Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Nahum 2:7
And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead [her] as with the voice of doves, taboring upon their breasts.
7. And Huzzab ] The word is altogether obscure, and Assyriology has not been able to throw any light upon it. Reference must be to the queen, but whether she be called by her name, or whether some epithet be applied to her is uncertain. The text even may be faulty. Some would read hazzab, “the lizard,” a creature which takes refuge in holes, fancying that the queen was so called because she was detected and dragged from her hiding-place. This poor witticism need not be attributed to the prophet. There is another word hazzab signifying “the litter” or palanquin (Isa 66:20), and in lieu of anything better one might be tempted to think that the litter might mean the woman or lady, just as in Arab. a‘inah means a woman’s litter and then a woman.
shall be led away captive ] is detected, or uncovered.
shall be brought up ] she is brought up (or, out), her maids moaning as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts ( Jdt 8:5 ). The phrase “brought up” following “detected” probably means dragged out; R.V. carried away. To “taber” is to drum or beat. Beating the breast was a gesture of grief or despair, Luk 18:13; Luk 23:27; people also smote upon the thigh, Jer 31:19; Eze 21:12 (Heb. 21:17). The moaning of mourners is often compared to the complaint of the dove, see Ezek. Cambridge Bible, p. 49. In Assyrian the dove is called summatu, the mourner or complainer.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The first word should he rendered, And it is decreed; She shall be laid bare. It is decreed. All this took place, otherwise than man would have thought, because it was the will of God. She (the people of the city, under the figure of a captive woman) shall be laid bare, in shame, to her reproach; she shall be brought up , to judgment, or from Nineveh as being now sunk low and depressed; and her maids, the lesser cities, as female attendants on the royal city, and their inhabitants represented as women, both as put to shame and for weakness. The whole empire of Nineveh was overthrown by Nabopalassar. Yet neither was the special shame wanting, that the noble matrons and virgins were so led captives in shame and sorrow. They shall lead her, as with the voice of doves, moaning, yet, for fear, with a subdued voice.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 7. And Huzzab shall be led away captive] Perhaps Huzzab means the queen of Nineveh, who had escaped the burning mentioned above by Diodorus. As there is no account of the queen being burnt, but only of the king, the concubines, and the eunuchs, we may, therefore, naturally conclude that the queen escaped; and is represented here as brought up and delivered to the conqueror; her maids at the same time bewailing her lot. Some think Huzzab signifies Nineveh itself.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Huzzab: this is variously taken, but the most probable guess is, that it is meant of the queen, who kept close in the palace, or temple, as where she might be most safe in the strength and supposed sacredness of the place.
Shall be led away captive; without due respect to her royal dignity, shall be hurried into a strange land with other captives, and (as they) be exposed to danger and insolence.
Her maids, ladies that waited on her in her royal state, now shall be her companions in captivity.
Shall lead her; support their sorrowful, weary, and fainting queen, spent with such travel as she had not been used unto.
As with the voice of doves; sighing out the complaints they durst not speak out.
Tabering upon their breasts; these maids of honour should now in captivity strike on their breasts, but with such caution and fear of being discovered in their lamenting their state, as should be but like the noise of a taber lightly struck; or else, instead of musical instruments on which they were used to play, and to which they were used to sing, now they strike their own breasts, and sigh out their sorrows.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. Huzzabthe name of thequeen of Nineveh, from a Hebrew root implying that she stoodby the king (Ps 45:9),[VATABLUS]. Rather,Nineveh personified as a queen. She who had long stood in themost supreme prosperity. Similarly CALVIN.MAURER makes it not aproper name, and translates, “It is established,” or”determined” (compare Ge41:32). English Version is more supported by theparallelism.
led away captiveTheHebrew requires rather, “she is laid bare“;brought forth from the apartments where Eastern women remainedsecluded, and is stripped of her ornamental attire. Compare Isa 47:2;Isa 47:3, where the same image ofa woman with face and legs exposed is used of a city captive anddismantled (compare Na 3:5),[MAURER].
brought upHer peopleshall be made to go up to Babylon. Compare the use of “goup” for moving from a place in Jer21:2.
her maids . . . as . . .dovesAs Nineveh is compared to a queen dethroned anddishonored, so she has here assigned to her in the image handmaidsattending her with dove-like plaints (Isa 38:14;Isa 59:11. The image implieshelplessness and grief suppressed, but at times breaking out).The minor cities and dependencies of Nineveh may be meant, or hercaptive women [JEROME].GROTIUS and MAURERtranslate, for “lead her,” “moan,“or “sigh.”
taberingbeatingon their breasts as on a tambourine.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Huzzab shall be led away captive,…. The Targum translates it the queen; and Jarchi and Aben Ezra, after R. Samuel, take it to be the name of the queen of Assyria; so called, as every queen might, from her standing at the king’s right hand, Ps 45:9 who, when the royal palace was destroyed, was taken out, and carried captive with the rest, who before was in a well settled and tranquil state and condition: or perhaps the king himself is designed, who may be represented as a woman, as follows, for his effeminacy; conversing only with women; imitating their voice; wearing their apparel; and doing their work, spinning, c. which is the character historians l give of the last king of the Assyrians: some m take it to be the idol Venus, worshipped by the Ninevites: though it may be meant either of the palace itself, as Kimchi’s father, which was firm and well established or rather Nineveh itself, thought to be stable and secure, the inhabitants of which should be carried into a strange land:
she shall be brought up; the queen, or the king, out of the palace or private retirement, where they were in peace and safety; or Nineveh, and the inhabitants of it, out of their secure state and condition:
and her maids shall lead [her]; her maids of honour, supporting her on the right hand and left, ready to sink and faint under her misfortunes: this may also be understood of towns and villages, and the inhabitants of them, that should go into captivity along with Nineveh:
as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts; mourning like doves, inwardly and secretly, not daring to express their sorrow more publicly, because of their enemies; but knocking and beating upon their breasts, as men do upon tabrets or drums, thereby expressing the inward grief of their minds; see Eze 7:16.
l Diodor. Sicul. l. 2. p. 109, 110. m Gebhardus apud Burkium in loc.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
There is some ambiguity in these words, and many interpreters think that הצב, estab, to be the name of the queen. The queen then they say, of the name of הצב, estab, is drawn away into exile; she is bidden to ascend, that she might migrate to a hostile land. But this view is too strained; nor was there any reason to suppose the word to be a proper name, except that there was a wish to say something, and that there was no other conjecture more probable. But I regard their opinion more correct, who refer this to the state of the kingdom; and there is here, I have no doubt, a personification, which is evident if we attend to the meaning. If any one prefers to regard the queen as intended, it would yet be better to take הצב, estab, in its proper and real meaning, — that the queen, previously hid in her palace, and hardly able, through being so delicate, to move a step, — that she was brought forth to the light; for גלה, gele, means to uncover, and also to cast out. If we render it, was made manifest, the Prophet alludes to hiding-places, and means that the queen did not go forth to the light, but was like delicate women who keep themselves within their chambers: but if we render it, Who is drawn forth into exile, it would be more suitable to one who was previously fixed in her dwelling. The word comes from יצב, itsab, to stand; but it is here in Hophal, הוצב, eustab,: it then signifies one who was before fixed and firmly settled, that is, in her concealment; she is drawn, he says, into exile. If then any one chooses to refer this to the person of the queen, the most suitable meaning would be, — that the queen, who before sat in the midst of her pleasures, shall be violently drawn into exile, and carried away to another country. And it is probable that the Prophet speaks of the queen, because it immediately follows, Her handmaids lead her as with the voice of doves, and smite on their breasts; that is, her maids, who before flattered her, shall laments and with sighing and tears, and mourning, shall lead away, as a captive, their own mistress. Thus the context would harmonize.
But, as I have said, their opinion seems right, who think that under the person of a woman the state of the kingdom is here described. She then, who before stood, or remained fixed, shall be drawn into captivity; or she, who before sat at leisure, shall be discovered; that is, she shall no more lie hid as hitherto in her retirement, but shall be forced to come abroad. And then, she shall ascend; that is, vanish away, for the verb is to be here taken metaphorically; she shall then vanish away, or be reduced to nothing. And as the Prophet sets a woman here before us, what follows agrees with this idea, — Her handmaids shall weep and imitate the doves in their moaning; that is, the whole people shall bewail the fate of the kingdom, when things shall be so changed, as when handmaids lead forth their own mistress, who had been before nourished in the greatest delicacies. (230)
Now this accumulation of words was by no means in vain; for it was necessary to confirm, by many words, the faith of the Israelites and of the Jews respecting the near approach of the destruction of the city Nineveh, which would have been otherwise incredible; and of this we can easily form a judgment by our own experience. If any one at this day were to speak of mighty kings, whose splendor amazes the whole world, — if any one were to announce the ruin of the kingdom of one of them, it would appear like a fable. This then is the reason why the Prophet, by so many figures, sets forth an event which might have been expressed in few words, and confirms it by so many forms of speech, and even by such as are hyperbolical. He at length subjoins —
(230) Various have been the opinions respecting the construction of this verse. The Rabbins have generally considered the first word as the name of the queen of Nineveh: but this opinion has been adopted but by a few. Newcome joins the word with the last verse, and changes it into מצב, on no authority but that of conjecture, and renders it “fortress.” What Henderson has adopted seems the best: he also joins it to the last verse, but makes no change in it, only he gives the ו an adversative meaning, which it often has. The evident gender, as he rightly says, of הצב proves its connection with the former verse, it being masculine, while the verbs in this verse are feminines. His version of the two verses is the following, —
7. The floodgates are opened, And the palace is dissolved, Though firmly established.
8. She is made bare, she is carried up, While her handmaids moan like doves, And smite upon their hearts.
With the exception of the word הצב, this version is liable to several objections. The verb גלה is often used in Kal intransitively, “is removed;” and this meaning enables us better to understand that of the next verb, “she is made to ascend,” that is, into captivity, even into Babylon, the seat of empire, being ever considered as the highest place. מנהגות is a word which in some form or another often occurs in Hebrew, and has never the meaning here given to it. Here it is a participle in Hophal, and “carried away” is its evident meaning, and is rendered ηγοντο, led away, by the Septuagint. “Like,” or, as “the voice of doves,” are literally the words which follow this verb. However connected, they must be considered as elliptical — “as with the voice, or, with a voice as that of doves.” They might then be construed with the next line. The whole verse would then be this, —
She is removed, she is made to ascend; Yea, her handmaids are led away, Who with a voice as that of doves, tabor on their breasts.
They were accompanying the tabering with a voice like that of doves. “Tabor” is literally the original, and “on their breasts” is an English idiom, as “on their hearts” is a Hebrew idiom. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(7) And Huzzab shall be led away captive. . . .Better, And it is decided. She is laid bare. She is removed away. And her maidens moan, as with the cry of doves, smiting on their breasts.
It is decided, or establishedcest un fait accompli. The Authorised Version apparently follows those Rabbinic commentators who treat the Hebrew expression hutstsab as the name of an Assyrian queen, or as a symbolical designation of Nineveh. The word is best regarded as a verb-form cognate to the expression rendered by the Authorised Version of certainty, certain, true, in Dan. 2:48; Dan. 3:24; Dan. 7:16. Laid bare, the common figure of the virgin city put to shame by capture (comp. Isa. 47:1-5). The maidens who moan as with the cry of doves (comp. Isa. 38:14; Isa. 59:11; Eze. 7:16) are probably Ninevehs dependent cities. These are represented as standing gazing on the awful catastrophe, groaning aloud and beating the breast (comp. Luk. 23:48) in a horror of despair.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Nah 2:7. And Huzzab shall be led away, &c. Houbigant renders this, And the queen ascends into her upper chamber; [or the place where to see and lament the ruins of the city;] and like the voice of doves, so do her maidens lament, beating their breasts. Others suppose that Huzzab signifies a fortress, and denotes Nineveh, which is described as a great princess carried away captive, with her maids of honour attending her, and bewailing both her and their own condition, by beating their breasts, and other expressions of lamentation. According to these commentators, the maids denote the lesser cities of the Assyrian kingdom, which should share with the capital in the same calamities. See Grotius and Calmet. But the author of the Observations gives us the fullest and clearest explanation of this text. When D’Arvieux was in the camp of the great emir, his princess was visited by other Arab princesses. The last who came, and whose visit alone he describes, was mounted on a camel covered with carpet, and decked with flowers; a dozen of women marched in a row before her, holding the camel’s halter with one hand, while they sung the praises of their mistress, in compositions expressive of joy, and the happiness of being in the service of so beautiful and amiable a lady. Those who went first, and were more distant from her person, came in their turn to the head of the camel, and took hold of the halter; which place, as being the post of honour, they quitted to others, when the princess had gone a few paces. The emir’s lady sent her women to meet her, to whom the halter was entirely quitted out of respect, her own women placing themselves behind the camel: in this order they marched to the tent, where she alighted. They then all sung together the beauty, birth, and good qualities of this princess. Now, does not this account illustrate the passage before us? Nahum is speaking of the presenting of the queen of Nineveh, or Nineveh itself under the figure of a queen, to her conqueror. He describes her as led by her maids, with the voice of doves; with the voice of mourning; that is, their wonted songs of joy, with which they used to lead her along, as the Arab women dis their princess, being turned into lamentation. That the prophet is here speaking of a presentation to a conqueror, is evident from the term brought up; which is the same, in the original as well as in our version, with that used for the conducting of Zedekiah to the place where his conqueror held his court. Compare 2Ki 25:6. Jer 39:5. Nor were former distinctions altogether lost in captivity, as appears from Jer 34:3-5. Though Zedekiah was to die a captive, yet some distinctions of royalty were to be paid him even in captivity: thus Huzzab was to be led by her maids into the presence of her conqueror, as princesses were usually led, but with the voice of lamentation, instead of the voice of joy. Thus we enter naturally into the force of the expression, her maids shall lead her, as well as of the term brought up. See Observations, p. 228.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Nah 2:7 And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead [her] as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts.
Ver. 7. And Huzzab shall be led away captive ] The queen; so called because she stood firm, and was best underlaid of any other, as was thought. Some render it, quae firma stabat, ducta est in exilium. She that was wont to stand at the king’s right hand, as Psa 45:9 which is a place both of dignity and of safety. As Christ is at God’s right hand, Psa 110:1 , so the Church is at his, Psa 45:9 , and he hath led captivity captive, Eph 4:8 , spoiled principalities and powers, made an open show of them, triumphing over them in himself, Col 2:15 . This is the saints’ happiness: they are out of gunshot, more than conquerors, even triumphers, 2Co 2:14 .
She shall be brought up
And her maids shall lead her
“ Non audet Stygius Pluto tentare quod audet
Effraenis Monachus, plenaque fraudis anus. ”
As with the voice of doves
Tabering upon their breasts
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Huzzab. The words which follow show that the queen or queen-mother is meant: or, Huzzab may be taken as a verb (dual of nazah), and the “and” as = though (like “but” in Nah 2:8). In that case read: “though firmly established, she shall be dishonoured and taken captive”; the city being thus personified.
lead her = mourn for, or bemoaning.
tabering = drumming [with their fingers] incessantly. Hebrew. taphaph, from toph = a drum. See note on Exo 15:20. 1Sa 10:6.
breasts = hearts. Some codices read “heart” (singular); but others, with eight early printed editions, read “hearts” (plural)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Huzzab: or, that which was established; or, there was a stand made
led away captive: or, discovered
doves: Isa 38:14, Isa 59:11, Luk 23:27, Luk 23:48
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Nah 2:7. Huzzab is capitallzed as if it were a proper name, but Strong says it is not. His definition of the original is, “A primitive root; to station, In various applications (literal or figurative).” It means that the station or spot where the palace stood will be taken and the chief inhabitant of it will be led away captive. Also, the attendants of the palace will accompany said person in a procession of mourning, tabering or drumming, beating upon their breasts in their despair.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Nah 2:7. And Huzzab shall be led away captive By Huzzab the Chaldee understands the queen, who, without due respect to her royal dignity, should be hurried away, among other captives, into a strange land; and exposed, as they, to danger and insolence. And her maids The ladies that waited on her in her state of royalty, shall now be her companions in her captivity; shall lead her Shall support their sorrowful, weary, and fainting queen, spent with such travel as she had not been used to; with the voice of doves, tabering, &c. Mourning like doves, and beating their breasts, instead of musical instruments. But, as the word Huzzab signifies a strong, or impregnable fortress, some understand thereby Nineveh itself. If this be the meaning of the term, Nineveh is here figuratively represented as a great princess carried captive, with her maids of honour attending her, and bewailing hers and their own condition, with every sign and expression of lamentation: whereby was denoted, that the lesser cities under her jurisdiction should be sharers with her in her calamity. Thus Babylon is represented by Isaiah as a tender and delicate lady, undergoing the hardships of a captivity, Isa 47:1-8.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Lord’s judgment of Nineveh had been determined. The city would be stripped of her treasures and they and their possessors would be carried off to other places. Even the slave girls, the bottom of the social scale, as well as the nobles (Nah 2:5), the top, would lament the fall of the city. They would make mournful sounds and beat their breasts like doves that cooed and flapped their wings. Normally one would expect slaves in a city to rejoice at its destruction since that would mean their liberation. But life in Nineveh was good for some foreigners taken there as captives.