NAHUM – EXEGESIS CHAPTER 2
The fearful and victorious armies against Nineveh.
Let first read through this chapter:
Nahum 2:1 He who scatters has come up before your face. Man the fort! Watch the road! Strengthen your flanks! Fortify your power mightily.
Nahum 2:2 For the LORD will restore the excellence of Jacob Like the excellence of Israel, For the emptiers have emptied them out And ruined their vine branches.
Nahum 2:3 The shields of his mighty men are made red, The valiant men are in scarlet. The chariots come with flaming torches In the day of his preparation, And the spears are brandished.
Nahum 2:4 The chariots rage in the streets, They jostle one another in the broad roads; They seem like torches, They run like lightning.
Nahum 2:5 He remembers his nobles; They stumble in their walk; They make haste to her walls, And the defense is prepared.
Nahum 2:6 The gates of the rivers are opened, And the palace is dissolved.
Nahum 2:7 It is decreed: She shall be led away captive, She shall be brought up; And her maidservants shall lead her as with the voice of doves, Beating their breasts.
Nahum 2:8 Though Nineveh of old was like a pool of water, Now they flee away. “Halt! Halt!” they cry; But no one turns back.
Nahum 2:9 Take spoil of silver! Take spoil of gold! There is no end of treasure, Or wealth of every desirable prize.
Nahum 2:10 She is empty, desolate, and waste! The heart melts, and the knees shake; Much pain is in every side, And all their faces are drained of colour.
Nahum 2:11 Where is the dwelling of the lions, And the feeding place of the young lions, Where the lion walked, the lioness and lion’s cub, And no one made them afraid?
Nahum 2:12 The lion tore in pieces enough for his cubs, Killed for his lionesses, Filled his caves with prey, And his dens with flesh.
Nahum 2:13 “Behold, I am against you,” says the LORD of hosts, “I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions; I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall be heard no more.”
You have just read about the sad story of the destruction of me, Nineveh the greatest empire at that time. Let us review these verses again:
Nahum 2:1 He who scatters has come up before your face. Man the fort! Watch the road! Strengthen your flanks! Fortify your power mightily.
Again the prophet addresses my the people of Assyria.
Nahum 1:14 The LORD has given a command concerning you: “Your name shall be perpetuated no longer. Out of the house of your gods I will cut off the carved image and the molded image. I will dig your grave, For you are vile.”
The context makes evident that chapter 2 is descriptive of the fall of Nineveh.
Nahum 2:1 He who scatters has come up before your face. Man the fort! Watch the road! Strengthen your flanks! Fortify your power mightily.
Before your face.
When the attacking forces surround the city, its inhabitants will plainly see and sense their peril.
“Guard the fortified place.” In a slightly ironical tone the prophet admonishes the people of Nineveh to prepare for the final siege of the city, though such preparation would be in vain.
Nahum 2:2 For the LORD will restore the excellence of Jacob Like the excellence of Israel, For the emptiers have emptied them out And ruined their vine branches.
The Assyrians have killed and plundered God’s chosen people, and in turn will be killed and plundered by their conquerors.
Nahum 2:3 The shields of his mighty men are made red, The valiant men are in scarlet. The chariots come with flaming torches In the day of his preparation, And the spears are brandished.
Nahum 2:4 The chariots rage in the streets, They jostle one another in the broad roads; They seem like torches, They run like lightning.
What a vivid description of the two mighty armies of the Babylonians and the Medes. They suffered for centuries under the cruel rule of Assyria and now revenge them on Assyria.
The overwhelming force of the armies attacking Nineveh is here indicated. The entire context of this chapter shows clearly that Nahum was depicting in graphic language the capture of Nineveh.
Nahum 2:5 He remembers his nobles; They stumble in their walk; They make haste to her walls, And the defense is prepared. The gates of the rivers are opened, And the palace is dissolved.
Nahum 2:6 The gates of the rivers are opened, And the palace is dissolved.
The Greek historian Diodorus (ii. 26, 27) reports that Nineveh was captured because of an unusually great flood of the Tigris, which destroyed part of the wall and opened the city to the Medes and Babylonians.
Assyria had ruined many enemy cities, palaces, and temples, but now this fate would befall Nineveh.
Nahum 2:7 It is decreed: She shall be led away captive, She shall be brought up; And her maidservants shall lead her as with the voice of doves, Beating their breasts.
Shall be led. Heb. nahag. This word also means “to moan,” or “to lament,” which suits the context better here.
Voice of doves. That is, the maids would mourn like doves (see Isa. 38:14; Isa. 59:11; Eze. 7:16).
Beating their breast
Beating or “drumming” on one’s breasts expressively pictures deep and poignant sorrow.
SECOND DESCRIPTION OF NINEVEH’S FALL
The second description of Nineveh’s fall, 8-13, is more philosophical than the first one, and ends with a statement by God that gives the reason for its fall (v. 13).
Nahum 2:8 Though Nineveh of old was like a pool of water, Now they flee away. “Halt! Halt!” they cry; But no one turns back.
Nahum now saw it inundated with water, and enemy soldiers and its inhabitants fleeing in panic, like water gushing from a broken dam. Someone might call to them “Stop, stop,” perhaps to defend the city, but “no one” would turn back.
Nahum 2:9 Take spoil of silver! Take spoil of gold! There is no end of treasure, Or wealth of every desirable prize.
Greek sources state that the “spoils” of “silver” and “gold” taken from Nineveh were unusually large in quantity and value. It is not surprising that the conquerors should find such rich spoils in the city that had “spoiled” others so often (see 2 Kings 15:19, 20; 16:8, 9, 17, 18; 17:3; 18:14–16; etc.) 9
“According to historical records, the Medes were the first to breach the defenses of Nineveh. Later, the Babylonians successfully attacked it. The Medes, however, were not interested in a long-term occupation of the area, but in a quick profit.”
Nahum 2:10 She is empty, desolate, and waste! The heart melts, and the knees shake; Much pain is in every side, And all their faces are drained of colour.
Heb. buqah umebuqah umebullaqah. “Desertion, desolation, and destruction” is an attempt to reproduce in English the forceful alliteration in the Hebrew that describes Nineveh’s utter ruin (see on Amos 5:5).
Heart melts. An expression denoting fear and despair (see Joshua 7:5; Isa. 13:7; Eze. 21:7).
Listen to a similar description:
Isaiah 28:21 For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be angry as in the Valley of Gibeon— That He may do His work, His awesome work, And bring to pass His act, His unusual act. Before his presence, “all faces are turned into paleness;” upon the rejecters of God’s mercy falls the terror of eternal despair. “The heart melts, and the knees shake,” “and the faces are drained of colour ” [Jeremiah 30:6; Nahum 2:10.] GC 641
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.
Nahum 2:11 Where is the dwelling of the lions, And the feeding place of the young lions, Where the lion walked, the lioness and lion’s cub, And no one made them afraid? Gather blackness. See on Joel 2:6.
“Assyrian kings prided themselves in their ability to kill lions in lion hunts. And the kings likened their own ferocity and fearlessness to that of lions. For example, Sennacherib boasted of his military fury by saying, ‘Like a lion I raged.’ Lions were frequently pictured in Assyrian reliefs and decorations.”
Nahum 2:12 The lion tore in pieces enough for his cubs, Killed for his lionesses, Filled his caves with prey, And his dens with flesh.
In vs. 11, 12 the prophet employs the figure of a lion to describe Assyria’s power (see Jer. 50:17; PK 265; see on Jer. 4:7). He vividly shows how Nineveh, through her conquests, secured spoils “enough” for her people.
Lions normally kill only what they need to eat, but the Assyrians “killed” innumerable enemies, not only to sustain their own needs, but just for the pleasure of conquest. They were unusually vicious toward their enemies, and notorious in the ancient world for being cruel.[97] Yet lions, while vicious, are not known for being excessively so.
Nahum 2:13 “Behold, I am against you,” says the LORD of hosts, “I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions; I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall be heard no more.”
Nineveh’s destruction came after she had used up her allotted time of probation without coming to a lasting repentance. Divine patience had ceased (see PK 364).
Nahum closed this message with a word from God in which the Lord verbalized His antagonism toward Nineveh. What a terrible fate it is to have Almighty say, “I am against you!” (cf. 3:5; Jer. 21:13; 50:31; 51:25; Ezek. 5:8; 13:8; 26:3; 28:22; 39:1; Rom. 8:31).
He promised to destroy Nineveh’s instruments of warfare. Invading armies would slay her “young lions” (men). She would no longer pounce on defenseless nations and devour helpless peoples like a lion does its prey. And “messengers” would “no longer” leave Nineveh with threats and to demand submission and taxes (cf. 2 Kings 18:17-25; 19:22; Isa. 37:4, 6).
NEXT TIME
The serious sad message of chapter 3. The third destruction of Nineveh