[Brother V]

Nahum 1-3

Nahum 1

1 The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

Nahum was a minor prophet who hailed from Alqosh. No one is exactly sure where Alqosh is. Most believe it to be either Alqush of Assyria, or Capharnaum of northern Galilee.

Remember, Nineveh was the place that Jonah was supposed to go to, but instead he wound up in the belly of the fish. Ultimately, he went there. Also, Nineveh was near modern Mosul, Iraq.

The book of Nahum is believed to have been written in 615 BC, just before the downfall of Assyria, but it could have been written 3 years later AFTER the downfall. Others believe that he was around in the beginning of Ahaz in 740, and other also think it was during Hezekiah in the low 700's. It is believed to have been written after 663, as later it will reference the destruction of Thebes.

2 God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.

Never forget that God is jealous. It was mentioned first in Exodus 20:5, and then again in Exodus 34:14. A biblical contradiction is one way that you can disprove a "version" of the bible. Think to 1 Corinthians 13:4, the KJV says "charity envieth not" the NIV says of love, "it does not envy". We know from Nahum 1:2 that God is jealous, and we know from 1 John 4:8 that God is Love.

God may be a conundrum and is unable to be understood, but He is not a contradiction.

3 The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

Apparently from the time that Jonah was there, Nineveh forgot about the whole "sitting in ashes" thing. Remember, Jonah was there in the middle of the 750's so they had almost 150 years to piss off God and kindle his anger.

7 The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

If you compare Nahum to Micah, you will see a common thread, that also goes back to David. God is good to me, and he will kill you (if you are my enemy).

14 And the LORD hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make thy grave; for thou art vile.

Nineveh was founded as a place of worship of Ishtar. He was probably the graven image that Nahum was talking about.

Nahum 2

2 For the LORD hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches.

God's going to rebuild Israel, while destroying Nineveh.

4 The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings.

Nineveh was destroyed by the Medes and the Babylonians in 612 BC. When it fell, it was flattened. People who didn't escape were either massacred or enslaved. The city itself was about 7 square kilometers, and had between 100-150,000 people. The town was under siege for several years, which starved the people. They were trapped by their own massive walls. The army was stuck in the streets, while the enemy starved them.

7 And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts.

Huzzab was either the queen of Nineveh, or was the Zab area, east of the Tigris, watered by the Zab rivers.

8 But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water: yet they shall flee away. Stand, stand, shall they cry; but none shall look back.

If Huzzab means the fertile area between the rivers, then this verse makes sense. Instead of the area being fertile, it's a pool of water, stagnant water.

11 Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the feedingplace of the young lions, where the lion, even the old lion, walked, and the lion's whelp, and none made them afraid?

If Babylon was the eagle, Assyria (Nineveh) was the lion. There are many lion statues that were found in the ruins of Nineveh.

13 Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.

Here we see the lion being destroyed.

Nahum 3

3 The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:


The destruction of Nineveh was great. So, ultimately, Jonah got his wish. Archeologists have found many unburied skeletons at the site. As though the people just died real quickly, and didn't have time to be buried.

5 Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.

Many "scholars" claim that this verse is calling Nineveh a harlot (like Jerusalem), however, I believe it to be not descriptive of a woman, but of a man. This is a taunt. The verse before is about a harlot, but this is about a man. Nahum is saying that Nineveh has a small penis. It doesn't matter how big and strong it is, ultimately, it's less of a man because it has a tiny infantile penis.

8 Art thou better than populous No, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?

No is Thebes (Egypt). The city was renames to Thebes by the Greeks. Originally, it was The City of Amun. Which the Hebrews would have called "no Amun" (not "there is no amun", just the word no).

10 Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.

Thebes was destroyed by the Assyrians in 663. So, Nahum is equating the destruction of Nineveh to the destruction of Thebes.

14 Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the brickkiln.

God tells Nineveh to prepare for the attack. You'll need a couple years worth of water, because when the enemy comes, they are going to stop the water flowing into your city. Build your wall, because that will keep them out, but it'll also keep you in.

19 There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?

There will be no rebuilding of Nineveh.

In fact, modern archeology and restoration of the city is in trouble. Since it is near Mosul, it's being threatened by expanding suburbs. There isn't protective roofing, there's vandalism, and there's looting. It's in Iraq, and those people like to blow each other up. Saddam may have tried to rebuild Babylon, but they don't have a powerful leader anymore, to scare people away from his pet projects. Nineveh won't be able to be rebuilt.

So what have we learned?

1. Jonah got his wish, Nineveh was destroyed.

2. Nineveh had a small penis.

3. Nahum didn't really care that Nineveh was destroyed, he's just happy that Israel gets to rise from it's ashes.

YIC
V