PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible — Nahum
Gill, John, 1697-1771 · 19,243 words · 40 reading sections
Nahum 1:1
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible. Nahum 1:1 INTRODUCTION TO NAHUM This book is called, in the Vulgate Latin version, "the Prophecy of Nahum"; and in the Syriac and Arabic versions, "the Prophecy of the Prophet Nahum"; and in Na 1:1; it is called "the Book of the Vision of Nahum"; which is very singular; an…
1,486 wordsSECTION 2Nahum 1:2
Nahum 1:2 Ver. 2. God [is] jealous, and the Lord revengeth,.... He is jealous of his own honour and glory, and for his own worship and ordinances; and will not give his glory to another, nor his praise to graven images; and therefore will punish all idolaters, and particularly the idolatrous Assyrians: he is jealous f…
322 wordsSECTION 3Nahum 1:3
Nahum 1:3 Ver. 3. The Lord [is] slow to anger,.... He is not in haste to execute it; he takes time for it, and gives men space for repentance. Nineveh had had a proof of this when it repented at the preaching of Jonah, upon which the Lord deferred the execution of his wrath; but lest they should presume upon this, and…
345 wordsSECTION 4Nahum 1:4
Nahum 1:4 Ver. 4. He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry,.... As he did the Red sea, when the children of Israel passed through it as on dry land; which shows his power and sovereignty over it; that it is at his command, as a servant at his master's; and since the wind and sea obey him, what is it he cannot do? see Is…
300 wordsSECTION 5Nahum 1:5
Nahum 1:5 Ver. 5. The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt,.... As Sinai of old did, when the Lord descended on it, Ex 19:18. Mountains figuratively signify kings and princes; and hills large countries, as Jarchi and Abarbinel observe, and the inhabitants of them; particularly the kingdoms and nations belonging …
216 wordsSECTION 6Nahum 1:6
Nahum 1:6 Ver. 6. Who can stand before his indignation?.... No creature whatever; no man nor body of men; not Nineveh, and the inhabitants of it; nor the whole Assyrian empire: and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? not the great men of the earth; not kings or generals of armies; not kingdoms and nations, …
175 wordsSECTION 7Nahum 1:7
Nahum 1:7 Ver. 7. The Lord [is] good,.... To Israel, as the Targum adds; to Hezekiah and his, people, that betook themselves to him, and put their trust in him; whom he defended and preserved from the king of Assyria, to whom he was dreadful and terrible, destroying his army in one night by an angel; and so delivered …
598 wordsSECTION 8Nahum 1:8
Nahum 1:8 Ver. 8. But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof,.... Of Nineveh, against whom this prophecy was, and upon whom it lay as a burden, Na 1:1; and now though the Lord was good to them that trust in him, and a strong hold to them in a time of trouble; yet he was determined to …
634 wordsSECTION 9Nahum 1:9
Nahum 1:9 Ver. 9. What do ye imagine against the Lord?.... O ye Ninevites or Assyrians; do you think you can frustrate the designs of the Lord, resist his power, and hinder him from executing what he has threatened and has determined to do? or what mischief is it you devise against his people, which is the same as aga…
377 wordsSECTION 10Nahum 1:10
Nahum 1:10 Ver. 10. For while [they be] folden together [as] thorns,.... Like them, useless and unprofitable, harmful and pernicious, fit only for burning, and, being bundled together, are prepared for it; and which is not only expressive of the bad qualities of the Ninevites, and of the danger they were in, and what …
247 wordsSECTION 11Nahum 1:11
Nahum 1:11 Ver. 11. There is [one] come out of thee,.... That is, out of Nineveh, as the Targum explains it; meaning Sennacherib, who had his royal seat and palace there; or Rabshakeh that was sent from hence by him with a railing and blaspheming letter to the king of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. This is s…
221 wordsSECTION 12Nahum 1:12
Nahum 1:12 Ver. 12. Thus saith the Lord, though [they be] quiet, and likewise many,.... The Assyrian army under Sennacherib before Jerusalem, though they were quiet and secure and thought themselves out of all danger; not at all fearing that the besieged would sally out against them they being so numerous, and therefo…
594 wordsSECTION 13Nahum 1:13
Nahum 1:13 Ver. 13. For now will I break his yoke from off thee,.... The Assyrian yoke from off the Jews, who had been obliged to pay tribute, or send presents to the king of Assyria, from the times of Ahaz; and were in bondage, while shut up and besieged by his army, and the country all around laid under contribution…
123 wordsSECTION 14Nahum 1:14
Nahum 1:14 Ver. 14. And the Lord hath given a commandment concerning thee,.... This is directed to Sennacherib king of Assyria, as the Targum expresses it; and so Jarchi and Kimchi; and signifies the decree of God concerning him, what he had determined to do with him, and how things would be ordered in Providence towa…
1,473 wordsSECTION 15Nahum 2:1
Nahum 2:1 INTRODUCTION TO NAHUM 2 This chapter gives an account of the destruction of the city of Nineveh; describes the instruments of it as very terrible and powerful, and not to be resisted, Na 2:1. The manner of taking it, the flight of its inhabitants, and the spoil of its riches and treasures, Na 2:5 and the ki…
421 wordsSECTION 16Nahum 2:2
Nahum 2:2 Ver. 2. For the Lord hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel,.... Or, "will render" a recompence for, or "revenge the pride of Jacob" {e}; all that insolence, and those injuries done in a proud and haughty manner by Sennacherib king of Assyria to the two tribes of Judah and Benj…
310 wordsSECTION 17Nahum 2:3
Nahum 2:3 Ver. 3. The shield of his mighty men is made red,.... The shields of the soldiers in the armies of the Babylonians and Medes, those dashers in pieces that would come up against Nineveh, should be red; either with the blood of the slain, or thus coloured on purpose to inject terror to their enemies; or this m…
435 wordsSECTION 18Nahum 2:4
Nahum 2:4 Ver. 4. The chariots shall rage in the streets,.... In the streets of Nineveh when taken; where they shall be drove in a furious manner from place to place, the men in them breathing out slaughter and death wherever they came. Kimchi understands this of the chariots of the Ninevites; who shall drive about in…
234 wordsSECTION 19Nahum 2:5
Nahum 2:5 Ver. 5. He shall recount his worthies,.... Either the dasher in pieces, Na 2:1, the kings of Babylon and Media, shall call together their general officers, and muster the forces under then, and put them in mind of their duty, and recount the actions of their ancestors in former times, in order to animate and…
290 wordsSECTION 20Nahum 2:6
Nahum 2:6 Ver. 6. The gates of the rivers shall be opened,.... Of Diava and Adiava, or Lycus and Caprus, between which, according to some writers {i}, Nineveh was situated; or the gates of the city, which lay nearest to the river Tigris, are meant; or that river itself, the plural for the singular, which overflowing, …
157 wordsSECTION 21Nahum 2:7
Nahum 2:7 Ver. 7. And Huzzab shall be led away captive,.... The Targum translates it the queen; and Jarchi and Aben Ezra, after R. Samuel, take it to be the name of the queen of Assyria; so called, as every queen might, from her standing at the king's right hand, Ps 45:9 who, when the royal palace was destroyed, was t…
338 wordsSECTION 22Nahum 2:8
Nahum 2:8 Ver. 8. But Nineveh [is] of old like a pool of water,.... This was a very ancient city, built by Nimrod, as some say; or rather by Ashur, as appears from Ge 10:10 and it was like fish pool, full of people, as it was in the times of Jonah, who for their number may be compared both to water and to fish; and li…
337 wordsSECTION 23Nahum 2:9
Nahum 2:9 Ver. 9. Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold,.... Of which there was a great quantity in this rich and populous city: these are the words of the prophet, or of the Lord by the prophet, to the Medes and Chaldeans, to seize the spoil of the city, now fallen into their hands; suggesting that this…
365 wordsSECTION 24Nahum 2:10
Nahum 2:10 Ver. 10. She is empty, and void, and waste,.... The city of Nineveh, empty of inhabitants, being killed, or having fled; and stripped of all its treasures and riches by the enemies; its walls and houses demolished and pulled down, and laid in ruins, and become a heap of rubbish; See Gill on "Na 1:8". Variou…
225 wordsSECTION 25Nahum 2:11
Nahum 2:11 Ver. 11. Where [is] the dwelling of the lions?.... Of the kings of Assyria, comparable to lions for their strength, courage, and cruelty, tyranny, and oppression; such as Pul, Tiglathpileser, Shalmaneser, and Sennacherib. So the Targum, "where are the habitations of kings?'' these are the words, either of…
306 wordsSECTION 26Nahum 2:12
Nahum 2:12 Ver. 12. The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps,.... The metaphor is still continued; and the kings of Assyria are compared to lions that hunt for their prey, and, having found it, tear it in pieces, and carry home a sufficiency for their whelps. It is a notion that is advanced by some writers, a…
360 wordsSECTION 27Nahum 2:13
Nahum 2:13 Ver. 13. Behold, I [am] against thee, saith the Lord of hosts,.... Against Nineveh, and the whole Assyrian empire, for such rapine, violence, and oppression, their kings had been guilty of; and if he, who is the Lord of hosts, of all the armies of heaven and earth, was against them, nothing but ruin must in…
481 wordsSECTION 28Nahum 3:1
Nahum 3:1 INTRODUCTION TO NAHUM 3 In this chapter is contained the prophecy of the destruction of Nineveh, and with it the whole Assyrian empire; the causes of which, besides those before mentioned, were the murders, lies, and robberies it was full of, Na 3:1 for which it should be swiftly and cruelly destroyed, Na 3…
444 wordsSECTION 29Nahum 3:2
Nahum 3:2 Ver. 2. The noise of a whip,.... Of a horseman or chariot driver whipping his horses to make speed to Nineveh, and enter into it, so near as to be heard by the inhabitants of it; and is thus represented in order to strike terror into them: and the noise of the rattling of the wheels; that is, of the chariot…
151 wordsSECTION 30Nahum 3:3
Nahum 3:3 Ver. 3. The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear,.... Or, "the flame of the sword and the glittering spear" {w}; he rides with a drawn sword, which, being brandished to and fro, looks like a flame of fire; or with a spear made of polished iron, or steel, which, when vibrated and…
195 wordsSECTION 31Nahum 3:4
Nahum 3:4 Ver. 4. Because of the multitudes of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot,.... Meaning Nineveh; which, as it was an ancient city, was a well built one; full of stately and beautiful buildings, the seat of the kings of Assyria, and the metropolis of the nation, and abounded with wealth and riches; perhaps…
724 wordsSECTION 32Nahum 3:5
Nahum 3:5 Ver. 5. Behold, I [am] against thee, saith the Lord of hosts,.... Because her doings were against him; See Gill on "Na 2:13": and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face; turn up the skirts of her garments over her head, and thereby discover what should be concealed, than which nothing is more disagreeable…
172 wordsSECTION 33Nahum 3:6
Nahum 3:6 Ver. 6. And I will cast abominable filth upon thee,.... As dirt and dung, or any or everything that is abominable and filthy; and which is thrown at harlots publicly disgraced, and as used to be at persons when carted. The meaning is, that this city and its inhabitants should be stripped of everything that w…
223 wordsSECTION 34Nahum 3:7
Nahum 3:7 Ver. 7. And it shall come to pass, [that] all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee,.... As something loathsome and abominable, not fit to be come near unto, or touched; and as astonished and amazed at an object so forlorn and miserable, and lest they should partake of the same punishment: and say, …
183 wordsSECTION 35Nahum 3:8
Nahum 3:8 Ver. 8. Art thou better than populous No,.... Or No Amon, a city in Egypt so called, not because the kings of Egypt were nursed and brought up there, as Jarchi and Abarbinel; see Pr 8:30 but from Ham the son of Noah, whose land Egypt was; or from Jupiter Ammon, worshipped there. No Amon signifies the mansion…
1,648 wordsSECTION 36Nahum 3:9
Nahum 3:9 Ver. 9. Ethiopia and Egypt [were] her strength,.... That is, the strength, support, protection, and defence of No, whether Alexandria, or Thebes, or Memphis: Egypt was, for these cities were in it, and subject to it; or, if this was a free city, as some think, yet in alliance with Egypt, and under its protec…
366 wordsSECTION 37Nahum 3:10
Nahum 3:10 Ver. 10. Yet [was] she carried away, she went into captivity,.... Not by Nebuchadnezzar; though this city was afterwards taken, and its inhabitants carried captive, by that monarch, as was foretold, Jer 46:25 but the prophet here does not predict an event to be accomplished, and instance in that, and argue …
392 wordsSECTION 38Nahum 3:11
Nahum 3:11 Ver. 11. Thou also shalt be drunken,.... This is said to Nineveh, whose turn would be next to drink of the cup of the wrath of God, and be inebriated with it, so that they should not know where they were, or what they did; and be as unable to guide and help themselves as a drunken man. So the Targum, "thou…
268 wordsSECTION 39Nahum 3:12
Nahum 3:12 Ver. 12. All thy strong holds [shall be like] fig trees with the first ripe figs,.... Upon them, or like them: "and the first ripe figs"; which are easily shook and gathered; and so easily should the fortresses and towers of Nineveh, in which they trusted for safety, be taken by the enemy, not only one, but…
157 wordsSECTION 40Nahum 3:13
Nahum 3:13 Ver. 13. Behold, thy people in the midst of thee [are] women,.... Or like women, weak and feeble, fearful and timorous; frightened at the first approach of the enemy; run away, and run up and down in the utmost consternation and distress, having neither skill nor courage to oppose them; some regard may be h…
2,950 wordsSource & rights
Public domain; John Gill (1697–1771). Source item is marked Public Domain on Internet Archive.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.