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Nahum Chapter
Two
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO NAHUM 2
This
chapter gives an account of the destruction of the city of Nineveh; describes
the instruments of it as very terrible and powerful
and not to be resisted
Nahum 2:1. The
manner of taking it
the flight of its inhabitants
and the spoil of its riches
and treasures
Nahum 2:5 and the
king and the princes thereof
compared to a lion
and a lion's whelp
are
insulted as being without a den or dwelling place
because of their cruelty and
ravening
for which the Lord was against them
and threatened them with utter
ruin
which he brought upon them
Nahum 2:11.
Nahum 2:1 He who scatters[a] has come
up before your face. Man the fort! Watch the road! Strengthen your
flanks! Fortify your power mightily.
YLT
1Come up hath a scatterer to
thy face
Keep the bulwark
watch the way
Strengthen the loins
strengthen
power mightily.
He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face
.... O Nineveh
or land of Assyria; for this is not to be understood of Sennacherib's coming up
against Jerusalem
as Kimchi; but of Nebuchadnezzar against Nineveh
as Aben
Ezra; not Nebuchadnezzar the great
who
the Jewish chronologers sayF3Seder
Olam Rabba
c. 24. p. 69.
took Nineveh in the first year of his reign; but
his father
Nebuchadnezzar the first
called Nabopolassar
who
with Cyaxares
or Ahasuerus the Mede
joined their forces against Nineveh
and took it
see
the Apocrypha:
"But
before he died he heard of the destruction of Nineve
which was taken by
Nabuchodonosor and Assuerus: and before his death he rejoiced over Nineve.' (Tobit 14:15)
and
these together
the Chaldeans and Medes
are the "dasher in pieces";
or
"the hammer"F4מפיץ
"malleus"
Drusius
Tarnovius.
as the word may be rendered; and so
Babylon
over which one of these kings reigned
is called the hammer of the
whole earth
Jeremiah 50:23
these came up openly
boldly
to the face of the king of Assyria
attacked him
in his metropolis
not fearing his strength and numbers:
keep the munition; this and what follow are spoken ironically
to the Assyrian king
and inhabitants of Nineveh
to take care of their towers
and garrisons
and fortify them
and fill them with soldiers: and
watch the way; in which the enemy came; secure the passes
and avenues that lead to their city; stop his march
and prevent his access:
make thy loins strong; put on armour
gird on
the sword
prepare for war:
fortify thy power mightily; increase thine army
exert all thy strength and courage
and do all that is in thy power to do
to
oppose the enemy
and defend thyself; and when all is done
it will be in vain.
Nahum 2:2 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.
YLT
2For turned back hath
Jehovah to the excellency of Jacob
As [to] the excellency of Israel
For
emptied them out have emptiers
And their branches they have marred.
For the Lord hath turned away the excellency of Jacob
as the
excellency of Israel
.... Or
"will render" a recompence for
or
"revenge the pride of Jacob"F5כי
שב יהוה את
גאון יעקב "ulciscitur
enim Jehova adhibitam in Jacobaeos superbiam"
Castalio; "reponit
Deus Assyrio illam superbiam quam ipse in Jacobo et Israele exercuit"
Grotius; "quia reddidit superbiam"
&c. Tirinus. ; all that
insolence
and those injuries done in a proud and haughty manner by Sennacherib
king of Assyria to the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin; invading their land
taking their fenced cities
and besieging their metropolis; and in an audacious
manner threatening them with utter destruction
unless they surrendered; and
also by Shalmaneser
another king of Assyria
who had besieged and took Samaria
the capital city of Israel or the ten tribes
and had carried them captive; and
now Assyria
though it had been the rod of God's anger
and the instrument of
his chastisement and correction of his people
must in its turn suffer and
smart for all this:
for the emptiers have emptied them out: the
Assyrians
partly by their exactions and tributes they demanded
and partly by
their spoil and plunder
had stripped Israel and Judah of all
or the greatest
part
of their substance
wealth
and treasure:
and marred their vine branches; their children
their
sons and daughters
slaying them
or carrying them captive. Israel and Judah
are often compared to a vine
and so their posterity to branches: or
"corrupted"F6שחתו
"corruperunt"
Pagninus
Montanus
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Vatablus
Burkius. them
with superstition and idolatry. The Targum interprets
it of their renowned cities; these
and towns and villages
being to the land
as branches to the vine; and which had been ransacked and pillaged by the
Assyrians
and now they should be paid in their own coin.
Nahum 2:3 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.[b]
YLT
3The shield of his mighty
ones is become red
Men of might [are in] scarlet
With fiery torches [is] the
chariot in a day of his preparation
And the firs have been caused to tremble.
The shield of his mighty men is made red
.... The
shields of the soldiers in the armies of the Babylonians and Medes
those
dashers in pieces that would come up against Nineveh
should be red; either
with the blood of the slain
or thus coloured on purpose to inject terror to
their enemies; or this may express the lustre of them
which being gilded
or
made of gold or brass
in the rays of the sun glittered
and looked of a fiery
red; see the Apocrypha:
"Now
when the sun shone upon the shields of gold and brass
the mountains glistered
therewith
and shined like lamps of fire.' (1 Maccabees 6:39)
the valiant men are in scarlet; the generals
and other officers of the army were clothed in scarlet; partly to show their
greatness and nobleness
and partly to strike their enemies with terror
and to
hide their blood should they be wounded
and so keep up their own spirits
and
not encourage their enemies:
the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of
his preparation; that is
when the Medes and Chaldeans
under their respective
commander or commanders
shall prepare for the siege of the city
and to make
their onset and attack upon it
the chariots used by them in war
which was
common in those times
would have flaming torches in them; either to guide them
in the night
or to set fire to houses or tents they should meet with
or to
terrify the enemy: or "the chariots shall be as flaming
torches"F7So ב is sometimes used as כ. See Nold. Concord. Ebr. Part. p. 162. No. 728. So
Piscator
and the Tigurine version. ; they should run with such swiftness
that
the wheels
being of iron
or cased with it
should strike fire upon the stones
in such quantities
that they should look like torches flaming:
and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken; with the
motion of the chariots; or this may be interpreted of spears and lances
and
such like instruments of war
made of fir; which should be in such great
numbers
and with so much activity used against the Ninevites
that it would
look like shaking a forest of fir trees. The Targum interprets these of the
great men and generals of their armies glittering in dyed garments; and
Kimchi's father
of the princes and great men of the city of Nineveh
who would
be seized with terror
and reel about like drunken men; and so all that follows
in the next verse Nahum 2:4.
Nahum 2:4 4 The
chariots rage in the streets
They jostle one another in the broad roads; They
seem like torches
They run like lightning.
YLT
4In out-places shine do the
chariots
They go to and fro in broad places
Their appearances [are] like
torches
As lightnings they run.
The chariots shall rage in the streets
.... In the
streets of Nineveh when taken; where they shall be drove in a furious manner
from place to place
the men in them breathing out slaughter and death wherever
they came. Kimchi understands this of the chariots of the Ninevites; who shall
drive about in them in the streets of the city like madmen; not daring to go
out to fight the enemy
being mightier and more numerous than they.
They shall justle one against another in the broad ways; because of
their numbers
and the haste they shall make to spoil and plunder the city; or
the Ninevites shall justle one against another
in their hurry and confusion to
make their escape.
They shall seem like torches; either the chariots of
the Medes and Chaldeans
for the reasons given in the preceding verse Nahum 2:3; or they
themselves
because of their fierceness and cruelty; or the faces of the
Ninevites
being covered with shame
so Kimchi; see Isaiah 13:8.
They shall run like the lightnings; exceeding swiftly
with
irresistible force and power; the above writer interprets this of the Ninevites
also
running from one end of their city to the other in the utmost confusion
not knowing what to do; but the whole of these two verses Nahum 2:3 seem to
be a description of their enemies.
Nahum 2:5 5 He
remembers his nobles; They stumble in their walk; They make haste to her walls
And the defense is prepared.
YLT
5He doth remember his
honourable ones
They stumble in their goings
They hasten [to] its wall
and
prepared is the covering.
He shall recount his worthies
.... Either the dasher in
pieces
Nahum 2:1
the
kings of Babylon and Media
shall call together their general officers
and
muster the forces under then
and put them in mind of their duty
and recount
the actions of their ancestors in former times
in order to animate and
encourage them to the siege and attack of the city of Nineveh; or the king of
Assyria shall recount and muster up his nobles
and the troops under them
to sally
out against the enemy
and meet him in the field
and give him battle:
they shall stumble in their walk: being many
and in haste
to obey the orders of their commander
shall stumble and fall upon one another;
or else the Ninevites in their march out against the enemy shall be discomfited
and flee before him
or be dispirited and flee back again:
they shall make haste to the wall thereof; of Nineveh;
that is
the Medes and Chaldeans shall make haste thither
to break it down or
scale it; or the Ninevites
failing in their sally out
shall betake themselves
in all haste to their city walls
and defend themselves under the protection of
them:
and the defence shall be prepared; or the
"covering": the wordF8הסוכך
"operimentum"
Pagninus
Montanus; "integumentum"
Calvin;
"testudo"
Vatablus
Grotius
Cocceius
Burkius. used has the
signification of a booth or tent
to cover and protect; here it signifies
something that was prepared
either by the besiegers
to cover them from the
darts and stones of the besieged
as they made their approaches to the walls;
or which the besieged covered themselves with from the assaults of the
besiegers; rather the former.
Nahum 2:6 6 The
gates of the rivers are opened
And the palace is dissolved.
YLT
6Gates of the rivers have
been opened
And the palace is dissolved.
The gates of the rivers shall be opened
.... Of Diava
and Adiava
or Lycus and Caprus
between which
according to some writersF9Vid.
Fuller. Miscel. Sacr. l. 3. c. 6.
Nineveh was situated; or the gates of the
city
which lay nearest to the river Tigris
are meant; or that river itself
the plural for the singular
which overflowing
broke down the walls of the
city for two and a half miles
and opened a way for the Medes and Chaldeans to
enter in; of which see Nahum 1:8
and the palace shall be dissolved; by the inundation
or
destroyed by the enemy; meaning the palace of the king
which might be situated
near the river; or the temple of Nisroch the Assyrian deity
or Jupiter Belus;
for the same wordF11ההיכל
"templum"
V. L. Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Drusius
Cocceius. signifies a temple as well as palace.
Nahum 2:7 7 It
is decreed:[c] 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.
YLT
7And it is established --
she hath removed
She hath been brought up
And her handmaids are leading as
the voice of doves
Tabering on their hearts.
And Huzzab shall be led away captive
.... The
Targum translates it the queen; and Jarchi and Aben Ezra
after R. Samuel
take
it to be the name of the queen of Assyria; so called
as every queen might
from
her standing at the king's right hand
Psalm 45:9 who
when the royal palace was destroyed
was taken out
and carried captive with
the rest
who before was in a well settled and tranquil state and condition: or
perhaps the king himself is designed
who may be represented as a woman
as
follows
for his effeminacy; conversing only with women; imitating their voice;
wearing their apparel; and doing their work
spinning
&c. which is the
character historiansF12Diodor. Sicul. l. 2. p. 109
110. give of the
last king of the Assyrians: someF13Gebhardus apud Burkium in loc.
take it to be the idol Venus
worshipped by the Ninevites: though it may be
meant either of the palace itself
as Kimchi's father
which was firm and well
established; or rather Nineveh itself
thought to be stable and secure
the
inhabitants of which should be carried into a strange land:
she shall be brought up; the queen
or the king
out of the palace or private retirement
where they were in peace and safety;
or Nineveh
and the inhabitants of it
out of their secure state and condition:
and her maids shall lead her; her maids of honour
supporting her on the right hand and left
ready to sink and faint under her
misfortunes: this may also be understood of towns and villages
and the
inhabitants of them
that should go into captivity along with Nineveh:
as with the voice of doves
tabering upon their breasts; mourning like
doves
inwardly and secretly
not daring to express their sorrow more publicly
because of their enemies; but knocking and beating upon their breasts
as men
do upon tabrets or drums
thereby expressing the inward grief of their minds;
see Ezekiel 7:16.
Nahum 2:8 8 Though
Nineveh of old was like a pool of water
Now they flee away. “Halt!
Halt!” they cry; But no one turns back.
YLT
8And Nineveh [is] as a pool
of waters
From of old it [is] -- and they are fleeing! `Stand ye
stand;' and
none is turning!
But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water
.... This was
a very ancient city
built by Nimrod
as some say; or rather by Ashur
as
appears from Genesis 10:10 and
it was like fish pool
full of people
as it was in the times of Jonah
who for
their number may be compared both to water and to fish; and likewise full of
wealth and riches
which for their instability may be signified by water also;
and moreover
like a pool of standing water
had never been liable to any
commotions and disturbances
but had remained from the beginning in a tranquil
and prosperous state; besides
some regard may be had in a literal sense to its
situation
being watered by the river Tigris
and which was for its profit and
defence: so some copies of the Septuagint read the words
"Nineveh
is like a pool of water
the waters are her walls:'
and
the Syriac version is
"Nineveh
is as a lake of water
and is among the waters;'
see
Nahum 1:6
yet they shall flee away; the waters out of the
pool
the sluices being opened
or the banks broken down; or the people out of
the city
breaches being made in its walls
or its gates opened
and the enemy
entering; when everyone would flee for his life
and make his escape in the
best manner he could:
stand
stand
shall they cry; either the generals and
officers of the king of Assyria's army
to the soldiers running away; or the
more courageous inhabitants of the city
to those that were timorous and seized
with a panic
fleeing in the utmost consternation; or the enemy
as Kimchi
who
shall call to them to stop
promising to spare their lives upon a surrender of
them to them:
but none shall look back; and stand to hear what
is said unto them
but make the best of their way
and flee with all their
might and main.
Nahum 2:9 9 Take
spoil of silver! Take spoil of gold! There is no end of treasure
Or
wealth of every desirable prize.
YLT
9Seize ye silver
seize ye
gold
And there is no end to the prepared things
[To] the abundance of all
desirable vessels.
Take ye the spoil of silver
take the spoil of gold
.... Of which
there was a great quantity in this rich and populous city: these are the words
of the prophet
or of the Lord by the prophet
to the Medes and Chaldeans
to
seize the spoil of the city
now fallen into their hands; suggesting that this
was by the order and will of God
though they saw it not: or of the generals of
the army of the Medes and Babylonians
giving leave to the common soldiers to
take part of the plunder
there being enough for them all
officers and private
men:
for there is none end of the store and glory out of
all the pleasant furniture: no end of the wealth which had been hoarded
up
and of their household goods and rich apparel
which their coffers
houses
and wardrobes
were full of
the value of which could not be told. The king of
Assyria
perceiving that he
his family
and his wealth
were like to fall into
the hands of the enemy
caused a pile of wood to be raised
and in it heaped
his gold
silver
and royal apparel
and
enclosing himself
his eunuchs
and
concubines in it
set fire to it
and destroyed himself and them. It is saidF14Athenaeus
apud Rollin's Ancient History
&c. vol. 2. p. 31
32. See the Universal
History
vol. 4. p. 306. there were no less in this pile than a thousand
myriads of talents of gold
which are about fourteen hundred millions sterling
and ten times as many talents of silver
together with apparel and furniture
unspeakable; and yet
after all this
the princes of the Babylonians and Medes
carried off vast quantities. The Babylonian prince loaded several ships with
the ashes of the pile
and a large quantity of gold and silver
discovered to
him by an eunuch
a deserter; and the Median prince
what of the gold and
silver left out of the pile
which were many talents
that fell into his hands
he sent to Ecbatana
the royal city of MediaF15Diodor. Sicul. l. 2.
p. 114
115. .
Nahum 2:10 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 color.[d]
YLT
10She is empty
yea
emptiness and waste
And the heart hath melted
And the knees have smitten
together
And great pain [is] in all loins
And the faces of all of them have
gathered paleness.
She is empty
and void
and waste
.... The city of Nineveh
empty of inhabitants
being killed
or having fled; and stripped of all its
treasures and riches by the enemies; its walls and houses demolished and pulled
down
and laid in ruins
and become a heap of rubbish; See Gill on Nahum 1:8. Various
words are here used to ascertain and confirm the thing; and there is an elegant
play on words or likeness of sounds
which our language will not express:
and the heart melteth; the heart of every
inhabitant of Nineveh melted with fear at the approach of their enemies
their
entrance into the city
and plunder of it; flowed like water
or melted like
wax; see Psalm 22:14
and the knees smite together; like people in a fright
and when a panic has seized them; and as it was with Belshazzar
Daniel 5:6
and much pain is in all loins; like that of
women in travail; or of persons in a sudden fright
which gives them a pain in
their backs at once:
and the faces of them all gather blackness; like a pot
as the Targum adds; being in great distress and disconsolation
which make men
appear in a dismal hue
and their countenances look very dark and gloomy; see Joel 2:6.
Nahum 2:11 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?
YLT
11Where [is] the habitation
of lionesses? And a feeding-place it [is] for young lions Where walked hath a
lion
an old lion
A lion's whelp
and there is none troubling.
Where is the dwelling of the lions?.... Of the
kings of Assyria
comparable to lions for their strength
courage
and cruelty
tyranny
and oppression; such as Pul
Tiglathpileser
Shalmaneser
and
Sennacherib. So the Targum
"where
are the habitations of kings?'
these
are the words
either of the prophet
or of the people that had seen this city
in its glory
and now see it in its ruins; and so desolate and waste
as that
it could scarcely be said where it once stood:
and the feedingplace of the young lions? the sons of
the kings of Assyria
the princes of the blood
and who were of the same blood
temper
and disposition of their ancestors
and were born
brought up
and
educated
in Nineveh the royal city. So the Targum
"and
the dwelling houses of the princes
'
or
governors:
where the lion
even the old lion
walked: not
Nebuchadnezzar
as Jerom
who entered into Nineveh the den of those lions
or
seat of the Assyrians
and took it
and walked about in it
as the conqueror
and possessor of it; but rather Nimrod
that old lion and tyrant
if he was the
first founder of this city
as some say; though it does not seem so much to
design any particular person
but the kings of Assyria in general
even the
most cruel and savage
as the old lion is. So the Targum in the plural number
"whither
the kings went;'
and the lion's whelp
and none made them afraid: there were
none to resist their power
curb their insolence
and put a stop to their
cruelty and oppression; or make them afraid of pursuing such methods. The
Targum is
"there
they leave their children
even as a lion that continues in hunting with
confidence
and there is none that terrifies.'
Nahum 2:12 12 The
lion tore in pieces enough for his cubs
Killed for his lionesses
Filled his
caves with prey
And his dens with flesh.
YLT
12The lion is tearing parts
[for] his whelps
And is strangling for his lionesses
And he doth fill [with]
prey his holes
And his habitations [with] rapine.
The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps
.... The
metaphor is still continued; and the kings of Assyria are compared to lions
that hunt for their prey
and
having found it
tear it in pieces
and carry
home a sufficiency for their whelps. It is a notion that is advanced by some
writers
as HerodotusF16Thalia
sive l. 3. c. 108.
that the
lioness
the strongest and boldest creature
brings forth but once in its life
and then but one; which GelliusF17Noctes Atticae
l. 13. c. 7.
confutes by the testimonies of Homer and Aristotle; and it appears from the
prophet here to be a false one
as well as from Ezekiel 19:2 thus
the Assyrians made war on other nations
and pillaged and plundered them
to
enlarge their dominions
provide for their posterity
and enrich their
children:
and strangled for his lionesses; that is
strangled other
beasts
as the lion first does
when it seizes a creature
and then tears it in
pieces
and brings it to the she lion in the den with its whelps. These
"lionesses" design the wives and concubines of the kings of Assyria
among whom they parted the spoils of their neighbours. So the Targum
"kings
bring rapine to their wives
and a prey to their children;'
that
is
riches
which they have taken from others by force and rapine: thus CiceroF18Orat.
8. in Verrem
l. 3. p. 509. observes of the kings of Persia and Syria
that
they had many wives
and gave cities to them after this manner; this city for
their headdress
this for the neck
and the other for the hair; the expenses of
them:
and filled his holes with prey
and his dens with ravine; as the lion
fills his dens and lurking holes with the prey he has seized and ravened; so
the kings of Assyria filled their palaces
treasures
magazines
towers
cities
and towns
with the wealth and riches they took by force from other
nations; as the Targum
"and
they filled their treasuries with rapine
and their palaces with spoil.'
Nahum 2:13 13 “Behold
I am against you
” says the Lord of hosts
“I will burn your[e] 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.”
YLT
13Lo
I [am] against thee
An
affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts
And I have burned in smoke its chariot
And
thy young lions consume doth a sword
And I have cut off from the land thy
prey
And not heard any more is the voice of thy messengers!
Behold
I am against thee
saith the Lord of hosts
.... Against
Nineveh
and the whole Assyrian empire
for such rapine
violence
and
oppression
their kings had been guilty of; and if he
who is the Lord of
hosts
of all the armies of heaven and earth
was against them
nothing but
ruin must inevitably ensue: or
"I come unto thee"F19הנני אליך "ad te venturus
sum"
Vatablus; "ego ad te venio"
Drusius. ; or will shortly
come unto thee
and reckon with thee for all this; will visit thee in a way of
wrath and vengeance. The Targum is
"behold
I will send my fury upon thee:'
and I will burn her chariots in the smoke; either those
in which the inhabitants of Nineveh rode in great splendour about the city; or
those which were used in war with their enemies; and this he would do "in
the smoke"; or
"unto smoke"
as the Vulgate Latin version; or
"into smoke"
as the SyriacF20בעשן
"in fumum"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator. ; easily
quickly
at
once
suddenly
so that they should evaporate into smoke
and be no more; or
with fire
as the Targum; that is
as Kimchi interprets it
with a great fire
whose smoke is seen afar off; and may be figuratively understood of the smoke
of divine wrath
as Aben Ezra explains it:
and the sword shall devour thy young lions; the swords of
the Medes and Chaldeans shall destroy the princes
the sons of their king. The
Targum interprets this of towns or villages destroyed thereby:
and I will cut thy prey from the earth; cut them off
that they should no more prey upon their neighbours; and what they had got
should be taken away from them
and be of no use to them:
and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard; in foreign
courts
demanding homage and subjection; exacting and collecting tribute;
blaspheming the God of heaven
and menacing his people
as Rabshakeh
a
messenger of one of these kings
did; and which is mentioned by most of the
Jewish commentators as being then a recent thing. Some render it
"the
voice"
or "noise of thy jaw teeth"F21קול מלאככה "vox dentium
molarium"
Calvin. ; alluding to the lion's breaking the bones of its
prey
which is done with a great noise; signifying that such cruelty and
oppression the Assyrians had been guilty of should be used no more; or rather
as R. Judah ben Balaam observes
as it signifies the noise of the teeth
devouring the prey
it is as if it was said
I will cut off thy prey from the
earth; and Ben Melech says that
in the Persian language
grinding stones are
expressed by this word
and teeth are called grinders; see Ecclesiastes 12:3.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)