The lord takes vengeance on his foes and vents his wrath against his enemies. He describes the cruelty of the assyrians as they conquer nation after nation. The prophet nahum predicts the fall of nineveh in the mid7th century bc, several decades before. Referencing daniel, exodus, isaiah and babylon, nahum shows us that the destruction of nineveh and assyria are examples of how god works in history in every age.
The book of nahum is a stark reminder that those who plot against the lord, will be brought to complete destruction. Since the essence of the book is to describe the upcoming destruction of the assyrian capital of nineveh, it is probable that the book was written before 612 b. The city is now extinct, a pile of ruins outside the iraqi city of. He predicts the siege and destruction of the city and the end of the assyrian empire. The bible journey introduction to the book of nahum.
Nahum opened his prophecy by announcing that the lord is a jealous god, who takes vengeance on his enemies and is fierce in his anger. Therefore, nahum pronounced the lords burden upon the city. Nahum describes not only gods judgement and wrath 1. Nahum describes the siege and frenzied activity of nineveh s troops as they try in vain to halt the invaders. Nahum, nineveh and those nasty assyrians sermons and. Both prophets speak gods word regarding the city of nineveh.
It was used by god to punish the inhabitants of israel who had turned to idol worship and other evil practices. The lords anger against nineveh the lord is a jealous and avenging god. In the prophets, a burden is a heavy message of weighty importance, heavy in the sense that it produces sorrow or grief. The book of nahum is the seventh book of the 12 minor prophets of the hebrew bible. Chapters two and three describe the fall of nineveh, which later took place in 612 bc. The book of the vision of nahum the elkoshite nahum 1. Nineveh assyria repented in 700 something bc and god spared them. Nahum, gods oracle against nineveh, destruction in 612 bc. The lord takes revenge against his foes and is furious with his adversaries. Nahum forms a sequel to the book of jonah, who prophesied over a century earlier.
When did nahums prophecy of destruction against nineveh. The oracle of nineveh 1 this is the oracle of nineveh, the book of the vision of nahum the elkoshite. Jonah was the first to do this, about 120 years ago. He was the 30 fourth book of the bible, the seventh of the minor prophets rest in between the books of micah ander, and this is a series that weve been doing in the old testament whereby we survey each book each week. The purpose of nahum s book, then, was to announce nineveh s fall and thereby comfort the judean jews with the assurance that their god was indeed sovereign and just. Nineveh was a city of violence, known for its brutal treatment of those it conquered. In contrast to nahum, the book of jonah demonstrates that gods care and forgiveness extends to the oppressor, nineveh. Nineveh had turned from its repentant attitude shown during times of jonah and had taken the northern kingdom of israel into captivity. The burden of nineveh while the book of jonah records ninevehs reprieve, nahum predicts its destruction. The mercy of jehovah is triumphing in the book of jonah whereas nahum only announces the just fury of god and the unalterable destruction of this godless city. Bible study guide book of nahum saturday, august 24, 2012 background on nahum the name nahum means comfort and is related to the name nehemiah, meaning the lord comforts or comfort of the lord. The title identifies the book as an oracle concerning nineveh and attributes it to the vision of nahum of elkosh.
Associates for biblical research nahum and nineveh. Book of nahum simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Its purpose is to pronounce the final warning and judgment upon nineveh, and he also. It was likely written before the babylonians took over nineveh in 612 b. The lord takes vengeance on his foes and reserves wrath for his enemies. The book of nahum is not only about the destruction of the city of nineveh. The very first verse of this book informs us that the message will be the burden against nineveh nahum 1. One hundred years later, during the time of nahum, the assyrians had. He was raised up to preach gods judgment for a second time to nineveh. Nineveh stands for the warfare of man against his fellow human beings. Although this article is a few years old, gordon franz has a nice discussion on nahum, nineveh, and the assyrians. The book s title is taken from the prophetofgods oracle against nineveh, the capital of assyria.
With the book of nahum opened before me, most of the word pictures in the book could be illustrated, in one way or another, from the reliefs of ashurbanipal ii. Nahum could well have lived there and have prophesied to nineveh, as daniel did to babylon later on. Nahum was written after the assyrians sacked the egyptian city of thebes, or noamon nah 3. The text of nahum provides additional clues regarding gods anger with the ninevites. The prophecy of nahum, written by a hebrew against the capital of a gentile world power nineveh, is a denunciation of rampant militarism and tyranny, especially as it affects gods people. The second part of the title of the book of nahum, the vision of nahum the elkcoshite, belongs to the fourth poem describing the fall of nineveh, while the first part, the utterance on nineveh, should. Nahum prophesied during the reign of hezekiah, probably about one hundred and fifty years after jonah. The books title is taken from the prophetofgods oracle against nineveh, the capital of assyria. The thirtyfourth book in the bible, and the seventh of the minor prophets, is the book of nahum. Nineveh is compared to thebes, the egyptian city that assyria itself had destroyed in 663 bc. Assyria had destroyed many judean cities, and had even besieged jerusalem, unsuccessfully, in 701 b.
The book of jonah shows us that god had a loving concern for the people of nineveh, while nahum tells about the righteousness and justice of god. The book of nahum was written after the destruction of the egyptian city of thebes nahum 3. The city had gone back to its sinful ways after they repented back in jonahs day, and. The book of nahum is a collection of poems announcing the downfall of assyria, one of israels worst oppressors. Ashurbanipal, king of assyria, conquered this city, which the greeks called thebes and later diospolis, in 663 b. According to diodorus siculus, the city was destroyed nearly a century later, precisely as here predicted. Nahum was from the town of alqosh and, like the prophet jonah 100 years before, spoke of nineveh s coming punishment from god. While the book of jonah records ninevehs reprieve, nahum predicts its destruction. Bible students can find the time of nahum s prophetic message against nineveh from his reference to the destruction of no ch. This article provides helpful background not only on the book of nahum, but also jonah as well.
At the time nahum preached, it was the capital of the assyrian empire, the world power of the day. Sometime around 760 bc, god sent jonah to nineveh to preach repentance and hope to the assyrian people, a message they heard and adoptedat least for a time. Book of nahum, the seventh of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets grouped together as the twelve in the jewish canon. This summary of the book of nahum provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of nahum. Nahum s poem on the fall of nineveh is the description of a contemporary, if not an eyewitness. Jonah recounts the remission of gods promised judgment toward nineveh, while nahum depicts the later execution of gods judgment. The book s author is nahum, whose name means comfort.
But in nahum s days, the sins of nineveh again overflowed the cup, provoking god again. Nahums announcement was a comfort and a consolation to the inhabitants of judah, as it predicted the downfall of assyria, a savage and cruel enemy of israel and judah. Ninevehs fall, which is nahums theme, would bring comfort to judah. Yes, nineveh repented in jonahs day, and god spared them at that time. His book is a message of destruction for nineveh, and that would have been a message of consolation for the nations she had oppressed. From the palace of ashurbanipal at nineveh, now in the british museum. The major thrust of the book, from beginning to end, is the fall of nineveh, described as the bloody city 3. Nahum presents the oppressed as having deserved judgement in the past and the oppressor as needing deliverance in the future. Nahum s announcement was a comfort and a consolation to the inhabitants of judah, as it predicted the downfall of assyria, a savage and cruel enemy of israel and judah. Therefore, nineveh was still standing at that time. Jonah had to prophecy over nineveh as well but he lived around 150 years earlier. The description of nineveh in jonah likely was a reference to greater nineveh, including the surrounding cities of rehoboth, calah and resen the book of jonah depicts nineveh as a wicked city worthy of destruction. Undoubtedly, nations are too complex to pigeonhole simply as good or bad. Elkosh was a city in assyria, a few miles north of the ruins of nineveh.
This is all that is known of the writer of this book. Nahum is identified in the first verse of the book. Long after jonah had stirred nineveh to repentance, nahum foretold the mighty citys total destruction. Like judah, nineveh had repented once and was saved but then forgot the lesson and slid back into wickedness. Ancient nineveh background bible study bible history online. Nahum overview james burton coffman commentaries on the. The book of nahum was likely written between 633 and 612 b.
Nahum bible study outlinecontents by chapter and verse. This chapter in the book of nahum reveals what happens when a nation turns away from god. God sent jonah to preach to the ninevites of their coming destruction, and they fasted and repented because of this. Use notes and commentary below to help you as you read and study the book of nahum. He says god will punish the assyrians because of their cruelty nahum 3.
Nahum 1, new international version niv the bible app. The book of nahum reveals that god will punish all evil. Why did god judge nineveh so harshly in the book of nahum. The subject of nahum s prophecy is the judgment over nineveh. A jew with the name of nahum said that at one time jonah and nahum were next to each in the order of the old testament. The central theme of the book of nahum is the overthrow of the greatest capital city of the ancient gentile world in the 7 th century bc. The coming defeat of assyria by the babylonians is seen by nahum as gods judgement on a wicked and godless nation who had conquered the northern kingdom of israels capital city of samaria in 722bc and had led ten of the twelve tribes of israel back to nineveh in slavery. Nahums singular focus on the impending judgment of nineveh offers a continuation of the story that began in jonah. Jan 02, 2020 the text of nahum provides additional clues regarding gods anger with the ninevites. It might help to think of nahum as a followup to the book of jonah. Nineveh was burned by fire around 625 bc, after which the assyrian empire soon came to an end. Prophet nahum, the city of nineveh must fall, vengeance for bloodshed. The assyrians were notorious for amputating hands and feet, gouging.
Nahum whos name i ironically means comfort in the hebrew delivered a message of judgement to the people of nineveh over 20. The prophet nahum wrote this book between 633 bc and 612 bc. Book of nahum overview insight for living ministries. The book of nahum is a poem prophesying the downfall of nineveh, the capital of assyria, in 612bc. Perhaps the book s emphasis upon the power of the assyrians may suggest a date before 645 b. When romania was still under communist rule, a christian pastor commented on revelation, the favorite book of the bible for his people.
This is apropos because his message of the coming judgment on nineveh comforted judah after their suffering at assyrias hand. While the book of jonah records nineveh s reprieve, nahum predicts its destruction. Transcribed and edited by david sielaff, august 20. One hundred years before the words of this chapter, as described in jonah chapter 3, the people, the nation, the empire called assyria, repented of their sins committed against the holy one of. Nahum means comfort or consolation and is a short form of nehemiah comfort of yahweh. The book of nahum sets forth an ironic reversal of the assyrian usage of the lion motif. But obviously later generations in nineveh in 600 something bc were not repentant as their ancestors were. A book of vision has already been written concerning it nineveh, the prophecy of jonah son of amittai.
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