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

Revision as of 21:21, 24 October 2012

The Old Testament > Nahum

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

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Historical setting

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Israel spent much of its existence until 600 BC caught between two great powers, one to the south and another to the north. As these two great powers struggled for supremacy, Israel and its small neighbors struggled just to survive. The great power to the south was always Egypt, which benefited from the Nile River's annual floods. During the time that Israel was divided into two kingdoms, the great power to the north was Assyria with its capitol at Ninevah. The Assyrians were particularly cruel and were very much feared.(CITE)

During the 700's BC Jonah had - unwillingly - warned Ninevah to repent in order to avoid destruction, which it did(CITE) (Jonah 1:1-2; 3:5-10). 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.(CITE) Fifty years later in 663 BC Assyria conquered the Egyptian capitol at Thebes (now Luxor) and managed to hold Egypt for about a decade before withdrawing.^[1] Then, sometime during the next fifty years after 663 BC, Nahum simply announced that Ninevah would be destroyed. Nahum explained the reasons for Ninevah's impending destruction but did not expressly call upon the city to repent of those causes. Exactly when during 663 - 612 BC Nahum was written is the subject of much unsettled scholarly debate.^[2] But in 612 BC, as prophesied by Nahum, the Assyrian capitol Ninevah was conquered by an army of Babylonians and Medes.^[3]

A broader treatment of the history of ancient Israel, including Nahum, is found at Old Testament: History.

Summary

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The relationship of Nahum to other books of the Old Testament is found at Old Testament: Organization.

Nahum can be outlined as follows:

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

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

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

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

The first section, which is addressed to both Judah and Assyria jointly (1:2-10), uses second person masculine plural forms of address. The two middle sections, addressed individually to Judah (1:11-15) and then to Assyria (2:1-3:17), each use second person feminine singular forms of address (except in 1:14). The last section, addressed to the Assyrian king (3:18-19), uses second person masculine singular forms of address.^[4] These shifts in audience help to identify the breaks between major sections of Nahum.

The message of Nahum can be understood as: God is powerful and just (1:2-10), he will deliver Judah (1:11-15), and he will punish the Assyrian capitol Ninevah (2:1-3:17) and its king (3:18-19) for their harsh treatment of other nations including Israel.

Each of the major divisions of Nahum is discussed separately on the following subpages: Verses 1:1-10, Verses 1:11-15, Verses 2:1-3:17, Verses 3:18-19

Discussion

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• 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.

Points to ponder

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I have a question

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Relation to other scriptures

• This section is for notes about the relationship of Nahum to other books and passages of scripture, as well as notes about the transmission of the text from ancient times until our day. Click the link to the right to add to this section. →

Related scriptures

The relationship of Nahum to other books of the Old Testament is found at Old Testament: Organization. Nahum is one of the Twelve Minor Prophets (Need to add a discussion of them all as a group).

It has been noted that Amos prophesied the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel; Zephaniah, the Southern Kingdom of Judah; Obadiah, Edom; Ezekiel, Egypt; Nahum, Assyria; Jeremiah, Babylon; and Daniel the rise and fall of several world powers including Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome, and the eventual setting up of the Kingdom of God.

Parallel passages

• Nahum 1:3 • Exodus 34:6-7 (clear reference)

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

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

Text transmission

The consonantal Masoretic Text (MT) of Nahum is well preserved, as attested by the Dead Sea Scrolls, with possible corruptions of the Masoretic Text only at 1:4b and 3:18. The canonicity of Nahum is well attested, and there is no significant scholarly debate on this point.^[5]

Joseph Smith Translation

The Joseph Smith Translation made no changes to the book of Nahum.^[6]

Complete outline and page map

• This section contains an outline for the complete book of Nahum. Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of Nahum. Click the link to the right to edit this outline. →

Nahum

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

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

a. Judah has imagined wicked counsel about the Lord (11)

b. Lord says to Judah: no more afflicted, oppressors cut down (12-13)

b. Lord says to the Assyrian king: you shall be cut off (14)

a. Judah should celebrate, wickedness shall not return (15)

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

a. Description of Ninevah's fall (2:1-13)

b. Behold I am against thee (2:13)

c. announcement of woe and reasons for Ninevah's fall (3:1-4)

b. Behold I am against thee (3:5)

a. Ninevah shall be conquered as it once conquered Thebes (3:5-17)

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

Resources

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Translations

• Amplified • The Amplified Bible, 1987 update

• Dead Sea Scrolls

• NASB • New American Standard Bible, 1995 update

• NIV • New International Version

• NRSV • New Revised Standard Version

• RSV • Revised Standard Version

Books and articles

• Patterson, Richard D. Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah: The Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary. Chicago: Moody Press, 1991. (ISBN 0737500190) BS1635.3 .P37 1991

• Sweeney, Marvin A. The Twelve Prophets: Berit Olam Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry, Vol. 2. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 2000. (ISBN 0814650910) BS1560 .S94 2000

• Wayment, Thomas A., ed. The Complete Joseph Smith Translation of the Old Testament, p. 218-19. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 2009. (ISBN 1606411314) BX8630 .A2 2009

Online materials

Notes

• Footnotes are not required but are encouraged for factual assertions that an average reader cannot easily evaluate for themself, such as the date of King Solomon’s death or the nuanced definition of a Greek word. Insights, on the other hand, rarely benefit from footnoting, and the focus of this page should always remain on the scriptures themselves rather than what someone has said about them. Links are actively encouraged on all sections of this page, and links to authoritative sources are preferable to footnotes.

1. ↑ Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, p. 3; Sweeney, The Twelve Prophets, p. 421.
2. ↑ Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, p. 5-7; Sweeney, The Twelve Prophets, p. 425.
3. ↑ Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, p. 5; Sweeney, The Twelve Prophets, p. 419, 424.
4. ↑ Sweeney, The Twelve Prophets, p. 422, 426.
5. ↑ Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, p. 13-14.
6. ↑ Wayment, The Complete Joseph Smith Translation of the Old Testament, p. 218-19.

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