Difference between revisions of "Nahum 1:1-3:19"

Revision as of 13:36, 29 August 2012

The Old Testament > Nahum

Subpages: Verses 1:1-10, Verses 1:11-15, Verses 2:1-3:17, Verses 3:18-19

                                                                 Next page: Verses 1:1-10

Historical setting

Nahum could have been written at any time between the Assyrian conquest of Thebes in Egypt in 663 BC and the fall of the Assyrian capitol Ninevah in 612 BC to an army of Babylonians and Medes.

The Assyrians were brutal and very much feared. During the 700's BC Jonah had unwillingly warned Ninevah to repent in order to avoid destruction, which it did. Then in 721 BC the Assyrian empire conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel and carried off the Ten Tribes that were scattered and became lost to us. Now sometime between 663-612 BC Nahum does not warn Ninevah to repent, he simply announces that it will be destroyed.

Brief outline and summary

Nahum can be outlined as follows:

A1. To Judah and Assyria: God is mighty (1:2-10)

B1. To Judah: God will deliver you from Assyria (1:11-15)

B2. To Assyria: Suffer as you have oppressed others (2:1-3:17)

A2. To the Assyrian king: You are weak (3:18-19)

The first section, which is addressed to both Judah and Assyria jointly, uses masculine plural forms of address. The two middle sections, addressed individually to Judah and then to Assyria, each use feminine singular forms of address (except in 1:14). The last section addressed to the Assyrian king uses masculine singular forms of address. These shifts help to identify where each major section ends and the next begins.

The message of Nahum is that: (A1) God is powerful and just, (B1) he will deliver Judah, and (B2-A2) he will punish the Assyrian capitol Ninevah and its king for their harsh treatment of other nations including Israel.

Nahum ends with a pronouncement of woe upon Assyria. This differs from the usual pattern in which the promise of Israel's deliverance comes last.

Each of the major divisions of Amos is discussed separately on the following pages • Verses 1:1-10 • Verses 1:11-15 • Verses 2:1-3:17 • Verses 3:18-19

Detailed discussion

• Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions

Parallel passages quoted in other scriptures

• Nahum 1:15 • Romans 10:15 (allusion)

• Nahum 3:4 • Revelation 18:3 (allusion)

Passages affected by Joseph Smith Translation

The Joseph Smith Translation did not make any changes to the book of Nahum.^[1]
Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found