Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Nahum 1:8
But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
8. an overrunning flood ] Isa 8:8; Isa 28:15.
an utter end of the place thereof ] lit. make her place (Nineveh’s) an utter end, i.e. completely destroy it. It must be confessed that the “her” referring to Nineveh is unprepared for by any previous mention of the city. Again Sept. has read differently, giving for “her place” those that rise up against him, a reading which affords an exact parallel to “his enemies” in the next clause. Such a form as occurs Mic 2:8 would resemble “her place,” or less closely such forms as appear Psa 17:7; Psa 59:1. There is no objection to the Heb. text on the score of construction: Neh 9:31 has two accus. for certain, and so apparently Jer 30:11; Eze 20:17; compare a similar construction Isa 5:6. The remark of Buhl ( Zeitschr. fr Alttest. Wiss. 1885, p. 181, followed, by Kautzsch) that a second ace. is not used after “make an end” is groundless.
darkness shall pursue ] So ancient Versions as Sept., making “darkness” the subject. Less naturally R.V.: and shall pursue his enemies into darkness. Isa 8:22 is too obscure to be cited as a parallel; and in Jer 23:12, even if “darkness” be connected with the verb the sense is rather: in the darkness shall they be thrust down (or, thrust at, Psa 118:13; Psa 37:5) and fall therein. Job 18:18 has the idea: “they thrust him out of light into darkness,” where the construction, however, is easier.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
But with an overrunning flood He will make an utter end of the place thereof – that is, of Nineveh, although not as yet named, except in the title of the prophecy, yet present to the prophets mind and his hearers, and that the more solemnly, as being the object of the wrath of God, so that, although unnamed, it would be known so to be. Image and reality, the first destruction and the last which it pictures, meet in the same words. Nineveh itself was overthrown through the swelling of the rivers which flowed around it and seemed to be its defense (see the note at Nah 2:6). Then also, the flood is the tide of the armies, gathered from all quarters, Babylonians , Medes, Persians, Arabians, Bactrians, which like a flood should sweep over Nineveh and leave nothing standing. It is also the flood of the wrath of God, in whose Hands they were and who, by them, should make a full end of it, literally, make the place thereof a thing consumed, a thing which has ceased to be. For a while, some ruins existed, whose name and history ceased to be known; soon after, the ruins themselves were effaced and buried . Such was the close of a city, almost coeval with the flood, which had now stood almost as many years as have passed since Christ came, but which now defied God. Marvelous image of the evil world itself, which shall flee away from the face of Him who sat on the throne, and there was found no place for it Rev 20:11.
And darkness shall pursue His enemies – Better, He shall pursue His enemies into darkness Darkness is, in the Old Testament, the condition, or state in which a person is, or lives; it is not an agent, which pursues. Isaiah speaks of the inhabitants of darkness Isa 42:7, entering unto darkness Isa 47:5; those who are in darkness Isa 49:9. The grave is all darkness Psa 88:12; Job 17:13, darkness, and the shadow of death Job 10:21. Hence, even Jews rendered , He shall deliver them to hell. Into this darkness it is said, God shall pursue them, as other prophets speak of being driven forth into darkness . The darkness, the motionless drear abode, to which they are driven, anticipates the being cast into the outer darkness, where shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Rup.: The vengeance of God on these who remain His enemies to the last, ends not with the death of the body; but evil spirits, who are darkness and not light, pursue their souls, and seize them. They would not hear Christ calling to them, Walk, while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you Joh 12:35. They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof Job 24:13. They loved darkness rather than light Joh 3:19. And so they were driven into the darkness which they chose and loved.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 8. But with an overrunning flood] Bishop Newcome thinks this may refer to the manner in which Nineveh was taken. The Euphrates overflowed its banks, deluged a part of the city, and overturned twenty stadia of the wall; in consequence of which the desponding king burnt himself, and his palace, with his treasures. – Diodor. Sic., Edit. Wessel., p. 140, lib. ii., s. 27.
Darkness shall pursue] Calamity. All kinds of calamity shall pursue them till they are destroyed.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
But, or And, or Therefore, since God is so good to Israel oppressed by Assyria, and so terrible, just, and mighty to punish oppressors.
With an overrunning flood; his judgments, like a mighty flood that overfloweth all banks, and scorns all that might check it, shall swallow up Assyria and Nineveh. which was in part effected by Phraortes about A.M. 3312, and in part by his son Cyaxares, who broke the Assyrian kingdom, and took Nineveh.
He, the Lord, by the Medes, will make an utter end, will destroy, so that it shall never recover or be rebuilt,
of the place thereof; of Nineveh, that is, Nineveh itself. So in Scripture sometimes the place is said to perish when the thing itself doth, as Dan 2:35; Rev 12:8; 20:11.
Darkness: troubles, desolating afflictions, extreme evils. in Scripture style, are called darkness, Job 15:22; 17:12; Psa 35:6; 55:5; Ecc 5:17; Isa 42:7; 59:9, &c.; Joe 2:2.
Shall pursue; not a single calamity, which is soon at an end, but indeed a succession of calamities, a continued course of them, shall pursue: so Phraortes began, Cyaxares continued, Scythians helped on, and Astyages finally, with four hundred thousand men, finished the pursuit in the sack and ruin of Nineveh after two years siege.
His enemies; the Ninevites and Assyrians.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. with an overrunning floodthatis, with irresistible might which overruns every barrier likea flood. This image is often applied to overwhelming armies ofinvaders. Also of calamity in general (Psa 32:6;Psa 42:7; Psa 90:5).There is, perhaps, a special allusion to the mode of Nineveh’scapture by the Medo-Babylonian army; namely, through a floodin the river which broke down the wall twenty furlongs (see on Na2:6; Isa 8:8; Dan 9:26;Dan 11:10; Dan 11:22;Dan 11:40).
end of the placethereofNineveh is personified as a queen; and “herplace” of residence (the Hebrew for “thereof”is feminine) is the city itself (Na2:8), [MAURER]. Or, Heshall so utterly destroy Nineveh that its place cannot be found; Na3:17 confirms this (compare Psa 37:36;Dan 2:35; Rev 12:8;Rev 20:11).
darknessthe severestcalamities.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof,…. Of Nineveh, against whom this prophecy was, and upon whom it lay as a burden, Na 1:1; and now though the Lord was good to them that trust in him, and a strong hold to them in a time of trouble; yet he was determined to destroy their enemies the Assyrians, and Nineveh their chief city; and that by the means of a powerful army, which, like a flood or inundation of water breaking in, overruns and carries all before it; and very fitly may the Medes and Babylonians, who joined together in an expedition against Nineveh, be compared to such a flood for their number and force; since, as the historian tells y us, they were no less than four hundred thousand men: though this may be literally understood; for as the same writer z observes,
“there was an oracle received by the Ninevites from their ancestors, that Nineveh could never be taken by any, unless the river (on which it stood) first became an enemy to it; and so it was, that, in the third year of the siege, the river, being swelled with continual rains, overflowed part of the city, and broke down the wall for the space of two and half miles; hence the king concluded the oracle was fulfilled, and gave up all hopes of safety; and through the breach of the wall the enemy entered, and took the city;”
and an “utter end” was made of it, and of the place of it, insomuch that historians and geographers disagree about it; some say it was situated upon the river Euphrates, others upon the river Tigris, which is the most correct; some say on the east of that river, others on the west; some will have it to be above the river Lycus, and others below it; so true is that of Lucian a, that Nineveh is now entirely lost, and no traces of it remain; nor can one easily say where it once was; and travellers in general, both ancient and modern, agree that it lies wholly in ruins, and is a heap of rubbish. Benjamin Tudelensis b, who travelled into these parts in the twelfth century, relates, that between Almozal or Mosul, and Nineveh, is only a bridge, and it (Nineveh) is a waste; but there are villages, and many towers. Haitho, an Armenian c, who wrote more than a hundred years after the former, says,
“this city (Nineveh) at present is wholly destroyed; but, by what yet appears in it, it may be firmly believed that it was one of the greatest cities in the world.”
Monsieur Thevenot d, who was upon the spot in the last century, observes,
“on the other side of the river (Tigris from that on which Mosul stands) at the end of the bridge begins the place, where, in ancient times, stood the famous city of Nineveh. –There is nothing of it, (adds he) now to be seen, but some hillocks, which (they say) are its foundations, the houses being underneath; and these reach a good way below the city of Mosul:”
and darkness shall pursue his enemies; the enemies of God and his people, who would make such a devastation of Nineveh; even he would cause all manner of calamities, often signified in Scripture by darkness, to follow and overtake them; so that they should be brought into the most uncomfortable and distressed condition imaginable.
y Diodor. Sicul. l. 2. p. 111. Ed. Rhodum. z Ibid. p. 113, 114. a . sive, “contemplantes”, in fine. b Itinerarium, p. 62. c Apud Bochart Phaleg. l. 4. c. 20. p. 255. d Travels, par. 1. B. 1. c. 11. p. 52.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Prophet goes on with the same subject, — that God can easily preserve his people, for he is armed with power sufficient to overcome the whole world. But the Prophet now includes the two things which have been mentioned: Having spoken in general of God’s wrath, and of his goodness towards the faithful, he now applies his doctrine to the consolation of his chosen people. It is then a special application of his doctrine, when he says, By inundation, he, passing through, will make a consummation in her place There is a twofold interpretation of this verse.
Some make this distinction, — that God, as it were, in passing through, would consume the land of Israel and Judah, but that perpetual darkness would rest on his enemies. Hence they think, that the distress of the chosen people is distinguished from the overthrow of the kingdom of Asshur, for God would only for a time punish his own people, while he would give up profane and reprobate men to endless destruction. Then, by passing through, must be understood, according to these interpreters, a temporary distress or punishment; and by darkness, eternal ruin, or, so to speak, irreparable calamities. But the Prophet, I doubt not, in one connected sentence, denounces ultimate ruin on the Assyrians. By inundation, then, he, in passing, will make a consummation in her place; that is, God will suddenly overwhelm the Assyrian, as though a deluge should rise to cover the whole earth. He intimates, that God would not punish the Assyrians by degrees, as men sometimes do, who proceed step by step to avenge themselves, but suddenly. God, he says, will of a sudden thunder against the Assyrians, as when a deluge comes over a land. Hence this passing of God is opposed to long or slow progress; as though he said — “As soon as God’s wrath shall break forth or come upon the Assyrians, it will be all over, for a consummation will immediately follow: by inundation, he, passing through, will make a consummation in her place.” (216) By place he means the ground; as though he had said that God would not only destroy the face of the land, but would also destroy the very grounds and utterly demolish it. A feminine pronoun is here added, because he speaks of the kingdom or nation, as it is usual in Hebrew. But it ought especially to be noticed that the Prophet threatens the Assyrians, that God would entirely subvert them, that he would not only demolish the surface, as, when fire or waters destroy houses, but that the Lord would reduce to nothing the land itself, even the very ground.
He adds, And pursue his enemies shall darkness He has designated the Assyrians only by a pronoun, as the Hebrews are wont to do; for they set down a pronoun relative or demonstrative, and it is uncertain of whom they speak; but they afterwards explain themselves. So does the Prophet in this place; for he directs his discourse to the Israelites and the Jews, and he begins by announcing God’s vengeance on Nineveh and its monarchy; but now he speaks as of a thing sufficiently known and adds, Pursue shall darkness the enemies of God By this second clause he intimates that the ruin of that kingdom would be perpetual. As then he had said that its destruction would be sudden, as God would, as it were, in a moment destroy the whole land; so now he cuts off from them every hope, that they might not think that they could within a while gather strength and rise again as it is the case with the wicked, who ever contend against God. The Prophet then shows that evil which God would bring on them would be without remedy. Some render the verb יררף, iredaph, transitively in this form, “He will pursue his enemies by darkness:” but as to the meaning of the Prophet there is but little or no difference; I therefore leave the point undecided. On the subject itself there is nothing ambiguous; the import of what is said is, — that God would, by a sudden inundation, destroy his enemies, — and that he would destroy them without affording any hope of restoration, for perpetual darkness would follow that sudden deluge. He afterwards adds —
(216) The first words in this line are better rendered in our version, “With an overrunning flood,” or, as by Newcome, “With an overflowing torrent,” or as by Henderson, “With an overflowing inundation.” The remaining part has occasioned a variety. The text as it is, and there are no different readings, is this, “A full end he will make of her place;” or, as Henderson renders it, “He will effect a consummation of her place.” The only difficulty is, that “her” has no near antecedent; but it is not unusual with the Prophets to allow the general context to supply this. As the vision is the “burden of Nineveh,” that city is no doubt referred to. Newcome, following the Greek versions, excepting that of Symmachus, translates thus, — “He will make a full end of those who rise up against him.” But it is better to follow the Hebrew text; for the many evident instances of mistake which are to be found in those versions forbid us to put any great confidence in them. The following may be viewed as a literal version: —
And with inundation overflowing A full end he will make her place; And darkness shall his enemies pursue.
How completely has this prophecy been fulfilled! Lucian, a Greek heathen author of the second century, has these remarkable words, — Νινος μεν απολωλεν ηδη, και ουδεν ιχνος ετι λοιπον αυτης, ουδ αν ειπης οπου ποτ ην — “Nineveh has already been destroyed, and there is no vestige of it remaining, nor can you say where formerly it was.” Bochart enumerates different conjectures which various authors have made as to its situation, most of them differing from one another. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.] Burden] (Vulg. onus), from a word to lift up, a threatening utterance; some, heavy and full.
Nah. 1:2. Jealous], (words from the decalogue), to be warm. Burns against those who hate him (Deu. 6:15). The term indicates feeling of injured right, and strong inclination for justice. Furious] Lit. a lord or master of fury: a master of dreams, i.e. a dreamer, &c. Reserveth] Applied to God, sig. to keep or bear wrath (Lev. 19:18; Psa. 103:9).
Nah. 1:3. Acquit] Clear the guilty (Exo. 20:7; Exo. 34:7). Dust] Light dust easily raised.
Nah. 1:4. Rebuketh] (Mat. 8:26).
Nah. 1:5.] Fruitful districts fade under his wrath. Burned] Lit. lifts itself as in an earthquake (Psa. 89:10), hence to burn as a flame.
Nah. 1:6. Abide] Stand up before wrath poured out like fire from a volcano, which rends rocks to pieces (1Ki. 19:11; Jer. 23:29).
Nah. 1:7. Strong] A fortress. Knoweth] Stands emphatically for the knowledge with which God fosters and provides for his elect, and which is experienced by them (Hos. 13:5) [Lange].
Nah. 1:8. Over.] Judgment by invading armies, sweeps through the land like overwhelming floods (cf. Psa. 42:7; Isa. 8:7-8; Hab. 3:10).
HOMILETICS
THE SERVANTS BURDEN.Nah. 1:1
In this verse we have the substance and object, the form and author, of the whole prophecy.
I. The nature of the burden. A burden is something heavy and important.
1. The commission from God was a burden. An awful responsibility, a solemn duty imposed upon the messenger. Who is sufficient for these things?
2. The commission was a burden upon the mind of the prophet. He was not reluctant to obey, but its solemnity weighed heavily upon him. He had to threaten judgment upon his fellow-creatures, to be faithful in his threatening, and declare the whole message from God. His duty was a burden. He was deeply sensible of its import, of his own unworthiness and weakness. This is the spirit of all true servants. A dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.
II. The form of the burden. The book of the vision.
1. It was first a vision to the prophet. He saw what he uttered. He had a commission from God, and spoke in Gods authority. We should always testify what we have seen, and declare what we have been taught. Some speak a vision of their own heart (Jer. 23:16); but Gods servants see the vision of the Almighty.
2. Then the vision was recorded in a book. Reason teaches us to write laws and record events in a book. Gods prophets were taught to pen their thoughts in a permanent form for the benefit of future ages. Many a man lives a burden to the earth; but a good book is the precious life-blood of a master-spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life.
III. The object of the burden. The burden of Nineveh. Nineveh repented once, but returned to its wicked ways again. The first was a message of mercy, the second one of judgment. If men despise warnings they must expect rebukes. Employed by God to chastise, Nineveh sought to destroy the chosen people. Now God will punish the city, and its last state will be worse than the first. If men return to their former sins because judgment is not executed, if they cease to do the good they once begin, then God will withdraw his promised favour. If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
JEHOVAH A JEALOUS GOD.Nah. 1:2-5
wGods judgments are traced to Gods jealousy as the cause of them. His honour is injured. His tender feeling for his people is wounded, and though punishment is suspended for a time, eventually it is certain and severe.
I. Gods jealousy is connected with Gods long-suffering. The Lord is slow to anger. Towards enemies even God is long-suffering. For one hundred years he had endured the wickedness of the Assyrians. Judgments are often delayed.
1. This delay is not through weakness. Great in power. Men cannot execute their vengeance because they lack power. But God has all power, and can accomplish his will at all times.
2. This delay is not remission of punishment. He will not at all acquit the wicked. There is a limitation of mercy. He will not clear the guilty, nor leave them unpunished. He is not insensible to violations of his law, nor dilatory to vindicate his justice. Sinners have a respite in love, but not a reprieve in weakness. All who abuse his long-suffering will smart at last. For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.
II. Gods jealousy is often provoked to vengeance. And the Lord revengeth. Vengeance is a defect, and censured in man. Here it is predicated of God three times.
1. Vengeance is associated with provocation. Slow to anger, he can be provoked. His jealousy has the warmth of love and the fire of wrath. The coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
2. Vengeance is associated with mastery. And is furious, a master of fury, one who has anger under control. He is Lord of vengeance. One who, if he pleases, says Grotius, can most readily give effect to his fury.
3. Vengeance is associated with execution. He reserves wrath for his enemies, not because he is angry, but because he is slow to anger. He allows it to accumulate, before execution. But he will take vengeance on his adversaries. (a) This execution is swift. He comes in the storm and the whirlwind (Nah. 1:3). He sweeps men away swift as the wind. As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more. (b) This execution is easy. The clouds are the mere dust of his feet. As man walks upon the dust, so Jehovah tramples upon the clouds, as the light dust of his feet. (c) This execution is mysterious. Clouds and darkness are round about Him. His purpose and his agents are often concealed, until they break upon the guilty like a lightning flash. (d) This execution is often terrible. The heavens above and the earth beneath feel the shock of his wrath. The sea is rebuked by his power, and the fertility of the land is consumed by his presence. The mountains quake and the hills melt; all nature trembles beneath his anger. No one can stand before fury like this. The strongest will quail, the hardest will melt. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES
Nah. 1:1. The Burden. The Bearer. The Destination. He first defines the object of the prophecy, whereto it looks; then states who spake it, and whence it was [Pusey].
Nah. 1:2. The titles of God rise in awe; first, intensely jealous and Avenger; then an Avenger and a Lord of wrath; the master of it (not as man, mastered by it); having it to withhold or discharge; yet so discharging it, at last, the more irrevocably on the finally impenitent [Ibid.].
The justice and severity of God should be contemplated.
1. As a warning to his enemies to deter them from evil.
2. As a consolation to his people to help them in trouble.
Nah. 1:3. Mercy, omnipotence, and justice.
1. The first attribute of God. Slow to anger. Because he never smites without first threatening. He is very slow to threaten. When God threatens, how slow he is to sentence the criminal! And when the sentence is signed and sealed, how slow to carry it out! Trace the attribute to its source. Why is God slow to anger? Because he is infinitely good. Because he is great.
2. The connecting link. A great reason why he is slow, because he is great in power. He that is great in power can restrain himself, and is greater than he that takes a city. When Gods power restrains himself, then it is power indeed. If he were less of a God than he is, he would long ere this have sent forth thunders and emptied the magazines of heaven. Bless God that the greatness of his power is our protection.
3. The last and most terrible attribute; He will not at all acquit the wicked. Unfold this first of all, then trace it to its source. God will not acquit the wicked. Never once has he blotted out sin without punishment. Calvary proves the truth of that. The wonders of vengeance in the Old Testament and hell itself are proofs of the text. Trace this terrible attribute to its source. Why is this? God will not acquit the wicked, because he is good. Goodness itself demands the punishment of the sinner. The justice of God demands it. If in Christ, never be afraid of Gods power. If not fled for refuge, then God will not acquit, but punish. Reprieved but not pardoned art thou. Reprieve will soon run out, haste to the refuge [Spurgeon].
Way in the whirlwind. The vengeance of God comes at last swiftly, vehemently, fearfully, irresistibly [Pusey].
Clouds the dust.
1. God hidden in his ways. Clouds are round about him. Deep and unsearchable in his counsels.
1. God powerful in his ways. Treading on the clouds, and making them as dust to his feet.
2. God terrible in his ways (Nah. 1:4; Nah. 1:6). Not difficult to put the elements in motion to destroy Nineveh or impenitent sinners. Great things to us are small with him. All nature subject to his control.
Nah. 1:4-5. The quaking of all things in the presence of an angry God. Celestial and terrestrial agencies subservient to the purpose of God, (a) in punishing the wicked, (b) in protecting his people. The huge roots of the towering mountains are torn up when the Lord bestirs himself in anger to smite the enemies of his people. How shall puny man be able to face it out with God when the very mountains quake with fear? Let not the boaster dream that his present false confidence will support him in the dread day of wrath.
HOMILETICS
GODS GOODNESS AND ANGER.Nah. 1:6-7
Note two things in these words.
I. Jehovahs anger.
1. It is real. Human theories of it are not always true. They are got up to persuade the sinner that he has no need to be alarmed for guilt. But Gods words are truenot exaggerations.
2. It is righteous. Not the rage of selfishness nor personal offence; but the anger of a righteous judge against sin, dishonoured right and insulted law. There is nothing in it unjust or arbitrary.
3. It is terrible. Though calm, it is awful and overwhelming. No power or numbers can withstand it. Expulsion from Paradise, the flood, the ruin of Sodom, and the destruction of the ungodly, are specimens.
4. It is inexorable. Nothing can turn it aside or quench it when kindled.
II. Jehovahs goodness. He is good, and doeth good; kind to the unthankful and unholy.
1. His goodness is sincere. He does not utter words and feelings which are not in him. His words mean what they say, his deeds what they indicate. God is not man that he should lie.
2. His goodness is powerful. Almighty goodness. He is able to deliver those whom he loves. Their interests are safe in his hands.
3. His goodness is watchful. His eyes are upon us at all times, expecially in trouble. An unsleeping eye, an untiring hand, never weary of blessing, ever delighting to love and help us.
4. His goodness is unchanging. Without variableness like himself, ever flowing and not ebbing. Not like the tides and the seasons, his heart changes not. But the great day of his wrath will come. Judgment lingers not. He spares in pity, not willing that any should perish. Turn unto him, &c. [Dr. H. Bonar.]
THE TRIUMPH OF FAITH.Nah. 1:7
Here we have a beautiful description of the security and comfort of those who trust in God in the day of distress.
I. God a Protection. Not armies, fleets, and fortresses. All other refuges are refuges of lies. He is the only accessible, impregnable, delightful shelter. II. God a Comfort. The Lord is good. Good in himself and to others. His goodness is spontaneous, undeserved, and boundless; consistent with the perfections of his character, and adapted to the wants of our nature. III. God a Friend. He knoweth. He not merely perceives and understands; but approves, acknowledges, and takes delight in us. He takes pleasure in them that fear him, in them that hope in his mercy. God is our friend. His attitude to us is like that to Abraham: I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee.
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Nah. 1:7. The Lord is Good. He is essentiallyimmutably goodinfinitely good. The good of all creation is derived from him. He is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works. But goodness does not appear in its highest forms here. These creatures never forfeited care and kindness. We have rebelled, and as children of disobedience deserve wrath. Yet he spares us, and provides for usfitted up the world with sights, sounds, and relishes to our appetites. But if the bounties of nature and providence were stopped, we could say, Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that God loved us, &c. This ensures every other blessing. He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely give us all things? This involves every other. He is all in all. By him and in him we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places [Jay].
The Lord a Stronghold. From whence does this trouble arise? From danger? He is our strength for protection. The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? We are more than conquerors. From duty? He is the strength to assist. If oppressed with a sense of our inability, our sufficiency is of God. From affliction? He is our strength to support and deliver. If ho does not release, he sustains and comforts. My grace is sufficient for thee. Whatever the nature and degree of affliction, in God we find a very present help in the day of trouble [Jay].
Nah. 1:7-8. God a refuge to his people, who are safe, happy, and cared for in his protection. God a terror to their enemies, who are overwhelmed with calamities (flood), pursued with darkness, and completely destroyed. Gods people only afflicted for a short time, but of the wicked he will make an utter end.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 1
Nah. 1:1. Burden. He who possesses the virtues required in the care of souls, should not take upon him the priestly office, unless constrained to it; and he who knows he has them not, should not take it upon him, even though he were compelled to it [Gregory].
Nah. 1:2. Vengeance. When God sees it necessary to vindicate the honour of his justice to the world, he doth it with that severity which may make us apprehend his displeasure; and yet with that mercy which may encourage us to repent and return unto the Lord [Stillingfleet].
Nah. 1:3. Slow. God delays the punishment of wickedness, and does not strike presently, for a glorious manifestation of his holy attribute of patience. His two great attributes of justice and mercy, the full season of their manifestation upon the vessels of wrath and mercy, is at an end at the great day of reckoning [Bp. Browning].
Nah. 1:3-4. This passage is so sublime, says one, that it would be difficult to find its equal. May the readers heart adore the God before whom the unconscious earth and sky act as if they recognized their Maker, and were moved with a tremor of reverence. Vain are the attempts of men to conceal anything from him whose word unbars the deep, and lifts the doors of earth from their hinges! Vain are all hopes of resistance, for a whisper of his voice makes the whole earth quail in abject terror [Spurgeon].
Nah. 1:7. He who avails himself of a refuge is one who is forced to fly. It is a quiet retreat from a pursuing enemy. And there are trials, and temptations, and enemies, from which the Christian does best to fly. He cannot resist them. They are too strong for him. His wisdom is to fly into the refuge of the secret place of his God, to rest under the shadow of the Almighty. His strength is to sit still there (Isa. 30:7) [B. M. Duncan].
Nah. 1:8-12. When God shakes men as dust from under the summer thrashing-floor, the right hand of a mans strength is as powerless as the left hand of a mans weakness, and his wisdom is as folly. What avails the wisdom of the apple to make it cling to the bough when it is ripe in autumn time? or the wisdom of the leaf to hold it fast to the stem when the tempest calls? or the wisdom of the tree to make it stand secure when a rock from the cliff comes crashing down through its puny branches? When God sends storms upon men, they must imitate the humble grass, which saves itself by lying down. Therefore it is said, Humble yourselves before the mighty hand of God, that in due season he may raise you up [H. W. Beecher].
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(8) But.Better, and. Jehovah protects His afflicted servants, and therefore He exterminates their oppressor.
Overrunning flood.On the propriety of this figure see Nah. 2:6, Note.
The place thereofi.e., that of Nineveh. The verse ends, and he shall drive his enemies into darkness.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. Toward his enemies he manifests a darker side.
Make an utter end of the place thereof Literally, he will make her place a full end. The pronoun can refer only to Nineveh, but in the absence of a previous naming of the city in the address proper the mention in the heading is not sufficient the use of the pronoun is strange. LXX. and other ancient versions read, instead of “of the place thereof,” “of those who rise up against him,” equivalent to “his adversaries,” which gives a good parallel to the succeeding clause, and is probably to be accepted as original. If the present text is retained the destruction of Nineveh is announced. The personified Nineveh (compare Nah 3:4) is distinguished from her city; the latter Jehovah will sweep away.
An overrunning flood A picture of the resistless power of Jehovah or of the unchecked advance of the divinely appointed executioner (compare Isa 8:8; Isa 28:15).
Darkness shall pursue his enemies R.V., “he will pursue his enemies into darkness.” Darkness symbolizes calamity and despair. The ancient versions agree with A.V. in taking “darkness” as the subject, and this is perhaps preferable.
The English translations interpret Nah 1:9-10 as addressed to the enemies of Jehovah (Nah 1:8). These are, if chapter 1 is a part of Nahum’s utterances, the Assyrians, represented throughout the book by their capital city, Nineveh. However, it is possible to understand the words as addressed to Judah, intended to comfort the nation in its present distress. If so, the translation must be changed (see below).
What do ye imagine [“devise”] against Jehovah In anger Jehovah asks the Assyrians what are their unrighteous schemes against him (compare Hos 7:15), or against his people. They will not be able to carry them out, for he will utterly destroy them (compare Isa 7:5-7). If Judah is addressed the words must be translated, “What think ye of Jehovah?” In Nah 1:11, where the translation is rightly “imagine against,” a different construction is used in the original. The question addressed to the anxious and oppressed Jews, would mean, Do you think that Jehovah cannot or will not deliver you from your present enemies, that in the present crisis he will fail to carry out the threat of Nah 1:8? Reassurance is given in 9b, 10. He will indeed make a full end of them.
Affliction If addressed to Nineveh the noun is used in the sense of “judgment,” a rather uncommon usage; if addressed to Judah the usual meaning is retained.
The second time If addressed to Nineveh the thought is that the blow about to be dealt will be sufficient to annihilate; a second judgment is not needed (1Sa 26:8). If addressed to Judah, it becomes a promise that the present deliverance will be permanent. Once Jehovah permitted Judah to be afflicted by Sennacherib; he will not do it again.
Nah 1:10 is obscure. It seems best, however, to consider it the continuation of the threat of judgment upon Jehovah’s enemies. With one interpretation of Nah 1:9 it becomes principally a threat against Assyria; with the other, a message of comfort for Judah. The translation of R.V., which differs considerably from that of A.V., is to be preferred: “For entangled like thorns, and drunken as with their drink, they are consumed utterly as dry stubble.” A more satisfactory connection with Nah 1:9 would be established if the first conjunction could be rendered “though.” Entangled like thorns (R.V.) Though the Ninevites were apparently unassailable, because surrounded with defenses as with impenetrable thorn hedges, and though, like these, they could inflict injury upon anyone approaching them, they will be unable to withstand the fierce anger of Jehovah. Drunken as with their drink (R.V.) Though the thorn hedge would be so soaked with water that ordinary fire could not harm it, the fire of Jehovah will be effective. If this is the meaning, instead of “drunken” we should read “wet” or “wetted.” “As with their drink” may be an allusion to the excesses and revelry of the Assyrian court. It is not easy to get the above-suggested meaning from the present Hebrew text; besides, A.B. Davidson suggests, not without reason, “a witticism of this sort is altogether improbable.” It is quite possible that the Hebrew has suffered in transmission. The ancient versions do not relieve the difficulty. As dry stubble (R.V.) Which is readily consumed (Isa 5:24). For Nowack’s emendation see p. 435; similarly Marti.
In Nah 1:9-15 the persons addressed seem to change very frequently, without any indication of the fact in the Hebrew. Nah 1:9-10 seem to be addressed to Judah; 11, to Nineveh; 12, 13, to Judah; 14, to Assyria; 15, to Judah; Nah 2:1, to Assyria; Nah 2:2, to Judah; Nah 2:3 ff., to Nineveh. Such frequent changes are unusual, but only sweeping emendations, otherwise unnecessary, can remove the peculiarity (compare Nowack’s emendations, p. 435). Nah 1:11 seems to be addressed to Nineveh; she deserves the destruction decreed by Jehovah, because she has devised evil against him.
There is one come out of thee Perhaps an allusion to Sennacherib, who devised evil against Jehovah, against his sanctuary, and against his city (Isa 10:5-15; Isa 36:14-20); but the prophet may think also of other hostile acts of the Assyrians against the people of Jehovah. Jehovah must vindicate himself against any attempt to discredit his supremacy.
If the Hebrew of Nah 1:12, which, like that of Nah 1:10, is peculiar and obscure, is correct, R.V. gives a more satisfactory rendering than A.V.: “Though they may be in full strength, and likewise many, even so shall they be cut down, and he shall pass away. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more.” Even the ancient translators found this verse obscure, and they greatly differ from one another in their reproductions of the same. The words seem to be addressed to Judah concerning the dreaded foe, the Assyrian.
In full strength Literally, intact. Though they may use all their marvelous resources.
Likewise many Their numbers are great. Isaiah likens them to a swarm of bees (Isa 7:18).
Even so In spite of their unlimited resources and great numbers.
Cut down The verb is “used elsewhere only of shearing sheep or the hair of the head”; the noun derived from the same root is used also of the mowing of grass (Psa 72:6; compare Amo 7:1). Either the prophet changes the figure and thinks of the armies spread out like a meadow ready to be mowed, or he generalizes the meaning of the verb. If the latter, he may be thinking of slaughter by the sword or the cutting down of a thorn hedge (Nah 1:11).
He shall pass away LXX. reads the plural “they,” and this is preferable, unless we assume that the author used the singular purposely, to express the idea that the mighty army will vanish like a single individual. For Nowack’s reconstruction of 12a see p. 435.
Though I have afflicted thee During the Assyrian supremacy. The end is now in sight; Jehovah will not again afflict his people. Another possible rendering is suggested in margin R.V., “So will I afflict thee, that I shall afflict thee no more.” This would compel us to understand the words as a threat addressed to Nineveh. There will be but one blow; it will be sufficient to annihilate; a second one will not be needed. If the present text of Nah 1:13 is retained the first interpretation is to be preferred. As Nah 1:13 stands at present (compare Nowack, p. 435), it states how the humiliation is to be brought to an end.
Break his yoke thy bonds Jehovah will break the yoke which Assyria has laid upon Judah; he will burst asunder the bonds which hold Judah in the power of the enemy (compare Isa 10:27; Jer 30:8; Eze 34:27; Psa 2:3).
Nah 1:14 is addressed to Assyria or Nineveh in the person of their king. Their utter annihilation has been decreed by Jehovah.
No more of thy name be sown If understood of the king himself it means that his family will die out; his name will not be perpetuated in his children. It is better, however, to understand it of the city or state; its name and renown will no longer be heralded over the world, for it will be completely destroyed. The expression is peculiar, and Nowack reads, “No more shall thy name be remembered,” which, while retaining the same idea, is smoother; the very names of Assyria and Nineveh will be forgotten. In the general upheaval the idols will be cut off.
Graven image See on Mic 5:13.
Molten image Images of metal, made by running melted metal into a mold. The two combined denote, in this passage, all kinds of idolatrous images (Deu 27:15).
I will make thy grave I will prepare a grave for thee; a threat which implies the destruction or death of the one against whom the threat is uttered. Peshitto, “I will turn it (“the house of thy gods”) into thy grave” (similarly Targum).
For thou art vile Or, thou art light. He has been weighed and found wanting (Dan 5:27), hence he will be cast away. With the common rendering the idea is that his measure of iniquity is full, hence he must die. Bickell unites what are the last two clauses into one, by reading for the last two words in Hebrew, a single word, and translates, “I will make thy graves into dunghills,” that is, objects of loathing and disgust. The noun which he translates “dunghills” occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament, but a similar word is found in Hab 2:16, and the above meaning may be established from the Aramaic. That there is some corruption of the text is quite possible, but it may be questioned whether Bickell has furnished the right solution (for Nowack’s emendation see p. 435).
15. The destruction of the Assyrian will mean the exaltation of Judah. The prophet sees the messenger speeding over the mountains to tell the glad news to the hitherto oppressed people. He bids Judah to behold the messenger, to proclaim joyous feasts, and to pay to Jehovah the vows made in adversity. A very sublime passage.
Upon the mountains Of Judah. He is hastening toward the holy city; and from the mountain tops he proclaims the good tidings that they may be heard far and wide.
Keep thy feasts Or, pilgrimages (see on Hos 2:11). During the period of oppression these could not be kept properly; now they may be resumed with rejoicing.
Perform thy vows Those made in the days of adversity. Now they may be paid, for permanent deliverance has come. The wicked [“one”] Literally, wickedness, or worthlessness (Nah 1:11).
Assyria, in the person of the king, is wickedness personified. He can no longer disturb the peace of Jerusalem for he is cut off forever.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Nah 1:8. But with an over-running flood, &c. The passage may be rendered, But in the overflowing of wrath he will make an end, that there shall be no rising up more; but utter darkness shall pursue his enemies. Houbigant renders it, But, as an overflowing flood, he passes through to make an utter end of those who resist him; and darkness pursues his enemies. See the note on chap. Nah 2:6.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Nah 1:8 But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
Ver. 8. But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof ] i.e. Of Nineveh, that great but bloody city, Nah 3:1 . Her state shall be utterly ruined, as the old world by the general deluge. But because the word here rendered flood is used for rivers that overflow the banks, 2Ch 32:4 , and the adjunct, overrunning, also implies as much, see Isa 8:8 Dan 11:10 ; Dan 11:40 I suppose the Holy Ghost here forethreateneth that ruin of this city by the river Tigris, which at an inundation broke out upon the wall, and threw down two and a half miles of it. This was a sad foretoken to them of their ensuing desolation by the enemy (as that rain was that fell in Egypt, where it used not to rain, a little before Cambyses with his Persians subdued it), for it occured in the time of the siege, as Diodorus testifieth, according to an oracle that the Ninevites had received by tradition from their progenitors, sc. that their city should then be taken by the enemy, when the river took part against them: and it happened accordingly.
And darkness shall pursue his enemies
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
But, &c. Note the transition in Nah 1:8, which is explained by the Structure “8”, above.
the place thereof. Hebrew her place: i.e. Nineveh’s. See note on title above (Nah 1:1).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
with: Isa 8:7, Isa 8:8, Isa 28:17, Eze 13:13, Dan 9:26, Dan 11:10, Dan 11:22, Dan 11:40, Amo 8:8, Amo 9:5, Amo 9:6, Mat 7:27, 2Pe 3:6, 2Pe 3:7
the place: Nah 1:1, Nah 2:8, Zep 2:13
darkness: Job 30:15, Pro 4:19, Isa 8:22, Jer 13:16, Mat 8:12
Reciprocal: Isa 28:2 – as a tempest Isa 32:19 – the city shall be low Isa 45:7 – create darkness Jer 30:16 – General Jer 47:2 – waters Jer 51:64 – Thus shall Eze 13:11 – there shall Eze 20:17 – neither Amo 5:20 – darkness Amo 7:8 – I will not Luk 6:48 – the flood Luk 19:27 – General Heb 10:27 – which
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Nah 1:8. The same might is now comparerl to a flood that sweeps everything before it that is not firmly attached. Darkness Is used figuratively, and among the words of the lexicon definition of the original are “misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow.” These conditions come upon those who are enemies of the God of Israel.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Nah 1:8. With an overrunning flood he will make an utter end This seems to be spoken of Nineveh, and Bishop Newton is of opinion that the words allude to the manner in which it was taken. Diodorus informs us, says he, that there was an old prophecy, that Nineveh should not be taken till the river became an enemy to the city; and in the third year of the siege, the river, being swollen with continual rains, overflowed part of the city, and broke down the wall for twenty furlongs; then the king, thinking that the oracle was fulfilled, and the river become an enemy to the city, built a large funeral pile in the palace, and, collecting together all his wealth, and his concubines and eunuchs, burned himself and the palace with them all; and the enemy entered the breach that the waters had made, and took the city. Or, as a great destruction, or an army overrunning a country, is often compared to an inundation, the meaning of the passage may only be, that Gods judgments, like a mighty flood, which overflows all banks, should overwhelm and swallow up both Nineveh and the whole Assyrian empire. And darkness shall pursue his enemies That is, troubles and destructive calamities.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1:8 But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the {i} place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
(i) Signifying that God will suddenly destroy Nineveh and the Assyrians in such a way, that they will lie in perpetual darkness, and never recover their strength again.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Nahum returned to the wrathful aspect of God’s character because that was the focus of his oracle. Without identifying Nineveh, the prophet described Yahweh destroying it totally and permanently, as with a tidal wave. Johnston showed that Nahum’s maledictions are unique among the prophets and probably key off the Neo-Assyrian treaty curses, which were unusually brutal in the ancient Near East. [Note: Gordon H. Johnston, "Nahum’s Rhetorical Allusions to Neo-Assyrian Treaty Curses," Bibliotheca Sacra 158:632 (October-December 2001):415-36.] Nahum probably described an unrestrained army invasion (cf. Isa 8:7-8; Jer 47:2; Dan 9:26; Dan 11:40). However, when her enemies overthrew Nineveh, its rivers overflowed and washed away part of Nineveh’s walls. [Note: The New Bible Dictionary, 1962 ed., s.v. "Nineveh," by D. J. Wiseman.]
Using another figure, Yahweh said He would pursue His enemies until He caught up with them and killed them, even if it took all night. Normally battles ceased at nightfall and resumed at daybreak because fighting became so difficult at night. But the Lord would not let night stop Him from pursuing and slaying His enemies. They would not escape from Him simply because time passed. Darkness also has the metaphorical connotation of evil, spiritual lostness, and eternal judgment (e.g., Job 17:13; Psa 82:5; Psa 88:12; Pro 4:19; Pro 20:20; Isa 8:22; Isa 42:7; Jer 23:12; Mat 4:16; Mat 8:12; Joh 3:19; Col 1:13; 1Pe 2:9; Jud 1:6; Rev 16:10).
The Lord is angry with those who abuse others, especially those who abuse His people, and He will punish them. This section stresses the justice, power, and goodness of Yahweh.
"We must keep in mind that the message of Nahum is not concretely applied to Assyria and Judah until later in the book. The psalm that occurs at the beginning of the book [Nah 1:2-8] presents a picture of God applicable for all times-he is the Warrior who judges evil." [Note: Longman, p. 776. See idem, "The Divine Warrior: The New Testament Use of an Old Testament Motif," Westminster Theological Journal 44 (1982):290-307; and Kevin J. Cathcart, "The Divine Warrior and the War of Yahweh in Nahum," in Biblical Studies in Contemporary Thought: The Tenth Anniversary Commemorative Volume of the Trinity College Biblical Institute 1966-1975, pp. 68-76.]
The first eight verses of Nahum are a partial acrostic.
"If an entire acrostic conveys completeness, half an acrostic may well be a prophetic way of indicating completeness with still more to come. Assyria faces imminent judgment, but only half of what is eventually in store for her." [Note: Duane L. Christensen, "The Acrostic of Nahum Reconsidered," Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 87 (1975):25.]