1. Dr. Rick Griffith, Singapore Bible College
The Minor Prophets
Book of Nahum
Book of Nahum
Assyrianism
Dr. Rick Griffith, Singapore Bible College
DUMMIES

2. Sequels

3. Nahum: The Sequel to Jonah

4. 5. Historical Background
Contents
1. Title
2. Date
3. Authorship
4. Recipients
contents
nahum
5. Historical Background
6. Problem Issue
7. Literary Structure
8. Theology

5. Nahum means "consolation" or "consoler"
621
Title
Nahum means "consolation" or "consoler"
This symbolizes his message to comfort Judah's oppressed and afflicted people.
Date
Latest: Nineveh's destruction (612 BC)
Earliest: Captivity of No (No-amon or Thebes, the capital of Upper Egypt) in Nahum 3:8 in 663 BC
Title & Date

6. Placing the Prophets Placing the Prophets Key Dates 931 Obadiah 722
342
Key Dates
931
Obadiah
722
Jonah
Amos
Hosea
Isaiah
Nahum
Micah
586

7. Nahum Jonah United Kingdom Divided Kingdom Solitary Kingdom
765
710
660
United Kingdom
Divided Kingdom
Solitary Kingdom
Post- Exile
1100
1050
1000
950
900
850
800
7 5 0
7 0 0
650
600
550
500
450
Exile

8. 100 Years Later… ASSYRIA Tiglath-Pilesar Assyria Strong
Jonah 760
Nahum 660
Israel's Fall 722
Nineveh's Fall 612
1100
900
850
800
750
700
650
600
Nineveh's Relapse

9. Captivity of Judah to Babylon (586)
560 　
Ashuretililani
Sinsharishkun
Ashuruballit ii
Kings of Assyria
Timeline of Nahum
Ashurbanipal
612
Fall of Nineveh
663 BC
Fall of Thebes
Nahum 660
Persian
World powers
Assyrian
Neo-Babylonian
Jehoiakim
zedekiah
Judah
Kings of Judah
Captivity of Judah to Babylon (586)
Return from Exile
Manasseh
Josiah
Amon
Jehoahaz
Jehoiachin
Habakkuk

10. Contrasting Jonah & Nahum
626
JONAH
NAHUM
First Book (4 chapters)
Sequel
(3 chapters)
about 760 BC
about 660 BC
Repentance from Sin
Return to Sin
Nineveh Delivered
Nineveh Destroyed
Israel Responsible
Israel Protected
Chance to Repent
No Chance to Repent
Narrative
Declarative
626

11. Contrasting Jonah & Nahum
Focus on the Messenger
Focus on the Message
Prophet Disobeys
Prophet Obeys
Nineveh Obeys
Nineveh Disobeys
Deliverance from Water
Destruction by Water
Repented then
Relented
No Repenting,
No Relenting
Jonah's Wrath Refused
Jonah's Wrath Revisited
God's Compassion
God's Judgment
626
Contrasting Jonah & Nahum

12. OT Prophets & Kings OT Kings & Prophets 931 Obadiah 722 Jonah Amos
342
931
Obadiah
722
Jonah
Amos
Hosea
Isaiah
Nahum
Micah
Habakkuk
586

13. Looks red and ripe for judgment!
Israel Today (NASA)
Looks red and ripe for judgment!

14. Battle of Carchemish (609 BC)
Assyrians
Babylonians
Megiddo: Josiah dies
Babylonian Empire
Egyptians
Arabia

15. 622
Authorship
Nothing is known about Nahum except his being an Elkoshite (1:1).
No valid evidence has shown someone else as author.
Four principal suggestions on the location of Elkosh have been advanced:
A modern village Elkush, or Alkosh, not far from the left bank of the Tigris, two days' journey north of the site of ancient Nineveh
A small village in Galilee, at a place identified by many with the modern El-Kauze, near Ramieh
Capernaum, the name of which means "Village of Nahum"
Elkosh in the territory south of Judah

16. Historical Background
622
Recipients
The message concerned Nineveh, but no record exists of it reaching this empire. It was Judah that needed to know how God would judge the nation that persecuted them.
Historical Background
Contemporaries: Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah
Assyria conquered Israel about 60 years before (722 BC).
Now God purposed to visit the former rod of His anger.
Despite repenting under Jonah, Nineveh was ready for judgment due to her cruelty in war and greed.
The power that had ruled western Asia for some three centuries was now to be broken by the combined might of the Babylonians and the Medes.

17. Capernaum
Israel
Elkosh
Jerusalem
Judah

19. “Flood”
Nahum
Nahum 1:8
Walk Through The Bible ©1989

20. Nahum's Prophecies Happened
625
Nahum's Prophecies
Historical Fulfillments
1:8 Nineveh would be destroyed by a flood (2:6, 8)
Nineveh was weakened by an unusually heavy & long flood of the Tigris. This carried away a great section of the huge rampart that surrounded the city and permitted the enemy to force their way in to capture the city.
1:9,14 Nineveh's destruction would be final
It was fulfilled in Assyria's utter destruction & her inability to afflict Israel a 2nd time.
1:10 In the final hours of the attack the Ninevites would be drunk (3:11)
After the Assyrians had repulsed the enemy's attack, they got drunk and feasted, and as a result were surprised by the Medes and the city was taken.
1:11-12 "From you, O Nineveh, has one come forth who plots evil against the Lord and counsels wickedness…"
Sennacherib made arrogant threats in 701 BC against Judah and Jerusalem (cf. 2 Kings 18–19).
1: "Now I will break their yoke from your neck and tear your shackles away."
Judah's service to Assyria ended at Nineveh's demise (2 Kings 18:14; 2 Chron. 33:11).
Hobart E. Freeman, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets (Chicago: Moody Press, 1977).

21. 621 Nahum: Nineveh's Destruction
Book Chart
621
Nahum: Nineveh's Destruction
Certain
Detailed
Justified
Nahum 1
Nahum 2
Nahum 3
Destruction Decreed
Destruction Described
Destruction Deserved
Verdict of Vengeance
Vision of Vengeance
Vindication of Vengeance
What God Will Do
How God Will Do It
Why God Will Do It
God's Anger
God's Actions
God's Accusations
God's Predictions for Judah
God's Power for Judah
God's Justice for Judah
Title 1:1
God's Attributes 1:2-8
Plotting Against God 1:9-11
Destruction is Judah's Deliverance 1:12-15
Battling vs. Judah's Splendor 2:1-2
Destruction & Despoiling 2:3-13
Destruction for Cruelty 3:1-7
Drunk When Destroyed 3:3-11
Burned With Fire 3:12-19
In Judah Against Assyria's Capital, Nineveh
c. 660 BC

22. Chiastic Structure of Nahum
a Yahweh, like a terrible force of nature, avenges his enemies (1:2-10)
b Yahweh will destroy Nineveh but restore Judah (1:11-15)
c Vivid description of the attack upon Nineveh (2:1-10)
d CENTER: Lament over fall of Nineveh (2:11-13)
c' Vivid description of the looting of Nineveh (3:1-7)
b' Nineveh will be destroyed: it is vulnerable, like Thebes (3:8-13)
a' Nineveh, likened to a force of nature, will be destroyed (3:14-19)
Adapted from David A. Dorsey, The Literary Structure of the Old Testament: A Commentary on Genesis – Malachi (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999)
Dorsey reveals that the placement of the eulogy over the "lion's den" in the book's highlighted central position reinforces the sense of certainty of Nineveh's fall.

23. Theology of Nahum God as Sovereign King
Nahum pictured God as the sovereign ruler of the universe who controls both nature and nations, judging them and using them as instruments of judgment in accordance with His will. Not even mighty Assyria, the most powerful nation on earth in Nahum's day, could withstand the LORD's judgment. The LORD would also destroy Nineveh's idols (1:14), showing His sovereignty over the Assyrian gods.  

24. Theology of Nahum God as Warrior
Nahum sees the Lord as divine Warrior par excellence. The book begins with a terrifying portrayal of the angry, avenging warrior in a storm frightening all of nature with His battle cry (1:2-6). In this opening theophany, Nahum employed many of the same motifs used by Assyrian kings to describe their prowess and exploits in battle. This emphasized that the LORD, not Assyria's king, was the most powerful warrior. The "LORD Almighty," or "LORD of Armies," personally announced He would defeat Nineveh (2:13; 3:5). 

25. Theology & Application
God as Judge
Assyria's judgment was well deserved. She had exploited and cruelly treated other nations (cf. 3:1, 4), including God's own people (1:15). Although the Lord had used the Assyrians as an instrument to punish Judah (1:12-13), they attributed it to their own power (cf. Isa. 10:5-19; 36:4-21). God saw this arrogance as an evil plot against His sovereign authority (1:9, 11), so he announced He would destroy the rebellious Assyrians, avenging His oppressed covenant people in the process.  

26. Theology & Application
God as Israel's Protector
God's judgment of Nineveh would be an expression of His zealous devotion to His covenant people (cf. 1:2). Though God had used the Assyrians to chastise Judah, He announced through Nahum that the Assyrian oppression was about to end (1:13, 15). In delivering Judah from the Assyrian yoke, He would once again demonstrate His goodness to His people and prove that He does indeed take notice of those who are loyal to Him and trust Him for protection (1:7).
Application
Do not mistake the patience of God as the impotence of God ––Huang Sabin

27. In like manner, Jonah & Nahum are alike
616
Micah & Isaiah Alike
Exact parallels
Messiah prominent
Wrote from Jerusalem
Wrote about both Israel and Judah
Influenced Hezekiah
Stressed the kingdom
Contemporaneous
In like manner, Jonah & Nahum are alike

28. The only problem concerning the book is that of its unity.
622
Problem: The Unity
The only problem concerning the book is that of its unity.
The unity and integrity of Nahum was unchallenged until the 19th century.
Due to an alleged discovery by Gunkel of the remnants of an old alphabetic poem in chapter 1, many deny the originality of Nahum 1:2–2:2 (2:3 in Hebrew), with the exception of 2:1, which is considered the beginning of Nahum's utterances.

29. REVIEW QUIZ on Nahum Nahum prophesied the destruction of _________.
Nahum’s prophecy completes the story begun by the prophet ______.
Nahum uses vivid imagery (e.g. _____).
This book teaches that each generation must experience a fresh _______.

30. REVIEW QUIZ on Nahum
Nahum prophesied the destruction of Ninevah (Assyria).
Nahum’s prophecy completes the story begun by the prophet ______.
Nahum uses vivid imagery (e.g. _____).
This book teaches that each generation must experience a fresh _______.

31. REVIEW QUIZ on Nahum
Nahum prophesied the destruction of Ninevah (Assyria).
Nahum’s prophecy completes the story begun by the prophet Jonah.
Nahum uses vivid imagery (e.g. _____).
This book teaches that each generation must experience a fresh _______.

32. REVIEW QUIZ on Nahum
Nahum prophesied the destruction of Ninevah (Assyria).
Nahum’s prophecy completes the story begun by the prophet Jonah.
Nahum uses vivid imagery (e.g. lion).
This book teaches that each generation must experience a fresh _______.

33. REVIEW QUIZ on Nahum
Nahum prophesied the destruction of Ninevah (Assyria).
Nahum’s prophecy completes the story begun by the prophet Jonah.
Nahum uses vivid imagery (e.g. lion).
This book teaches that each generation must experience a fresh revival.

34. Black

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