of Assyria, your bravest men slumber;
your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them. 19 There
is no remedy for your wound, your injury is past healing. All who hear the news
of you clap their hands at your downfall. For who has not felt your unrelenting
cruelty?
Sinsariskun, son of Ashurbanipal I (627-612 BC), was killed by the forces of the Neo-Babylonians and Medes at the fall of Nineveh. Verses 18-19 are a satirical lament over the king's downfall. His military leaders and nobles are asleep. His people have run away; they forsake him, and no one comes to his aid. Nineveh was captured and destroyed by the Neo-Babylonians and Medes in 612 BC. The event marked the beginning of the climax of the Babylonian campaign to overthrow the Neo-Assyrian Empire that began in 625 BC. Ashurbanipal II, possibly the son of Sinsariskun, took control of the empire as the crown prince, but the Assyrian Empire ended in 609 BC with the final victory of the Babylonians and Medes over Assyria at Harran. The fate of the last Assyrian rulers was a lesson for the Southern Kingdom of Judah in Nahum's time and for us. Nahum teaches us that God is the divine sovereign of all nations. Only He can protect us from our enemies, and He will punish all nations striving for evil over good.
The Book of Nahum and the Old and New Testaments
The Book of Nahum is not quoted in the New Testament or used in Christian liturgy. There are possible references to Nahum 1:15 in Romans 10:15 and Mark 16:15-16, but it has more in common with Isaiah 52:1-7. The reference to locusts in Nahum 3:15-17 recalls Joel 1:4 and its application in Joel 2:4-9. The Book of Nahum also appears to have influenced the Book of Tobit, which rejoices in the fall of Nineveh and alludes to Nahum's prophecies about the Assyrian capital.
St. Jerome (AD 347-420) commented that the book carried a message of comfort (as Nahum's name suggests) because it shows that everyone falls under God's Divine Justice: "Every word that is spoken against Nineveh should be interpreted, in a figurative way, as applying to the whole world" (Commentareum in Nahum, prologue). Biblical scholar Theophylact of Ohrid in the mid-11th century wrote: "The book teaches that because God is just, no man lives beyond the reach of His Providence. Each will be rewarded or punished according to his deeds" (Expositio super Nahum, 1).
Catechism References (* indicates Scripture is quoted or paraphrased in the citation):
Good and evil (CCC 1834-35)
Judgment Day (CCC 681-82)
Justice among nations (CCC 1836, 2437-42)
God's justice (CCC 271, 1040*, 1861, 1953*, 1987*, 1991, 1992*, 2017, 2543*)
Political authorities and justice (CCC 2237)
Requirements of justice (CCC 1459, 2494-95)
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