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Nahum 2

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Nahum 2
Simplified plan of ancient Nineveh, showing city wall and location of gateways.
BookBook of Nahum
CategoryNevi'im
Christian Bible partOld Testament
Order in the Christian part34

Nahum 2 is the second chapter of the Book of Nahum in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.[1][2] This book contains the prophecies spoken by the prophet Nahum, and is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets.[3][4]

Text

Structure

This chapter can be grouped (with cross references to other parts of the Bible):

Verse 1

New Revised Standard Version

A shatterer has come up against you.
Guard the ramparts; watch the road;
gird your loins; collect all your strength[6]
  • "Shatterer" (or "scatterer") is translated from the Hebrew word: מֵפִ֛יץ mê-p̄îts referring to the Medians and Babylonians who attacked Nineveh. Thus, this verse is addressed to Nineveh.[7] The King James Version renders the word: "He that dasheth in pieces."

Verse 6

The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved.[8]
  • "The gates of the rivers" (Hebrew: שערי הנהרות, sha-‘ă-rê han-nə-hā-rō-wṯ). Nineveh was situated on the east bank of the Tigris River, whose tributary, the Khosr, flowed through the city.[7] The fall of Nineveh predicted by Nahum took place in only a few years after this prophecy - in 612 B.C, followed by the final destruction of the Assyrian Empire in 609 B.C. Archelogical research unearthed evidence that the destruction of city is related to the flood, giving support to the belief that the attackers sneaked into Niniveh by opening the river gates and marching through the "flooded waterways", in fulfillment of Nahum's prophecy.[9]

Verse 11

Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the feedingplace of the young lions,
where the lion, even the old lion, walked, and the lion's whelp, and none made them afraid?[10]

Fragments 3-4 Column 1 of Nahum Commentary (1st century BC) cites Nahum 2:11b, "Where the lion goes to enter, there also goes the whelp..." and provides the commentary,

"[This refers to Deme]trius, king of Greece, who sought to enter Jerusalem through the counsel of the Flattery-Seekers; [but it never fell into the] power of the kings of Greece from Antiochus until the appearance of the rulers of the kittim...."[11]

According to Larry R. Helyer (as well as to many other scholars), Demetrius in this text is Demetrius III Eucaerus (95-88 BCE), the Seleucid king who defeated Alexander Jannaeus in battle, but was forced to withdraw back to Syria. Accordingly, by "the Flattery-Seekers", the Pharisees were probably meant.[12] Furthermore, “Antiochus” is conventionally identified as Antiochus IV, and the “Kittim” as the Romans.[13]

  • Dwelling of the lions: "Lion" is a natural symbol of Assyria, and is used as the chief national emblem. Nergal, the war god, has a winged lion with a man's face as his emblem. See the figure in Rawlinson, 'Anc. Mon.,' 1:173, who adds (p. 308) that the lion is accepted as a true type of the people, blood, ravin, and robbery being their characteristics in the mind of the prophet; thus, the "dwelling of the lions" refers to the great city of Nineveh.[14]

Verse 13

Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions:
and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.[15]
  • "Lord of hosts" (Hebrew: יהוה צבאות, Yah-weh tsə-ḇā-’ō-wṯ). Although the Babylonians conquered the city of Nineveh, they were only God's instruments. Nineveh's greatest foe was the Lord of hosts Himself.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ Halley, Henry H. Halley's Bible Handbook: an abbreviated Bible commentary. 23rd edition. Zondervan Publishing House. 1962.
  2. ^ Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook. Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 2012.
  3. ^ J. D. Davis. 1960. A Dictionary of The Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House.
  4. ^ Therodore Hiebert, et.al. 1996. The New Intrepreter's Bible: Volume: VII. Nashville: Abingdon.
  5. ^ VanderKam, James C., The Dead Sea Scrolls Today, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994. pp. 10-11.
  6. ^ Nahum 2:1
  7. ^ a b Michael D. Coogan, Marc Z. Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, Pheme Perkins (Editors). The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version. 3rd edition. 2001. ISBN 978-0195284850. pp. 1338
  8. ^ Nahum 2:6
  9. ^ a b Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald B. Allen, H. Wayne House (Editors). The Nelson Study Bible. New King James Version. Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN. 1997. pp. 1515-1517. ISBN: 978-0840715999 Cite error: The named reference "NelsonStudyB" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  10. ^ Nahum 2:11
  11. ^ Translation by E.M. Cook in The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation. HarperSanFrancisco. 1996. p. 217. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |editors= ignored (|editor= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ Larry R. Helyer, Exploring Jewish Literature of the Second Temple Period. InterVarsity Press, 2002 ISBN 0830826785
  13. ^ Berrin, Shani L. The Pesher Nahum scroll from Qumran : an exegetical study of 4Q169. Studies on the texts of the desert of Judah; v. 53. Brill, Leiden. 2004. ISBN 90-04-12484-5.
  14. ^ The Pulpit Commentary, edited by H.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell, 1890.
  15. ^ Nahum 2:13
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