Nahum (Heb. Najûm, “consolation”, “who is comforted”; Gr. Naóum; the name appears on an old Heb. seal, on a vessel handle, and in Fen. inscriptions). 1. Prophet of Judah who lived in the 7th century BC, and author of the book that bears his name. He was a native of Elcos* (Nah 1:1). 2. Name that appears in the genealogy of Jesus Christ recorded by Luke (Luk 3:25). Nahum, Book of. Seventh of the so-called Minor Prophets. I. Author. The prophet Nahum* of Judah. II. Setting. The reference in Nah 3:8-10 to the fall of Thebes (No), destroyed by Ashurbanipal of Assyria in 663 BC, suggests that Nahum wrote his book shortly after that date. As he predicts the desolation of Nineveh (3:7), the Assyrian capital, his book can be dated between 663 and 612 BC, perhaps c 640 BC He announces the fate of the great Assyrian Empire precisely at the time when it was at its height of his power. Jerusalem and Judah had suffered from their repeated invasions and were forced to pay tribute intermittently for 3/4 of a century. Assyria seemed invincible, but God prophesied through Nahum that he would break his yoke (1:13). This message assured the faithful in Judah that God still cared for his people and would punish his oppressors. During Ashurbanipal’s reign 825 (669-627? BC) most of the nations of the Fertile Crescent, from Mesopotamia to Egypt, were subject to or paid tribute to Assyria. However, before his death, possibly in 627 BC, the situation had already begun to change. Shortly thereafter the empire disintegrated, and Nineveh fell in 612 BC to the Medes and Babylonians. See Assyria. III. Theme. The book deals only with the future fate of Nineveh. Almost 1 1/2 centuries before Nahum, Jonah went to the city with a call to repentance, and for a time the king and the people humbled themselves before God (Jon 3:5-10). Consequently, he was saved. But the reformation was not lasting, and Nahum now foretold the imminent destruction of the “bloody city” (Nah 3:1). A century before Nahum, Assyria had been the “rod” of God’s wrath against the northern kingdom of Israel, whose 10 tribes he had taken captive (Isa 10:5). A few years later, under Sennacherib, he used the same rod to punish the people of Jerusalem and Judah (chs 36; 37; cf 8:7, 8). But by their enormous pride and brazen cruelty, the Assyrians had filled the cup of their iniquity. They were challenging the sovereignty of the God of heaven and lowering the Creator of the universe to the level of his idols (36:7,14-20). The nation had refused to cooperate with God’s purpose for it, and thus lost its mandate to rule. IV. Literary style. Nahum’s prophecy is written in poetic style, in which its 1st chapter is an alphabetic psalm of unusual form. Although in the text as it has come down to us some letters are missing and others are out of order, it is quite possible that originally the arrangement was correct and complete. Each letter of the alphabet introduces a new thought. Thus, in v 5, the 1st pair of poetic parallelism – “the mountains tremble before him, and the hills melt” – begins in Hebrew with the letter hêz; while the 2nd-“the earth is moved at his presence, and the world, and all that dwell in it”-begins with wâw, the next letter of the alphabet. See Acrostic. V. Outline and Content. The prophecy is logically divided into 2 parts: 1. A tribute of praise, highlighting God as merciful and just, as the ruler of the earth and arbiter of national destiny (Nah 1:1-10). 2. A vivid description of the fall of Nineveh (1:11-3:19). Nahum titles his prediction “Prophecy about Nineveh”. God takes the enemies of his people as his own “adversaries” (1:2). Though he is “slow to anger,” he will not endure his wickedness forever (v 3). The forces of nature – the sea, the rivers, the mountains, the earth – are subject to his will (vs 4-6). To his people it is “strength in the day of trouble; and knows those who trust in him” (v 7). When he decides to punish the Assyrians “he will make a consummation,” and they will never again rise up to oppress his people (v 9). For a time, God allowed them to prosper (v 12), but the time is near when he will break the Assyrian yoke and restore peace to Judah (vs 13-15). The destroyer appears besieging Nineveh, and God ironically calls his garrison to prepare to defend the city (2:1). The defenders’ shields are red, apparently from blood, and chariots rumble through the streets as they rush to the site of the attack (vs 3, 4). The warriors jostle each other to take their appointed places on the walls (v 5); the floodgates open and the palace is flooded (v 6). As its inhabitants tremble in fear, the invaders rush into the city and take its spoils (vs 7-10). Ch 3 describes the horsemen as they raise their spears and swords in battle, and multitudes fall dead (3:1-3). God is against Nineveh because of their crimes, their immorality and their oppression of others (vs 4-6); therefore, it will be desolate (v 7). It is no better than the city of Thebes of Egypt, or of other nations that have fallen (vs 7-9). His people are taken into captivity, or scattered leaderless over the mountains; the “shepherds,” the leaders of Assyria, are buried in the dust. Nineveh’s wound is fatal, and “there is no medicine” for which he now suffers (vs 10-19; see CBA 4: 1057, 1058).
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
Hebrew nahumyah, Yahweh has comforted. Seventh of the Minor Prophets from Elcós, Na 1, 1, who lived at the end of the 7th century BC. C. in the southern kingdom, Judah.
His book describes the fall of Nineveh, the end of the Assyrian Empire, which dominated the entire region, and is therefore celebrated as a liberation. He opens his book with an acrostic poem, Na 1, 2-10. He then announces the judgment and threat against Nineveh. Assyria, used by God to discipline her people, is now punished for her pride and the yoke of her people will be broken.
Digital Bible Dictionary, Grupo C Service & Design Ltda., Colombia, 2003
Source: Digital Bible Dictionary
(Heb., nahum, compassionate). The name is an apocope of Nehemiah.
1. Nahum of Elcos, a prophet (Nah 1:1). See NAHUM, BOOK OF.
2. One of the ancestors of Christ mentioned in Luk 3:25.
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
(compassionate).
It is a contraction of the name Nehemiah.
1- Prophet: Natural of Elcos, he prophesied in the reign of Hezekiah, after Jonah: (663 to 606).
(Nah.l:l,Nah 3:8-11).
The Book of Nahum.
– The book of the wrath of God. It declares the holiness and goodness of God who must treat sin with justice. Cap.l.
– He prophesied the destruction of Nineveh a century before it happened, when Nineveh was at its height.
(2 and 3).
2- Ascendant of Christ, Luke 3:25.
Christian Bible Dictionary
Dr. J. Dominguez
http://bible.com/dictionary/
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
(Comfort). Prophet of Israel. He was a native of †¢Elcos (Nah 1:1), a locality which, according to Jerome, was in Galilee. Some scholars think that Elcos is a name of the city that was later called †¢Capernaum (†œcity of Nahúm† ). Among the Arabs there is a legend that his tomb is in a place called al-Qush, near where Nineveh once stood, the city whose destruction N. foretold. There are no details about his life.
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
tip, BIOG PROF HOMB HOAT
vet, = “compassionate”. (a) Prophet born in Elcos, undoubtedly a town in Canaan. Nahum is not addressing the ten deported tribes, but Judah (Nah. 1:15). It is among the minor prophets, in seventh position, after Micah and before Habakkuk and Zephaniah, which indicates that this book must have been written between the beginning of Hezekiah’s reign and the end of Josiah’s (Mt. 1 :1; Zep. 1:1). Nahum cites the destruction of No-ammon (Thebes) in Egypt (Nah. 3:8-10), destroyed by the Assyrians in 663 BC. He predicted the fall of Nineveh (Nah. 3:7), which took place in the year 612 BC Thus, the book has to be placed between these two events. Kuenen suggests that the siege of Cyaxares before Nineveh in 623 was the occasion of the prophecy’s utterance. At this time, the inhabitants of Judah were discouraged by the insistent raids of the Assyrians. (b) Ancestor of Christ; he was born a little less than three centuries before Him.
Source: New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
Biblical prophet who lived between 663 and 612. His name means “Yaweh comforts” (in Hebrew “nehemya”). His little book begins with a song of joy before a theophany of Yaweh and announces freedom against Nineveh, capital of the Assyrians, the exploiter of the chosen people. (See Prophets 5.2.5.)
Pedro Chico González, Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy, Editorial Bruño, Lima, Peru 2006
Source: Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy
(comforter).
1. Israelite prophet of the 7th century BC. EC who wrote the book named after him. It is possible that he wrote down his prophecy in Judah. (Na 1:15) His being called † œelqosita † must indicate that he resided in Elqós, a city or village in Judah. (Na 1:1; see ELQOSITA.)
2. Post-exilic ancestor of Jesus Christ, belonging to the genealogical line of Mary, the mother of Jesus on Earth. (Lu 3:25.)
Source: Dictionary of the Bible
Introduction
NAHUM THE PROPHET
Everything we know about Nahum comes from the book itself. He was from Elcós, but we do not know where that place was. At least four different locations have been suggested, from Judea to Syria. Most commentators assume that he delivered his prophecies in Jerusalem (or at least in Judea), but he may have been one of those previously deported from Israel to Assyria or scattered among the nations (Jer. 23:1– 3; Eze 11:16; Joel 3:2).
Nahúm means “consolation, encouragement”. The root has the meaning “to be relieved by vengeance” (Isa. 1:24; 57:6), and this would be perfectly suitable for Nahum. When God avenges his enemies, his people receive encouragement and relief.
Nahum probably lived shortly before the destruction of the Assyrian Empire, which was secured by the fall of Nineveh in 612 BC. de JCa de JC Before Jesus Christ, and that is the event in which he concentrates. He probably prophesied after the sack of Thebes on the Nile in 663, as this is what he seems to be referring to in 3:8. (See the graph on p. 656.)
THE HISTORICAL SITUATION
Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria, the most ruthless and cruel nation in the ancient world. The Assyrians terrified their future victims, not only because they destroyed and burned the cities they conquered, but also because they subjected their inhabitants to various kinds of suffering and humiliation.
One king, Ashurbanipal, boasted in the following terms about some conspirators he had foiled: “As for those men…