II. The siege and sack of Nineveh described. From the destruction of Sennacherib’s host in 699 B.C., and his death in the temple of Nisroch in 680, the prophet suddenly passes to the extermination of the Assyrian Empire, cir. 625. Here then, strictly speaking, is the beginning of Nahum’s “vision,”... [ Continue Reading ]
KEEP THE MUNITION. — Better, _guard the for. tress._ These four sententious directions to Nineveh are, of course, ironical, like Elijah’s instructions to the priests of Baal in 1 Kings 18:27. “He that dasheth in pieces” may perhaps be identified with Cyaxares.... [ Continue Reading ]
Better, _For Jehovah restores the glory of Jacob, so that it is as the glory of_ [ancient] _Israel, though the plunderers plundered them and marred their vine shoots._ The sacred nation is Jehovah’s vine, destined to send out its tendrils all over the earth. But Jehovah has allowed its hedge to be b... [ Continue Reading ]
HIS MIGHTY MEN. — That is, those of the besieger of Nahum 2:1. MADE RED. — That is, with blood; not with reference to the bright red copper, which was the material of the shield, for the word usually means “dyed red.” IN SCARLET. — Red was the favourite colour, not only of the Medes, from whom Xeno... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE DEFENCE SHALL BE PREPARED. — Better, _but_ [there] _the storming-shed has been prepared._ Here the surprise and disorder of Nineveh is more plainly portrayed. The Assyrian king bethinks him of his stoutest warriors, but they _stumble in their paths_ in nervous perplexity. Men ran to the city... [ Continue Reading ]
THE GATES OF THE RIVERS. — This verse is one of great importance. The account of Ctesias, preserved by Diodorus Siculus, tells us that for over two years the immense thickness of the walls of Nineveh baffled the engineering skill of the besiegers; but that “in the third year it happened that by reas... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HUZZAB SHALL BE LED AWAY CAPTIVE.... — Better, _And it is decided. She is laid bare. She is removed away. And her maidens moan, as with the cry of doves, smiting on their breasts._ It is decided, or _established_ — _c_’_est un fait accompli._ The Authorised Version apparently follows those Rabbi... [ Continue Reading ]
We prefer to adopt the slight change of reading favoured by the LXX. (_mêymeyhâ_ for _mîmêy hî,_ and to render, _And Nineveh, like a pool of water are her waters, and they_ [her inhabitants] _are fleeing away._ The waters which formerly flowed in river-courses and dykes are now one vast expanse of i... [ Continue Reading ]
AND GLORY. — Better, _there is abundance of all precious vessels. _... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE FACES OF THEM ALL GATHER BLACKNESS. — Better, perhaps, _and all faces withdraw their brightness._ (See Note on Joel 2:6, where the same expression occurs.)... [ Continue Reading ]
(11-13) The figure of the lion appears so frequently on the Assyrian monuments that we may perhaps suppose it to have been a national scutcheon. The metaphor of the ravening beast is well illustrated by the Assyrian records, wherein the most frequent theme is the levying of gold, silver, brass, oxen... [ Continue Reading ]