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Nahum Chapter Three

 

Nahum 3 Outlines

The Woe of Nineveh (v.1~19)

New King James Version (NKJV)

 

INTRODUCTION TO NAHUM 3

In this chapter is contained the prophecy of the destruction of Nineveh and with it the whole Assyrian empire; the causes of which besides those before mentioned were the murders lies and robberies it was full of Nahum 3:1 for which it should be swiftly and cruelly destroyed Nahum 3:2 as also its whoredoms and witchcrafts or idolatry by which nations and families were seduced Nahum 3:4 and hence she should be treated as a harlot her nakedness exposed and she cast out with contempt and mocked at by all Nahum 3:5 and all those things she placed her confidence in are shown to be of no avail; as her situation and fortresses as she might learn from the case of No Amon Nahum 3:8 nor the number of her inhabitants which were weak as women; nor even her merchants captains nobles and king himself Nahum 3:13 nor the people she was in alliance with who would now mock at her her case being irrecoverable and incurable Nahum 3:19.

 

Nahum 3:1   Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery. Its victim never departs.
   YLT 
1Wo [to] the city of blood She is all with lies -- burglary -- full Prey doth not depart.

Woe to the bloody city .... Nineveh in which many murders were daily committed; innocent blood shed; the lives of men taken away under the colour of justice by false witnesses and other unlawful methods; and which was continually making war with neighbouring nations and shedding their blood which it stuck not at to enlarge its wealth and dominions; and therefore "woe" is denounced against it; and it is threatened with the righteous judgments of God with all sorts of calamity and distress: or "O bloody city" as the Septuagint; for the word used is vocative and expressive of calling as Aben Ezra and Kimchi observe:

it is all full of lies and robbery; the palace and court; the houses of noblemen and common persons were full of flattery and deceit; men of high degree were a lie and men of low degree vanity; no man could trust another or believe what he said; there were no truth honesty and faithfulness in conversation or commerce; their warehouses were full of goods got by rapine and violence; and their streets full of robbers and robberies:

the prey departeth not; they go on in making a prey of their neighbours in pillaging and plundering their substance; they repent not of such evil practices nor desist from them; or because of the above sins they shall fall a prey to the enemy who will not cease plundering them till he has utterly stripped them of all they have; and who is represented in the next verse Nahum 3:2 as just at hand.

 

Nahum 3:2   2 The noise of a whip And the noise of rattling wheels Of galloping horses Of clattering chariots!
   YLT 
2The sound of a whip And the sound of the rattling of a wheel And of a prancing horse and of a bounding chariot Of a horseman mounting.

The noise of a whip .... Of a horseman or chariot driver whipping his horses to make speed to Nineveh and enter into it so near as to be heard by the inhabitants of it; and is thus represented in order to strike terror into them:

and the noise of the rattling of the wheels; that is of the chariots upon the stones whose drivers drove Jehu like making the utmost haste they could to get in first and seize the prey:

and of the pransing horses; or bounding steeds upon a full gallop; either with horsemen on them riding full speed to partake of the booty; or in chariots in which they caper and prance and shake the ground as they go; hence it follows:

and of the jumping chariots; which through the swiftness of the motion seem to leap and dance as they run along.

 

Nahum 3:3   3 Horsemen charge with bright sword and glittering spear. There is a multitude of slain A great number of bodies Countless corpses— They stumble over the corpses—
   YLT 
3And the flame of a sword and the lightning of a spear And the abundance of the wounded And the weight of carcases Yea there is no end to the bodies They stumble over their bodies.

The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear .... Or "the flame of the sword and the glittering spear"F23להב חרב וברק חנית "flammam gladii et fulgorem hastae" Piscator; "flammam gladii et fulgur hastae" Cocceius; "flamma gladii et fulgur lanceae" Burkius. ; he rides with a drawn sword which being brandished to and fro looks like a flame of fire; or with a spear made of polished iron or steel which when vibrated and moved to and fro glitters like lightning; a large number of which entering the city must be terrible to the inhabitants of it:

and there is a multitude of slain and a great number of carcasses; of dead men lying in the streets pierced and slain with the bright sword and glittering spear of the Medes and Chaldeans:

and there is none end of their corpses; the number of them could not be told; they lay so thick in all parts of the city that there was no telling them:

they stumble upon their corpses; the Ninevites in fleeing and endeavouring to make their escape and the Medes and Chaldeans pursuing them.

 

Nahum 3:4   4 Because of the multitude of harlotries of the seductive harlot The mistress of sorceries Who sells nations through her harlotries And families through her sorceries.

   YLT  4Because of the abundance of the fornications of an harlot The goodness of the grace of the lady of witchcrafts Who is selling nations by her fornications And families by her witchcrafts.

Because of the multitudes of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot .... Meaning Nineveh; which as it was an ancient city was a well built one; full of stately and beautiful buildings the seat of the kings of Assyria and the metropolis of the nation and abounded with wealth and riches; perhaps here may be an allusion to the name of the city and to the signification of it; for Nineveh may have its name from the beauty of it and be read in Hebrew נאי נוה or נוי and may signify a beautiful or pleasant habitation; so HillerusF24Onomastic. Sacr. p. 304 431 898. and CocceiusF25Comment. in Jonam c. 1. 2. give the etymology of it; which agrees with its delightful situation on the banks of the river Tigris and the stately edifices in it as the king's palace and others; just as Zion is said to be "beautiful for situation the joy of the whole earth" Psalm 48:2 and the epithet of "well favoured" well agrees with a harlot whose beauty is engaging and ensnaring as Lais and others; particularly Semiramis the wife of Ninus from whom it is generally thought Nineveh had its name was first a harlot and one of exceeding beauty who surpassed all others in it; on account of which she was beloved by the king of Assyria and after a short time made his wife and then he delivered the government of the kingdom to herF26Diodor. Sicul. l. 2. p. 93. 107. Ed. Rhodoman. ; yea Sardanapalus the Last and at this time the present king of the Assyrians was very effeminate used to dress himself in women's clothes imitate a woman's voice and paint his face and even his whole body; and by other tricks and enticements of harlots made himself more lascivious and behaved more lewdly than any harlotF1Ibid. p. 109 110. ; in short all the Assyrian women must be harlots since they were obliged once in their lifetime to lie with a stranger in the temple of Venus whom the Assyrians call Mylitta as HerodotusF2Clio sive. l. 1. c. 199. and StraboF3Geograph. l. 16. p. 513. relate; to all which here may be an allusion: and particularly the inhabitants of this city had all the arts of address and insinuation to deceive others as harlots have; and both men and women very probably were given to whoredom and adultery in a literal sense as is generally the case where luxury and intemperance abound; and especially were grossly guilty of idolatry which in Scripture is frequently expressed by whoredom and adultery; worshipping Bel Nisroch and other deities and which was highly provoking to God; and therefore for these things his judgements came upon them before and after described:

the mistress of witchcrafts: thoroughly versed in such wicked and devilish practices literally understood; see Isaiah 47:9 for the Assyrians as well as the Babylonians and Chaldeans were addicted to such diabolical arts as appears from a passage in TheocritusF4Pharmaceutria sive Idyll. 2. prope finem. which Grotius has also quoted; where one is represented saying that she kept in her box or chest very pernicious poisons which she had learned from an Assyrian guest. The allusion seems to be to philtres and other tricks used by harlots to besot young men and bewitch and captivate them: likewise this city and its inhabitants were well versed in all the arts of flattery deceit and carnal policy; and in all the charms of wealth riches luxury and sensuality the pomp of superstition and idolatry to draw in kingdoms and nations into subjection to them:

that selleth nations through her whoredoms and families through her witchcrafts; enslaved whole kingdoms and brought them under her power and dominion to be her vassals; and was the instrument not only of corporeal servitude but of their selling themselves to work wickedness by committing spiritual fornication or idolatry; into which multitudes were led by her influence and example and particularly the kingdoms and families of Israel and Judah; see 2 Kings 16:10. In these whoredoms and witchcrafts as well as in her bloodthirstiness lies and oppression Nineveh was a type of the whore of Rome; see Revelation 17:1.

 

Nahum 3:5   5 “Behold I am against you ” says the Lord of hosts; “I will lift your skirts over your face I will show the nations your nakedness And the kingdoms your shame.
   YLT 
5Lo I [am] against thee An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts And have removed thy skirts before thy face And have shewed nations thy nakedness And kingdoms thy shame

Behold I am against thee saith the Lord of hosts .... Because her doings were against him; See Gill on Nahum 2:13

and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face; turn up the skirts of her garments over her head and thereby discover what should be concealed than which nothing is more disagreeable and abominable to modest persons; it is here threatened she should be used in character as a harlot or as women oftentimes are by rude soldiers when a city is taken by them:

and I will show the nations thy nakedness and the kingdoms thy shame; all her charms shall be taken away and she become odious as a harlot to her former lovers; all her impostures arts and tricks and shameful actions will be discovered; and her aims and views at universal monarchy will be seen and her weakness to effect it made to appear; and upon the whole will become the object of the scorn and derision of kingdoms and nations.

 

Nahum 3:6   6 I will cast abominable filth upon you Make you vile And make you a spectacle.
   YLT 
6And I have cast upon thee abominations And dishonoured thee and made thee as a sight.

And I will cast abominable filth upon thee .... As dirt and dung or any or everything that is abominable and filthy; and which is thrown at harlots publicly disgraced and as used to be at persons when carted. The meaning is that this city and its inhabitants should be stripped of everything that was great and glorious in them and should be reduced to the utmost shame and ignominy:

and make thee vile: mean abject contemptible the offscouring of all things; rejected and disesteemed of all; had in no manner of repute or account but in the utmost abhorrence:

and I will set thee as a gazingstock; to be looked and laughed at: or "for an example"F5כרואי εις παραδειγμα Sept.; "in exemplum" Drusius Tarnovius; "sicut spectacalum" Burkius. ; to others that they may shun the evils and abominations Nineveh had been guilty of or expect the same disgrace and punishment. Kimchi interprets it "as dung"F6"Tanquam stercus" Munster Montanus Vatablus Calvin Cocceius. ; to be no more reckoned of than that or to be made a dunghill of; and so many others interpret it; or "for a looking glass"F7"Ut speculum" Junius & Tremellius Piscator Quistorpius. ; that others may look into and take warning and avoid the sins that have brought on such calamities.

 

Nahum 3:7   7 It shall come to pass that all who look upon you Will flee from you and say ‘Nineveh is laid waste! Who will bemoan her?’ Where shall I seek comforters for you?”

   YLT  7And it hath come to pass Each of thy beholders fleeth from thee And hath said: `Spoiled is Nineveh Who doth bemoan for her?' Whence do I seek comforters for thee?

And it shall come to pass that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee .... As something loathsome and abominable not fit to be come near unto or touched; and as astonished and amazed at an object so forlorn and miserable and lest they should partake of the same punishment:

and say Nineveh is laid waste; utterly destroyed; its walls broke down its houses demolished its substance plundered and its inhabitants killed or carried captive; who could have thought it when it was once so stately rich and powerful? but so it is indeed!

who will bemoan her? there are none left in her to do it; and as for others her neighbours whom she has oppressed and cruelly used these will laugh and rejoice instead of lamenting her case:

whence shall I seek comforters for thee? none from among her inhabitants being destroyed or carried into a foreign land; and none from among the nations round about who will rather deride and insult than pity and comfort; so wretched and miserable would her case be!

 

Nahum 3:8   8 Are you better than No Amon[a] That was situated by the River [b] That had the waters around her Whose rampart was the sea Whose wall was the sea?
   YLT 
8Art thou better than No-Ammon That is dwelling among brooks? Waters she hath round about her Whose bulwark [is] the sea waters her wall.

Art thou better than populous No .... Or No Amon a city in Egypt so called not because the kings of Egypt were nursed and brought up there as Jarchi and Abarbinel; see Proverbs 8:30 but from Ham the son of Noah whose land Egypt was; or from Jupiter Ammon worshipped there. No Amon signifies the mansion or palace of Ham or Hamon; the Egyptians as Herodotus saysF8Vid. Schultens in Job xiv. 11. call Jupiter by the name of Ammon. The Targum interprets it of Alexandria the great a city so called long after this when it was rebuilt by Alexander the great; so Jarchi Kimchi and Ben Melech understand it: others take Diospolis or Thebes to be meant famous in HomerF9Geograph. l. 17. p. 551. for its hundred gates; though some think this was not the number of the gates of the city but of the temples in it; and others are of opinion that these were so many palaces of princesF11Dictionary in the word "Diospolis". . The city was built by Osiris; or according to others by Busiris and seems more likely to be the place here meant; since here was a temple dedicated to Jupiter called by the Egyptians Ammon as Diodorus SiculusF12Ut supra. (Diodor. Sicul. Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 46.) relates and was a very large and populous city. Indeed according to the above historian it was in compass but a seventeen and a half milesF13Euterpe sive l. 2. c. 99. ; which is to be understood of the city when first built and before it was enlarged; for it must have been a great deal larger in later times if we may judge of it by its ruins. StraboF14Antiqu. l. 8. c. 6. sect. 2. & l. 2. c. 10. sect. 1. who was an eyewitness of them quickly after its last destruction by Cornelius Gallus says the footsteps of its largeness were seen fourscore furlongs in length or ten miles; and even this was but small in comparison of what it was before it was destroyed by Cambyses when it is said to reach four hundred and twenty furlongs or fifty two miles and a halfF15See the Universal History vol. 1. p. 396. . It was the metropolis of all Egypt; and formerly the whole country was called after its name as HerodotusF16Euterpe sive l. 2. c. 15. observes. The accounts given of its inhabitants are incredible and particularly of the soldiers it sent out; according to the epitaph of Rhampses seven hundred thousand soldiers dwelt in it; which number Diodorus SiculusF17Ut supra (Bibliothec. l. 1.) p. 27. gives to all the people in Egypt; but though it may seem too large for Thebes must be too little for all Egypt; especially if what Agrippa in JosephusF18De Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 16. sect. 4. says is right that Egypt from Ethiopia and the borders of India to Alexandria had no less than 7 500 000 inhabitants: however if Pomponius MelaF19De Situ Orbis l. 1. c. 9. may be credited when it was necessary the hundred palaces in Thebes could each of them send out ten thousand armed men or as some say twenty thousand; and if what Diodorus SiculusF20Ut supra (Bibliothec. l. 1.) p. 43. Vid. Homer ut supra. (Iliad. 9. ver. 381.) affirms is true that twenty thousand chariots used to go out from thence to war this shows it to have been a very populous city indeed and might well be called "populous" No; but now it is utterly destroyed first by the Assyrians and Babylonians then by the Persians and last of all by the Romans; the first destruction must be here referred to if this city is designed. StraboF21Ut supra. (Geograph. l. 16. p. 561 Ed. Casaubon.) says in his time it was only inhabited in villages; and JuvenalF23"Vetus Theba centum jacet obruta portis" Satyr. 15. l. 6. speaks of it as wholly lying in ruins; and PausaniasF24Arcadica sive l. 8. p. 509. Ed. Hanau. making mention of it with other cities which abounded with riches says they were reduced to the fortune of a middling private man yea were brought to nothing. It is now or what is built on the spot or near it called Luxxor or LukorcenF25Norden's Travels in Egypt and Nubia vol. 2. p. 61 62. . SomeF26So Hillerus Onomast. Sacr. p. 571 572. & Burkius in loc. think the city Memphis is meant so Vitringa on Isaiah 19:5. See Gill on Ezekiel 30:14 Ezekiel 30:15 this was for many ages the metropolis of all Egypt. StraboF1Geograph. l. 17. p. 555. calls it a large and "populous" city and full of men and second to Alexandria in his time. The compass of it when first built was eighteen and three quarter milesF2Diodor. Sicul. Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 46. ; but now there is no more remaining of it than if there had never been such a city; nay it is not easy to say where it once stood: now Nineveh is asked or its inhabitants if it could be thought that their city was in a better and safer condition than this city; it might indeed according to the account of it by historians and as in the prophecy of Jonah be larger and its inhabitants more numerous; but not better fortified which seems to be the thing chiefly respected as follows:

that was situate among the rivers; the canals of the river Nile:

that had the waters round about it: a moat on every side either naturally or artificially:

whose rampart was the sea and her wall was from the sea? which agrees with Alexandria according to the description of it by StraboF3Geograph. l. 17. p. 545. SolinusF4Polyhistor. c. 45. and JosephusF5De Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 16. sect. 4. which had two seas on each side of it; the Egyptian sea on the north and the lake Mareotis on the south as well as had the canals of the Nile running into it from various parts; and is represented as very difficult of access through the sea rivers and marshy places about it; and besides might have a wall towards the sea as by this account it should seem as well as the sea itself was a wall and rampart to it: and this description may also agree with Diospolis or Thebes which though more inland yet as BochartF6Phaleg. l. 1. c. 1. col. 6 7. observes it had as all Egypt had the two seas the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea and the canals of the Nile which might be said to be as a rampart to it. So IsocratesF7Busiris p. 437. says of all Egypt that it is fortified with an immortal wall the Nile which not only affords a defence but sufficient food and is insuperable and inexpugnable; nor is it unusual as to call rivers and lakes seas so particularly the Nile and its canals; see Isaiah 11:15 and in the Alcoran the Nile is often called a seaF8Vid. Schultens in Job xiv. 11. . There is another Diospolis in Egypt near Mendes which as StraboF9Geograph. l. 17. p. 551. says had lakes about it; but this being a more obscure place is not likely to be intended here; though Father CalmetF11Dictionary in the word "Diospolis". is of opinion that it is here meant; it being situated in the Delta on one of the arms of the Nile between Busiris to the south and Mendes to the north. The description seems to agree better with Memphis whose builder Uchoreus as Diodorus SiculusF12Ut supra. (Diodor. Sicul. Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 46.) says chose a very convenient place for it where the Nile divided itself into many parts and made the Delta so called from its figure; and which he made wonderfully strong after this manner: whereas the Nile flowed round the city being built within the ancient bed of it and at its increase would overflow it; he cast up a very great mound or rampart to the south which was a defence against the swell of the river and was of the use of a fortress against enemies by land; and on the other parts all about he dug a large and deep lake which received a very great deal of the river and filled every place about the city but where the mound (or rampart) was built and so made it amazingly strong; whence the kings after him left Thebes and had their palace and court here; and so Herodotus who makes Menes to be the builder of it saysF13Euterpe sive l. 2. c. 99. that without the city he caused lakes to be dug from the river to the north and to the west for to the east the Nile itself bounded it; and JosephusF14Antiqu. l. 8. c. 6. sect. 2. & l. 2. c. 10. sect. 1. who also makes Minaeus or Menes the first Pharaoh to be the builder of it speaks of that and the sea together as if not far off each other: now if a city so populous and so well fortified by art and nature as each of these were was taken and its inhabitants carried captive Nineveh could not depend on her numbers or situation for safety which were not more or better than this.

 

Nahum 3:9   9 Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength And it was boundless; Put and Lubim were your[c] helpers.
   YLT 
9Cush her might and Egypt and there is no end. Put and Lubim have been for thy help.

Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength .... That is the strength support protection and defence of No whether Alexandria or Thebes or Memphis: Egypt was for these cities were in it and subject to it; or if this was a free city as some think yet in alliance with Egypt and under its protection; and in like connection it was with Ethiopia that is Arabia a country that lay near to it; and yet though it was strengthened by such powerful neighbours and allies it was not secure from the devastation of the enemy:

and it was infinite; or there was "no end"F15ואין קצה "non est finis" Pagninus Montanus Munster Cocceius. ; of its strength or of the number of its allies or the forces they were able to bring in its defence. The Ethiopians were very numerous as may be learnt from 2 Chronicles 14:9 and so were the Egyptians to whom some interpreters strictly connect this sentence. In the times of Amasis as MelaF16De Orbis Situ. l. 1. c. 9. relates there were twenty thousand cities inhabited in it; and JosephusF17De Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 16. sect. 4. says there were in it seven hundred and fifty myriads of men; as Sethon king of Egypt and Tirhakah king of Ethiopia were about this time the allies of the Jews in whom they trusted no doubt they were confederate together and so both the strength of this city; see Isaiah 36:6

Put and Lubim were thy helpers; Put or the Putim were the people of the Moors that dwelt in Mauritania; and Lubim were the Lybians that bordered on Egypt and whose country is sometimes reckoned a part of it. The JewsF18T. Hieros. Celaim c. 8. fol. 31. 3. say Lybia is Egypt; see Acts 2:10 these several people were the confederates of No; and helped them not only by their commerce with them but in time of war assisted them against their enemies; and yet though so strengthened by alliances were not safe and secure; and therefore Nineveh could not depend upon such helps and helpers.

 

Nahum 3:10   10 Yet she was carried away She went into captivity; Her young children also were dashed to pieces At the head of every street; They cast lots for her honorable men And all her great men were bound in chains.
   YLT 
10Even she doth become an exile She hath gone into captivity Even her sucklings are dashed to pieces At the top of all out-places And for her honoured ones they cast a lot And all her great ones have been bound in fetters.

Yet was she carried away she went into captivity .... Not by Nebuchadnezzar; though this city was afterwards taken and its inhabitants carried captive by that monarch as was foretold Jeremiah 46:25 but the prophet here does not predict an event to be accomplished and instance in that and argue from it which could have no effect on Nineveh and its inhabitants or be an example or terror to them; but refers to what had been done a recent fact and which they were well acquainted with. Aben Ezra says this city No was a city of the land of Egypt which the king of the Chaldeans took as he went to Nineveh; but when and by whom it was taken is nowhere said. According to Bishop UsherF19Annales Vet. Test. A. M. 3292. and Dean PrideauxF20Connexion par. 1. B. 1. p. 22 23. the destruction of the city of Thebes was by Sennacherib in his expedition against Egypt which he harassed for three years together from one end to the other; at which time Sevechus the son of Sabacon or So the Ethiopian was king of Egypt; and Egypt and Ethiopia were as one country and helped each other; but could not secure this city from falling into the hands of Sennacherib about three years before he besieged Jerusalem; and so according to Mr. WhistonF21Chronological Tables cent. 8. it was destroyed three years before the army of Sennacherib was destroyed at Jerusalem:

her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: against the walls of the houses or upon the stones and pavements of the streets; which cruelties were often used by conquerors upon innocent babes at the sacking of cities Psalm 137:9

and they cast lots for her honourable men; the soldiers did who should have them and sell them for slaves; which was done without any regard to their birth and breeding Joel 3:3

and all her great men were bound in chains; as nobles may be meant by "honourable men" by "great men" may be designed the gentry merchants and others; these were taken and bound in iron chains handcuffed and pinioned and so led captive into a foreign land; and Nineveh might expect the same treatment.

 

Nahum 3:11   11 You also will be drunk; You will be hidden; You also will seek refuge from the enemy.

   YLT  11Even thou art drunken thou art hidden Even thou dost seek a strong place because of an enemy.

Thou also shalt be drunken .... This is said to Nineveh whose turn would be next to drink of the cup of the wrath of God and be inebriated with it so that they should not know where they were or what they did; and be as unable to guide and help themselves as a drunken man. So the Targum

"thou also shalt be like to a drunken man;'

this was literally true of Nineveh when taken; see Nahum 1:10

thou shalt be hid; or "thou shall be" as if thou wast not; as Nineveh is at this day "hid" from the sight of men not to be seen any more. So the Targum

"thou shall be swallowed up or destroyed.'

The Septuagint Vulgate Latin and Arabic versions render it "despised"; or the meaning is she should "hide herself"F23נעלמה "latitans" Junius & Tremellius Piscator; "abscondes te" Vatablus; "eris abscondita" Burkius. ; or be lurking about through shame as drunken or through fear of her enemies:

thou also shall seek strength because of the enemy; seek to others to help them against the enemy not being able with their own strength to face them: or seek strength "of the enemy"F24מאויב εξ εχθρων Sept.; "ab hoste" Montanus Calvin Drusius Grotius Cocceius. ; beg their lives of him and their bread; pray for quarter and desire to be taken under his protection; to so low and mean a state and condition should Nineveh and its inhabitants be reduced who had given laws to all about them and had been a terror to them.

 

Nahum 3:12   12 All your strongholds are fig trees with ripened figs: If they are shaken They fall into the mouth of the eater.
   YLT 
12All thy fortresses [are] fig-trees with first-fruits If they are shaken They have fallen into the mouth of the eater.

All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the first ripe figs .... Upon them or like them: "and the first ripe figs"; which are easily shook and gathered; and so easily should the fortresses and towers of Nineveh in which they trusted for safety be taken by the enemy not only one but all of them:

if they be shaken they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater; as such ripe fruit is very desirable and the mouth of a man is open and ready for them; so if he gives the tree but the least shake they will fall into his mouth or about him in great plenty: in like manner as the fortresses of Nineveh being of importance were desirable by the Chaldeans and Medes and for which they were gaping; so upon the least assault they would fall into their hands; see Revelation 6:13.

 

Nahum 3:13   13 Surely your people in your midst are women! The gates of your land are wide open for your enemies; Fire shall devour the bars of your gates.

   YLT  13Lo thy people [are] women in thy midst To thine enemies thoroughly opened Have been the gates of thy land Consumed hath fire thy bars.

Behold thy people in the midst of thee are women .... Or like women weak and feeble fearful and timorous; frightened at the first approach of the enemy; run away and run up and down in the utmost consternation and distress having neither skill nor courage to oppose them; some regard may be had to the effeminacy of their king; see Nahum 2:7. The sense is they should be at once dispirited and lose all strength of mind and body and have neither heads nor hearts to form schemes and execute them in their own defence; and thus should they be even in the midst of the city upon their own ground where any where it might be thought they would exert themselves and play the man since their all lay at stake: this was another thing they trusted in the multitude of their people even of their soldiers; but these would be of no avail since they would lose all their military skill and bravery:

the gates of thy land shall be set wide open to thine enemies: instead of guarding the passes and avenues they would abandon them to the enemy; and instead of securing the gates and passages they would run away from them; and the enemy would find as easy access as if they were thrown open on purpose for them; perhaps this may respect the gates of the rivers being opened by the inundation which threw down the wall and made a way into the city; see Nahum 2:6

the fire shall devour thy bars; with which their gates had been shut but now opened and in the enemies' hands; who would set fire to them that the way to go in and out might be open and free.

 

Nahum 3:14   14 Draw your water for the siege! Fortify your strongholds! Go into the clay and tread the mortar! Make strong the brick kiln!
   YLT 
14Waters of a siege draw for thyself Strengthen thy fortresses Enter into mire and tread on clay Make strong a brick-kiln.

Draw thee waters for the siege .... Before the siege is begun fetch water from the river wells or fountains without the city and fill cisterns and such like receptacles of water with them; that there may be sufficiency of it to hold out which is often wanting in long sieges; the want of which gives great distress to the besieged: this is put for all necessary provisions which should be made when a city is in danger of being blocked up: this and what follows are said ironically; signifying let them do what they would or could for their support and security it would be all in vain:

fortify thy strong holds; repair the old fortifications and add new ones to them; fill them with soldiers arms and ammunition:

go into clay and tread the mortar; make strong the brick kiln; repair the brick kilns keep them in good order; employ men in digging clay and treading it and making it into bricks and burning them in the kiln that there be no want of bricks to repair the fortifications or such breaches as might be made by the enemy. Bricks were much used instead of stone in those countries; but when they had done their utmost they would not be able to secure themselves and keep out the enemy.

 

Nahum 3:15   15 There the fire will devour you The sword will cut you off; It will eat you up like a locust. Make yourself many—like the locust! Make yourself many— like the swarming locusts!
   YLT 
15There consume thee doth a fire Cut thee off doth a sword It doth consume thee as a cankerworm! Make thyself heavy as the cankerworm Make thyself heavy as the locust.

There shall the fire devour thee .... In the strong holds made ever so firm and secure; either the fire of divine wrath; or the fire of the enemy they should put into them; or the enemy himself as Kimchi; and so the Targum

"thither shall come upon thee people who are as strong as fire:'

the sword shall cut thee off; it shall eat thee up as the cankerworm: that is the sword of the Medes and Chaldeans shall utterly destroy thee as the cankerworm is destroyed by rain or fire; or rather as that creature destroys all herbs plants and trees it falls upon and makes clear riddance of them so should it be with Nineveh:

make thyself many as the cankerworm; make thyself many as the locust; which go in swarms innumerable and make the air "heavy" in which they fly and the earth on which they fall as the wordF25התכבד "aggravate" Montanus; "onerate" Tigurine version; "gravem effice te" Burkius. signifies. The locust has one of its names "arbah" in Hebrew from the large numbers of them; so a multitude of men and large armies are often signified in Scripture to be like grasshoppers or locusts for their numbers; see Judges 6:5. So Sithalces king of Thrace is representedF26Aristophan. in Acharnens. Act. 1. Scen. 1. as swearing while he was sacrificing that he would assist the Athenians having an army that would come like locusts that is in such numbers; for so the Greek scholiast on the place says the word used signifies a sort of locusts: the sense is gather together as many soldiers and as large an army as can be obtained to meet the enemy or cause him to break up the siege: and so we findF1Diodor. Sicul. l. 2. p. 113. the king of Assyria did; for perceiving his kingdom in great danger he sent into all his provinces to raise soldiers and prepare everything for the siege; but all to no purpose which is here ironically suggested. The word in the Misnic language as Kimchi observes has the signification of sweeping; and some render it "sweep as the locust"F2So R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed fol. 39. 1. ; which sweeps away and consumes the fruits of the earth; so sweep with the besom of destruction as Jarchi either their enemies sarcastically spoken or be thou swept by them.

 

Nahum 3:16   16 You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars of heaven. The locust plunders and flies away.
   YLT 
16Multiply thy merchants above the stars of the heavens The cankerworm hath stripped off and doth flee away.

Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven .... A hyperbolical expression setting forth the great number of merchants that were in Nineveh and in the land of Assyria; who either were the natives of the place or came thither for the sake of merchandise which serve to enrich a nation and therefore are encouraged to settle; and from whom in a time of war much benefit might be expected; being able to furnish with money which is the sinews of war as well as to give intelligence of the designs of foreign princes they trading abroad:

the cankerworm spoileth and flieth away; or "puts off"F3פשט "exspoliavit" De Dieu; "proprie est exuere vestem detrahere et exspoliare" De Dieu. its clothes disrobes and changes its form; or breaks out with force as the Septuagint out of its former worm state and appears a beautiful butterfly and then flies away. The word is rendered a caterpillar Psalm 105:34 and what we translate "spoileth" is used of stripping or putting off of clothes 1 Samuel 19:24 and the sense may be that though their merchants were multiplied above the stars of heaven in which there may be an allusion to the increase of caterpillars Nahum 3:15 yet as the caterpillar drops its clothes and flies away so their merchants through fear of the enemy would depart in haste or be suddenly stripped of their riches which make themselves wings and fly away Proverbs 23:5. These merchants at their beginning might be low and mean but increasing adorning and enriching themselves in a time of peace fled away in a time of war: or "spreads itself"F4"Diffundit se" Munster so the Targum; "effunditur" Cocceius. and "flies away"; so these creatures spread themselves on the earth and devour all they can and then spread their wings and are gone; suggesting that in like manner the merchants of Nineveh would serve them; get all they could by merchandise among them and then betake themselves elsewhere and especially in a time of war which is prejudicial to merchandise; and hence nothing was to be expected from them or any dependence had upon them.

 

Nahum 3:17   17 Your commanders are like swarming locusts And your generals like great grasshoppers Which camp in the hedges on a cold day; When the sun rises they flee away And the place where they are is not known.

   YLT  17Thy crowned ones [are] as a locust And thy princes as great grasshoppers That encamp in hedges in a day of cold The sun hath risen and it doth flee away And not known is its place where they are.

Thy crowned men are as the locusts .... Tributary kings and hired officers as some think who might be distinguished by what they wore on their heads; or their own princes and nobles who wore coronets or diadems; unless their religious persons are meant their Nazarites and devotees their priests; these were like locusts for their number fear and flight in time of danger and for their spoil of the poor; and some locusts have been seen with little crowns on their heads as those in Revelation 9:7 "which had on their heads as it were crowns like gold". In the year 1542 came locusts out of Turkish Satmatia into Austria Silesia Lusatia and Misnia which had on their heads little crownsF5Vid. Frantzii Hist. Animal. Sacr. par. 5. c. 4. p. 799. . In the year 1572 a vehement wind brought large troops of locusts out of Turkey into Poland which did great mischief and were of a golden colourF6Ibid. p. 798. ; and AelianusF7Hist. Animal. l. 10. c. 13. speaks of locusts in Arabia marked with golden coloured figures; and mention is made in the Targum on Jeremiah 51:27 of the shining locust shining like gold:

and thy captains as the great grasshoppers; or "locusts of locusts"F8כגוב גובי "ut locustae locustarum" Vatablus Pagninus Montanus; "sicut locusta locustarum" Burkius. ; those of the largest size. The Vulgate Latin renders the word for captains "thy little ones" junior princes or officers of less dignity and authority; these were as the Targum paraphrases it as the worms of locusts; but rather as the locusts themselves many and harmful:

which camp in the hedges in the cold day; in the cold part of the day the night; when they get into the hedges of fields gardens and vineyards in great numbers like an army and therefore said to encamp like one:

but when the sun ariseth they flee away and their place is not known where they are; whither they are fled as the Targum; so these captains or half pay officers swarmed in great numbers about the city and in the provinces while it was a time of peace and they were indulged in sloth and enjoyed much ease and prosperity; but when war broke out and the heat of it began to be felt these disappeared and went into their own countries from whence they came with the auxiliaries and hired troops; nor could they be found where they were or be called upon to do their duty: this is true of locusts in a literal sense who flee away when the sun rises; hence the Arabs as Bochart saysF9Hierozoic. par. 2. c. 2. col. 458. elegantly express this by the word "ascaara"; signifying that when the sun comes to the locust it goes away According to MacrobiusF11Saturnal l. 1. c. 17. p. 335. & c. 20. p. 362. both Apollo and Hercules are names for the sun; and both these are surnamed from their power in driving away locusts: Hercules was called Cornopion by the Oeteans because he delivered them from the locustsF12Strabo. Geograph. l. 13. p. 422. : and Apollo was called Parnopius by the Grecians because when the country was hurt by locusts he drove them out of it at PausaniasF13Attica sive l. 1. p. 44. relates; who observes that they were drove out they knew but in what manner they say not; for his own part he says he knew them thrice destroyed at Mount Sipylus but not in the same way; one time a violent wind drove them out; another time a prodigious heat killed them; and a third time they perished by sudden cold; and so according to the text here the cold sends them to the hedges and the heat of the sun obliges them to abandon their station.

 

Nahum 3:18   18 Your shepherds slumber O king of Assyria; Your nobles rest in the dust. Your people are scattered on the mountains And no one gathers them.
   YLT 
18Slumbered have thy friends king of Asshur Rest do thine honourable ones Scattered have been thy people on the mountains And there is none gathering.

Thy shepherds slumber O king of Assyria .... Who this king of Assyria was is not easy to say; some think Esarhaddon who is the last of the kings of Assyria the Scriptures speak of; according to Diodorus SiculusF14Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 109 115. Sardanapalus was the last of these kings and in him the Assyrian monarchy ended; though according to Alexander PolyhistorF15Apud Syncell. p. 210. Saracus perhaps the Chyniladanus of Ptolemy was king when Nineveh was destroyed: it is very likely that Sardanapalus and Saracus design the same person though set at a great distance by historians; since the same things are said of the one as of the other; particularly that when they saw their danger they burnt themselves and theirs in the royal palace at Nineveh; nor is it probable that the same city with the empire should be destroyed and subverted twice by the same people the Medes and Babylonians uniting together; and it is remarkable that the double destruction of this city and empire is related by different historians; and those that speak of the one say nothing of the other: but this king be he who he will his case was very bad his "shepherds slumbered"; his ministers of state his counsellors subordinate magistrates in provinces and cities and particularly in Nineveh; his generals and officers in his army were careless and negligent of their duty and gave themselves up to sloth and ease; and which also was his own character as historians agree in; or they were dead slumbering in their graves and so could be of no service to him:

thy nobles shall dwell in the dust; be brought very low into a very mean and abject condition; their honour shall be laid in the dust and they be trampled upon by everyone: or "they shall sleep"F16ישכבו "dormiunt" Piscator; so Ben Melech interprets it "the rest of death." ; that is die and be buried as the Vulgate Latin renders it: or "shall dwell in silence" as othersF17"Habitarunt in silentio" Buxtorf Drusius. ; have their habitation in the silent grave being cut off by the enemy; so that this prince would have none of his mighty men to trust in but see himself stripped of all his vain confidences:

thy people is scattered upon the mountains and no man gathereth them; like sheep without a shepherd which being frightened by beasts of prey run here and there and there is none to get them together and bring them back again; so the subjects of this king being terrified at the approach of the Medes and Babylonians forsook their cities and fled to the mountains; where they were scattered about having no leader and commander to gather them together and put them in regular order to face and oppose the enemy. So the Targum interprets it

"the people of thine armies.'

 

Nahum 3:19   19 Your injury has no healing Your wound is severe. All who hear news of you Will clap their hands over you For upon whom has not your wickedness passed continually?

   YLT  19There is no weakening of thy destruction Grievous [is] thy smiting All hearing thy fame have clapped the hand at thee For over whom did not thy wickedness pass continually?

There is no healing of thy bruise .... Made by the fatal blow given to the empire by the taking of Nineveh; the ruin of it was irreparable and irrecoverable; the city of Nineveh was no more and the Assyrian empire sunk and never rose again: or "there is no contraction of thy bruise"F18אין כהה "nulla est contractio" Junius & Tremellius Burkius. ; as when a wound is healed or near it the skin round about is wrinkled and contracted. The Targum is

"there is none that grieves at thy breach;'

so the Syriac version; so far from it that they rejoiced at it as in a following clause:

thy wound is grievous; to be borne; the pain of it intolerable; an old obstinate one inveterate and incurable: or is "weak" or "sickly"F19נחלה "infirmata" Pagninus Montanus; "aegritudine plena" Vatablus; "aegra" Junius & Tremellius Piscator Drusius Burkius. ; which had brought a sickness and weakness on the state out of which it would never be recovered:

all that hear the bruit of thee; the fame the report of the destruction of Nineveh and of the ruin of the Assyrian empire and the king of it:

shall clap the hands over thee; for joy; so far were they from lending a helping hand in the time of distress that they clapped both hands together to express the gladness of their hearts at hearing such news:

for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually? to which of thy neighbours hast thou not been troublesome and injurious? which of them hast thou not oppressed and used with violence and cruelty? what province or city but have felt the weight of thine hand have been harassed with wars and distressed with tributes and exactions? and therefore it is no wonder they rejoice at thy fall. The destruction of this city and so of the whole empire is placed by Dr. Prideaux in the twenty ninth year of Josiah's reign and in the year 612 B.C.; and by what Josephus saysF20Antiqu. l. 10. c. 5. sect. 1. it appears to have been but a little while before Josiah was slain by Pharaohnecho who came out with an army to Euphrates to make war upon the Medes and Babylonians; who he says had overturned the Assyrian empire; being jealous as it seems of their growing power. Learned men justly regret the loss of the Assyriaca of Abydenus and of the history of the Assyrians by Herodotus who promisedF21L. 1. sive Clio c. 184. it; but whether he finished it or no is not certain; however it is not extant; and in one place speaking of the Medes attacking Nineveh and taking it he saysF23Ibid. c. 106. but how they took it I shall show in another history; all which had they come to light and been continued might have been of singular use in explaining this prophecy.

 

──John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible

 

New King James Version (NKJV)

Footnotes:

  1. Nahum 3:8 That is ancient Thebes; Targum and Vulgate read populous Alexandria.
  2. Nahum 3:8 Literally rivers that is the Nile and the surrounding canals
  3. Nahum 3:9 Septuagint reads her.