Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Nahum 2:10
She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain [is] in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness.
10. In a series of exclamations the prophet depicts the desolation of the city and the paralysis and helplessness of those remaining in it; Isa 13:7; Isa 21:3; Jos 7:5. The paronomasia in the first words, emptiness and voidness and waste! cannot be reproduced. Isa 24:1; Isa 29:2; Eze 33:29; Zep 1:15.
faces gather blackness ] are waxed pale, lit. have withdrawn their colour; Joe 2:6. Comp. the phrase of Jer 30:6, are turned to greenness (blanched).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
She is empty and void and waste – The completeness of her judgment is declared first under that solemn number, Three, and the three words in Hebrew are nearly the same , with the same meaning, only each word fuller than the former, as picturing a growing desolation; and then under four heads (in all seven) also a growing fear. First the heart, the seat of courage and resolve and high purpose, melteth; then the knees smite together, tremble, shake, under the frame; then, much pain is in all loins, literally, strong pains as of a woman in travail, writhing and doubling the whole body, and making it wholly powerless and unable to stand upright, shall bow the very loins, the seat of strength Pro 31:17, and, lastly, the faces of them all gather blackness (see the note at Joe 2:6), the fruit of extreme pain, and the token of approaching dissolution.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 10. She is empty, and void, and waste] The original is strongly emphatic; the words are of the same sound; and increase in their length as they point out great, greater, and greatest desolation.
Bukah, umebukah, umebullakah.
She is void, empty, and desolate.
The faces of them all gather blackness.] This marks the diseased state into which the people had been brought by reason of famine, c. for, as Mr. Ward justly remarks, “sickness makes a great change in the countenance of the Hindoos; so that a person who was rather fair when in health, becomes nearly black by sickness.” This was a general case with the Asiatics.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
She, Nineveh, taken, and under the proud insultings of the barbarous soldiers,
is empty though once full of all store, yet now she is empty enough, many hands have been employed to spoil her, and void, citizens are either slipped away, or carried captives, and waste, desolate, and shall continue so. Here is a threefold expression, to ascertain the thing, and to intimate the greatness of Ninevehs desolation.
The heart melteth; this devastation hath broken the hearts of the Ninevites.
The knees smite together; not able to go steadily, ready to fall through weakness and faintness of spirits.
Much pain, acute pains and griefs, caused by their troubles, losses, dangers, and frights,
is in all loins; which, in those that are well, are their strength, and which, to diseased and broken bodies, are the seat of pains and griefs.
The faces, which were wont to be haughty and scornful, and as it were sparkle with briskness of spirit,
all gather blackness; now are clouded, sorrowful, and dejected, every one may see their desperate state in this symptom.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
10. Literally, “emptiness,and emptiedness, and devastation.” The accumulation ofsubstantives without a verb (as in Na3:2), the two first of the three being derivatives of the sameroot, and like in sound, and the number of syllables in themincreasing in a kind of climax, intensify the gloomy effectiveness ofthe expression. Hebrew, Bukah, Mebukah, Mebullakah (compareIsa 24:1; Isa 24:3;Isa 24:4; Zep 1:15).
faces of all gatherblackness(See on Joe 2:6).CALVIN translates,”withdraw (literally, ‘gather up’) their glow,” or flush,that is, grow pale. This is probably the better rendering. So MAURER.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
She is empty, and void, and waste,…. The city of Nineveh, empty of inhabitants, being killed, or having fled; and stripped of all its treasures and riches by the enemies; its walls and houses demolished and pulled down, and laid in ruins, and become a heap of rubbish; [See comments on Na 1:8]. Various words are here used to ascertain and confirm the thing; and there is an elegant play on words or likeness of sounds, which our language will not express:
and the heart melteth; the heart of every inhabitant of Nineveh melted with fear at the approach of their enemies, their entrance into the city, and plunder of it; flowed like water, or melted like wax; see
Ps 22:14:
and the knees smite together; like people in a fright, and when a panic has seized them; and as it was with Belshazzar, Da 5:6:
and much pain [is] in all loins; like that of women in travail; or of persons in a sudden fright, which gives them a pain in their backs at once:
and the faces of them all gather blackness; like a pot, as the Targum adds; being in great distress and disconsolation, which make men appear in a dismal hue, and their countenances look very dark and gloomy; see Joe 2:6.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Prophet here confirms what the last verse contains; for he shows why he had called the Chaldeans to take away the spoil, — because it was to be so. He did not indeed (as I have already said) command the Chaldeans in such a way as that their obedience to God was praiseworthy: but the Prophet speaks here only of His secret counsel. Though then the Chaldeans knew not that it was God’s decree, yet the Prophet reminds the faithful that the Ninevites, when made naked, suffered punishment for their cruelty, especially for having so hostilely conducted themselves towards the Jews: and hence he declares, that Nineveh is emptied, is emptied, and made naked. (233) By repeating the same word, he intimates the certainty of the event: Emptied, emptied, he says, as when one says in our language, videe et revidee We hence see that by this repetition what the Prophet meant is more distinctly expressed that the faithful might not doubt respecting the event: and then for the same purpose he adds, she is made naked.
We now then perceive the Prophet’s design. As in the last verse he shows that he had power given him from above to send armies against Nineveh, and to give up the city to them to be spoiled and plundered; so he now shows that he had not so commanded the Chaldeans, as though they were the legitimate servants of God, and could pretend that they rendered service to Him. He therefore points out for what end he had commanded the Chaldeans to plunder Nineveh; and that was, because God had so decreed; and he had so decreed and commanded, because he would not bear the many wrongs done to his people whom he had taken under his protection. As then Nineveh had so cruelly treated God’s chosen people, it was necessary that the reward she deserved should be repaid to her. But the repetition, which I have noticed, ought to be especially observed; for it teaches us that God’s power is connected with his word, so that he declares nothing inconsiderately or in vain.
He then adds, that knees smite together; and every heart is dissolved, or melted, and also, that all loins tremble We hence learn, that there is in men no courage, except as far as God supplies them with vigor. As soon then as He withdraws his Spirit, those who were before the most valiant become faint-hearted, and those who breathed great ferocity are made soft and effeminate: for by the word heart is meant inward boldness or courage; and by the knees and loins the strength of body is to be understood. There is indeed no doubt but the Assyrians, while they ruled, were a very courageous people, as power ever generates boldness; and it is also probable that they were a warlike people, since all their neighbors had been brought under their power. But the Prophet now shows, that there would be no vigor in their hearts, and no strength in their loins, or in any part of their body. The heart, then, he says, is melted And hence we learn how foolishly men boast of their courage, while they seem to be like lions; for God can in a moment so melt their hearts, that they entirely lose all firmness. Then as to external vigor, we see that it is in God’s hand; there will be, he says, a confriction, or the knees will knock one against another, as they do when they tremble. And he says afterwards, And trembling shall be in all loins (234) He at last adds, And the faces of all shall gather blackness The word פארור, parur, some derive from פאר, par; and so the rendering would be, “all faces shall draw in or withdraw their beauty,” and so also they explain Joe 2:6, for the sentence there is the same. But they who disapprove of this meaning say, that קבף, kobets, cannot mean to draw in or to withdraw; and so they render the noun, blackness. But this is a strained explanation. פארור, parur, [they say,] does not mean a black color but a pot: when therefore a caldron or a kettle contracts blackness from smoke, it is then called פארור, parur: but in this place these interpreters are constrained to take it metaphorically for that color; which is, as I have said, strained and far-fetched. I am therefore inclined to adopt their opinion who render the sentence, all faces shall withdraw their beauty, or their brightness: but as to the import of the passage, there is little or no difference; let then every one have his free choice. (235) With regard to the Prophet’s design, he evidently means, that the faces of all would be sad, for the Lord would fill their minds and thoughts with dread. The withdrawing then of beauty signifies an outward appearance of sorrow, or paleness, or whatever may appear in the countenance of men, when dejected with grief. In short, the Prophet means, that how much soever the Assyrians might have hitherto raised on high their crests, and breathed great swelling words, and conducted themselves insolently, they would now be dejected; for the Lord would prostrate their courage and melt their strength: he would, by casting down their high spirits, constrain them to undergo shame. This is the import of the whole. It now follows —
(233) The three words in Hebrew form a very striking alliteration; and they present another peculiarity, — they increase in length or in syllables, somewhat similar to what follows, —
She is made void, and empty, and desolate:
or,
She is empty, and emptied, and desolated.
bwqh wmbwqh wmblqh
Buke, umebuke, umebelake.
Some consider the words as nouns, but they are evidently participles. — Ed.
(234) These three lines are literally as follows, —
And the heart is melted, And there is tottering of the knees, And anguish in all loins.
The word חלחלה is not trembling, but violent pain, pang, or anguish as that of a woman in travail. — Ed.
(235) Parkhurst and others agree with Calvin, as to the construction of this line. The idea adopted seems to have been first suggested by Aben-Ezra, as it appears from Marckius, but was strongly opposed by Kimchi, and on apparently a good ground — the meaning of the verb here used. קבף, as a verb and as a noun, in all its variations, has invariably the idea of collecting or gathering, and in no instance that of withdrawing, except as it is said, in this sentence, and in Joel. Dathius, Marckius, and Newcome, retain the idea contained in our version; and consistent with this is the paraphrase of the clause given by the Septuagint, “ και το προσωπον ( τα προσωπα, comp.) παντων ως προσκαυμα χυτρας — and the face (or, the faces) of all as the burning on the pot.” This idea is much more expressive and striking than the other. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(10) And the faces of them all gather blackness.Better, perhaps, and all faces withdraw their brightness. (See Note on Joe. 2:6, where the same expression occurs.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Nah 2:10 She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain [is] in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness.
Ver. 10. She is empty, and void, and waste ] An elegant alliteration in the original, beyond translating, . whereby the utter destruction and consternation of the city and monarchy is graphically depainted, and set forth to the life. See a like elegance Jer 16:15 . The last word, rendered waste, signifieth burnt up, or void of all verdure; a place where nothing green groweth. Such a horrible devastation followeth upon God’s word of command to the Chaldees, Nah 2:9 , like as when Christ cursed the barren fig tree it withered away immediately, Mat 21:20 , though it be the most succulent of any tree, and beareth the brunt of winter blasts unwithered. God’s words, however slighted, are not wind, but fire, Jer 5:13-14 .
And the heart melteth
And the knees smite together
And much pain is in all loins
And the faces of them all gather blackness
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
empty . . . void . . . waste. Note the Figure of speech Paronomasia (App-6), for emphasis. Hebrew. bukah umbukah umebullakah.
the faces of them all, &c. Only here, and in Joe 2:6. The reference is to Joe 2:6 (as Nah 1:15 is to Isa 52:7); not vice versa.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
She is: Nineveh was taken and utterly ruined by Assuerus, or Cyaxares, king of Media, and Nabuchodonosor, or Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, bc 606, or 612. Diodorus, who with others ascribes the taking of it to Arbaces the Mede and Belesis the Babylonian, says that he “dispersed the citizens in the villages, levelled the city with the ground, transferred the gold and silver, of which there were many talents, to Ecbatana the metropolis of the Medes, and this subverted the empire of the Assyrians.”
empty: Nah 3:7, Gen 1:2, Isa 13:19-22, Isa 14:23, Isa 24:1, Isa 34:10-15, Jer 4:23-26, Jer 51:62, Zep 2:13-15, Zep 3:6, Rev 18:21-23
the heart: Jos 2:11, Psa 22:14, Isa 13:7, Isa 13:8
the knees: Dan 5:6
and much: Isa 21:3, Jer 30:6
and the faces: Joe 2:6
Reciprocal: Exo 15:15 – melt Jos 2:9 – faint Psa 107:26 – their soul Isa 16:14 – the glory Isa 32:19 – the city shall be low Jer 8:21 – I am Jer 48:11 – emptied Jer 49:23 – fainthearted Jer 51:34 – he hath made Lam 4:8 – visage Eze 21:6 – with the Eze 21:7 – and every Heb 12:12 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Nah 2:10. Empty and void and waste is a prediction of the utter ruin that was to come upon the city. The rest at the verse is a description of the agitated state of mind that the citizens in the city will experience at the destruction of their city. Faces gather blackness is a somewhat unusual rendering with regard to the last word. Moffatt renders it “black fear,” while the American Standard Version gives us “waxed pale.” Strong defines the original “Inuminated, I.e. a glow ; as noun, a flush (at anxiety).” Whatever particular translation we adopt, it is clear that the terrible disturbance within the city was to have its effect upon the facial expression of the citizens. It will be helpful to quote a paragraph from history that shows the fulfillment of this eventrul revolution as follows: “Saracus, who came to the throne towards the end of the 7th century B.C., was the last of the long line of Assyrian kings. For nearly or quite six centuries the Ninevite kings had now lorded it over the East. There was scarcely a state in all western Asia that during this time had not, in the language of the royal inscriptions, ‘borne the heavy yoke of their lordship,’ scarcely a peopIe that had not suffered their cruel punishments. or tasted the bitterness at entorced exile. But now swift misfortunes were bearing down upon the oppressor from every quarter. Egypt revolted and tore Syria away tram the empire; from the mountain defiles on the east issued the armies of the recentgrown empire of the Aryan Medes, led by the renowned Cyaxres; from the southern lowlands, anxious to aid In the overthrow or the hated oppressor, the Babylonians joined the Medes as allies, and together they laid close siege to Nineveh. The city was finally taken and sacked [plundered], and dominion passed away forever from the proud capital. Two hundred years later, when Xenophon with his Ten Thousand Greeks, in his memorable retreat passed the spot, the once great City was a crumbling mass of ruins at which he could not even learn the name.”-Myers, Ancient History, page 66.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
2:10 {i} She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain [is] in all loins, and the faces {k} of them all gather blackness.
(i) That is, Nineveh, and the men of it will be after this manner.
(k) Read Geneva “Joe 2:6”
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The invaders would empty Nineveh of her treasures, and it would become a desolate wasteland. The Hebrew words in the first part of this verse sound like water flowing out of a bottle when read aloud, a literary device called onomatopoeia. Even the sound of the description of Nineveh’s fall reinforced the prophecy. Hearts would melt and knees knock when people would observe its overthrow. Anguish would grip the whole body of observers and their faces would go pale. If Nineveh could fall, would anything be secure?