After the superscription, Nahum can be divided into seven sections: 1:2-8; 1:9-15; 2:1-10; 2:11-13; 3:1-7; 3:8-17; 3:18-19.[1]
The book’s superscription (1:1) identifies its topic (Nineveh), that it is revelation (oracle, vision), and its author (Nahum of Elkosh). Nothing beyond this book is known of Nahum, and even the location of Elkosh is unknown and debated.[2]
The first poem in Nahum (1:2-8) is not specifically about Nineveh; it is universal in scope.[3] It begins by asserting that Yhwh is jealous. Three times Yhwh is said to be avenging or to take vengeance. Twice the poem affirms his wrath. This is directed toward his adversaries and enemies. This opening verse “provides a very strong, highly focused introduction to what the book of Nahum is about. It also does all but state outright that divine vengeance is the primary theme of the book.”[4] Verse 3 roots this assertion of God’s vengeance in the character of Yhwh by citing Yhwh’s revelation of himself to Moses in Exodus 34:6-7. Unlike Jonah’s citation of this passage, however, Nahum moves beyond the fact that Yhwh is “slow to anger” and also mentions that “Yhwh will by no means clear the guilty.” What follows is a description of God’s judgment that starts, not in Nineveh, but in the most fertile regions around Israel and then spreads to encompass the world, concluding with an allusion to the Flood―a worldwide judgment, which may also prefigure Nineveh’s destruction.[5] Thus, Nahum contextualizes his prophecy of judgment on Nineveh by directing his readers first to Yhwh’s ultimate judgment upon the whole world. The judgment on Nineveh therefore is a type of Yhwh’s coming judgment. Though day of Yhwh terminology is not used in Nahum, this book is about the day of Yhwh upon Nineveh as a type of the day of Yhwh on the whole world. In the midst of all of this talk of judgment, however, verse 7 stands out as an island of hope: “Yhwh is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.”
In 1:9-15 Nahum turns his attention to Nineveh and Judah. First, he addresses Nineveh (1:9-11). Yhwh has observed their plots against him, and he will consume them. Then Yhwh turns to Judah (1:12-13). Yhwh affirmed to Judah that despite Assyria’s strength, and Yhwh’s chastisement of Judah, he will now cease from his chastisement and deliver Judah. In verse 14 the address turns back to Nineveh, and Yhwh affirms that he will destroy Assyria and its gods. In verse 15 Yhwh turns the address back to Judah, here quoting words from Isaiah 52, which prophesied that despite Assyria’s oppression, Yhwh’s people would come to know him and receive salvation and peace. Through this quotation Nahum directs his readers beyond physical deliverance to salvation in all its aspects.[6]
In 2:1-10 Nahum turns to describe in vivid poetic language the invading army that conquers and then plunders Nineveh. Verse 2 links the destruction of Nineveh with the restoration of Israel.
The Assyrian kings presented themselves as lion hunters. So Nahum 2:11-13 follows the prophecy of Nineveh’s destruction with a the imagery of one searching for a lion’s den. There the lion is found with the prey for his cubs and lionesses. But it then becomes clear that the lion hunter is Yhwh and the king of Assyria is the hunted lion who will be destroyed with his cubs.
Nahum 3:1-7 is another highly poetic passage, parallel to 2:1-10, in which the invasion is again described, in this case with an emphasis on the death, destruction and shame of Nineveh.
In 3:8-17 Nahum turns to another illustration (as he did with the lions after the poem in 2:1-10). He asks Nineveh if it is “better than Thebes,” another seemingly impregnable city that Assyria had conquered. Just as Assyria conquered Thebes, Nineveh will be conquered.[7] The empire that had devoured other nations like a lion (2:11-13) will itself be devoured like ripe figs falling into the mouth.[8] It will be devoured with fire. It will be devoured like locusts devour. The imagery then shifts so that Nineveh’s merchants and princes and scribes are like locusts—that are swept away.
The final two verses (3:18-19) are addressed directly to the king of Assyria. He is told that this destruction is certain—and that it will bring universal joy from all those he has injured.
[1] This structure draws on Timmer, ZECOT, 53-56; Renz, NICOT, 35; Tully, Reading the Prophets as Christian Scripture, 323-24, though not following any of them precisely.
[2] Robertson, NICOT, 31; Patterson, WEC, 7; Armerding EBC, 452; Longman, 765-66; Rooker, The World and the Word, 459; Maier, 24-25.
[3] Timmer, ZECOT, 54.
[4] Timmer, Judah among the Empires, 18.
[5] “An ancient historian named Diodorus writes that during the siege of Nineveh, heavy rains swelled the Tigris, breaking the defensive wall and flooding the city. This would have “softened” the city’s defenses and allowed the invaders to enter much more easily. Another possibility is that the Medes and Babylonians flooded the city after it fell as a symbol of its defeat.” Tully, Reading the Prophets as Christian Scripture, 326.
[6] Timmer, Judah Among the Empires, 27.
[7] Timmer, ZECOT, 55; Timmer, Judah among the Empires, 40.
[8] Tully, Reading the Prophets as Christian Scripture, 323 notes the parallel.