{"commentary":{"id":"adam-clarke","name":"Adam Clarke Bible Commentary","website":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Clarke","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/","licenseNotes":null,"licenseNotice":null,"englishName":"Adam Clarke Bible Commentary","language":"eng","textDirection":"rtl","sha256":"92e28c9363c876d215e296f2fe04abb3ab7e34a2aacebdf06bd62ae79c6e3dba","availableFormats":["json"],"listOfBooksApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/books.json","listOfProfilesApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/profiles.json","numberOfBooks":57,"totalNumberOfChapters":854,"totalNumberOfVerses":13318,"totalNumberOfProfiles":0,"languageName":"English","languageEnglishName":"English"},"book":{"id":"NAM","commentaryId":"adam-clarke","name":"Nahum","commonName":"Nahum","introduction":"Introduction to the Book of the Prophet Nahum Nahum, the seventh of the twelve minor prophets, was a native of Elkoshai, a little village of Galilee, whose ruins were still in being in the time of St. Jerome. However there are some who think that Elkoshai is rather the name of his father, and that the place of his birth was Bethabor, or Bethabara, beyond Jordan They used to show the tomb of the prophet at a village called Beth-gabre, now called Gibbin, near Emmaus. The Chaldee calls him Nahum of Beth-koshi, or of Beth-kitsi; but the situation of this place is as much unknown as that of Elkoshai. The particular circumstances of the life of Nahum are altogether unknown. His prophecy consists of three chapters, which make up but one discourse, wherein he foretells the destruction of Nineveh. He describes it in so lovely and pathetic a manner, that he seems to have been upon the spot to declare to the Ninevites the destruction of their city. Opinions are divided as to the time in which he prophesied. Josephus will have it that he foretold the fall of Nineveh one hundred and fifteen years before it happened, which will bring the time of Nahum to that of King Ahaz. The Jews say that he prophesied under Manasseh. We are inclined to be of St. Jerome's opinion, that he foretold the destruction of Nineveh in the time of Hezekiah, and after the war of Sennacherib in Egypt, mentioned by Berosus. Nahum speaks plainly of the taking of No-Ammon, a city of Egypt; of the haughtiness of Rabshakeh; of the defeat of Sennacherib; and he speaks of them as things that were past. He supposes that the Jews were still in their own country, and that they there celebrated their festivals. He speaks of the captivity, and of the dispersion of the ten tribes. All these evidences convince us that Nahum cannot be placed before the fifteenth year of Hezekiah, since the expedition of Sennacherib against this prince was in the fourteenth year of his reign. This prophet gives us a fine description of the destruction of Nineveh. He says that this city should be ruined by a deluge of waters, which should overflow it and demolish its walls. Diodorus Siculus and Athenaeus relate, that during the time this city was besieged by Belesis and by Arbaces, under Sardanapalus, the river Tigris swelled so as to overthrow twenty furlongs of the walls of Nineveh. But as the siege mentioned by Nahum was long after the taking of Nineveh under Sardanapalus, it must needs be that the same thing happened to Nineveh at the second and last siege, under Nebuchadnezzar and Astyages. Probably the besiegers at this second siege determined the course of the waters, and brought on the same fate to the city by the same means as at the first siege. And as the walls of those ancient cities were generally formed of brick kneaded with straw and baked in the sun, a flood of waters could easily effect their dissolution. Babylon was built in the same manner; and this is the reason why scarcely any vestiges of those cities are to be found. See on Nah 3:14 (note). The time of the prophet's death is not known. The Greek meneologies and the Latin martyrologies place his festival on the first of December. Petrus Natalis places it on the twenty-fourth of the same month, which he says was the day of his death, without acquainting us whence he had learned this circumstance. The conduct and imagery of this prophetical poem are truly admirable. The exordium sets forth with grandeur the justice and power of God, tempered by lenity and goodness, Nah 1:1-8. A sudden address to the Assyrians follows; and a prediction of their perplexity and overthrow, as devisers of evil against the true God, Nah 1:9-11. Jehovah himself then proclaims freedom to his people from the Assyrian yoke, and the destruction of the Assyrian idols, Nah 1:12-14. Upon which the prophet, in a most lively manner, turns the attention of Judah to the approach of the messenger who brings such glad tidings, and bids her celebrate her festivals and offer her thank-offerings, without fear of so powerful an adversary, Nah 1:15. Nah 2:1-13. In the next place Nineveh is called on to prepare for the approach of her enemies, as instruments in the hands of Jehovah; and the military array and muster of the Medes and Babylonians, their rapid approach to the city, the process of the siege, the capture of the place, the captivity, lamentation, and flight of the inhabitants, the sacking of the wealthy city, and the consequent desolation and terror, are described in the true spirit of Eastern poetry, and with many pathetic, vivid, and sublime images, Nah 2:1-10. A grand and animated allegory succeeds this description, Nah 2:11, Nah 2:12; which is explained and applied to the city of Nineveh in Nah 2:13. Chap. 3. The prophet denounces a wo against Nineveh for her perfidy and violence, and strongly places before our eyes the number of her chariots and cavalry, her burnished arms, and the great and unrelenting slaughter which she spread around her, Nah 3:1-3. He assigns her idolatries as one cause of her ignominious and unpitied fall, Nah 3:4-7. He foretells that No-Ammon, (the Diospolis in the Delta), her rival in populousness, confederacies, and situation, should share a like fate with herself, Nah 3:8-11; and beautifully illustrates the ease with which her strong holds should be taken, Nah 3:12, and her pusillanimity during the siege, Nah 3:13. He pronounces that all her preparations, Nah 3:14, Nah 3:15, her numbers, her opulence, her multitude of chief men, would be of no avail, Nah 3:15-17. He foretells that her tributaries would desert her, Nah 3:18. He concludes with a proper epiphonema; the topics of which are, the greatness and incurableness of her wound, and the just triumph of others over her on account of her extensive oppressions, Nah 3:19. To sum up all with the decisive judgment of an eminent critic: \"Not one of the minor prophets equals the sublimity, genius, and spirit of Nahum. Besides, his prophecy is a perfect poem. The exordium is exceedingly majestic. The apparatus for the destruction of Nineveh, and the description of that catastrophe, are painted in the most glowing colours, and are admirably clear and powerful.\" Lowth, Praelect. Hebrews 21, p. 282. It must be farther observed, that this prophecy was highly interesting to the Jews; as the Assyrians had often ravaged their country, and I suppose had recently destroyed the kingdom of Israel. See Calmet.","order":34,"numberOfChapters":3,"sha256":"2400ea82d4112c2a5d66a10064de1937c6e6b8a54e300d1343206542d98aaa7c","firstChapterNumber":1,"firstChapterApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/NAM/1.json","firstChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"NAM","chapter":1},"lastChapterNumber":3,"lastChapterApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/NAM/3.json","lastChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"NAM","chapter":3},"totalNumberOfVerses":42},"chapter":{"number":2,"content":[{"type":"verse","number":1,"content":["He that dasheth in pieces - Or scattereth. The Chaldeans and Medes.\nKeep the munition - Guard the fenced places. From this to the end of the fifth verse, the preparations made at Nineveh to repel their enemies are described. The description is exceedingly picturesque.\nWatch the way - By which the enemy is most likely to approach.\nMake thy loins strong - Take courage.\nFortify thy power - Muster thy troops; call in all thy allies. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":2,"content":["For the Lord hath turned away - Bishop Newcome reads, for the Lord restoreth, by a slight alteration in the text. I do not see that we gain much by this. The Lord has been opposed to Jacob, and the enemy has prevailed against him.\nEmptied them out - Brought them from their own land into captivity. This was the emptying! \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":3,"content":["The shield of his mighty men is made red - These things may refer to the war-like preparations made by the Ninevites: they had red shields, and scarlet or purple clothing; their chariots were finely decorated, and proceeded with amazing rapidity.\nThe fir trees shall be terribly shaken - This may refer to the darts, arrows, and javelins, flung with destructive power. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":4,"content":["The chariots shall rage - Those of the besiegers and the besieged, meeting in the streets, producing universal confusion and carnage. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":5,"content":["He shall recount his worthies - Muster up his most renowned warriors and heroes.\nShall make haste to the wall - Where they see the enemies making their most powerful attacks, in order to get possession of the city. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":6,"content":["The gates of the rivers shall be opened - I have already referred to this, see the note on Nah 1:8; but it will be necessary to be more particular. The account given by Diodorus Siculus, lib. ii., is very surprising. He begins thus: Ην δ' αυτῳ λογιον παραδεδομενον εκ προγονων, κ.τ.λ. - \"There was a prophecy received from their forefathers, that Nineveh should not be taken till the river first became an enemy to the city. It happened in the third year of the siege, that the Euphrates [query, Tigris] being swollen with continued rains, overflowed part of the city, and threw down twenty stadia of the wall. The king then imagining that the oracle was accomplished, and that the river was now manifestly become an enemy to the city, casting aside all hope of safety, and lest he should fall into the hands of the enemy, built a large funeral pyre in the palace, (εν τοις βασιλειοις), and having collected all his gold and silver and royal vestments, together with his concubines and eunuchs, placed himself with them in a little apartment built in the pyre; burnt them, himself, and the palace together. When the death of the king (Sardanapalus) was announced by certain deserters, the enemy entered in by the breach which the waters had made, and took the city.\" Thus the prophecy of Nahum was literally fulfilled:\" the gates of the river were opened, and the palace dissolved,\" i.e., burnt. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":7,"content":["And Huzzab shall be led away captive - Perhaps Huzzab means the queen of Nineveh, who had escaped the burning mentioned above by Diodorus. As there is no account of the queen being burnt, but only of the king, the concubines, and the eunuchs, we may, therefore, naturally conclude that the queen escaped; and is represented here as brought up and delivered to the conqueror; her maids at the same time bewailing her lot. Some think Huzzab signifies Nineveh itself. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":8,"content":["But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water - מימי mimey, from days. Bp. Newcome translates the line thus: \"And the waters of Nineveh are a pool of waters.\" There may be reference here to the fact given in the preceding note, the overflowing of the river by which the city was primarily destroyed.\nStand, stand - Consternation shall be at its utmost height, the people shall flee in all directions; and though quarter is offered, and they are assured of safety it they remain, yet not one looketh back. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":9,"content":["Take ye the spoil - Though the king burnt his treasures, vestments, etc., he could not totally destroy the silver and the gold. Nor did he burn the riches of the city; these fell a prey to the conquerors; and there was no end of the store of glorious garments, and the most costly vessels and furniture. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":10,"content":["She is empty, and void, and waste - The original is strongly emphatic; the words are of the same sound; and increase in their length as they point out great, greater, and greatest desolation.\nבוקה ומבוקה ומבלקה\nBukah, umebukah, umebullakah.\nShe is void, empty, and desolate.\nThe faces of them all gather blackness - This marks the diseased state into which the people had been brought by reason of famine, etc.; for, as Mr. Ward justly remarks, \"sickness makes a great change in the countenance of the Hindoos; so that a person who was rather fair when in health, becomes nearly black by sickness.\" This was a general case with the Asiatics. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":11,"content":["Where is the dwelling of the lions - Nineveh, the habitation of bold, strong, and ferocious men.\nThe feeding place of the young lions - Whither her victorious and rapacious generals frequently returned to consume the produce of their success. Here they walked at large, and none made them afraid. Wheresoever they turned their arms they were victors; and all nations were afraid of them. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":12,"content":["The lion did tear - This verse gives us a striking picture of the manner in which the Assyrian conquests and depredations were carried on. How many people were spoiled to enrich his whelps - his sons, princes, and nobles! How many women were stripped and slain, whose spoils went to decorate his lionesses - his queen, concubines, and mistresses. And they had even more than they could assume; their holes and dens - treasure-houses, palaces, and wardrobes - were filled with ravin, the riches which they got by the plunder of towns, families, and individuals. This is a very fine allegory, and admirably well supported. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":13,"content":["Behold, I am against thee - Assyria, and Nineveh its capital. I will deal with you as you have dealt with others.\nThe voice of thy messengers - Announcing thy splendid victories, and the vast spoils taken - shall no more be heard - thou and thy riches, and ill-got spoils, shall perish together.\n\n"]}],"introduction":"Nineveh is now called upon to prepare for the approach of her enemies, the instruments of Jehovah's vengeance, Nah 2:1; and the military array and muster, the very arms and dress, of the Medes and Babylonians in the reigns of Cyaxares and Nabopolassar; their rapid approach to the city; the process of the siege, and the inundation of the river; the capture of the place; the captivity, lamentation, and flight of the inhabitants; the sacking of this immense, wealthy, and exceedingly populous city; and the consequent desolation and terror, are all described in the pathetic, vivid, and sublime imagery of Hebrew poetry, Nah 2:2-10. This description is succeeded by a very beautiful and expressive allegory, Nah 2:11-12; which is immediately explained, and applied to the city of Nineveh, Nah 2:13. It is thought by some commentators that the metropolitan city of the Assyrian empire is also intended by the tender and beautiful simile, in the seventh verse, of a great princess led captive, with her maids of honor attending her, bewailing her and their own condition, by beating their breasts, and by other expressions of sorrow. \n"},"thisChapterLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/NAM/2.json","thisChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"NAM","chapter":2},"nextChapterApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/NAM/3.json","nextChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"NAM","chapter":3},"previousChapterApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/NAM/1.json","previousChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"NAM","chapter":1},"numberOfVerses":13}