Nahum 1 − Commentary
1 These are serious words about Nineveh. This is a book about what Nahum, the man from Elkosh, saw.
Words in brackets (...) are not in the Hebrew Bible. They help us to understand Nahum. Hebrew is the language that Nahum spoke.
‘Serious words’ means that they are important words and sad words. Some translations call them ‘oracles’ or ‘burdens’. Perhaps they were words that the people read aloud. The word ‘book’ may mean that. Perhaps they were like the script (words) of a play. They were like the words that actors repeated. Perhaps the people said them in the temple at Jerusalem. This was where God’s people met to praise him.
Nahum may be short for ‘Nahumiah’. Nahumiah means ‘God will comfort’.
Nahum came from Elkosh. We do not know where this was. There is a ‘Capernaum’ in the New Testament. Capernaum means ‘City of Nahum’. Bible students do not think that this was Elkosh. They think that it was nearer to Jerusalem.
Nahum ‘saw’ these words, or things. He did not invent them. They came from God.
2 The LORD is a jealous God and he is an angry God. The LORD is angry. He really is the Lord Of Fury! The LORD will be very angry against his enemies. He will be extremely angry against anyone that fights against him.3 The LORD is slow to become angry. But he is very powerful. He will certainly punish guilty people. He rides in the wild wind and in the storm. The clouds are like dust under his feet.
4 He is someone that is angry with the sea. And he makes it dry. Also, he makes all the rivers to become dry. Bashan and Carmel become dry. And no flowers grow in Lebanon.
5 The mountains shake when he (God) is there. And the hills just melt! The earth becomes as nothing in front of him. The world becomes like nothing. Everyone who lives in it becomes like nothing.
6 Nobody can stand up (in front of him) when he is angry. Nobody can fight against his fury. He pours out his great anger like fire. He breaks all the rocks.
7 The LORD is better than a castle when trouble comes! He protects everyone that comes to him for help.
8 But, like a great flood of water, he will destroy its (Nineveh’s) place. He will chase his enemies into the darkness.
Verses 2-8 are a psalm (or song with music). It tells us how great God is. It is like a picture of God in action. That picture includes storms, earthquakes and volcanoes that are erupting! (See verse 6.) They are pictures of God’s anger. He is angry with his enemies. But he is not angry with anyone who trusts in him. That is still true today.
‘ LORD’ is a special Bible word. It translates the Hebrew word ‘Yahweh’ or ‘Jehovah’. LORD is the Covenant Name of God. A covenant is when two or more people agree. Here the covenant is between God and the people of Judah and Israel.
God is angry because he agreed to protect his people. But only if they obeyed him. But they did not obey him. So, he allowed Assyria to punish Judah and Israel.
But now God decided to punish Assyria because they did it! This is because he is a jealous God. This means that he still loves Judah.
The word ‘ fury’ means ‘great anger’. So ‘ Lord of fury’ means that he is very angry. ‘ Lord’ here translates the Hebrew word ‘Baal’. It means ‘master’. Often in the Old Testament, ‘Baal’ is the name of a false god. They believed that Baal rode on the clouds. Another name for him was ‘cloud-rider’. Nahum makes clear that the one true God is the real cloud-rider, not some false god! So, he calls the one true God ‘Baal’!
In verse 3, God rides in the wind and the storm. This happens in many places in the Bible. A good example is Psalm 18. Several psalms describe God as a storm.
In verse 4, God makes everything that is near him dry. He makes the sea, the rivers and even the land dry. Bashan, Carmel and Lebanon were fertile places near to Judah. It is so dry that flowers will not grow!
In verse 5, we read that the mountains shake. We call this an earthquake. The ground shakes and the buildings on it fall over.
The difference between the earth and the world in Hebrew is this. The earth is everywhere. But the world is only that part of the earth where people live. A big earthquake destroys everything!
In verse 6, God is like a volcano that is erupting. A volcano is a mountain that shoots out rocks and fire. Then we say that the volcano is ‘erupting’.
Verse 7 is very important. It tells us about the time when all these bad things will happen. At that time, God will make everyone who trusts him safe. Here it probably means that God will help his people, the Jews.
In verse 8, ‘its place’ is a puzzle. It probably means ‘Nineveh’. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria. But the Greek Old Testament says that it means any city that fights against God. The Jews translated their Bible from Hebrew into Greek about 200 BC.
9 Whatever plans you make against the LORD, he will end them. Trouble will not come a second time.10 It will be as if:
- sharp little points will catch them in bushes,
- too much wine has made them drunk,
- (fire) will burn them like dead and dry plants.
11 Someone has come from you (Nineveh) that has made wicked plans against the LORD. They suggested (that people do) bad things.
12 This is what the LORD is saying. There are many (of them) and they are strong. But (God) will kill them. They will not be (there again). I have hurt you (Judah). But I will not hurt you again.
13 Now I will stop its (Nineveh’s) power over you. Also, I will tear your chains away (Judah).
14 This is what the LORD has ordered for you (King of Nineveh). There will be no children with your name. I will destroy the images and idols in the house of your gods. You are completely evil. So I will decide where they will bury you.
15 Someone is bringing good news. You can see his feet on the mountains (people in Judah). He will tell everyone (that there is) peace. Have your festivals, Judah! Do what you have promised (to God). The wicked people will never attack you again. (God will) remove them completely.
In these verses, we must decide whom God is talking to. The Hebrew Bible does not tell us. (The Jews wrote their Bible in Hebrew.) Sometimes it is Nineveh (or the King of Nineveh). Sometimes it is Judah. In verse 9, it is Nineveh.
Nahum is very clever here. He uses words from Assyria itself. They said, ‘God does not say things twice.’ But Nahum changes it to ‘trouble will not come a second time’. God means ‘trouble’ to the people in Assyria. This means that God will destroy Assyria. Then there will be no more people in Assyria! God will not have to destroy Assyria again.
In verse 10, there are some pictures. The people in Assyria try to run away. But, it will be as if bushes had caught them. Or they will not be able to run because they are so drunk.
And something will eat them as if they were dry leaves. The Bible does not say what will eat them. Our translation suggests that it might be fire. So it translates the Hebrew word ‘eat’ as ‘burn’.
In verse 12, ‘many (of them)’ probably includes people from other countries that fight with the soldiers from Assyria.
In verse 13, the words Nineveh and Judah are not in the Hebrew Bible.
In verse 14, the word ‘you’ probably means the King of Assyria. He would have no children and no gods. Also, he would not decide where his people would bury him. God would decide that. Usually kings decided for themselves where to put their graves. Often they were very special places, like the Pyramids where the people in Egypt buried their kings.
In the Hebrew Bible, verse 15 starts Chapter 2 of Nahum. Here, Nahum uses the name Judah. He tells them to have their festivals. Festivals were special times in the Jewish religion. They were like parties. The people enjoyed good food and wine. They praised God at those times, too. They also sang and they danced.
Think about why Nahum does not speak about Judah and Nineveh in verses 9 to 14. It is because these verses are always true. It does not matter where the bad country is. And it does not matter when it happens. But God will decide when he will become angry!
Think about ‘the wicked people will never attack you again’. It means the people from Assyria. Other nations did attack Judah. For example, Babylon did in 586 BC, only a few years later. But the people from Assyria, the ‘wicked people’ never attacked Judah after 612 BC.
15 Someone is bringing good news. You can see his feet on the mountains (people in Judah). He will tell everyone (that there is) peace. Have your festivals, Judah! Do what you have promised (to God). The wicked people will never attack you again. (God will) remove them completely.
For nearly a century, Assyria made Judah obey the King in Nineveh. Judah’s people could not do what they liked. But now someone will bring good news. There will be peace. God will kill their enemies. Judah will be free again to have (or enjoy) their festivals. The Assyrians will not stop them. Jacob and Israel will be splendid again!
Assyria destroyed Israel in 722 BC. It is now 100 years later. Only Judah remains. But Nahum hopes that both countries will be great and splendid again. Christians believe that it will not happen yet. Probably it will not happen until Jesus returns to the earth.
The vines were plants. Fruit called grapes grew on them. They made wine from the grapes. There may be a double meaning in the word ‘ vines’. The vine was a sign of Judah’s people. So it may mean ‘wasted them and killed them’. ‘Them’ is the people of Israel and Judah.
