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Nahum the prophet
Very little is known about the prophet Nahum, as only limited information is given in the introduction to his book, "An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh" (1:1). His name means 'comfort' or 'consolation'. It does not name his father, and there are no references to him elsewhere in the OT. There is an ancestor of Jesus named Nahum (Lk 3:25), but this is certainly a different person. Nahum was certainly a very courageous prophet as he gave this strong condemnation of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire while it was at its full strength.
The location of Elkosh is unknown, but is probably in Judah, possibly the village of Beit-Jebrin. There is a tradition of identifying Elkosh with Capernaum in Galilee, the 'village of Nahum, but by the time of Nahum, the northern kingdom was already in exile, making this unlikely. Jerome, wrote a prologue to Nahum in the fifth century AD said that Elkosh was a village in Galilee called Elkesi or Hilkesei, which a guide had pointed out to him.
There is a strong Jewish tradition that Nahum was buried in Alqosh, or Al-Qush, north of Nineveh in the modern nation of Iraq. The synagogue and tomb of Nahum at Alqosh is still a site of Jewish pilgrimage today. If it is true that Nahum came from Alqosh, this would give a strong Assyrian background to the book. Some people have noted that the author of the Book of Nahum had a familiarity with the customs, art and literature of the Assyrian Empire. It has even been suggested that Nahum might have been raised as a Jewish captive held in Assyria, but who was sent back to Judah to serve Assyrian interests there.
Like Jonah, Nahum's message was to the city of Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, which finally fell to the Babylonian armies in 612 BC. His contemporaries were Habakkuk, Zephaniah and Jeremiah.
Uniquely among the books of the prophets, the introduction to Nahum describes it as a 'book of the vision' (1:1), being a scroll containing a vision or revelation from God.
Date of the book
There are two historical indicators of the date of the prophecy. The first is that Nahum refers to Ashurbanipal's sack of Thebes (modern Karnak or Luxor), the capital of upper Egypt, as a past event. This occurred in 663 BC during Ashurbanipal's first campaign against Pharaoh Tanutamon (Tantamani) of Egypt. "Are you better than Thebes that sat by the Nile, with water around her, her rampart a sea, water her wall?" (Nah 3:8). The Hebrew text uses the original Egyptian name for Thebes, No-Amon.
This is the Ashurbanipal's account of the capture of Thebes on the Rassam Cylinder, "Tirhaka, King of Egypt and Ethiopia, heard in Memphis of the progress of my campaign, and summoned his warriors to prepare battle, weapons, and war in my front. Under the protection of Ashur, Bel, and Nabu, the great gods, my lords, who walked at my side, in battle upon the wide field I inflicted defeat upon his forces. Tirhaka heard in Memphis of the overthrow of his forces. The brilliancy of Ashur and Ishtar overwhelmed him, and he lost control of himself. The splendour of my kingship, wherewith the gods of heaven and earth have adorned me, fell upon him, and he abandoned Memphis and fled into Thebes in order to save his life. I captured that city, brought my forces into it, and settled them therein."
The Rassam Cylinder also states that Ashurbanipal was accompanied on this campaign by 22 kings, including Manasseh of Judah. Manasseh's son, Amon was born shortly after this campaign. He was 22 years old when he succeeded Manasseh as king around 642 BC (2 Kg 21:19). It has been suggested that Manasseh named his son Amon, following the destruction of Thebes (No-Amon).
Secondly, he predicts the fall of Nineveh as a future event, which occurred in 612 BC. Nahum predicts that Judah will be delivered from oppression by Assyria, "And now I will break off his yoke from you and snap the bonds that bind you." (Nah 1:13). Ashurbanipal was the last powerful king of Assyria. After his death in 627 BC, Assyria rapidly weakened and became less oppressive over Judah. Babylon grew stronger, and ultimately defeated and conquered Assyria.
It is more difficult to work out a precise date between 663 and 612 BC. It is likely that Ashurbanipal was still reigning over Assyria, as Nahum says that Assyria was 'at full strength' (1:12). It appears that Judah was in a period of religious reform, as Nahum brings no word of judgement or condemnation on Judah, but only words of encouragement (eg. 1:12-15).
Three kings of Judah ruled between these two dates: Manasseh (687-641 BC), Amon (642-640 BC) and Josiah (640-609 BC). This would imply that Nahum prophesied either following the repentance of Manasseh (2 Chr 33:14-17), when he rebelled against Assyrian rule around 650 BC. Otherwise Nahum could be set during or after the reforms of King Josiah (2 Chr 34:3). However, by the time of Josiah's reforms, Assyria had already become much weaker, and its influence on Judah greatly decreased.
If Nahum was set during the reign of Manasseh, a date could be in the 640's BC, towards the end the reign of Ashurbanipal (669-631 BC). Thebes was retaken by Egypt in 654 BC, so it has been suggested that Nahum was written before this date. If set during the reign of Josiah, then a date between 630 and 627 BC would be most likely.
The Jewish rabbinic chronicle Seder Olam Rabbah (The Great Order of the World) from the second century BC which describes biblical history from Creation to Alexander the Great states that the prophets Joel, Nahum, and Habakkuk prophesied in the days of Manasseh (Seder Olam Rabbah 20).
Position in Old Testament
Nahum is the seventh of the twelve 'minor prophets', between the prophets Micah and Habakkuk. In the Hebrew Scriptures, all the 'minor prophets' were included as one scroll in the Latter Prophets. In the Septuagint (LXX) it is placed immediately following Jonah, presumably because both books concern Nineveh.
The city of Nineveh
Nineveh rose to world power around 900 BC. It was situated at the junction of Tigris and Khoser rivers. By the time that Nineveh fell to the Babylonians in 612 BC, it was a massive city, which included a complex of associated villages. It was served by a great irrigation system and protected by a network of fortifications based on the river defences. The city was 50 km (30 miles) long and 16 km (10 miles) wide, protected by five walls and three moats. The walls were 30m (100 feet) high and over 15m (50 feet) thick. They were about 12 km (8 miles) long and broad enough at the top to hold four chariots driven abreast. It is estimated that its population reached around one million. It was built by forced labour from foreign captives. According to the Book of Jonah, "Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days' walk across." (Jonah 3:3).
During the reign of Hezekiah, Sennacherib demanded huge tribute (2 Kg 18:14-16), which he would have taken to Nineveh. Following his defeat outside the walls of Jerusalem in 701 BC, Sennacherib returned to Nineveh (Is 37:37) and built his palace there. He decorated the walls with reliefs of the siege of Lachish, now in the British Museum. There would also be much wealth taken from Thebes when that city was destroyed.
According to the Babylonian Chronicle, the armies of Media and Babylon carried off vast booty from the city, and turned the city into a heap of ruins.
"The fourteenth year (612/611). The king of Akkad (Babylon) mustered his army and marched to Assyria. The king of the Medes marched towards the king of Akkad and they met one another at ??. The king of Akkad and his army crossed the Tigris; Cyaxares had to cross the Radanu, and they marched along the bank of the Tigris. In the month Simanu, the ??th day, they encamped against Nineveh."
"From the month Simanu until the month Âbu for three months they subjected the city to a heavy siege. On the ??th day of the month Âbu they inflicted a major defeat upon a great people. At that time Sin-šar-iškun, king of Assyria, died. They carried off the vast booty of the city and the temple and turned the city into a ruin heap." (Fall of Nineveh chronicle year 14).
Content of the book
The oracle of Nahum was directed towards Nineveh, the capital city of the Assyrian Empire. It is an example of an oracle against foreign powers, as found in other prophets, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. A message of judgement on an enemy power was automatically good news to Judah, being a message of salvation. The only prophecy recorded in the OT being actually delivered to a foreign power was the message of Jonah (Jonah 3:4). There is no way of knowing whether the words of Nahum were delivered to the Assyrians.
Nahum's message is primarily concerned with the impending doom of the city of Nineveh, and the end of the tyranny of Assyria that will bring relief to the kingdom of Judah. So, the message is doom to Nineveh but comfort and consolation to Judah. Assyria had been a terrible invincible enemy who had oppressed the whole Ancient Near East for several centuries. The message of Nahum was that God had the power to overthrow Assyria, and bring deliverance to his people.
Two sins of Nineveh are denounced. The first is Assyria's military might which had been used with indiscriminate ferocity (2:1-13). The second is that Assyria's commerce had deliberately corrupted the surrounding nations to provide the luxuries of the city. Morality and honesty counted for nothing, everything was secondary to the acquisition of wealth and pleasure (3:1-4).
To Judah, the messengers were bringing the good news that Nineveh had fallen. God's people were summoned as an act of thanksgiving for the destruction of the oppressor, to observe God's appointed feasts and to discharge their vows, their obligations and commitments to God (1:15).
Jonah's message to Nineveh was one of mercy, Nahum's was one of doom, but together they show God's dealings with the nations. They show that God prolongs the day of his grace, but when that day is exhausted, he comes in judgement for their sins. Jonah's message and Nineveh's repentance from a hundred years before had been forgotten by the time of Nahum. Nothing remained now but God's judgement.
Structure of the book
Psalm - mighty God avenging Assyria (1:1-15)
Song - siege and destruction of Nineveh (2:1-13)
Woe - sin of Nineveh deserving judgement (3:1-19)
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