THE MINOR PROPHETS
Nahum
by Al Maxey
PERSONAL BACKGROUND
The name of this prophet --- Nahum --- means "comfort, consolation." It is a
shortened form of Nehemiah which means "the comfort of Yahweh." This
prophet is only mentioned once in the entire Bible (Nahum 1:1). His name "is in a sense
symbolical of the message of the book, which was intended to comfort and
console the oppressed and afflicted people of Judah" (Eiselen).
He is identified as "Nahum the Elkoshite." Some assume this refers to the name of his
father (Elkoshai) and that he was actually born in Bethabor (which is beyond
Jordan). The Chaldee Scriptures call him "Nahum of Beth-koshi." Most likely, though, this
name refers to the place of his birth. The identification of this town is much disputed,
however. There are four major theories:
Other views as to the location of this city are --- It was in Judah near Eleutheropolis, according
to Pseudo-Epiphanius. Benjamin of Tudela (12th century AD) claimed to have seen
Nahum's tomb south of Babylon. Ultimately, one must admit that the actual location of
Elkosh is unknown, although it seems very likely, based upon internal evidence from the book
of Nahum itself, that this prophet was a resident of Judah.
DATE
Scholars are able to date the prophecy of Nahum fairly accurately based upon three major
considerations:
All of these factors, and others which could be discussed as well, seem to point to a time
around 655 BC. This would be just a little over four decades from the fall of this mighty
nation.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The brutal imperialism of Assyria had been a curse to the lands of the Middle East for a
couple of centuries. From the very beginning they had a policy of "westward conquest
and world domination." They were noted as being one of the most aggressive, brutal,
cruel and wicked nations on earth. "Assyria was a nation largely geared for aggressive
war and its atrocities were proverbial. Nineveh saw men and nations as tools to be exploited
to gratify the lust of conquest and commercialism. Assyria existed to render no service to
mankind" (Willis).
Jonah prophesied to Nineveh about 758 BC. This resulted in a national repentance. However,
this change of heart was short-lived. Nineveh repented of its repentance! They were soon
back on a course of world conquest and wicked aggression. Following is a list of her kings
and conquests from the time of her "change of heart" until her destruction:
Tiglath-pileser III (745-727 BC) --- He began a program of world conquest.
He invaded the West and deported some of the inhabitants of northern Israel, removing them
to an area north of Nineveh. He also extended his authority into Judah, exacting tribute
from them ....... II Kings 15:29; 16:5-18; I Chron. 5:6, 26; II Chron. 28:16f; 30:6.
Shalmaneser V (727-722 BC) --- He began the siege of Samaria, the
capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel. He died before the city fell.
Sargon II (722-705 BC) --- He completed the siege of Samaria. The city
fell in 722 BC, thus bringing an end to the northern kingdom of Israel ....... II Kings 17:3-6.
He was murdered in 705 BC.
Sennacherib (705-681 BC) --- King Hezekiah (728-687 BC) abandoned
his pro-Assyrian policy (II Kings 18:7, 19-20). As a result, Sennacherib invaded Judah (701 BC),
conquered its fortified cities, and surrounded Jerusalem. He boasted that he had shut up
Hezekiah in Jerusalem "as a bird in a cage!" However, the Angel of the Lord struck 185,000
of his soldiers dead in a single night, and the army withdrew ....... II Kings 18:13 - 19:36;
II Chron. 32:1-31; Isaiah 36:1 - 37:38. He was murdered by two of his sons (Adrammelech and
Sharezer), and a third son (Esarhaddon) became king ....... II Kings 19:37; Isaiah 37:38.
Esarhaddon (681-668 BC) --- It was this king who captured King
Manasseh (686-642 BC) and led him away for a brief period of captivity (II Chron. 33:10-13).
He died while marching against Egypt in an effort to subdue them.
Ashurbanipal (668-625 BC) --- This king completed the campaign into
Egypt which resulted in the fall of "No-amon" (Thebes) in 661 BC (Nahum 3:8-10). He
extended Assyria's influence farther than any of his predecessors. Under his rule, Nineveh
became the mightiest city on earth. According to the records, he was an extremely cruel
man.
Assur-etil-ilani and Sinshumlishir (625-620 BC) ---
These two sons of Ashurbanipal had brief and ineffective reigns. The dynastic stability of Assyria
was beginning to decline.
Sin-shar-ishkun (620-612 BC) --- This was the son of Assur-etil-ilani.
He was also known as Esarhaddon II. During this time Nabopolassar (625-605 BC) established
himself as the king of Babylon and began capturing Assyrian holdings. By 616 BC he had
won complete independence from Assyria for Babylon. In 614 BC the Medes, under Cyaxares,
captured the city of Ashur and inflicted a brutal massacre on the population. An alliance was
then formed between the Medes and the Babylonians and the Scythians, and the siege of
Nineveh began. The siege lasted 3 months, and it ended (according to the Babylonian
Chronicle) when flood waters breached the walls allowing the soldiers to enter the
city. This was according to the prophecy --- "With an overflowing flood He will make a
complete end of its site" (Nahum 1:8). The Tigris River had overflowed its banks and eaten
away at the walls. "As walls of those ancient cities were generally formed of brick kneaded
with straw and baked in the sun, a flood of waters could easily effect their dissolution" (Adam
Clarke). When the enemy entered the city, King Sin-shar-ishkun gathered his wives and children
and all his wealth into the palace and set it on fire. They all perished in the fire.
A few of the Assyrians tried to hold out at Haran and reform the government, but they were
defeated in 606 BC by King Nebuchadnezzar at the battle of Carchemish. The destruction
of Nineveh was so complete that about 200 years later, when Xenophon the Athenian and
"the Ten Thousand," backing out of their entanglement in Persia, passed by the site they
said there was no evidence a city had ever been there!! Nahum 3:11, 17 predicted that they
would be "hidden" and their place "not known." In more modern times, the site was not
discovered until 1842. Today, the site is covered by fields, a water tower for a nearby village,
a cemetery, and a local dump!
THE MESSAGE OF NAHUM
The people of Nineveh had quickly reverted to their cruel and heathen practices. "They had
not transmitted their knowledge of the true God to their children" (Ryrie Study Bible).
They had repented of their repentance! Therefore, God, through Nahum, foretold the complete
destruction of this kingdom. He had spared them once (during the time of Jonah), He would
not do so again. Unlike Jonah, Nahum does not actually go to the city of Nineveh,
rather he declares his oracle from afar. There is no hope of any repentance taking place,
thus no need to go to the city.
Although this book is concerned with the downfall of Assyria, it is nevertheless written for
the benefit of Judah. God has demonstrated His patience and long-suffering; now He will
demonstrate His wrath! The message of this book is that although God may be slow to
wrath, He nevertheless always "settles His accounts in full!" "Though God is slow to anger
and abundant in loving-kindness (as His action toward Nineveh in the book of Jonah shows),
His long-suffering is not to be interpreted as indifference or as lack of power --- Nahum 1:1-6"
(Willis).
This is also a message of consolation for the people of Judah who are being oppressed by
Assyria. Regardless of how things may seem, God does not forget His people.
The book of Revelation is a perfect example of this message. "When the forces opposing
God are so firmly ensconced and the flickering lamp of God's people is at the point of
extinction, however, it is easy for the remnant to forget. Nahum reminds us, as do the ruins
of ancient Nineveh, that God Himself is the ultimate Ruler. HE WILL HAVE THE FINAL
WORD!!" (Expositor's Bible Commentary).
"Some have objected to the joyous attitude with which Nahum greets the prospect of the
fall of Assyria's capital, and regard it as an exhibition of nationalistic fanaticism and
vengeful malice. This, however, is a misunderstanding of the ground which the prophet
occupies. Because he is a man of God, he speaks as one who is wholly preoccupied with the
Lord's cause on earth. His earnest desire is to see Jehovah vindicate His holiness in the
eyes of the heathen, as over against the inhumane and ruthless tyranny of that God-defying
empire which had for such a long time trampled upon all the subject nations with heartless
brutality" (Gleason Archer).
J.M.P. Smith describes him as an "enthusiastic, optimistic patriot," but "his book is not the
recording of personal glee over the fall of Nineveh, expressing the narrow hatred and
prejudice of a single individual; but it is the fervent expression of the outraged conscience of
mankind" (Homer Hailey). "It is one great 'At Last'" (G.A. Smith).
"His cry is not only the cry of jubilation at the fall of an oppressive foe, but is also the cry
of faith in the sovereign rule of Jehovah and a vindication of confidence that He will avenge
His elect when the time is ripe. The lesson of his beautifully worded yet dreadful prophecy
is one to which the world could well give heed today. The prophet reveals the eternal
principle of the omnipotent God that for a nation to survive it must be established upon
and directed by principles of righteousness and truth. Wickedness will eventually turn a
nation back to Sheol, the oblivion of the unseen, when it makes cruelty and wickedness the
standard by which it lives" (Homer Hailey).