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Book 34 of 66 · Prophets · The Twelve

Nahum

A poem celebrating the fall of Nineveh, capital of the Assyrian empire, which had crushed nations for two hundred years. For the people it had crushed, the news is good news.

The big idea

In short: violent power does not last. “Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery” (3:1). At the end, everyone who hears of its fall claps, “for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?” (3:19).

Jonah shows God sparing Nineveh when it turned. Nahum shows what happened when it went back to violence. The two books belong together.

The rule underneath: Law 11 · Power serves

Authority serves the people under it and answers to God.

Keep it: People do well under their leaders.
Break it: Leaders take, and kingdoms fall.

Shows up in: Deuteronomy, 1 Samuel, 1 Kings, Ezekiel, Proverbs, Mark

Other rules in this book: Protect the weakest, Tell the truth

Live it: Playbook 09 · How to lead

The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.Nahum 1:7 · KJV

At a glance

What it is
A poem of judgment on Nineveh. 3 chapters.
Who wrote it
Nahum “the Elkoshite” (1:1). The location of Elkosh is unknown. His name means “comfort.”
When
Between the fall of the Egyptian city Thebes, which it mentions (3:8), in 663 BC, and the fall of Nineveh in 612 BC.
History
Nineveh fell in 612 BC to an alliance of Babylonians and Medes. Assyrian kings had boasted in their own inscriptions of cruelty to conquered peoples.
In which Bibles
All of them.
Read it in
About 10 minutes.

What it says

1 · Who God is. “The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked” (1:3). He is “a strong hold in the day of trouble” (1:7). For Judah, the end of Assyria is good news: “Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace!” (1:15).

2 · The fall. The poem describes the attack as if it were happening: chariots in the streets, the palace collapsing, treasure looted. “She is empty, and void, and waste” (2:10).

3 · Why. Nineveh is “the bloody city… full of lies and robbery” (3:1). Its merchants were more than “the stars of heaven” (3:16), but they flew away like locusts. “There is no healing of thy bruise” (3:19).

Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;Nahum 3:1 · KJV
Go deeper
  • Original words. Chapter 1:2–8 is a partial acrostic: its lines start with letters of the Hebrew alphabet in order, about halfway through. Nahum’s name means “comfort,” and his message was comfort for Assyria’s victims.
  • Structure. A hymn about God (1), the attack (2), and a taunt song over the fallen city (3).
  • How the laws interlock. Law 11 is the center: an empire that used power only to take. Law 4 is behind it: God is a refuge for the crushed (1:7). Law 5 is in the charge that the city was “full of lies” (3:1).

Hard parts

A book that celebrates destruction

What it says The poem rejoices over the fall of a city, including its people (3:1–19).

The rule underneath Power serves. The judgment falls on an empire known for cruelty.

What people added Some readers find it hard to read a whole book of joy over a city’s destruction, and read it alongside Jonah, where God pities Nineveh. Others hear the voice of people who were victims of that empire for generations. Readers differ.

A shamed woman as a picture

What it says Nineveh is pictured as a woman whose skirts God will lift to shame her (3:5).

The rule underneath Image, not tool.

What people added Many modern readers find the image troubling, as with similar passages in Hosea and Ezekiel. Others read it as the ancient picture of a conquered city. Readers differ.

Translation notes that change meaning

  • 1:2 “jealous.” The word means protective, zealous, passionate, not petty envy.

Where it leads

One thing to do

This week

Where is the “bloody city” near you?

Think of one system near you that runs on “lies and robbery”: a scam, a predatory lender, an unfair practice at work. Take one small step against it this week: warn someone, report it, or stop supporting it. Write in your journal what you did.

How to read it. Read Jonah first, then Nahum. Notice how the same city is treated.