Nahum

Nahum

נחום

Read 0,07-3 chapters-47 verses -1,285 words

Vital statistics

 Purpose:  Declare God's judgment on Assyria and comfort Judah with this truth  

 Author:  Nahum

 Original audience:  People in Nineveh and Judas (Southern Kingdom)

 Date written:  Sometime during Nahum's prophetic service (probably between 663 and 612 BC)

 Setting:  This particular prophecy arose after the fall of Thebes in 663 BC (3: 8-10).

 Important section:

 The Lord is good and is a shelter in case of trouble. He takes care of those who trust him, but the overwhelming floods  end him in Nineveh. He drives his enemies into the realm of darkness. Whatever they plot against the Lord, the Lord will end it. No trouble will come again. (1: 7-9)  

 Important place: Nineveh

Author

 This is the book "vision of Nahum" ( 1: 1 ) has been included . Its name means "comfort" and is associated with the name Nehemiah, which means "comfort of the Lord" or "comfort of the Lord." (The fall of Nineveh, the theme of Nahum, will bring comfort to Judah.) Nothing is known about him other than his hometown (Alqosh), and even its general location is uncertain.

Date

 In 3: 8-10 author as already past, the fall of occurred Thebes in 663 BC, and then talk. He said (Nahum represents the fall of Nineveh as imminent, so Nahum prophesied in all three chapters the decline of Nineveh filled with 612 Nahum, therefore, perhaps near the end of this period, between 663 and 612, this Speak Oracle 2: 1 ; 3:14 , 19 ). This would put him in Josiah's reign and make him a contemporaneous man of Zephaniah and young Jeremiah.

Background

 Assyria (Nineveh, represented by 1: 1 ) had already destroyed Samaria (722-721 BC), captured the northern kingdom of Israel, and posed the present threat to Judah. The Assyrians were cruel and cruel, and their kings were often portrayed as flaunting the horrific punishments imposed on the conquered people. They wage war with shocking violence, uprooting the entire population as a national policy and transferring them to other parts of the empire. The leaders of the conquered cities were tortured and severely severed before they were executed ( see note 3: 3 ). It's no wonder that Assyrian horror has fallen on all its neighbors!

 Around 700 BC, King Sennacherib made Nineveh the capital of the Assyrian Empire and remained the capital until it was destroyed in 612. Although John had previously announced the destruction ( John 3: 4 ), people repented and the destruction was temporarily avoided. But shortly thereafter, Nineveh returned to its extreme wickedness, brutality, and pride. The atrocities peaked under Ashurbanipal (669-627), the last great ruler of the Assyrian Empire. After his death, Assyria's influence and power declined rapidly until 612, when Nineveh was overthrown ( see note 1:14 ; 2: 1 ). (More historical information can be found in the notes throughout the book.)

Receiver

 Some words (see Judah 1: 12-13 , 15 ), but most are addressed to Nineveh (see 1:11 , 14 ; 2: 1 , 13 ; 3: 5-17 , 19 ). Or that king ( 3:18 ). However, this book was intended for Judah readers.

Style

 The content is primarily judicial (judicial decision oracle) and includes proper explanations and vocabulary, as well as intense moods, sights and sounds. The language is poetic, with metaphors and similes, vibrant word drawings, repetitions, and many short (often staccato) phrases frequently used ( see , for example, 3: 2-3 ). Rhetorical questions emphasize the flow of thought, but it puts significant stress on the moral resentment of injustice.

Theological theme

 The focus of the book as a whole is the Lord's judgment on Nineveh's oppression, cruelty, idolatry, and wickedness. The book ends with the destruction of the city.

Roma 11:22 to  According , God is not only kind, is also a severe person. In the Book of Nahum, God is not only "slow in anger" ( 1: 3 ) and " a shelter for those who trust in God " ( 1: 7 ), but also "does not leave sin unpunished." He is also a person ( 1: 3 ). 1: 3 ). As Assyria did, a kingdom built on wickedness and tyranny must eventually collapse, so the kingdom of God's righteousness and justice will eventually win.

 In addition, Nahum declares God's universal sovereignty. God is the Lord of history and all nations. As such, he controls their destiny.

Nahum's Interpretation Challenges

With the uncertain identity of Elkosh, the prophecies present no real interpretational difficulties. This book is a candid prophetic announcement of the judgment against Assyria and her capital Nineveh against cruel atrocities and idolatry practices.  



Outline

I. Title (1:1)


II. Nineveh Judge (1:2-15)

A. The Lord’s Kindness and Sternness (1:2-8)

B. Nineveh’s Overthrow and Judah’s Joy (1:9-15)

III. Nineveh’s Judgment (ch.2)

A. Nineveh Besieged (2:1-10)

B. Nineveh’s Desolation COntrasted with Her Former Glory (2:11-13)

IV. Nineveh’s Total Destruction (ch.3)

A. Nineveh's Sins (3:1-4)

B. Nineveh’s Doom (3:5-19)



God's character in Nahum

Christ of the Book of Nahum

    The depiction of Nahum's divine qualities also portrays the future arrival of Christ. Christ first came to earth when the Promised Messiah attracted faithful people to himself. The Book of Nahum describes the protection of the faithful God of God, revealing "The Lord is Good, the Fortress of the Day of Trouble" (1: 7). But when Christ "revenge on his enemies," the Second Coming of Christ brings judgment (1: 2).