Holy Bible

He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face Nahum 2:1, 2 God the Vindicator of the oppressed S. D. Hillman, B. A. I. THE OPPRESSION OF THE CHOSEN PEOPLE BY THE ASSYRIANS. 1. This is expressed figuratively. "The emptiers have emptied them out" (ver. 2), had exhausted their resources, as the contents of a vessel poured out until every drain had been withdrawn, so had both Israel and Judah been impoverished by the Assyrians. "And marred their vine branches." Ancient Israel was often described as God's vineyard ( Isaiah 5:1 ; Psalm 80:9 ). This vineyard the foe had ruthlessly invaded, casting down and injuring its fruit-bearing trees. 2. These figurative representations are sustained by historical fact. The more familiar we become with Assyrian history the more do we trace in that vast heathen power the prevalence of the haughty, overbearing spirit. Its rulers and people vainly supposed that national great. ness consisted in the possession of might to be used in oppressing other nations and peoples. To be able to depict upon the walls of the palaces of Ninus battle scenes indicative of military triumph, accompanied by great spoil and cruel chastisement inflicted upon their adversaries, seems to have been their highest ambition. Their whole relationship to Israel and Judah was based upon this principle. The favoured of heaven, having forsaken their God, and hence lost His protecting care, turned in their exigencies to Assyria for aid, but only to find, in this supposed helper against their foes, a more powerful enemy. In this way the kingdom of Israel was first made tributary to Assyria by Paul ( 2 Kings 15:17-20 ), and, soon after, its tribes were carried away into captivity by Shalmaneser ( 2 Kings 17:3-23 ), whilst the kingdom of Judah in like manner became compelled to acknowledge the lordship of Tilgath-Pilneser ( 2 Chronicles 28:16-21 ). Hezekiah sought to cast off the Assyrian yoke, but this only resulted in the nation, in Nahum's time, being brought into circumstances of extreme peril ( 2 Kings 18:13-17 ), and from which eventually supernatural help alone was able to deliver it ( Isaiah 37:36 ). II. DIVINE INTERPOSITION PROMISED ON BEHALF OF THE OPPRESSED. (Ver. 2.) Such interposition had in a measure but recently taken place ( Isaiah 37:36 ). "The angel of death" had "breathed in the face of the foe," and had caused "the might of the Gentile" to "melt like snow," and the oppressor to return humbled to his capital ( Isaiah 37:37 ). The time, however, for the complete and final interposition of heaven had not yet arrived. Still, it should come. The seer in rapt vision beheld it as though it had been then in operation, and for the encouragement of the oppressed he declared that the Divine eye observed all that was being endured, that the Lord Almighty still regarded them with favour (ver. 2), and would yet make them "an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations " ( Isaiah 60:15 ). III. THIS DIVINE INTERPOSITION EVENTUALLY TO BE EXPERIENCED VIEWED AS CARRYING WITH IT THE ENTIRE OVERTHROW OF THE OPPRESSOR. (Ver. 1.) Asshur should in due course be brought low, and the yoke of bondage should fall from off the necks of the captives In "the day of visitation. — 1. Agents should not be wanting to carry out the Divine behests. The defection of the Assyrian general, the forces of the King of Media, and the overflowing of the Tigris, should all combine to bring about the accomplishment of the Divine purpose; and these forces are here personified as " the dasher in pieces" (ver. 1). 2. Resistance should be in vain. They might "keep the munition, watch the ways," etc. (ver. 1), but all to no purpose. The proud power must inevitably fall, and in its overthrow proclamation be made that it is not by means of tyranny and oppression and wrong-doing that any nation can become truly great and lastingly established, but by the prevalence in its midst of liberty, virtue, and righteousness, Nineveh in her downfall "... seems to cry aloud To warn the mighty and instruct the proud That of the great, neglecting to be just, Heaven in a moment makes a heap of dust." ( S. D. Hillman, B. A. ) The shield of His mighty men is made red. Nahum 2:3-13 The downfall of Nineveh De Wette's Introduction., De Wette's Introduction. — There are two elements in the Bible, the Divine and the human. God speaks to us in every page, nor does He speak the less emphatically, but all the more so, in that He addresses us through men possessing throbbing hearts, and who were passing through experiences like our own. The account given in these verses of the predicted ruin of Nineveh must be taken as a whole, and in the graphic picture here presented to us we have strikingly illustrated this twofold character of the Scriptures of eternal truth. I. THE ACCOUNT CONTAINED HERE OF THE PREDICTED OVERTHROW OF NINEVEH SERVES TO ILLUSTRATE THE DIVINE ELEMENT IN REVELATION. Nahum flourished in the feign of Hezekiah ( B.C. 725-696 ), and Nineveh was destroyed between B.C. 609 and 606 . He lived and prophesied thus say a hundred years before the occurrence of the events he so vividly described, and when the Assyrian power was in the zenith of its prosperity. His announcements were very distinct and definite, and by placing these and the records of secular historians given at a subsequent period side by side, we see how minutely the predictions of this seer have been fulfilled, and that hence, in making these, he must have been God's messenger, uttering, not his own thoughts, but those which had been communicated to him by "visions and revelations of the Lord." In Nahum 2:6 we read, "For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble, fully dry." The secular historian write: "While all the Assyrian army were feasting for their former victories, those about Arbuces, being informed by some deserters of the negligence and drunkennes in the camp of the enemies, assaulted them unexpectedly by night, and falling orderly on them disorderly, and prepared on them unprepared, became masters of the camp, and slew many of the soldiers and drove the rest into the city." (Diodrus Siculus, bk. 2, p. 80.) In Nahum 2:6 we read, "The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the place shall be dissolved." The secular historian writes: "There was an oracle among the Assyrians that Nineveh should not be taken till the river became an enemy to the city; and in the third year of the siege the river, being swollen with continual rains, overflowed part of the city, and broke down the wall for twenty furlongs. Then the king, thinking that the oracle was fulfilled, and the river had become an enemy to the city, built a large funeral pile in the palace, and, collecting together all his wealth and his concubines and eunuchs, burnt himself and the palace with them all, and the enemy entered at the breach that the waters had made, and took the city" (Diodorus Siculus, bk. 2. p. 80). In Nahum 2:9 the prophet, as though addressing the adversaries of Nineveh, said, Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold: for there is none end of the store and glory out of all the pleasant furniture"; and the same secular historian already quoted informs us that the conquerors carried many talents of gold and silver to Ecbatana, the royal city of the Medes. No language could be more explicit than that in which Nahum predicted the total destruction of the city ( Nahum 2:10-13 ; Nahum 3:7, 15-17 ). The prophet Zephaniah used words equally plain ( Nahum 2:13 -15). Their utterances would have appeared very strange to the Ninevites at the time they were spoken; as strange, indeed, as similar utterances would appear if addressed at the present time to the inhabitants of our own metropolis; but they were true, ne II. THE ACCOUNT CONTAINED HERE OF THE PREDICTED OVERTHROW OF NINEVEH SERVES TO ILLUSTRATE THE HUMAN ELEMENT IN REVELATION. Holy Scripture is remarkable in its variety — not variety in purpose, for this is single throughout, but variety in expression. History, prophecy, poetry, parable, proverb, miracle, biography, vision, epistle, are all laid under tribute. As there is a Divine element in the Bible, so also there is a human element therein. Biblical critics,, are agreed in recognising "the classic" beauty and the finished elegance of the style of Nahum, and in assigning to this writer a place in the first rank of Hebrew literature. "The variety in his method of presenting ideas discovers much poetic talent in the prophet. The reader of taste and sensibility will be affected by the entire structure of the poem, by the agreeable manner in which the ideas are brought forward, by the flexibility of the expresions, in the the roundness of his turns, the delicate outlines of his figures, by the strength and delicacy, and the expression of sympathy and greatness, which diffuse themselves over the whole subject." ( De Wette's Introduction. )His description of the siege and fall of Ninevah, contained in this chapter (vers. 3-13), is wonderfully vivid. As we read the account, even at this distant date, the stirring scenes seem to live again, and to pass in review before us. We see the attacking warriors in their scarlet attire and with their chariots armed with sharp instruments of steel (ver. 3), and the defenders of the city, suddenly startled, hastening their preparations, their chariots in the hurry jostling against each other in the streets, and the gallants summoned by the king hastening to the ramparts, which the foe is seeking with battering-rams to cast down (vers. 4, 5). We behold the overflowing of the river, facilitating the advance of the enemy and paralysing the people by reason of the popular tradition now seemingly being fulfilled (ver. 6). We witness the inhabitants brought low in shame and dishonour, moaning like a captive woman (ver. 7), or fleeing for their very life in hopelessness and despair, conscious that resistance is vain (ver. 8). We view the spoiling of the city — the conqueror carrying away the gold and the silver to the Median capital, trophies of victory (ver. 9). Finally, we picture to ourselves the prophets of the Lord gazing, upon the waste and desolation, reflecting upon the proud being abased, their offspring cut off, their gains confiscated, their boastful messengers silenced, and ascribing all the terrible reverses thus experienced to the righteous retribution of the Lord of hosts (vers. 10-13); and we feel, as we linger upon the scene thus graphically portrayed, that whilst rejoicing in this .volume of revelation as having been given by inspiration of God, and as containing Divine lessons abounding both in encouragement and warning, we may well prize it also even on the lower ground of its literary merit, and heartily rejoice in the infinite variety of human powers and endowments here consecrated to the presentation of the loftiest and grandest spiritual teaching. ( De Wette's Introduction. ) Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts Nahum 2:13 Man incurring the Divine displeasure De Wette's Introduction. This attitude of God towards man — I. IMPLIES WRONG-DOING ON MAN'S PART. God is not thus adverse to man for naught. "His delights are with the sons of men" ( Proverbs 8:31 ). Sin alienates man from God, and causes God to be righteously displeased with man. II. INVOLVES MAN IN PRESENT DISTRESS. Man cannot be at ease whilst under the ban of Jehovah. "In His favour is life" ( Psalm 30:5 ). Separation from Him through sin means disquietude and unrest. "The worst troubler in the world is a wilful heart." "Conscience makes cowards of us all! The heart melteth, the knees smite together" (ver. 10). III. RESULTING IN ULTIMATE RUIN TO SUCH AS WILFULLY PERSIST IN SIN. God is "the Lord of hosts." All power is His. "Who shall stand when He is angry?" ( Psalm 76:7 ). All have sinned, and hence have incurred the displeasure of Him who "is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity," but in Christ, whose day the seers saw afar off, God is reconciled to man; so that the distress and ruin indicated can alone result from man refusing to be reconciled unto God. ( De Wette's Introduction. ) And the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard The messengers of Nineveh and the messengers of Zion De Wette's Introduction. "And the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard" (ver. Nahum 1:13); "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace!" (chap Nahum 1:15) The messengers of Nineveh and the messengers of Zion are alluded to in these passages. A comparison of these respective messengers may prove suggestive and useful in its application to certain developments in these modern times. From the Second Book of Kings and the Sccond Book of Chronicles we learn that the heralds or messengers of Nineveh cherished the spirit of blasphemy with reference to the God of heaven. The faith of the pious Hebrews consisted in the recognition of the one living and true God, and of His providential care over all His creatures; and it was against this bulwark that the emissaries of Assyria constantly directed their assaults in words foul and filthy (see Rabshakeh's appeal to the Jews, 2 Kings 18:33-35 ; and his letter, 2 Chronicles 32:17 ). The great and dis tinguishing characteristic of the messengers of Zion was loyalty to the God of heaven. Their feet stood upon the mountains, and their voice proclaimed to the people, "Behold your God!" ( Isaiah 40:9 ); "Thy God reigneth!" ( Isaiah 52:7 ). In the present age there are messengers who boldly declare their none acceptance of the teaching that recognises the Divine Being and His working, and who seek to disseminate their views, and in doing so are not particular if they blaspheme the God of heaven. And whilst there are such messengers in the world doing their injurious work, there are also those who are thoroughly loyal to the King of kings, who delight to show forth His praise, to tell the story of His love in the gift and work of Christ, and to seek to draw men in loving obedience to His authority and will. Note certain contrasts, then, suggested; thus — I. CAPTIVITY IN CONTRAST WITH FREEDOM. The messengers of Nineveh approached Jerusalem, to which Sennacherib was laying siege, but they bore no tidings of liberty. They claimed full submission, and declared that even this must be followed by captivity in a strange land ( 2 Kings 18:31, 32 ). The assurance of ultimate deliverance came from the messengers of the Lord (chap. Nahum 1:12, 13). Sin is bondage. Transgressors are slaves. And scepticism has nothing to offer such by way of helping them to escape. Lo! the messengers of Zion come. They tell him of the great Father's unwearying love, the Saviour's obedience unto the death of the Cross, the energising and sanctifying Spirit ready to gird him with all-sufficient strength. II. STRIFE IN CONTRAST TO PEACE. The messengers of Nineveh to Judah had nothing conciliatory to convey; they told only of contention and strife. The assurance that peace should ultimately be enjoyed came to the anxious King of Judah from God's messengers, who published peace. The messengers of scepticism have no proclamation of peace to make. It is the privilege, however, of the messengers of Zion to proclaim those spiritual and eternal verities in which the heart may securely and tranquilly repose, and to point to him who can quell every storm and give rest unto the soul III. GLOOM IN CONTRAST TO GLADNESS. Hezekiah and his people were in extremity; it was to them a time of "trouble"; but not a ray of hope came to them through the messengers of Nineveh. Their worst fears were confirmed; the foe was unrelenting. Their hope was in God, and in the words spoken by His holy prophets. So in the extremities of life — in sickness and sorrow, and especially at life's close, hope springs not from unbelief, but from the words God has addressed to us through His servants. The Gospel has no rival in such seasons. Scepticism has no voice then, or, if it speaks, it but deepens the prevailing gloom; but the good tidings God has revealed dispels our sadness and fills the soul with immortal hopes. Happy messengers who are thus enabled to "comfort all that mourn," etc. ( Isaiah 61:2 ). IV. SHAME IN CONTRAST TO HONOUR. The voice of all messengers who blaspheme the holy name of God "shall be no more heard," for God will put them to silence; but voices publishing His love and grace shall go sounding on through the ages, — the bright succession of proclaimers shall not cease. Growing numbers shall be raised up who shall find their way to all nations and kindreds and tribes, until the glad tidings shall reach every shore, and the knowledge of the Lord shall fill the earth ( Isaiah 11:9 ). ( De Wette's Introduction. ) Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts Nahum 2:13 Man incurring the Divine displeasure De Wette's Introduction. This attitude of God towards man — I. IMPLIES WRONG-DOING ON MAN'S PART. God is not thus adverse to man for naught. "His delights are with the sons of men" ( Proverbs 8:31 ). Sin alienates man from God, and causes God to be righteously displeased with man. II. INVOLVES MAN IN PRESENT DISTRESS. Man cannot be at ease whilst under the ban of Jehovah. "In His favour is life" ( Psalm 30:5 ). Separation from Him through sin means disquietude and unrest. "The worst troubler in the world is a wilful heart." "Conscience makes cowards of us all! The heart melteth, the knees smite together" (ver. 10). III. RESULTING IN ULTIMATE RUIN TO SUCH AS WILFULLY PERSIST IN SIN. God is "the Lord of hosts." All power is His. "Who shall stand when He is angry?" ( Psalm 76:7 ). All have sinned, and hence have incurred the displeasure of Him who "is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity," but in Christ, whose day the seers saw afar off, God is reconciled to man; so that the distress and ruin indicated can alone result from man refusing to be reconciled unto God. ( De Wette's Introduction. ) And the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard The messengers of Nineveh and the messengers of Zion De Wette's Introduction. "And the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard" (ver. Nahum 1:13); "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace!" (chap Nahum 1:15) The messengers of Nineveh and the messengers of Zion are alluded to in these passages. A comparison of these respective messengers may prove suggestive and useful in its application to certain developments in these modern times. From the Second Book of Kings and the Sccond Book of Chronicles we learn that the heralds or messengers of Nineveh cherished the spirit of blasphemy with reference to the God of heaven. The faith of the pious Hebrews consisted in the recognition of the one living and true God, and of His providential care over all His creatures; and it was against this bulwark that the emissaries of Assyria constantly directed their assaults in words foul and filthy (see Rabshakeh's appeal to the Jews, 2 Kings 18:33-35 ; and his letter, 2 Chronicles 32:17 ). The great and dis tinguishing characteristic of the messengers of Zion was loyalty to the God of heaven. Their feet stood upon the mountains, and their voice proclaimed to the people, "Behold your God!" ( Isaiah 40:9 ); "Thy God reigneth!" ( Isaiah 52:7 ). In the present age there are messengers who boldly declare their none acceptance of the teaching that recognises the Divine Being and His working, and who seek to disseminate their views, and in doing so are not particular if they blaspheme the God of heaven. And whilst there are such messengers in the world doing their injurious work, there are also those who are thoroughly loyal to the King of kings, who delight to show forth His praise, to tell the story of His love in the gift and work of Christ, and to seek to draw men in loving obedience to His authority and will. Note certain contrasts, then, suggested; thus — I. CAPTIVITY IN CONTRAST WITH FREEDOM. The messengers of Nineveh approached Jerusalem, to which Sennacherib was laying siege, but they bore no tidings of liberty. They claimed full submission, and declared that even this must be followed by captivity in a strange land ( 2 Kings 18:31, 32 ). The assurance of ultimate deliverance came from the messengers of the Lord (chap. Nahum 1:12, 13). Sin is bondage. Transgressors are slaves. And scepticism has nothing to offer such by way of helping them to escape. Lo! the messengers of Zion come. They tell him of the great Father's unwearying love, the Saviour's obedience unto the death of the Cross, the energising and sanctifying Spirit ready to gird him with all-sufficient strength. II. STRIFE IN CONTRAST TO PEACE. The messengers of Nineveh to Judah had nothing conciliatory to convey; they told only of contention and strife. The assurance that peace should ultimately be enjoyed came to the anxious King of Judah from God's messengers, who published peace. The messengers of scepticism have no proclamation of peace to make. It is the privilege, however, of the messengers of Zion to proclaim those spiritual and eternal verities in which the heart may securely and tranquilly repose, and to point to him who can quell every storm and give rest unto the soul III. GLOOM IN CONTRAST TO GLADNESS. Hezekiah and his people were in extremity; it was to them a time of "trouble"; but not a ray of hope came to them through the messengers of Nineveh. Their worst fears were confirmed; the foe was unrelenting. Their hope was in God, and in the words spoken by His holy prophets. So in the extremities of life — in sickness and sorrow, and especially at life's close, hope springs not from unbelief, but from the words God has addressed to us through His servants. The Gospel has no rival in such seasons. Scepticism has no voice then, or, if it speaks, it but deepens the prevailing gloom; but the good tidings God has revealed dispels our sadness and fills the soul with immortal hopes. Happy messengers who are thus enabled to "comfort all that mourn," etc. ( Isaiah 61:2 ). IV. SHAME IN CONTRAST TO HONOUR. The voice of all messengers who blaspheme the holy name of God "shall be no more heard," for God will put them to silence; but voices publishing His love and grace shall go sounding on through the ages, — the bright succession of proclaimers shall not cease. Growing numbers shall be raised up who shall find their way to all nations and kindreds and tribes, until the glad tidings shall reach every shore, and the knowledge of the Lord shall fill the earth ( Isaiah 11:9 ). ( De Wette's Introduction. ) And the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard The messengers of Nineveh and the messengers of Zion De Wette's Introduction. "And the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard" (ver. Nahum 1:13); "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace!" (chap Nahum 1:15) The messengers of Nineveh and the messengers of Zion are alluded to in these passages. A comparison of these respective messengers may prove suggestive and useful in its application to certain developments in these modern times. From the Second Book of Kings and the Sccond Book of Chronicles we learn that the heralds or messengers of Nineveh cherished the spirit of blasphemy with reference to the God of heaven. The faith of the pious Hebrews consisted in the recognition of the one living and true God, and of His providential care over all His creatures; and it was against this bulwark that the emissaries of Assyria constantly directed their assaults in words foul and filthy (see Rabshakeh's appeal to the Jews, 2 Kings 18:33-35 ; and his letter, 2 Chronicles 32:17 ). The great and dis tinguishing characteristic of the messengers of Zion was loyalty to the God of heaven. Their feet stood upon the mountains, and their voice proclaimed to the people, "Behold your God!" ( Isaiah 40:9 ); "Thy God reigneth!" ( Isaiah 52:7 ). In the present age there are messengers who boldly declare their none acceptance of the teaching that recognises the Divine Being and His working, and who seek to disseminate their views, and in doing so are not particular if they blaspheme the God of heaven. And whilst there are such messengers in the world doing their injurious work, there are also those who are thoroughly loyal to the King of kings, who delight to show forth His praise, to tell the story of His love in the gift and work of Christ, and to seek to draw men in loving obedience to His authority and will. Note certain contrasts, then, suggested; thus — I. CAPTIVITY IN CONTRAST WITH FREEDOM. The messengers of Nineveh approached Jerusalem, to which Sennacherib was laying siege, but they bore no tidings of liberty. They claimed full submission, and declared that even this must be followed by captivity in a strange land ( 2 Kings 18:31, 32 ). The assurance of ultimate deliverance came from the messengers of the Lord (chap. Nahum 1:12, 13). Sin is bondage. Transgressors are slaves. And scepticism has nothing to offer such by way of helping them to escape. Lo! the messengers of Zion come. They tell him of the great Father's unwearying love, the Saviour's obedience unto the death of the Cross, the energising and sanctifying Spirit ready to gird him with all-sufficient strength. II. STRIFE IN CONTRAST TO PEACE. The messengers of Nineveh to Judah had nothing conciliatory to convey; they told only of contention and strife. The assurance that peace should ultimately be enjoyed came to the anxious King of Judah from God's messengers, who published peace. The messengers of scepticism have no proclamation of peace to make. It is the privilege, however, of the messengers of Zion to proclaim those spiritual and eternal verities in which the heart may securely and tranquilly repose, and to point to him who can quell every storm and give rest unto the soul III. GLOOM IN CONTRAST TO GLADNESS. Hezekiah and his people were in extremity; it was to them a time of "trouble"; but not a ray of hope came to them through the messengers of Nineveh. Their worst fears were confirmed; the foe was unrelenting. Their hope was in God, and in the words spoken by His holy prophets. So in the extremities of life — in sickness and sorrow, and especially at life's close, hope springs not from unbelief, but from the words God has addressed to us through His servants. The Gospel has no rival in such seasons. Scepticism has no voice then, or, if it speaks, it but deepens the prevailing gloom; but the good tidings God has revealed dispels our sadness and fills the soul with immortal hopes. Happy messengers who are thus enabled to "comfort all that mourn," etc. ( Isaiah 61:2 ). IV. SHAME IN CONTRAST TO HONOUR. The voice of all messengers who blaspheme the holy name of God "shall be no more heard," for God will put them to silence; but voices publishing His love and grace shall go sounding on through the ages, — the bright succession of proclaimers shall not cease. Growing numbers shall be raised up who shall find their way to all nations and kindreds and tribes, until the glad tidings shall reach every shore, and the knowledge of the Lord shall fill the earth ( Isaiah 11:9 ). ( De Wette's Introduction. )

Benson Commentary Nahum 2:1 He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily. Nahum 2:1 . He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face — This is addressed to the city of Nineveh, and explains more fully how the change, described in the foregoing chapter, should be brought about. It begins with telling Nineveh, that he who should break down her walls, and discomfit her inhabitants, was coming against her, and was, as it were, already in sight. Keep the munition, watch the way — Use thy utmost industry to defend thyself, by strengthening thy garrisons, and guarding the passes. Make thy loins strong — Stir up all thy strength and courage. Fortify thy power mightily — Increase thy forces as much as thou canst. The meaning of this is, that let the Ninevites take all the precautions they could, and strengthen themselves to the utmost, yet it would be all in vain. Nahum 2:2 For the LORD hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches. Nahum 2:2-4 . For the Lord hath turned away the excellency of Jacob — Jacob and Israel stood in a nearer relation to God than Nineveh; yet God hath punished them: much more will he punish Nineveh. By the excellency of Jacob, the wealth, the strength, the valiant men, all that Jacob gloried in is here meant. For the emptiers have emptied them out — This is spoken of the Assyrians having spoiled the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And marred their vine-branches — Ruined their towns and villages. Judah, or Israel, sometimes, is represented in the prophetic writings under the emblem of a vine, or vineyard; of consequence her towns and villages are her vine- branches. Some think, however, that the expression signifies here, their being bereaved of their children by the Assyrian conquerors. The shield of his mighty men is made red — Is stained with blood: this appears to be a description of the Chaldeans, or Medes, assaulting Nineveh. The valiant men are in scarlet — The eastern people were very fond of dressing themselves in scarlet, as we learn from Herodotus. Or, “As the preparation for battle is described, we may suppose,” says Bishop Newcome, that “it was customary among those who fought against Nineveh to carry red shields and to wear scarlet.” The chariots shall be with flaming torches — Rather, the chariots shall shine like the fire of torches, in the day that they prepare themselves — Namely, by the wheels continually striking fire against the stones and pavement by the quickness of the motion. And the fir-trees shall be terribly shaken — Namely, by the rattling of the chariot wheels, in running up and down. Or this may be interpreted of the pikes and lances used by the Chaldeans, and made of fir, and here called fir-trees on account of their length and largeness. The chariots shall rage in the streets — They shall drive furiously one against another. They shall seem like torches, &c. — See on the preceding verse. They run like the lightnings — Or, with the swiftness of lightning. Nahum 2:3 The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken. Nahum 2:4 The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings. Nahum 2:5 He shall recount his worthies: they shall stumble in their walk; they shall make haste to the wall thereof, and the defence shall be prepared. Nahum 2:5-6 . He — The enemy that attacks Nineveh, namely, the king of Babylon; shall recount his worthies — Shall select some of his choicest troops for the siege of it. They shall stumble in their walk — They shall show such forwardness, and be so eager to begin the attack of the city and mount the walls, that they shall stumble and throw one another down in their haste. The defence shall be prepared — Hebrew, ????? , the covering. So the Vulgate, preparabitur umbraculum: “Testudo qua tecti subruant mœnia.” — Grotius. “The testudo, or fence, with which being covered, they might undermine and throw down the walls.” The gates of the river shall be open — See note on Nahum 1:8 . The palace shall be dissolved — Or, molten; shall be consumed with fire. Nahum 2:6 The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved. Nahum 2:7 And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts. Nahum 2:7 . And Huzzab shall be led away captive — By Huzzab the Chaldee understands the queen, who, without due respect to her royal dignity, should be hurried away, among other captives, into a strange land; and exposed, as they, to danger and insolence. And her maids — The ladies that waited on her in her state of royalty, shall now be her companions in her captivity; shall lead her — Shall support their sorrowful, weary, and fainting queen, spent with such travel as she had not been used to; with the voice of doves, tabering, &c. — Mourning like doves, and beating their breasts, instead of musical instruments. But, as the word Huzzab signifies a strong, or impregnable fortress, some understand thereby Nineveh itself. If this be the meaning of the term, Nineveh is here figuratively represented as a great princess carried captive, with her maids of honour attending her, and bewailing hers and their own condition, with every sign and expression of lamentation: whereby was denoted, that the lesser cities under her jurisdiction should be sharers with her in her calamity. Thus Babylon is represented by Isaiah as a tender and delicate lady, undergoing the hardships of a captivity, Isaiah 47:1-8 . Nahum 2:8 But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water: yet they shall flee away. Stand, stand, shall they cry ; but none shall look back. Nahum 2:8 . But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water — “Id est, supra modum populosa, nam aquæ populi.” That is, above measure populous, for waters signify people. — Grotius. Yet they shall flee away — But they shall all flee for fear of the enemy, and run away like water: compare Psalm 58:7 . Stand, stand, shall they cry, but none shall look back — Their commanders shall call out to them to stand, but none shall pay any regard to them, or cease to flee. The Hebrew is peculiarly animated, and highly poetical. It is literally, Nineveh is as a pool of water: waters is she, and they run away: Stand, stand, but none looketh back. As if he had said, Their commanders might as easily stop the flowing waters by bidding them stand, as cause the Ninevites to stand to their arms and resist the enemy. The words allude to what was foretold Nahum 1:8 , where see the note. Nahum 2:9 Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold: for there is none end of the store and glory out of all the pleasant furniture. Nahum 2:9-10 . Take ye the spoil of silver, of gold — Here the Babylonians are addressed as if they had just entered the city; and are bid to take the spoil of it, there being none to make any resistance. We read in Diodorus, that Arbaces carried many talents of gold and silver to Ecbatana, the royal city of the Medes. For there is none end of the store, &c. — The Vulgate reads, There is no end of the riches, from all the desirable vessels. The sense of the Hebrew, however, is, The glory (namely, of their riches) is above all precious vessels; that is, beyond all that is generally esteemed precious; and greatly coveted. She is empty, and void, and waste — She is spoiled of every thing. And the heart melteth — The inhabitants have no heart, or courage, to defend themselves, but leave the city to be plundered and laid waste by the enemy. The knees smite together — They are quite overcome with fear. Nahum 2:10 She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness. Nahum 2:11 Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the feedingplace of the young lions, where the lion, even the old lion, walked, and the lion's whelp, and none made them afraid? Nahum 2:11-13 . Where is the dwelling of the lions — Where is the lion-like courage and strength, which formerly characterized the king of Nineveh and his people? What is become of the stately palaces of the king and princes of Nineveh? who, like so many lions, cruel, violent, and irresistible, knew no other law than their pride and ambition; preying upon their own people, and the neighbouring countries, and filling their houses with the spoils they took from them, as the lions fill their dens with their prey. I will burn her chariots in the smoke — Or, even unto smoke. The LXX. read, ??? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? , I will burn thy multitude in the smoke. Some again render the clause, I will burn thy seat, or thy habitation, observing, that the simile taken from lions is continued; and therefore that the word chariots is quite improper here; the expression referring to the den or habitation of lions, which he threatens to suffocate with fire and smoke in their subterraneous caverns. The sword shall devour thy young lions — Shall destroy thy young people, and the most vigorous of thy soldiers. I will cut off thy prey from the earth — I will prevent thy spoiling any country any more. And the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard — Thou shalt no more send ambassadors with thy orders to distant countries, either to encourage thine allies or to terrify thine enemies. Nahum 2:12 The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin. Nahum 2:13 Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Nahum 2:1 He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily. THE SIEGE AND FALL OF NINEVEH Nahum 2:1-13 ; Nahum 3:1-19 THE scene now changes from the presence and awful arsenal of the Almighty to the historical consummation of His vengeance. Nahum foresees the siege of Nineveh. Probably the Medes have already overrun Assyria. The "Old Lion" has withdrawn to his inner den, and is making his last stand. The suburbs are full of the enemy, and the great walls which made the inner city one vast fortress are invested. Nahum describes the details of the assault. Let us try, before we follow him through them, to form some picture of Assyria and her capital at this time. As we have seen, the Assyrian Empire began about 625 to shrink to the limits of Assyria proper, or Upper Mesopotamia, within the Euphrates on the southwest, the mountain-range of Kurdistan on the northeast, the river Chabor on the northwest, and the Lesser Zab on the southeast. This is a territory of nearly a hundred and fifty miles from north to south, and rather more than two hundred and fifty from east to west. To the south of it the Viceroy of Babylon, Nabopolassar, held practically independent sway over Lower Mesopotamia, if he did not command as well a large part of the Upper Euphrates Valley. On the north the Medes were urgent, holding at least the farther ends of the passes through the Kurdish mountains, if they had not already penetrated these to their southern issues. The kernel of the Assyrian territory was the triangle, two of whose sides are represented by the Tigris and the Greater Zab, the third by the foot of the Kurdistan mountains. It is a fertile plain, with some low hills. Today the level parts of it are covered by a large number of villages and well-cultivated fields. The more frequent mounds of ruin attest in ancient times a still greater population. At the period of which we are treating, the plains must have been covered by an almost continuous series of towns. At either end lay a group of fortresses. The southern was the ancient capital of Assyria, Kalchu, now Nimrud, about six miles to the north of the confluence of the Greater Zab and the Tigris. The northern, close by the present town of Khorsabad, was the great fortress and palace of Sargon, Dur-Sargina: it covered the roads upon Nineveh from the north, and standing upon the upper reaches of the Choser protected Nineveh’s water supply. But besides these there were scattered upon all the main roads and round the frontiers of the territory a number of other forts, towers, and posts, the ruins of many of which are still considerable, but others have perished without leaving any visible traces. The roads thus protected drew in upon Nineveh from all directions. The chief of those, along which the Medes and their allies would advance from the east and north, crossed the Greater Zam, or came down through the Kurdistan mountains upon the citadel of Sargon. Two of them were distant enough from the latter to relieve the invaders from the necessity of taking it, and Kalchu lay far to the south of all of them. The brunt of the first defense of the land would therefore fall upon the smaller fortresses. Nineveh itself lay upon the Tigris between Kalchu and Sargon’s city, just where the Tigris is met by the Choser. Low hills descend from the north upon the very site of the fortress, and then curve east and south, bow-shaped, to draw west again upon the Tigris at the south end of the city. To the east of the latter they leave a level plain, some two and a half miles by one and a half. These hills appear to have been covered by several forts. The city itself was four-sided, lying lengthwise to the Tigris and cut across its breadth by the Choser. The circumference was about seven and a half miles, enclosing the largest fortified space in Western Asia, and capable of holding a population of three hundred thousand. The western wall, rather over two and a half miles long, touched the Tigris at the other end, but between there lay a broad, bow-shaped stretch of land, probably in ancient times, as now, free of buildings. The northwestern wall ran up from the Tigris for a mile and a quarter to the low ridge which entered the city at its northern corner. From this the eastern wall, with a curve upon it, ran down in face of the eastern plain for a little more than three miles, and was joined to the western by the short southern wall of not quite half a mile. The ruins of the western wall stand from ten to twenty, those of the others from twenty-five to sixty, feet above the natural surface, with here and there the still higher remains of towers. There were several gates, of which the chief were one in the northern and two in the eastern wall. Round all the walls except the western ran moats about a hundred and fifty feet broad-not close up to the foot of the walls, but at a distance of some sixty feet. Water was supplied by the Choser to all the moats south of it; those to the north were fed from a canal which entered the city near its northern corner. At these and other points one can still trace the remains of huge dams, batardeaux, and sluices; and the moats might be emptied by opening at either end of the western wall other dams, which kept back the waters from the bed of the Tigris. Beyond its moat, the eastern wall was protected north of the Choser by a large outwork covering its gate, and south of the Choser by another outwork, in shape the segment of a circle, and consisting of a double line of fortification more than five hundred yards long, of which the inner wall was almost as high as the great wall itself, but the outer considerably lower. Again, in front of this and in face of the eastern plain was a third line of fortification, consisting of a low inner wall and a colossal outer wall still rising to a height of fifty feet, with a moat one hundred and fifty feet broad between them. On the south this third line was closed by a large fortress. Upon the trebly fortified city the Medes drew from east and. north, far away from Kalchu and able to avoid even Dur-Sargma. The other fortresses on the frontier and the approaches fell into their hands, says Nahum, like "ripe fruit." { Nahum 3:12 } He cries to Nineveh to prepare for the siege. { Nahum 3:14 } Military authorities suppose that the Medes directed their main attack upon the northern corner of the city. Here they would be upon a level with its highest point, and would command the waterworks by which most of the moats were fed. Their flank, too, would be protected by the ravines of the Choser. Nahum describes fighting in the suburbs before the assault of the walls, and it was just here, according to some authorities, that the famous suburbs of Nineveh lay, out upon the canal and the road to Khorsabad. All the open fighting which Nahum foresees would take place in these "out-places" and "broad streets" the mustering of the "red" ranks, the "prancing horses" and "rattling chariots" { Nahum 3:2 } and "cavalry at the charge." { Nahum 3:3 } Beaten there the Assyrians would retire to the great walls, and the waterworks would fall into the hands of the besiegers. They would not immediately destroy these, but in order to bring their engines and battering-rams against the walls they would have to lay strong dams across the moats; the eastern moat has actually been found filled with rubbish in face of a great breach at the north end of its wall. This breach may have been effected not only by the rams but by directing upon the wall the waters of the canal; or farther south the Choser itself, in its spring floods, may have been confined by the besiegers and swept in upon the sluices which regulate its passage through the eastern wall into the city. To this means tradition has assigned the capture of Nineveh, and Nahum perhaps foresees the possibility of it: "the gates of the rivers are opened, the palace is dissolved." Now of all this probable progress of the siege Nahum, of course, does not give us a narrative, for he is writing upon the eve of it, and probably, as we have seen, in Judah, with only such knowledge of the position and strength of Nineveh as her fame had scattered across the world. The military details, the muster, the fighting in the open, the investment, the assault, he did not need to go to Assyria or to wait for the fall of Nineveh to describe as he has done. Assyria herself (and herein lies much of the pathos of the poem) had made all Western Asia familiar with their horrors for the last two centuries. As we learn from the prophets and now still more from herself, Assyria was the great Besieger of Men. It is siege, siege, siege, which Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah tell their people they shall feel: "siege and blockade, and that right round the land!" It is siege, irresistible and full of cruelty, which Assyria records as her own glory. Miles of sculpture are covered with masses of troops marching upon some Syrian or Median fortress. Scaling ladders and enormous engines are pushed forward to the walls under cover of a shower of arrows. There are assaults and breaches, panic-stricken and suppliant defenders. Streets and places are strewn with corpses, men are impaled, women led away weeping, children dashed against the stones. The Jews had seen, had felt these horrors for a hundred years, and it is out of their experience of them that Nahum weaves his exultant predictions. The Besieger of the world is at last besieged; every cruelty he has inflicted upon men is now to be turned upon himself. Again and again does Nahum return to the vivid details, he hears the very whips crack beneath the walls, and the rattle of the leaping chariots; the end is slaughter, dispersion, and a dead waste. Two other points remain to be emphasized. There is a striking absence from both chapters of any reference to Israel. Jehovah of Hosts is mentioned twice in the same formula, { Nahum 2:13 ; Nahum 3:5 } but otherwise the author does not obtrude his nationality. It is not in Judah’s name he exults, but in that of all the peoples of Western Asia. Nineveh has sold "peoples" by her harlotries and "races" by her witchcraft; it is "peoples’" that shall gaze upon her nakedness and "kingdoms" upon her shame. Nahum gives voice to no national passions, but to the outraged conscience of mankind. We see here another proof, not only of the large, human heart of prophecy, but of that which in the introduction to these Twelve Prophets we ventured to assign as one of its causes. By crushing all peoples to a common level of despair, by the universal pity which her cruelties excited, Assyria contributed to the development in Israel of the idea of a common humanity. The other thing to be noticed is Nahum’s feeling of the incoherence and mercenariness of the vast population of Nineveh. Nineveh’s command of the world had turned her into a great trading power. Under Assurbanipal the lines of ancient commerce had been diverted so as to pass through her. The immediate result was an enormous increase of population, such as the world had never before seen within the limits of one city. But this had come out of all races and was held together only by the greed of gain. What had once been a firm and vigorous nation of warriors, irresistible in their united impact upon the world, was now a loose aggregate of many peoples, without patriotism, discipline, or sense of honor. Nahum likens it to a reservoir of waters { Nahum 2:8 } which as soon as it is breached must scatter, and leave the city bare. The Second Isaiah said the same of Babylon, to which the bulk of Nineveh’s mercenary populace must: have fled:- "Thus are they grown to thee, they who did weary thee, Traders of thine from thy youth up Each as he could escape have they fled None is thy helper." The prophets saw the truth about both cities. Their vastness and their splendor were artificial Neither of them, and Nineveh still less than Babylon, was a natural center for the world’s commerce. When their political power fell, the great lines of trade, which had been twisted to their feet, drew back to more natural courses, and Nineveh in especial became deserted. This is the explanation of the absolute collapse of that mighty city. Nahum’s foresight, and the very metaphor in which he expressed it, were thoroughly sound. The population vanished like water. The site bears little trace of any disturbance since the ruin by the Medes, except such as has been inflicted by the weather and the wandering tribes around. Mosul, Nineveh’s representative today, is not built upon it, and is but a provincial town. The district was never meant for anything else. The swift decay of these ancient empires from the climax of their commercial glory is often employed as a warning to ourselves. But the parallel, as the previous paragraphs suggest, is very far from exact. If we can lay aside for the moment the greatest difference of all, in religion and morals, there remain others almost of cardinal importance. Assyria and Babylonia were not filled, like Great Britain, with reproductive races, able to colonize distant lands, and carry everywhere the spirit which had made them strong at home. Still more, they did not continue at home to be homogeneous. Their native forces were exhausted by long and unceasing wars. Their populations, especially in their capitals, were very largely alien and distraught, with nothing to hold them together save their commercial interests. They were bound to break up at the first disaster. It is true that we are not without some risks of their peril. No patriot among us can observe without misgiving the large and growing proportion of foreigners in that department of our life from which the strength of our defense is largely drawn-our merchant navy. But such a fact is very far from bringing our empire and its chief cities into the fatal condition of Nineveh and Babylon. Our capitals, our commerce, our life as a whole are still British to the core. If we only be true to our ideals of righteousness and religion, if our patriotism continue moral and sincere, we shall have the power to absorb the foreign elements that throng to us in commerce, and stamp them with our own spirit. We are now ready to follow Nahum’s two great poems delivered on the eve of the Fall of Nineveh. Probably, as we have said, the first of them has lost its original opening. It wants some notice at the outset of the object to which it is addressed: this is indicated only by the second personal pronoun. Other needful comments will be given in footnotes. 1. "The Hammer is come up to thy face! Hold the rampart! Keep watch on the way! Brace the loins! Pull thyself firmly together! The shields of his heroes are red, The warriors are in scarlet; Like fire are the of the chariots in the day of his muster, And the horsemen are prancing. Through the markets rage chariots, They tear across the squares; The look of them is like torches, Like lightnings they dart to and fro. He musters his nobles. They rush to the wall and the mantlet is fixed! The river-gates burst open, the palace dissolves. And Hussab is Stripped, is brought forth, With her maids sobbing like doves, Beating their breasts. And Nineveh! she was like a reservoir of waters, Her waters. And now they flee. "Stand, stand!" but there is none to rally. Plunder silver, plunder gold! Infinite treasures, mass of all precious things! Void and devoid and desolate is she. Melting hearts and shaking knees," "And anguish in all loins, And nothing but faces full of black fear." "Where is the Lion’s den, And the young lions’ feeding ground? Whither the Lion retreated, The whelps of the Lion, with none to affray: The Lion, who tore enough for his whelps, And strangled for his lionesses. And he filled his pits with prey, And his dens with rapine." "Lo, I am at thee (oracle of Jehovah of Hosts): I will put up thy in flames. The sword shall devour thy young lions: I will cut off from the earth thy rapine, And the noise of thine envoys shall no more be heard." 2. "Woe to the City of Blood, All of her guile, robbery-full, ceaseless rapine!" "Hark the whip, And the rumbling of the wheel, And horses galloping, And the rattling dance of the chariot! Cavalry at the charge, and flash of sabres, And lightning of lances, Mass of slain and weight of corpses, Endless dead bodies-They stumble on their dead For the manifold harlotries of the Harlot, The well-favored mistress of charms She who sold nations with her harlotries And races by her witchcrafts!" "Lo, I am at thee (oracle of Jehovah of Hosts): I will uncover thy skirts to thy face; Give nations to look on thy nakedness, And kingdoms upon thy shame; Will have thee pelted with filth, and disgrace thee, And set thee for a gazing-stock; So that everyone seeing thee shall shrink from thee and say," ‘Shattered is Nineveh-who will pity her? Whence shall I seek for comforters to thee?’ "Shalt thou be better than No-Amon, Which sat upon the Nile streams-waters were round her-Whose rampart was the sea, and waters her wall? Kush was her strength and Misraim without end; Phut and the Lybians were there to assist her. Even she was for exile, she went to captivity: Even her children were dashed on every street corner; For her nobles they cast lots. And all her great men were fastened with fetters." "Thou too shalt stagger shalt grow faint; Thou too shalt seek help from the foe All thy fortresses are fig-trees with figs early-ripe: Be they shaken they fall on the mouth of the eater." "Lo, thy folk are but women in thy midst: { Jeremiah 50:37 ; Jeremiah 51:30 } To thy foes the gates of thy land fly open; Fire has devoured thy bars." "Draw thee water for siege, strengthen thy forts! Get thee down to the mud, and tramp in the clay! Grip fast the brick-mould! There fire consumes thee, the sword cuts thee off. Make thyself many as a locust swarm, Many as grasshoppers Multiply thy traders more than heaven’s stars, -The locusts break off and fly away, They are as locusts and thy as grasshoppers, That hive in the hedges in the cold of the day": "The sun is risen, they are fled, And one knows not the place where they be. Asleep are thy shepherds, O king of Assyria, Thy nobles do slumber; Thy people are strewn on the mountains, Without any to gather. There is no healing of thy wreck, Fatal thy wound! All who hear the brunt of thee shall clap the hand at thee. For upon whom hath not thy cruelty passed without ceasing?" The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.