The preserved written record is designated as a “pronouncement” (massá’) relating to Nineveh, either meaning a message concerning or against the Assyrian capital. In the Septuagint, massá’ is rendered lémma, which word basically denotes “something that is received” and so may be understood to mean a “received message.” The Vulgate rendering for massá’ is onus (“load” or “burden”). Renderings found in modern translations include “burden,” “oracle,” “word,” “message,” “prophecy,” and “pronouncement.” (1:1)

In the parallel expression, the account is identified as being the “vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.” Possibly while he was in a trance or dreaming, the divinely revealed message was impressed on his mind. Historical references in the book indicate that Nahum lived in the seventh century BCE. The designation “Elkoshite” probably indicates that he resided in Elkosh, a town in Judah that can no longer be positively identified with any known site. Aside from his name, nothing else is known about him. As a prophet, Nahum lived up to his name (“comfort” or “consolation”), for it must have been a source of comfort for the Israelites to know that the great suffering the Assyrians had caused would come to an end. (1:1; see the introduction for additional information.)

YHWH is revealed as a “jealous [qannóh’] and avenging God.” The Hebrew adjective qannóh’ may here denote that YHWH, in his dealings with humans, does not tolerate attitudes, words, and deeds that, instead of reflecting love for him, are contrary to his commands. As an avenging God, he will not leave unpunished those who persist in impious ways, acting contrary to the innate sense of right and wrong with which humans are endowed. (1:2; see the Notes section.)

Besides being a God who avenges or meets out the judgment that justice requires, he is an “owner of anger,” which may be understood to mean that he is in full control of the anger that deserves to be expressed against those who make themselves guilty of oppression, injustice, ruthlessness, cruelty, or brutality. According to the Septuagint, he is “avenging with wrath,” indicating that his taking vengeance is an expression of his anger. YHWH’s acts of vengeance are directed against “his enemies,” those who are hostile to him and the way in which humans endowed with moral capacity should act. (1:2)

The participial form of the Hebrew verb natár (“keep”) that appears at the end of the verse with reference to what YHWH does to his enemies probably means that he keeps or reserves his wrath for his enemies. Then, at the proper time, he, in expression of his anger, will punish them as they deserve. The Septuagint says that “he himself removes his enemies.” (1:2)

Unlike humans who may quickly be aroused to anger and to act hastily, YHWH is “slow to anger” (literally, “long of anger”) or patient, providing opportunity for peoples and individuals to repent and to abandon their lawless ways. He is “great in power” and, therefore, always in a position to take the action that justice requires. YHWH will not hold innocent those who should not be held innocent, but he will administer just punishment. (1:3)

Humans cannot control fierce winds and are at the mercy of powerful storms. As the one “great in power,” YHWH can control the winds. Accordingly, it is here said that “his way” is “in whirlwind and in storm.” The Septuagint rendering is, “In culmination and earthquake [is] his way.” Possibly, “end” or “culmination” relates to the reality that God always brings what he has purposed to a successful conclusion. Like storms, earthquakes are likewise within God’s power to control or to use for his purpose. (1:3)

YHWH is poetically represented as walking above the celestial dome. Therefore, the clouds are referred to as being the “dust of his feet” or the dust his moving feet stir up. (1:3)

YHWH’s rebuking of the sea so that it dries up probably alludes to what happened at the Red Sea. A passageway opened up, allowing the Israelites to escape from the pursuing Egyptians. YHWH’s making rivers run dry occurred when the Israelites were about to enter the land of Canaan west of the Jordan River. At the time, the Jordan was at flood stage, but a blockage to the north of where the Israelites were encamped stopped the flow of the river, allowing them to cross safely to the other side. (1:4)

The region of Bashan located east of the Jordan River was known for good pasture land. On the slopes of the Carmel Range, olive trees, grapevines, and other plants and vegetation flourished. Lebanon was known for its lush vegetation and magnificent cedars. The withering of Bashan and Carmel, and the drying up of the “blossoms,” flowers, or green forests of Lebanon would doubtless be on account of severe droughts. As the Israelites regarded YHWH as providing the rain, they also ascribed droughts to him. (1:4)

On account of YHWH or because of the action he takes, “mountains quake,” as did Mount Sinai at the time he gave the law to the Israelites encamped there. The melting of the hills probably describes what can happen to hillsides and mountain slopes during heavy rainstorms. The resulting mudslides make it appear as though the hills and mountains are melting. (1:5)

Because of YHWH’s face, or his turning his attention to the earth or the land and the people residing thereon, both the land and its inhabitants are portrayed as being “upheaved.” The upheaving may refer to shaking or trembling like that resulting from seismic activity. Those dwelling on the land would tremble with fear, as YHWH’s giving attention to the land and its inhabitants would be for the purpose of executing his judgment. (1:5)

In view of the matchless power revealed in the way YHWH can effect the natural world, the rhetorical questions are raised as to who can stand before the “face of his indignation” and who can rise up “in the heat of his anger.” Confronted with his wrath, humans are powerless. They cannot prevent YHWH from directing his anger against them and punishing them for their lawlessness. His wrath is “poured out” or expressed as if it were a “fire” that consumes everything in its path. According to the Septuagint, his wrath “melts” sovereignties or reduces them to powerlessness as if dissolving them. On account of the action YHWH takes, rocks are broken, indicating that even crags cannot withstand the force he can direct against them. (1:6)

Those who fully trust YHWH have nothing to fear when he expresses his anger. He is “good,” assuring those whom he recognizes as his own that they will continue to enjoy his blessing, guidance, and safeguarding. In a “day of distress” or “trouble,” he will prove to be a refuge for them. The Septuagint says that he is “kind to those waiting on him in a day of distress.” They would look to him for deliverance in their time of affliction. YHWH knows, or is fully aware of, all those seeking refuge in him (“fearing him” or having reverential regard for him [LXX]). For this reason, not a single one of them would be without his tender care. (1:7)

As for Nineveh, YHWH would make an annihilation of “her place,” doing so as by a flood that passes over the land. The Septuagint refers to his making an end by a rapidly moving inundation to those rising up, apparently doing so against him in defiance. YHWH also would “pursue his enemies [into] darkness,” which may mean that he would cause them to flee into the gloom that denotes the end for them. It is also possible to understand the pursuit to be “with darkness, which would signify that the end for the enemies would be darkness, with no hope of a change in the circumstances. According to the Septuagint, “darkness” would “pursue his enemies,” indicating that they would face only darkness or gloom. (1:8)

The rhetorical question about devising or scheming against YHWH is apparently directed to his enemies, probably more specifically to the Assyrians. Their plotting would fail, for he would bring about annihilation. So complete would the end be that distress for YHWH’s people and others would not arise from that quarter twice or again. There would be no recovery for Nineveh or the Assyrians. According to the Septuagint, YHWH would not take vengeance twice with distress for the same thing. One punitive act of judgment would be sufficient to bring the enemies to their end. (1:9)

The Assyrians are seemingly represented as intertwined or tangled thorns. As such, they appear to be portrayed as a formidable enemy that could inflict serious harm. Because they are also referred to as being drunk from their liquor, the implication may be that they are like thorny plants containing abundant moisture. Nevertheless, they would come to their end as if they were “dry stubble” that a fire quickly consumes. (1:10; regarding the Septuagint rendering, see the Notes section.)

The second person singular (“from you”) referring to the source of the one devising or plotting evil against YHWH may be Nineveh or Assyria. Renderings of various translations are more specific than is the Hebrew text. “From you, Nineveh, has come forth a wicked counsellor.” (REB) “One has gone out from Nineveh, who plots evil against the LORD.” (HCSB) “Assyria, one of your rulers has made evil plans against the LORD.” (CEV) In the Septuagint, the word for “go out” or “come out” is the third person singular form of the verb exérchomai in the future tense, and so the device or plan against God may be understood as coming out of Nineveh or Assyria. The Hebrew text may be rendered as either a past or a future development, with the one going out probably meaning the Assyrian monarch. The scheming may relate to anything that would be contrary to YHWH’s purpose. In the past, Assyrian monarch Sennacherib did such plotting when he wanted to capture Jerusalem and later take the survivors of his military campaign into exile. (1:11)

The monarch, the one “devising evil against YHWH,” is also the one “counseling ruin,” or planning to engage in military campaigns that would cause extensive devastation to the towns, cities, and land that the Assyrians would invade. Somewhat different wording in the Septuagint could be understood to refer to the counseling of “evil things, hostile things” — things that were in opposition to God and hurtful to his people and to the people of other nations. (1:11)

There is uncertainty about the meaning of the initial phrases that are introduced with the words, “Thus said YHWH.” These phrases may be literally translated, “Although complete [shalém] and thus many, even thus they are cut off.” The reference may be to the Assyrians, and the Hebrew adjective shalém, which can mean “complete,” “safe,” or “at peace,” could describe the Assyrians as being in possession of complete or great military strength. Although militarily strong and numerous, the Assyrians would be cut off or suffer defeat. (1:12)

The obscurity of the Hebrew text has given rise to a variety of interpretive renderings. Translators have applied the words to the Assyrians and to the people of Judah in connection with the affliction they had experienced. “Assyria, no matter how strong you are, you are doomed.” (CEV) “Although Assyria is strong and has many people, it will be defeated and brought to an end.” (NCV) “Judah, though your punishment has been great, yet it will pass away and be gone.” (REB) “Even as they [the days of your affliction (footnote)] were full and many, even so are they over and gone.” (Tanakh) (1:12)

The Septuagint rendering bears little resemblance to the extant Hebrew text. It refers to God as ruling over “many waters” and as saying, “And thus they will be commanded, and the report about you will no longer be heard.” The reference appears to be to the Assyrians, and what would be commanded to them or appointed for them could be their end. As a consequence, a “report,” or news, about their military campaigns or triumphs would cease to be heard. (1:12)

YHWH had afflicted his people in the kingdom of Judah, allowing them to suffer greatly from the Assyrians during the course of their military campaigns. The fall of Nineveh would terminate any future threat from the Assyrians. As YHWH had determined upon this punitive judgment, he is the one who would thus no longer afflict his people. (1:12)

Judean king Ahaz had entered into an alliance with Assyria to deal with a threat from the combined forces of the kingdoms of Israel and Syria. As a result, the kingdom of Judah came under the heavy Assyrian yoke, which included having to pay the large tribute that the Assyrian monarch demanded. (2 Kings 16:5-10; 18:13-16) According to the preserved Assyrian annals, both King Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, and King Manasseh, the grandson of Ahaz, paid tribute. Through his prophet, YHWH promised to break the “bar” of the yoke and to tear apart the confining bonds into which the alliance with Assyria had placed his people. (1:13)

The words “YHWH has commanded concerning you” can apply to YHWH’s expressed judgment against either Assyria or the Assyrian capital Nineveh. This is reflected in the interpretive renderings of translations (“And this is what the LORD says concerning the Assyrians in Nineveh” [NLT]; “This is what the LORD has decreed about the Assyrians” [GNT, Second Edition] “Nineveh, the Lord has given an order concerning you” [NIRV]). The reference to there not again being a “sowing” of the “name” could mean that the fall of Nineveh and, therefore, the end for Assyria as the dominant power in the region signified that Nineveh and the Assyrians would be forgotten or that there would be no descendants to carry on the name. With the end of the Assyrian threat, nothing about the name Nineveh or Assyria would cause terror among the peoples of other nations as it did formerly. (1:14)

Assyrian monarchs credited their victories to their gods. YHWH is represented as decreeing that he would cut off the carved and molten images “from the house of [their (literally, your)] gods.” The fall of Nineveh would prove that the Assyrian deities were powerless. As victorious forces commonly removed the images from the temples of the conquered people, the idols would be cut off from the “house” or temple of even the chief god of the Assyrians — Asshur. (1:14)

From YHWH’s standpoint, Assyria with its capital at Nineveh had proved to be worthless or contemptible. This is on account of the ruthlessness of the Assyrians in their treatment of his people. Therefore, YHWH would make a grave for Assyria, permitting Nineveh to fall and Assyria to come to its end. In the Septuagint, the two concluding words in this verse are hóti tacheis. If these words are translated “that quickly” or “that without delay” with reference to what God would do, the meaning would be that he would act swiftly in making the grave because the end for Nineveh and Assyria was at hand. (1:14)

The introductory “look” draws attention to a new development. Upon the mountains a messenger is depicted as arriving. From those looking up from below, the messenger’s rapidly moving feet would be in their closest field of vision. His feet are the bearers of good news and a message of peace, for the announcement regarding the fall of Nineveh meant that no more would Assyria pose a threat to the kingdom of Judah. Assyrian invasions had interrupted the observance of festivals and the payment of vows at the temple in Jerusalem. Free from any possibility of Assyrian aggression, the people could observe their festivals and pay their vows. (1:15 [2:1])

A literal reading of the concluding portion of the Hebrew text in this verse may be literally translated, “for he will not add again a worthless one to pass through; all of him will be cut off.” This indicates that YHWH would not allow any worthless one as part of an invading force to pass through the land of his people. All of him, or he in his entirety, would be cut off or would perish. In the Septuagint, the words may be rendered, “for by no means will they add any longer to pass through you to [your] growing old. He is finished; he is removed.” No invader would pass through the land clear to the time that the land could be viewed as having reached very advanced age. This is because Assyria would have come to a finish and would have been removed as a power with which the people of the kingdom of Judah had to reckon. (1:15 [2:1]; see the Notes section.)

Notes

Verses 2 through 8 in the Hebrew text are written like an acrostic poem, starting with the letter aleph (A) in verse 2 and ending with the letter kaph (K) in verse 8. A number of the initial letters of the alphabet with which ten poetic lines start are at the beginning of the verse divisions in translations (aleph [A], 1:2; gimel [G], 1:4; he [H], 1:5; teth [T], 1:7; ), but others appear elsewhere (beth [B], middle of verse 3 [the preposition preceding the word rendered “whirlwind”]; waw [W], the conjunction “and” before the word translated “upheaved” in verse 5; zayin [Z], the initial letter of the second noun in verse 6; heth [H (ch)], the initial letter of the word rendered “wrath” [in the middle of verse 6]; yod [Y] the initial letter of the word for “knowing” that follows the conjunction “and” in the last part of verse 7; kaph [K], the initial letter of the third major word in verse 8)]. The letter daleth [D] is missing.

In verse 10, the Septuagint rendering departs significantly from the reading of the extant Hebrew text. The Septuagint starts with the words, “For to their foundation, he will be made barren.” This suggests that the enemy, the Assyrians, would be destroyed like a building that is leveled to its foundation or to the ground. There is no mention of tangled thorns or thorny plants, but the enemy is referred to as being consumed like a twisted “yew” (an evergreen tree or shrub) and like fully dried “stubble.”

In verse 15 (2:1), the rendering “by no means” preserves the emphatic sense of the two words for “not” found in the Septuagint.