Book of nahum background

Nahum is not quoted in the new testament, although there may be an allusion to nahum 1. It is a shortened form of nehemiah which means the comfort of yahweh. Nahum also predicted a time of peace beyond this troubled world. Deal justly while it is your time to ride the high places of the earth, is gods message to the nations through nahum. Nahum begins by pronouncing that god is a jealous god. Nothing is known about him except his hometown elkosh, and even its general location is uncertain. There are many theories as to where that city was though there is no conclusive evidence. Nahum, theology of bakers evangelical dictionary of. Though nahums context is distant, the holy spirit speaks again in a new context that of our modern listeners.

Nothing is known about the prophet habakkuk except his name. One such difficulty involves the unity and authorship of the book of nahum. Thus opens nahums prophecy, and this is the message of this book of the bible for the world today. Book of nahum, the seventh of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets grouped together as.

Nahums book is a sequel to, and a dramatic contrast with, the book of jonah. Nahum intro to nahum biblica the international bible society. Others, however, think that his prophecies are to be referred to the latter half of the reign of hezekiah about b. The name of this prophet nahum means comfort, consolation. Reading the chapter before looking at the notes, while working with the notes, and after finishing with the notes will give each researcher a powerful sense of the series of meanings within each chapter. Most of the short book of nahum is concerned with the coming judgment of assyria, and particularly with the destruction of its capital, nineveh.

Ninevehs fall, which is nahums theme, would bring comfort to judah. Transcribed and edited by david sielaff, august 20. The book of nahum is a poem prophesying the downfall of nineveh, the capital of assyria, in 612bc. Nahum is a biblical book that christians find easy to avoid. The international standard bible encyclopaedia states about the style. The book of nahum introduction to the book of nahum in the bible. The book of habakkuk is a book of the tanakh the old testament and stands eighth in a section known as the 12 minor prophets in the masoretic and greek texts. The book of nahum is a tiny little prophetic book in the old testament. While the book of jonah records ninevehs reprieve, nahum predicts its destruction. Nineveh, and the assyrian empire, was at its height of power. One such theory is that it refers to the city later called capernaum which literally means the village of nahum at the sea of galilee.

Below are scriptures in nahum that refer to endtime events. Overview of the book of nahum third millennium ministries. Though the book does not identify its author, tradition has ascribed it to the prophet himself, jonah son of amittai. Summary of the book of nahum the story of the bible. A new translation with introduction and commentary.

Its purpose is to pronounce the final warning and judgment upon nineveh, and he also. He was raised up to preach gods judgment for a second time to nineveh. Nahum describes jesus as a stronghold in the day of trouble we just have to come to him to find rest for our souls, for. The short book of nahum is largely a poem, a literary masterpiece, predicting the downfall of nineveh, the capital of assyria. Book of nahum biblical studies oxford bibliographies. Intro to jonah biblica the international bible society. This volume demonstrates the intricate literary structure and high poetic quality of the book of nahum and represents a significant breakthrough in the study of hebrew prosody with important implications for understanding the formation of the canon of the hebrew bible. The book is named after its principal character, whose name means dove. The name nahum occurs in the new testament where it is found in lukes genealogy of our lord jesus christ. The book of nahum is introduced as an oracle concerning nineveh nahum 1. The author of the book of nahum identifies himself as nahum in the hebrew consoler or comforter the elkoshite 1. It can be assume that the book was written before 612 bc because that is when nineveh was. Nahum prophesied about gods vengeance and judgement, and the destruction that was going to come upon nineveh for her great wickedness and cruelty. It is called an oracle concerning nineveh and the book of the vision of nahum nah.

In the first place, it is among the shortest of the minor prophets and is overshadowed by micah, which precedes it and contains some wellknown messianic prophecies. This summary of the book of nahum provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of nahum. Summary of the book of nahum nahum began to prophesy in about 7 bc after the destruction of the northern kingdom of israel by the assyrians. Nineveh was conquered by the babylonians, medes, and scythians in 612 b. Yet the bible is a book of hope for the future when the prince of peace will secure lasting peace among all peoples and nations isaiah 9. Ormond odhner, in his notes on preadvent churches, says that nahums work is unmitigated gloating over the fierce wrath that jehovah has brought upon his enemies. The book of nahum comes some one hundred years after the prophecy of jonah. Nahum prophesied, according to some, in the beginning of the reign of ahaz b. Travers exegesis that includes careful attention to internal matters theme and development, structure, and features of literary stylecan help resolve perennial problems of interpretation. The coming defeat of assyria by the babylonians is seen by nahum as gods judgement on a wicked and godless nation who had conquered the northern kingdom of israels capital city of samaria in 722bc and had led ten of the twelve tribes of israel back to nineveh in slavery. Although god uses pagans to punish his peoples apostasy and sin, the tool itself is also liable to punishment. In the masoretic listing, it follows nahum and precedes zephaniah, who are considered to be his contemporaries. These three countriesempires afflicted gods people throughout their history. The book of nahum is the seventh book of the 12 minor prophets of the hebrew bible.

Nahum 1 background information with maps and images. But for all of that, it is a piece of exceptionally beautiful poetry, written in. The prophet nahum wrote this book just before the fall of nineveh. This is book number 8 in the summary of the 12 minor prophets of the bible. Therefore, the most plausible date for nahums prophecy would be between 660 and 650 b.

The book of nahum contains a prophecy that nineveh, the capital of assyria, would be destroyed because of its peoples wickedness. The book of nahum mentions the recent fall of noamon, or thebes, which. Nahums announcement was a comfort and a consolation to the inhabitants of judah, as it predicted the downfall of assyria, a savage and cruel enemy of israel and judah. Book of nahum overview insight for living ministries. The central theme of the book of nahum is the overthrow of the greatest capital city of the ancient gentile world in the 7 th century bc. Zephaniah contemporary of jeremiah preached around 625 bc king manasseh is dead after a reign of 55 years the most evil king in judah he was the exact opposite of his father king hezekiah. Book of nahum, the seventh of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets grouped together as the twelve in the jewish canon. This article provides helpful background not only on the book of nahum, but also jonah as well.

It is attributed to the prophet nahum, and was probably written in jerusalem in the 7th century bc. This prophet is only mentioned once in the entire bible nahum 1. Nahum is an early contemporary of habakkuk, zephaniah, and jeremiah. The book of nahum kjv audio holy bible high quality and best speed book 34 duration. Ancient assyria stands as a sign of warning to any nation holding power on. Nineveh was the capital city of assyria, which in turn was the mighty empire that had destroyed northern israel and sent its inhabitants into exile. The assyrians had brutally conquered and terrorized large areas of the near east in the eighth century b. Title the books title is taken from the prophet of gods oracle against nineveh, the capital of assyria. Intro to nahum biblica the international bible society. The god of heaven is a god of mercy to the penitent, yet a god of doom to the impenitent. The books title is taken from the prophetofgods oracle against nineveh, the capital of assyria.

He will use whatever means to persuade us to choose to come to him, to come into the arms of his love. This is the more probable opinion, internal evidences leading to that conclusion. Authorship the author of this remarkably literary book is probably nahum. Nahum means comfort or consolation and is a short form of nehemiah comfort of yahweh. In this book, nahum portrays the downfall of nineveh and assyria as an image of how god will confront and bring down all violent human empires. He appears in the book as a sensitive and courageous person. The assyrians had been cruel enemies of israel and judah, but nahum saw that the day of judgment for them was now approaching. The book contains the vision of nahum, whose name means comfort and is related to the name nehemiah, meaning the lord comforts or comfort of the lord. Avoiding the fierce punishment of the lord is not dependent on ethnicity, class, intelligence, skin color, or family history, but on repentance and faith. The bible journey introduction to the book of nahum. This article will seek to identify the overarching message purpose of the book from which the pericopes derive their unit purposes and outline the book by pericope. The book of nahum introduction to the book of nahum in the bible nahum 1. The title identifies the book as an oracle concerning nineveh and attributes it to the vision of nahum of elkosh.