Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Nahum 1:15
Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
Behold upon the mountains, the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace – From mountain-top to mountain-top by beacon-fires they spread the glad tidings. Suddenly the deliverance comes, sudden its announcement. Behold! Judah, before hindered by armies from going up to Jerusalem, its cities taken 2Ki 18:13, may now again keep the feasts there, and pay the vows, which in trouble she promised; for the wicked one, the ungodly Sennacherib, is utterly cut off, he shall no more pass through thee; the army and king and empire of the Assyrians have perished. But the words of prophecy cannot be bound down to this. These large promises, which, as to this world, were forfeited in the next reign, when Manasseh was taken captive to Babylon, and still more in the seventy years captivity, and more yet in that until now, look for a fulfillment, as they stand.
They sound so absolute. I will afflict thee no more, the wicked shall no more pass through thee, he is utterly (literally, the whole of him) cut off. Nahum joins on this signal complete deliverance from a temporal enemy, to the final deliverance of the people of God. The invasion of Sennacherib was an avowed conflict with God Himself. It was a defiance of God. He would make Gods people, his; he would cut it off that it be no more a people, and that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance Psa 83:4. There was a more evil counselor behind, whose agent was Sennacherib. He, as he is the author of all murders and strife, so has he a special hatred for the Church, whether before or since Christs Coming. Before, that he right cut off that Line from whom the Seed of the woman should be born, which should destroy his empire and crush himself, and that he might devour the Child who was to be born Rev 12:4.
Since, because her members are his freed captives, and she makes inroads on his kingdom, and he hates them because he hates God and Christ who dwells in them. As the time of the birth of our Lord neared, his hate became more concentrated. God overruled the hatred of Edom or Moab, or the pride of Assyria, to His own ends, to preserve Israel by chastising it. Their hatred was from the evil one, because it was Gods people, the seed of Abraham, the tribe of Judah, the line of David. If they could be cut off, they of whom Christ was to be born according to the flesh, and so, in all seeming, the hope of the world, were gone. Sennacherib then was not a picture only, he was the agent of Satan, who used his hands, feet, tongue, to blaspheme God and war against His people. As then we have respect not to the mere agent, but to the principal, and should address him through those he employed (as Elisha said of the messenger who came to slay him, is not the sound of his masters feet behind him? 2Ki 6:32), so the prophets words chiefly and most fully go to the instigator of Sennacherib, whose very name he names, Belial. It is the deliverance of the Church and the people of God which he foretells, and thanks God for.
To the Church he says in the Same of God, Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more Nah 1:12. The yoke which He will burst is the yoke of the oppressor, of which Isaiah speaks, and which the Son, to be born of a Virgin, the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace, was to break Isa 9:4, Isa 9:6; the yoke of sin and the bands of fleshly pleasure and evil habits, wherewith we were held captive, so that henceforth we should walk upright, unbowed, look up to heaven our home, and run the way of Thy commandments when Thou hast set my heart at liberty. Behold, then, upon the mountains, i. e., above all the height of this world, the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, i. e., of remission of sins and sanctification by the Spirit and the freedom and adoption as sons, and the casting out of the Prince of this world, that publisheth peace. O Judah, thou, the true people of God, keep thy solemn feasts, the substance of the figures of the law. : He who is ever engaged on the words, deeds and thoughts of Him, who is by nature Lord, the Word of God, ever lives in His days, ever keeps Lords days. Yea he who ever prepares himself for the true life and abstains from the sweets of this life which deceive the many, and who cherishes not the mind of the flesh but chastens the body and enslaves it, is ever keeping the days of preparation. He too who thinks that Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us, and that we must keep festival, eating the flesh of the Word, there is no time when he keeps not the Passover, ever passing over in thought and every word and deed from the affairs of this life to God, and hasting to His city. Moreover whoso can say truthfully, we have risen together with Christ, yea and also, He hath together raised us and together seated us in the heavenly places in Christ, ever lives in the days of Pentecost; and chiefly, when, going up into the upper room as the Apostles of Jesus, he gives himself to supplication and prayer, that he may become meet for the rushing mighty wind from heaven, which mightily effaces the evil in men and its fruits, meet too for some portion of the fiery tongue froth God. : Such an one will keep the feast excellently, having the faith in Christ fixed, hallowed by the Spirit, glorious with the grace of adoption. And he will offer to God spiritual sacrifice, consecrating himself for an odor of sweetness, cultivating also every kind of virtue, temperance, continence, fortitude, endurance, charity, hope, love of the poor, goodness, longsuffering: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Every power of the enemy, which before had dominion over him, shall pass through no more, since Christ commanded the unclean spirits to depart into the abyss and giveth to those who love Him power to resist the enemy, and subdue the passions, and destroy sin and tread on serpents and scorpions and every power of the enemy.
And these feasts were to he kept in the spirit not in the letter. For what avails it to keep any feast wilhout, unless there be the feast of contmplation in the soul? . Wherefore he adds, and pay thy vows, i. e., thyself, whom in Baptism thou hast vowed: for the Wicked One shall no more pass through thee. : For from what time, O Judah, Christ, by dying and rising again, hallowed thy feasts, he can no longer pass through thee. Thenceforth he perished wholly. Not that he has, in substance, ceased to be, but that the death of the human race, which through his envy came into this world, the two-fold death of body trod soul, wholly perisheth. Where and when did this Belial perish? When died the death which he brought in, whence himself also is called Death? When Christ died, then died the death of our souls; and when Christ rose again, then perished the death of our bodies. When then, O Judah thou keepest thy feast, remember that thy very feast is He, of whom thou savest that by dying He conquered death and by rising He restored life. Hence it is said, Belial shall no more pass through thee.
For if thou look to that alone, that Sennacherib departed, to return no more, and perished, it would not be true to say, Belial hath wholly perished! For after him many a Belial, such as he was, passed through time, and hurt thee far more. Perchance thou sayest, so long as Nineveh standest, how savest thou, that Belial has wholly perisited? So long as the world standeth, how shall I be comforted, that death hath perished? For lo! persecutors tamed with death have stormed, and besides them, many sons of Belial, of whom antichrist will be the worst. How then sayest thou, that Belial has wholly perished? It follows, the Scatterer hath gone up before thee. To Judah in the flesh, Nebuchadnezzar who went up against Nineveh, was worse than Sennacherib. Who then is He who went up before thee, and dispersed the world, that great Nineveh, that thou shouldest have full consolation? Christ who descended, Himself ascended; and as He ascended, so shall He come to disperse Nineveh, i. e., to judge the world. What any persecutor doth meanwhile, yea or the Devil himself or antichrist, takes nothing from the truth, that Belial hath wholly perished. The prince of this world is cast out. For nothing which they do, or can do, hinders, that both deaths of body and soul are swallowed up in His victory, who hath ascended to heaven? Belial cannot in the members kill the soul, which hath been made alive by the death of the Head, i. e., Christ; and as to the death of the body, so certain is it that it will perish, that thou mayest say fearlessly that it hath perished, since Christ the Head hath risen.
Each fall of an enemy of the Church, each recovery of a sinful soul being a part of this victory, the words may be applied to each. The Church or the soul are bidden to keep the feast and pay their vows, whatever in their trouble they promised to God. Jerome: It is said to souls, which confess the Lord, that the devil who, before, wasted thee and bowed thee with that most heavy yoke hath, in and with the idols which thou madest for thyself, perished; keep thy feasts and pay to God thy vows, singing with the angels continually, for no more shall Belial pass through thee, of whom the apostle too saith, What concord hath Christ with Belial? The words too, Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that brings good tidings, that publishes peace belong, in a degree, to all preachers of the Gospel. : No one can preach peace, who is himself below and cleaves to earthly things. For warn are for the good things of earth. If thou wouldest preach peace to thyself and thy neighbor, be raised above the earth and its goods, riches and glory. Ascend to the heavenly mountains, whence David also, lifting up his eyes, hoped that his help would come.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Nah 1:15
Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings.
Three things worthy of note
I. Peace proclaimed. Glorious to the ears of the men of Jerusalem must have been the intelligence that their great enemy was destroyed, that the Assyrian hosts were crushed, and now peace had come. A proclamation of national peace is good tidings. But the proclamation of moral peace is still more delightful. How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! (Rom 10:15). My peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth give I unto you.
II. Worship enjoined. O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows. During the Assyrian invasion the inhabitants of Judah were cut off from all access to the metropolis; now they would be at liberty to proceed thither as usual in order to observe their religious rites, and they are here commanded to do so.
1. War disturbs religious observances. As peace in nature is the time to cultivate your ground and sow your seed, peace in the nation is the time to promote growth m religion and virtue.
2. In war men are disposed to make religious vows.
III. Enemies vanquished. For the wicked shall no more pass through them; he is utterly cut off. (Homilist.)
Peace proclaimed
At the close of the last war with Great Britain, says an American writer, the prospects of our nation were shrouded in gloom. Our harbours were blockaded. Communication coastwise between our ports was cut off. Our immense annual products were mouldering in our warehouses. Our currency was reduced to irredeemable paper. Differences of political opinion were embittering the peace of many households. No one could predict when the contest would terminate, or discover the means by which it could much longer be protracted. It happened that one afternoon in February a ship was discovered in the offing, which was supposed to be a cartel, bringing home our commissioners at Ghent from their unsuccessful mission. The sun had set gloomily before any intelligence from the vessel had reached the city. Expectation became painfully intense as the hours of darkness drew on. At length a boat reached the wharf, announcing the fact that a treaty of peace had been signed, and was waiting for nothing but the action of our Government to become a law. The men on whose ears these words first fell rushed in breathless haste into the city to repeat them to their friends, shouting as they ran through the streets, Peace! Peace! Peace! Every one who heard the sound repeated it. From house to house, from street to street, the news spread with electric rapidity. The whole city was in commotion. Men bearing lighted torches were flying to and fro, shouting, Peace! Peace! Peace! When the rapture had partially subsided, one idea occupied every mind. But few men slept that night. In groups they were gathered in the streets, and by the fireside, beguiling the hour of midnight by reminding each other that the agony of war was over, and that a worn-out and distracted country was about to enter again upon its wonted career of prosperity. Thus, every one becoming a herald, the news soon reached every man, woman, and child in the city, and filled their hearts with joy.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 15. Behold upon the mountains] Borrowed probably from Isa 52:7, but applied here to the messengers who brought the good tidings of the destruction of Nineveh. Judah might then keep her solemn feasts, for the wicked Assyrian should pass through the land no more; being entirely cut off, and the imperial city razed to its foundations.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Behold: as this speaks some unexpected thing, so it calls for our heeding and minding of it.
Upon the mountains; over which he must needs come that either came from the Assyrian camp, where the miraculous slaughter was made, or from Nineveh, where the fugitive defeated tyrant was slain; many mountains environing Jerusalem, and lying dispersed in Judea, over which the messengers came, who brought news of Sennacheribs death, or downfall of the Assyrian kingdom.
Good tidings; good news indeed to an oppressed and weakened people, at which they might well rejoice indeed, if it be considered what this tyrant intended, see Isa 10:5-31 now he is dead who designed the mischief.
Publisheth; proclaimeth, and tells to every one he meets.
Peace; not by league or friendship with the Assyrian, but as the consequent of his death, and overthrow of his kingdom.
Keep thy solemn feasts; be careful to serve God and worship him, ye that are his people. Perform thy vows, made in thy deep distress, when all seemed lost and forlorn. The wicked; that wicked counsellor, Nah 1:11, the violent oppressor, proud Sennacherib, who shall fall by the sword, or rather is fallen by it, in his own land, when this messenger of glad tidings came, Isa 37:7,37,38.
Shall no more pass through thee; neither as a conqueror who beareth all down before him, nor as a triumpher glorifying in his acquists which in progress he takes view of.
He is utterly cut off; murdered by his sons, his kingdom shaken by intestine troubles arising on the slaughter of his army, and an anarchy, or interregnum, whilst the two brethren parricides warred with the third for the crown, and all three were in that juncture, as in an opportune season, invaded, subdued, and destroyed by Merodach-baladan king of Babylon: see Isa 10.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
15. This verse is joined in theHebrew text to the second chapter. It is nearly the same asIsa 52:7, referring to thesimilar deliverance from Babylon.
him that bringeth goodtidingsannouncing the overthrow of Sennacherib and deliveranceof Jerusalem. The “mountains” are those round Jerusalem, onwhich Sennacherib’s host had so lately encamped, preventing Judahfrom keeping her “feasts,” but on which messengers nowspeed to Jerusalem, publishing his overthrow with a loud voice wherelately they durst not have opened their mouths. A type of the farmore glorious spiritual deliverance of God’s people from Satan byMessiah, heralded by ministers of the Gospel (Ro10:15).
perform thy vowswhichthou didst promise if God would deliver thee from the Assyrian.
the wickedliterally,”Belial”; the same as the “counsellor of Belial”(Na 1:11, Margin);namely, Sennacherib.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Behold upon the mountains,…. Of the land of Israel, as the Targum; or those about Jerusalem:
the feet of him that bringeth good tidings; see how they come one after another with the news of the havoc and slaughter made in the army of Sennacherib by an angel in one night; of his flight, and of the dealt, of him by the hands of his two sons; and, after that, of the destruction of Nineveh, and of the whole Assyrian empire; all which were good tidings to the Jews, to whom the Assyrians were implacable enemies, and whose power the Jews dreaded; and therefore it must be good news to them to hear of their defeat and ruin, and the messengers that brought it must be welcome to them:
that publisheth peace; to the Jewish nation, who might from hence hope for peaceable and prosperous times: like expressions with these are used in Isa 52:7 on account of the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity; and are applied by the apostle to Gospel times and Gospel preachers, Ro 10:15 as these may also, and express the good tidings of victory obtained by Christ over sin, Satan, the world, hell and death; and of salvation wrought out, and peace made by him; it being usual for the prophets abruptly and at once to rise from temporal to spiritual and eternal things, particularly to what concern the Messiah, and the Gospel dispensation; [See comments on Isa 52:7]:
O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts; of the passover, pentecost, and tabernacles; which had been interrupted or omitted through the invasion of the land, and the siege of Jerusalem, by the enemy; but now, he being gone and slain, they had full liberty, and were at leisure to attend these solemnities:
perform thy vows; which they had made when in distress, when the enemy was in their land, and before their city; promising what they would do, if it pleased God to deliver them out of his hands, and now they were delivered; and therefore it was incumbent on them to make good their promises, and especially to offer up their thanksgivings to God for such a mercy; see Ps 50:14:
for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off; or Belial, the counsellor of Belial, as in Na 1:11 the king of Assyria; who, though he had passed through their land, had invaded it, and made devastation in it, should do so no more; being dead, cut off in a judicial way, through the just judgment of God, suffering his sons to take away his life while in the midst of his idolatrous worship; and this may reach, not only to him, and his seed after him, being wholly cut off, but to the whole Assyrian empire, who should none of them ever give any further trouble to Judah.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Judah hears the glad tidings, that its oppressor is utterly destroyed. A warlike army marches against Nineveh, which that city cannot resist, because the Lord will put an end to the oppression of His people. Nah 1:15. “Behold, upon the mountains the feet of the messengers of joy, proclaiming salvation! Keep thy feasts, O Judah; pay thy vows: for the worthless one will no more go through thee; he is utterly cut off.” The destruction of the Assyrian, announced in Nah 1:14, is so certain, that Nahum commences the description of its realization with an appeal to Judah, to keep joyful feasts, as the miscreant is utterly cut off. The form in which he utters this appeal is to point to messengers upon the mountains, who are bringing the tidings of peace to the kingdom of Judah. The first clause is applied in Isa 52:7 to the description of the Messianic salvation. The messengers of joy appear upon the mountains, because their voice can be heard far and wide from thence. The mountains are those of the kingdom of Judah, and the allusion to the feet of the messengers paints as it were for the eye the manner in which they hasten on the mountains with the joyful news. is collective, every one who brings the glad tidings. Shalom , peace and salvation: here both in one. The summons, to keep feasts, etc., proceeds from the prophet himself, and is, as Ursinus says, “partim gratulatoria, partim exhortatoria.” The former, because the feasts could not be properly kept during the oppression by the enemy, or at any rate could not be visited by those who lived at a distance from the temple; the latter, because the chaggm , i.e., the great yearly feasts, were feasts of thanksgiving for the blessings of salvation, which Israel owed to the Lord, so that the summons to celebrate these feasts involved the admonition to thank the Lord for His mercy in destroying the hostile power of the world. This is expressed still more clearly in the summons to pay their vows. , abstract for concrete = , as in 2Sa 23:6 and Job 34:18. is not a participle, but a perfect in pause.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Judah Liberation Proclaimed, v. 15
Verse 15:
Verse 15 is a part of chapter two, in the Hebrew text. The verse describes good tidings for Judah, by watchmen upon the mountains, as they brought the news, good tidings, of the defeat of Sennachrib and Assyria, from the battle at Jerusalem’s walls. They published peace again, Judah was now called upon obediently to resume her solemn feasts, and perform her ancient vows to Jehovah: For the wicked leader of Belial, v. 11, had now been cut off, This alludes to the gospel of liberation that Jesus brought, when He was raised with great power, effecting evidence of His power of salvation from death, the grave, and from Hell, quoted by Paul, Rom 10:15; See also Isa 52:7; Isa 60:13-14; Psa 22:16; Rev 1:15.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
The Prophet again teaches us, that whatever he prophesied respecting the destruction of the city Nineveh, was for this end, — that God, by this remarkable evidence, might show that he had a care for his people, and that he was not unmindful of the covenant he had made with the children of Abraham. This prophecy would have otherwise produced no salutary effect on the Israelites; they might have thought that it was by chance, or by some fatal revolution, or through some other cause, that Nineveh had been overthrown. Hence the Prophet shows, that the ruin of the city, and of the monarchy of Nineveh, would be a proof of the paternal love of God towards his chosen people, and that such a change was to be made for the sake of one people, because God, though he had for a time punished the Israelites, yet purposed that some seed should remain, for it would have been inconsistent, that the covenant, which was to be inviolate, should be entirely abolished. We now then understand the Prophet’s object, and how this verse is to be connected with the rest of the context.
Behold, he says, on the mountains the feet of him who announces peace (222) Some think that the Prophet alludes to the situation of Jerusalem. We indeed know that mountains were around it: but the Prophet speaks more generally, — that heralds of peace shall ascend to the tops of mountains, that their voice might be more extensively heard: Behold, he says, on the mountains the feet of him who announces peace; for all the roads had been before closed up, and hardly any one dared to whisper. If any one inquired either respecting peace or war, there was immediate danger lest he should fall under suspicion. As then the Assyrians, by their tyrannical rule, had deprived the Israelites of the freedom of speech, the Prophet says now, that the feet of those who should announce peace would be on the mountains; that is, that there would be now free liberty to proclaim peace on the highest places. By feet, he means, as we have explained, coming; and Isaiah speaks a similar language,
‘
How beautiful are the feet of those who announce peace, who announce good things!’ (Isa 52:7.)
Arise, then, he says, shall heralds of peace everywhere: and the repetition in other words seems to express this still more clearly; for he says, of him who announces and causes to hear He might have simply said מבשר, mebesher, but he adds משמיע, meshemio; not only, he says, he will announce peace, but also with a clear and loud voice, so that his preaching may be heard from the remotest places. We now perceive what the Prophet had in view, and what his words import.
Now he adds, Celebrate, Judah, thy festal days. It is indeed a repetition of the same word, as if we were to say in Latin, Festiva festivitates, feast festivities; but this has nothing to do with the meaning of the passage. I am disposed to subscribe to the opinion of those who think, that there is here an intimation of the interruption of festal days; for so disordered were all things at Jerusalem and in the country around, that sacrifices had ceased, and festal days were also intermitted; for sacred history tells us, that the Passover was celebrated anew under Hezekiah, and also under Josiah. This omission no doubt happened, owing to the wars by which the country had been laid waste. Hence the Prophet now intimates, that there would be quietness and peace for the chosen people, so that they might all without any fear ascend to Jerusalem, and celebrate their festal days, and give thanks to the Lord, and rejoice before him, according to the language often used by Moses. At the same time, the Prophet no doubt reminds the Jews for what end the Lord would break off the enemy’s yoke, and exempt them from servile fear, and that was, that they might sacrifice to God and worship him, while enjoying their quiet condition. And that he addresses Judah is not done without reason; for though the kingdom of Israel was not as yet so rejected, that God did not regard them as his people, yet there were no legitimate sacrifices among them, and no festal days which God approved: we indeed know that the worship which prevailed there was corrupt and degenerated. Inasmuch then as God repudiated the sacrifices which were offered in Israel, Nahum addresses here his discourse to Judah only; but yet he intimates, that God had been thus bountiful to the Israelites, that they, remembering their deliverance, might give him thanks.
Let us then know, that when the Lord grants us tranquillity and preserves us in a quiet state, this end ought ever to be kept in view, — that it is his will, that we should truly serve him. But if we abuse the public peace given us, and if pleasures occasion a forgetfulness of God, this ingratitude will by no means be endured. We ought, indeed, in extreme necessities to sacrifice to God, as we have need then especially of fleeing to his mercy; but as we cannot so composedly worship him in a disturbed state of mind, he is pleased to allow us peaceable times. Now, if we misapply this leisure, and indulge in sloth, yea, if we become so heedless as to neglect God, this as I have said will be an intolerable evil. Let us then take notice of the Prophet’s words in setting forth the design of God, — that he would free his people from the power of the Assyrians, that they might celebrate their festal days.
He adds, Pay thy vows He not only speaks here of the ordinary sacrifices and of the worship which had been prescribed; but he also requires a special proof of gratitude for having been then delivered by the hand of God; for we know what paying of vows meant among the Hebrews: they were wont to offer peace-offerings, when they returned victorious from war, or when they were delivered from any danger, or when they were relieved from some calamity. The Prophet therefore now shows, that it was right to pay vows to God, inasmuch as he had dealt so bountifully with his people; as it is said in Psa 116:0, ‘What shall I return to the Lord for all his benefits which he has bestowed on me? The cup of salvation will I take, and on the name of the Lord will I call.’ We also find it thus written in Hosea,
‘
The calves of thy lips to me shalt thou render,’ (Hos 14:2.)
We now perceive what Nahum substantially meant, — that when peace was restored, the people were not to bury so great and so remarkable a kindness of God, but to pay their vows; that is, that the people were to testify that God was the author of their deliverance, and that the redemption which they had obtained was the peculiar work of God.
It follows, “Add no more to pass through thee shall Belial, for utterly is he cut off.” This passage must not be explained in a general sense; for we know that the Chaldeans became more grievous to the Jews than the Assyrians had been; but the Prophet here refers especially to the Ninevites, that is, to the Assyrians, whose metropolis, as it has been said, was Nineveh. That wicked one then shall not add any more to pass through thee. — Why? for he is entirely cut off. This reason given by the Prophet clearly proves, that he speaks not of the wicked generally, but that he especially points out the Assyrians. Now follows —
(222) Calvin gives to מבשר only the sense of announcing or declaring. To spread or to bring news or tidings is its meaning; for it is used to designate bad as well as good tidings. See 1Sa 4:17; 2Sa 1:20; and 2Sa 4:10; Isa 3:7. It is commonly rendered ευαγγελιζεσθαι by the Septuagint. It may be regarded here as a participle in the same predicament with the participle which follows. The same mode of construction we find in Isa 52:7; where it evidently appears that the word means strictly to bring or to declare tidings, for good is added to it. That passage is as follows: —
How beautiful on the mountains Are the feet of him who announceth, Who proclaimeth peace, — Of him who announceth good, ( בוט רשבמ) Who proclaimeth salvation! Saying to Zion, Reign doth thy God.
—
Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(15) Behold upon the mountains.It is not plain why this verse has been made the first of Nahum 3 in the Hebrew. It is evidently the finale of the proclamation against the Assyrian invader, and rightly stands in the LXX. as the last verse of Nahum 2. It portrays the announcement of Sennacheribs fate to the towns and villages of Judah. From mountain-top to mountain-top by beacon fires they spread the glad tidings. Suddenly the deliverance comes, sudden its announcement. Behold, Judah, before hindered by armies from going up to Jerusalem, its cities taken, may now again keep the feasts there, and pay the vows which in trouble she promised; for the wicked one, the ungodly Sennacherib, is utterly cut off; he shall no more pass through thee (Pusey). The opening clause necessarily reminds one of the description of deliverance in Isa. 52:7. The one author probably borrows the language of the other; but which passage we regard as the original must depend on the view taken of the Book of Isaiah.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
The Glad News Is Brought To God’s People ( Nah 1:15 )
In words similar to Isa 52:7, Nahum declares the end of Nineveh. A messenger is on the way with the good news of peace. Judah can now worship freely because Assyria will trouble her no more. (Perhaps had Josiah not tried to interfere in things and thereby lost his life (2Ki 23:29) such conditions might have continued a good while longer. The prophets rarely approved of interfering in things which were not strictly Judah’s concern).
Nah 1:15
‘Behold on the mountains the feet of him who brings good tidings, who proclaims peace. Keep your feasts, O Judah, perform your vows. For the worthless will no more pass through you. He is utterly cut off.’
A messenger is seen as on his way. He will soon be there with the good news, promising peace from the activities of Assyria, because Nineveh is destroyed. Judah will now be able to worship in the purity of their religion, not being forced to have the gods of Assyria in their temple, nor to make Assyrian religion central to their worship. These words are a direct reference to Isa 52:7.
“Keep your feasts, O Judah. Perform your vows”. The one who stood in the way of the keeping of their feasts and the fulfilling of their vows to YHWH is about to be removed totally. They can now return to the unadulterated worship of YHWH.
‘For the worthless will no more pass through you. He is utterly cut off.’ Literally ‘the thing of worthlessness (or Belial)’. He who took them away from God. But now he is utterly cut off. There is therefore now no restraint on true worship.
So Nahum’s exultancy is based on the fact that wickedness has been dealt with, and that God’s people are now free to worship in purity. He announces it as though it had already happened.
The importance to us of this chapter is that it first reminds us of the greatness of God, and the reality of His judgment, and yet of His mercy to those who call on Him. All is under His control and we respond or fail to respond to Him for good or ill. It reminds us that He is the protector of His people and will in the end punish those who use them ill, or behave ill, however great they may think they are. Before Him all are minute. The point that come out is that although at times things may be difficult, we can always be sure that in the end we will see on the mountains the feet of those who bring the good news of deliverance.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
DISCOURSE: 1220
THE PROPER IMPROVEMENT OF GODS MERCIES [Note: Thanksgiving Sermon for peace, in May 1802.]
Nah 1:15. Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy rows.
IN the writings of the prophets there is an abruptness of style, which often renders them intricate, and almost unintelligible. The rapidity of their transitions from one person to another, from one period to another, and from one subject to another, tends to bewilder the mind, and operates as a discouragement to us, when we endeavour to investigate and comprehend their meaning. But when we are on our guard respecting this, we shall often discover beauties that will amply repay the labour of investigation, and shall be led to admire those passages, which at first sight appeared to be involved in impenetrable obscurity.
The subject of the prophecy before us is the destruction of Sennacheribs army, as a prelude to the overthrow of the Assyrian empire, of which Nineveh was the capital. The prophet begins this chapter with expatiating in general terms on the power and vindictive justice of Jehovah [Note: ver. 27.]. He then speaks of these perfections with a more express reference to his main point [Note: ver. 810.]. After that, he proceeds to address himself to Nineveh, from whence that wicked counsellor, Sennacherib, should come [Note: ver. 11.]. Then, in Jehovahs name, he addresses himself to the Jewish nation, to certify them, that, however greatly this formidable enemy should harass and distress them, they should be freed from his yoke [Note: ver. 12, 13.]. Then he addresses more immediately Sennacherib himself, and declares that he, his family, and his idols, should be signally and entirely cut off [Note: ver. 14.]. Lastly, beholding, as it were, his prophecy already accomplished, he points to the Messenger hastening over the mountains to announce the glad tidings: and he calls upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem to resume their wonted occupations, and especially their religious ordinances, in humble acknowledgment of the Divine goodness, and with a faithful regard to those vows which they had made in the day of their calamity [Note: ver. 15.].
The affinity between this subject, and that which calls for our attention this day, will more fully appear, while we consider,
I.
The tidings which are announced to us this day
These certainly relate, in the first instance, to Hezekiahs deliverance by the destruction of Sennacheribs army
[This was a great deliverance, wrought by God himself through the ministry of an angel [Note: Isa 37:36.]. And it may well serve to illustrate the blessings we this day commemorate [Note: If it be the Restoration of Peace, the parallel must be drawn between the dangers to which Jerusalem, and our nation, had been exposed. And, if there have been any signal interpositions of the Deity in favour of our land, the mention of them will mark the parallel more strongly. If it be the Restoration of King Charles the Second, the blessings of Hezekiahs government, and the renewal of the established ordinances of religion, must rather be adverted to as the ground of the parallel.] ]
But they relate also to the deliverance of mankind from sin and death through the intervention of the Lord Jesus
[The deliverances vouchsafed to the Jews, are constantly represented in Scripture as typical of the great work of redemption: and the very expressions in the text are used by Isaiah with a more direct reference to that event [Note: Isa 52:7.]. Nor is this idea founded in conjecture; for St. Paul, quoting the words of both the prophets, applies them directly to the proclaiming of salvation to the Gentile world [Note: Rom 10:13-15.]. If then the prophet mingled these two events, well may we do so too; and from contemplating the mercies vouchsafed to us in a temporal view, take occasion to reflect on the infinitely richer mercies which we obtain through Christ [Note: Here the destruction of our spiritual enemies by Christ, the Angel of the Covenant, may be announced, as joyful tidings to those who are shut up under the Law, the wretched expectants of death and judgment.] ]
We are at no loss how to improve these tidings, since the prophet himself suggests,
II.
The duties resulting from them
In an encouraging yet monitory strain, he exhorts us to,
1.
A devout acknowledgment of the mercies received
[The way to Jerusalem having been blocked up by the besieging army, the prophet tells the people, that now they may have free access to the temple, and come up at the appointed seasons to their solemn feasts. And should not we also now avail ourselves of the opportunities which are afforded us, and wait upon God without distraction [Note: Here, if the Kings Restoration be the subject of thanksgiving, reference may be made to the interruption of the established worship during the usurpation, and the danger of its entire abolition afterwards, during the time of the Revolution.]? We should at least spend this day, not in mere carnal mirth, but in solemn feasting before God, even in spiritual, and more appropriate joy.
The remembrance of the work of redemption more especially should kindle in our hearts a sacred flame of gratitude and thanksgiving, and should stimulate us to a more strict observance of the Sabbath, which, in commemoration of it, was made to supersede the original Sabbath, and was designated by that honourable appellation, The Lords Day.]
2.
A conscientious performance of the vows we have made
[It is most probable, that many, during the siege of Jerusalem, would make vows to God, as the Jews from the beginning had been in the habit of doing under their calamities. Nor can we doubt but that many of ourselves, in seasons of sickness or trouble, have purposed, and perhaps vowed, to change the course of our lives, if we were delivered from the distresses which we either felt or feared. At this time in particular we have been making vows, which we are bound to perform [Note: Such vows are constantly offered to God, in the forms of prayer for the 29th of May, and the fast-days; and they may here be quoted from the one or other of those forms, as the occasion requires; and may be pressed on the conscience as obligatory at this time.]. But, alas! if we compare our petitions in the midst of trouble, with our lives when delivered from trouble, what an awful contrast does there appear! Let it not, however, be so on this occasion; but let us remember the vows that are upon us; for better were it never to vow at all, than to vow and not pay [Note: Ecc 5:4-5.].]
We conclude then with an address, both inspired and uttered by God himself; Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee! Offer unto God thanksgiving, and pay thy vows unto the Most High [Note: Psa 50:7; Psa 50:14.].
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Here is the blessed verse which throws light upon the whole Chapter, and fully explains the whole. This shows that the Prophet was not speaking of the men of Nineveh, or the Babylon of his day; but the oppressors of Jesus’s Church of every day, and all the day, during a life of grace. Yea, the mystic Babylon of all ages, which joined with the powers of hell, have conspired to crush the cause of the Lord, and His Anointed. Psa 2:1-2 ; Rev 17:5-6 . How blessedly was the Prophet commissioned in this verse to point to Jesus. And how blessedly also was the Prophet commissioned to comfort Judah with the assurance of his coming? Reader! those are sweet feasts of our Judah in the present hour, when the presence of Jesus is seen and enjoyed in them! Ordinances are truly blessed, when they lead the heart to Christ! Lord grant that they never may be used by any of thy people to keep from Christ. For this they always do, when forgetting the end, we rest in the means; and lean upon the ordinance, instead of wholly enquiring in the ordinance for the Lord Jesus! See the Lord’s solemn expostulation on this subject, by one of the Prophets. Zec 7:4-6 .
REFLECTIONS
READER! think how gracious the Lord is in his attention to his people, even when their sins are calling forth his chastisement. The Church was now going into captivity, but still, though deserving correction, it is the correction of a father; and though the enemy be permitted to afflict, yet they shall not destroy; and in due time the Lord will reckon with them for it.
And what I beg the Reader more especially to regard in this delightful Chapter is, the method the Lord takes to comfort his people, with the tidings of salvation. It was at a period when many hundred years were to run out before the coming of Jesus. But notwithstanding this, as the glorious events of salvation, like the Almighty Author of it, was the same yesterday and today, and forever; so the Church of God shall be comforted with the assurance of it in all, ages. Reader! do not overlook this! It was this that became the joy, the comfort, the consolation of the faithful through all periods of the Church. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all alike lived in the enjoyment of it, and all died in the full assurance of it. The covenant of redemption was, and is the covenant of eternity. And consequently they are, and must be the same things with all the redeemed; in trouble or joy, in death or in life. Hence Nahum, hence Isaiah, hence Paul, yea all, both Prophets and Apostles, welcome Christ; and the very feet of the publishers of salvation are beautiful. Precious, precious Jesus! what unknown, unexplored, and ever to be admired and adored beauties, are centered in thy One glorious Person! thou altogether lovely and fairest of ten thousand!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Nah 1:15 Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
Ver. 15. Behold upon the mountains the feet of him, &c. ] This “behold” is as the sound of a trumpet before some proclamation, to bespeak attention. Jerusalem is surrounded with mountains, Psa 125:2 , and on the mountains a voice may be heard afar off.
The feet of him that bringeth good tidings
That publisheth peace
O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, &c.
For the wicked
He is utterly cut off
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Behold. Figure of speech Asterismos (App-6), for emphasis, calling attention to the reference to Isa 52:7, the the hypotheticalsecond Isaiah, 100 years before he is supposed by modern critics to have lived.
keep thy solemn feasts. Figure of speech. Polyptoton. App-6. Hebrew “feast thy solemn feasts” : used for great emphasis. Reference to Pentateuch (Deu 16:16, &c.; Nah 23:21, &c). App-92.
the wicked. Hebrew [the man of] Belial. See note on Nah 1:11.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
upon: Isa 40:9, Isa 40:10, Isa 52:7, Luk 2:10, Luk 2:14, Act 10:36, Rom 10:15
keep: Heb. feast
perform: Psa 107:8, Psa 107:15, Psa 107:21, Psa 107:22, Psa 116:12-14, Psa 116:17, Psa 116:18
the wicked: Heb. Belial, Nah 1:11, Nah 1:12
no: Isa 37:36-38
he: Nah 1:14, Isa 29:7, Isa 29:8
Reciprocal: Gen 35:1 – Bethel Lev 7:16 – be a vow Lev 22:18 – vows Lev 23:2 – the feasts Num 30:2 – he shall do Deu 23:21 – General 2Ki 7:9 – this day Psa 42:4 – with the voice Psa 50:14 – pay Psa 66:13 – pay Psa 81:3 – solemn Psa 89:15 – know Psa 116:14 – pay my vows Pro 25:25 – so Isa 41:27 – I will give Joe 3:17 – there Amo 5:17 – I will Mat 5:33 – Thou
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Nah 1:15. Once more the prophet leaps from some experience of fleshly Israel to predict a great favor as spiritual Israel. The terms used are those of the rituals used by fleshly Israel but are figuratively used in this case, and reter to the spiritual practices under Christ. The prediction is cited by Paul in Rom 10:15.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Nah 1:15. Behold upon the mountains Which surrounded Jerusalem; the feet of him Of the messenger; that bringeth good tidings Tidings that Nineveh is destroyed; that publisheth peace Deliverance from the tyranny and oppression of the Assyrians, through the destruction of their capital city, and the overthrow of their empire; or safety and prosperity to the Jews, which the word peace often signifies. Compare Isa 52:7, where the same expressions are used with relation to the destruction of Babylon, the overthrow of the Chaldean empire, and the release of the Jews, and their restoration to their own land. These deliverances being typical of the great redemption wrought out for us by the Messiah, the words are applied by the apostle (Rom 10:15) to the gospel, which brings us glad tidings of that redemption, and of all the spiritual and eternal blessings consequent upon it. O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts As thou now hast liberty to do, and mayest do with joy and gladness, being freed from thy fears; and to do which thou art now under peculiar obligations, having been so wonderfully delivered from the oppressive power of thy enemies; and having solemnly vowed to God, when thou wast in distress, that thou wouldest worship and serve him according to the precepts of his law, if thou shouldest be delivered from any further fear of thy oppressors. For the wicked shall no more pass through thee The impious Assyrians, who set at naught and blasphemed Jehovah, thy God, shall no more come against thee. He is utterly cut off The oppressor is taken away, and the Assyrian empire utterly and for ever ruined.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Nah 1:12 f., Nah 1:15; Nah 2:2. Comfort for Judah.Now that the days of Yahwehs contention with His people are over, He will afflict them no more, but will break the yoke of the enemy from off their shoulders, and will burst their bonds asunder. Already their eyes may behold on the mountain-tops the feet of the herald bringing tidings of salvation. Let Judah then celebrate her feasts and fulfil her vows in confidence; for no more shall Belial pass through her midst, but Yahweh will restore the vine-tree which the spoilers have despoiled and whose branches they have ruined.
Nah 1:12. Here, too, the text is almost desperately corrupt. A plausible emendation yields, Now that the days of my contention are full, they are past and gone; if I have afflicted (humbled) thee, etc.
Nah 1:15. Belial (mg.): the personification of wickedness (Deu 13:3* Psa 61:2*).
Nah 2:2. For geon, pride, the context practically demands gephen, vine (cf. Psa 80:8 ff.).Jacob here = Judah, and Israel = the north land (cf. Isa 43:1; Isa 44:1, etc.).
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
1:15 Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth {p} peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
(p) Which peace the Jews would enjoy by the death of Sennacherib.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
III. NINEVEH’S DESTRUCTION DESCRIBED 1:15-3:19
This second major part of Nahum contains another introduction and four descriptions of Nineveh’s destruction. Having revealed general statements about Yahweh’s judgment, Nahum next communicated more specific descriptions of Nineveh’s demise. As in the previous section, he also gave promises of Israel’s restoration.
"Nahum portrays [the] siege, reproduces its horrors and its savagery, its cruelties and mercilessness, in language so realistic that one is able to see it and feel it. First comes the fighting in the suburbs. Then the assault upon the walls. Then the capture of the city and its destruction." [Note: Raymond Calkins, The Modern Message of the Minor Prophets, p. 82.]
The section begins, as the first major one did (cf. Nah 1:2-8), with an emphasis on Yahweh who contrasts with the human destroyer of Nineveh. Humans can destroy, but it takes Yahweh to deliver. This section is also chiastic, as was Nah 1:9-14.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
This is the first verse of chapter 2 in the Hebrew Bible. It is a janus, a transition that looks back to what precedes and forward to what follows.
Nahum called his audience to give attention. Someone was coming over the mountains with a message of peace. Consequently the people of Judah could celebrate their feasts; they had a future. They should pay their vows to the Lord because He had answered their prayers. The wicked Assyrians would never again pass through their land, as they had done in the past. The message was that they had been cut off, like a piece of a garment, and so would be no threat in the future. The prophet spoke as if Nineveh had already fallen and a messenger had just arrived with the news. The same statement appears in Isa 52:7, where the messenger announces the defeat of Babylon.
"So complete was its [Nineveh’s] destruction that when Xenophon passed by the site about 200 years later, he thought the mounds were the ruins of some other city. And Alexander the Great, fighting in a battle nearby, did not realize that he was near the ruins of Nineveh." [Note: Elliott E. Johnson, "Nahum," in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, p. 1499.]
The Apostle Paul quoted the first part of this verse in Rom 10:15 in reference to those messengers who bring similar good news, namely, the gospel.
"The message is one of peace, a peace from external oppression and a new kind of peace with the God who is the giver of all life." [Note: Peter C. Craigie, Twelve Prophets, 2:67.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
A. The sovereign justice of Yahweh 1:15-2:2