PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Nahum
William J. Deane [1853-1943] · 49,070 words · 56 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Nahum — Section 1
THE PULPIT COMMENTARY, EDITED BY THE VERY REV. H. D. M.• SPENCE, D.D., DEAN OF GLOUCESTER; AND BY THE REV. JOSEPH S. EXELL, M.A. WITH INTRODUCTIONS BY THE VERY REV. F. W. FARRAR, D.D., F.R.S., DEAN OF CANTERlL'RY. RIGHT REV. H. COTTERILL, D.D., F.R.S.E. VERY REV. PRINCIPAL J. TULLOCH, D.D. REV. CANON G. RA…
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§ II. AUTHOR, Of the Prophet Nahum nothing definite is known but what he himself says. His name, which means "Comforter," does not occur elsewhere in the Bible, but is found, according to Gesenius (' Mon. Phren.,' pp. 134, 137), in Phronician inscriptions, and under the form Na.ovµ.o-. in one of Breckh's Greek inscrip…
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encoaro.gement to Judah from the central part of hie prophecy, to which all the denunciations of the enemy converge. A majority of critics have con- Ridered him to have prophesied during the reign of Hezekiah, and to have been a contemporary of Mice.h and lse.iah. The place assigned to his work in the Hebrew canon …
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EXPOSITION. his irresistwle pou,er by thfl 0011Uol which hs CHAPTER I. exercises Oller the material world. Vera. 1-15.-Part I. THE JuoGMENT Ver. 2.-God is jealous, and the Lord UPON NINEVEH DECREED BY Goo. revengeth ; better, JehmJah i-i a jealous and avenging God, as Exod. xx. 5; l.Jeut. iv. 24 • Ver. 1.-§ 1. The…
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in,,nd I\B the olouds look tons, thevl\re to God Nineveh by declaring that the wrath of God hut I\B th<> dust rl\iserl. by the feet ·in wl\lking. falh Mt on thoBe ,0l10 trust in him, but is As an illustrl\tion of this statement(though, of cour•e, the fact was utterly unknown to reserved for his enemi6B. Kahum), it hl\…
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there shall be no repetition of Senno.oherib's sion used to introduce n. solemn dcclarn.tion, inv11Bion. Beptungint, Ob,c /,ca,,cf,cr.. 6b Though they (the Assyria.us) be quiet. ,,,.,,.. 0 au.-b lv 611.l,i, .. : Non vindicabit biB in Shalem has this meaning elsewhere, as i,lipBUm (Jerome). From thie text the Gen. x…
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nal ions (2 Kings xix. 18). Bonomi (' Nineveh 13 ; so here vere. 14 and 15). The prophet and ih! PalAces,' p. 163) gives e. }:>ioture of announces the joy with which ,Tndo.h re- l!Oldiere cutting up the imttge of some foreign ceives the news of the overthrow of Nineveh. deity, and carrying away the pieces. So Behold up…
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Lord God will do nothing but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets " (Amos iii. 7). Compare the eumples of Abraham (Gen. xviii. 17), Moses (Numb. xii. G), Samuel (l So.m. iii.11), Elijah ~l Kings xviii. 36), Jeremiah (xi. 18), Daniel (ii. 19), etc. The detu.ils given in Nahum s prophecy concerning Nine…
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~be bad deceh·ed an<l destroyed the nations, Spia, Phamfoie., Philistia, I~fa·cl, ati'.d oven Egypt. 2. The burden. This, which refers to Nahum's oracle conl.-erning Nineveh 1 appropriately <le~cribes: (1) Its mo'metJ.tous character. A burden on tho prophet's soul until it was uttered, it forthwith became a weight o…
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ix. 8; xxxviii. 8, 11; Pe. xxix. 3; ]xv. 7; lxxiv. 15; Isa. xliv. 27; Ii. 10). Not the frc~hest o.nrl most vigorous, of which Basban, Carmel, and Lebanon are cited as examples -these languish and fade, their beauty decaying and their fruitfulness departing when he directs against them the fury of his wrathful power (ve…
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~ucrour the soul need~ in its day of trouble is found in God, and found completely-for the soul's guilt, pardon (Isa. i. 16; xliii. 26); for its pollution, cleansing (Ezek, :xxxvi. 25); for its :mxiety, peace (Isa.. xni. 3; Matt. xi. 28); for its weakness, strength (Isa. xk. 24); for its darkuss, light (Ps. cxnii. 27; …
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or punishment. "The wages of sin is death," just as certainly as "the fruit of holi- ncBR" is "everlasting life" (Rom. vi. 21-23). Ill. A JUST BETRIDUTI0N. 'fo be pursued by or into darkness is a fitting l0t for those who in their lifetime have loved the darkness rather than the light. 1. The l,,w of moral retribution…
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(Phil. iii. 19; 1 These. i. 9). 2. Oompleoo. Of Nineveh Jehovah w11e to make "R fnll enn," so that no second e.fll.iction should be required to destroy them (Calvin, Hitzig), or should be e.ble to proceed from them (Keil, Fausset)e.ge.inst Judah (ver. 9); the Assyrie.ns were to be" destroyed utterly as dry stubble" (ve…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 1.-The messenger of j'udgment. Notice here- I. THE MESSENGER: ms PERSONALITY. "Nahum the Elkoshite." 1. His name. "Nahum," signifying "Comolation ;" and whilst this scarcely a.ccords with the character of his mission as the proclaimer of Divine judgments, yet, interspersed with the h…
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furnish his credentials. And we have his authority expressed in the word~," the vision of Ne.hum." A Divine insight had been imparted unto him; there ht\d been given him "visions and revellltions of the Lord," and of his terrible doings about to be wrought. Such Rpprehension of spiritual realities is absolutely essenti…
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consider has boen done to ue; whereas the same word as applied to God carrie~ wit!, it no such idea of vindictiveness, but simply a pure desire that the cause of justice and rectitude may be eotabliehed and secure complete vindication. Since this brief book of propliecy hue almost exclusive reference to the Divine judg…
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~poken unto us, and that the truth which heathen worshippers did not know baa been so clearly revealed to us in the bright assurance, "The Lord is good." "'l'ho Lord is good." Nature, with her ten thousand voices, bears emphatic te~timony here. Benevo- lence nrnrks all the operations of the Creator's hands. All his wor…
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II. A DEEP INWARD NEED ARISING OUT OJI' THl8 EXPERIENCE. It is implied hem that man circumstanced thus needs help. He knows not how to bear the ills of life unaided 11nd alone. He who has to face the pitiless storm needs to be robed to resist the stress of adverse weather, and he who has to confront the foe requires…
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unto him; th11.t he not o~ly bears them up in his arms with an almighty strength, but bears them aho upon l11s heart with the most tender affection? 2. &e this truth taught in prophecy._ It is _therei~ declared that t~ere is nothing so impossible ae that God sboul<l forget his trustrng children. "Zion said, The Lord…
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which unhappily prev11ils in every age. Concerning this opposition to the Most High and his rule, note-- I. .A.NTAGONIBM TO Gon HAB ITR ORIGIN IN A DEPRAVED HEART. Evil thoughts and vain imaginings, self-sufficiency and self-conceit, revellings and drunkenness, all betoken an evil heart, 11nd these are here associated…
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Vera. 1, 2.-Great sins bringing gre.at roin. "The burden of Nineveh, The book of the vision <if N ahom the Elkoshite. God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth, and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies." But little is known, of Nahum, wh…
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it is the anger of principle, not paesion-the anger of love, not malevolence. It is indeed but another form of love : love opposing and crushing whatever is repugnant to the virtue and the happiness of the universe. CoNOLUBION. Bew11re of sin. Ruin must follow it. "Be sure your sins will find you out."-D. T. Ver. 3.-…
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dry, and drietl1 up nll the ri"rers," etc. Here is a ·description of God's powor unrivalled in its suhlimit~ anrl ~nul-Btirring force. "Power belongeth unto God." It is absolute, inexhaustihlc, en,r nnd everywhere operative. "He fainteth not, neither is ,weary." His J"\OWC'r is lwrr presented in two aspects. I. As …
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I. Two OPPOSITE TYPES OF HUMAN CIIARAOTER. 1. Here we have the frienrls of God. There iH hero e. twofold description of them. (1) "They trust in him." This i8 the universe.I cha.meter of the good in a.II ages. Instead of placing their chief confidence in the ever-changing creature, they centre it in the immutable Creat…
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indeed oan be " (Rom. viii. 7). It involves: 1. The b&.sest ,:,,,,g,'lltttude; for to him we 0we everything. 2. The greatest vnjustice; for he hM eupreme cla.ima to our devotion and ob<>dience. 8. Impious p'f'68TJ,mptwn, Fra.il worma raising their heads against the Infinite! • II. THE BEAT OF BIN IS BUGGES'l'ED: IT…
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to honour the king ; but such a king as this Sennacherib, who can honour ? A king, to be honoured, must be honourworthy; he must be just, ruling in the fear of the Lord. II. OonRUPT KINGB OFTEN RUIN TBEm KINGDOMS. " Though they be quiet and like- wise mnny, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he Rhall paes throug…
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" It's ooming yet for a' that, That man to man the we.rid o'er Shall brithers be for a' that." D.T. Ver. 15.-~ree things worthy qf note. "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! 0 Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vow~: for the wicked shall no more pas…
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EXPOSIT.ION. OHAJ;'TER Il. the high privileges of the spiritual Isre.el, the chosen people of God (comp. Obad. 18). Vere. 1-13.-Part II. THE EXECUTION l!'or. AsehDl' is visited because Judah hns OF THE DECREE; THE DESTRUCTION OF NI• had its full measure of punishment. The NEVER DESCRIBED. emptiere have emptied them …
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~eptnl\gint. mistRking the word, lµ'lr«l(av'l"o.r intoitioated. "Sensus 11tiq110 non sper- ,,, =pl, "sporting in fire;" Vulgate, in neudus," says e. Boman Catholic commen- oo~dnei1, It is derived from the term tator, "at Unum deeidero, ut scil. ox verbo AppliPd to thP eor-cm, or worm whfoh was ipso fluat "-which ie …
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the besieged, 'ET011icl11011111 -r,h wpot/>111'.a.Hlli, e. solid ma.ea, ancl were thlll! secured from the ail-r&lv, "'l'hey shall prepare their defences/' effects of an inundation (see Bonomi Vet, 6.-All defence is vain. The prophet 'Nineveh and ita Discoveries,' p. 129, etc.)'. deeoribes the Inst ecene. The gates o…
1,013 wordsSECTION 31The Pulpit Commentary — Nahum — Section 31
in their hearts." Tabering; beating on a the suddon destruction that camo llpon te.bret. (For smiting the breast in token of Nineveh by fire a.nd sword .... It is evideni sorrow, comp. Luke xviii. 18; x:r.iii. 48; from the ruins that both Khorsabe.d and Homer, 'II.,' xviii. 31, x,pul Ii~ ,,....,..., ::S.-'16E1& Nimroud…
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chnro.oteristics in tho mind of the prophet. a.re wont to he.ve me.ny wives, to whom they The feeding•plo.oe of the young lion• me.y e.ssign cities in this fe.shion-this city is to menn t.he subject le.nds whence they took provide a girdle for her we.ist, that a neck- their prey. And the old lion ; ro.ther, the lace…
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ernptiers," ,:.e. the Assyriens, "have emptied out" the Israelites, and " marred their ,ine branches." They had done eo by their devastation and depopulation of the northern kingdom (2 Kinge :tvii. 6), and by their repeated inV&Bions of the southern (Isa. x. 5-11; 2 Chron. xxxii. 1). Now the time wM come when they t…
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conquered nations (' Records of the PBllt,' vol. i. 37, etc., 69, etc.). 6. The, oool,ation of tho scene. "Bhe is empty, and void, and WBSte" (ver. 10)---the effect of this description being heightened in Hebrew by the combination of three synonymous and similarly aoundi11g words, buqdh wmebhuq(),h 'IJITTlebuU(),g_dh. …
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.fi.g11mtive rep1·ese11tafions are sustained by historical fact. The more familiar we hecome with Assyrian history the more do we trace in that vast heathen power the prevalence of the h1mghty, overbearing spirit. Its rulers and people vainly supposed that national greR.tness consisted in the possession of might to …
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reign of Hezekiah (e.o. 725-696), and Nineveh waA destroyed between e.o. 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 …
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own individu&l peouli&rities and natural qualities, whilst the Divine Spirit operated through those and turned these to the most useful account. Biblical ct.itlos are agreed in recognizing "the classic beauty and the finished elegance" of the·· style of Nahum, and in assigning to this writer a place in the first rau…
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comparison, "And the voice of thy messengers shall no more be beard" (ver. 13); "Debold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth pence I" (eh. i. 15). Messengers, differing very materially in their character and mission, are referrod to in these words. The messengers of Nineveh a…
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, er. 1-<ih. iii. 19.- Wicked nations: 1. They are often allowed to ea:ist cm this e,arth until they reach a terribu degree ef wickedness. "He that dasheth iu pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the WRY, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily," etc. ,ve take these two chapters toget…
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To wag their high tops, and to make no noise When they are fretted w'tth the gusts of heaven; You may as well do anything most hard, As seek to soften that (than which what's harder?)- A oruel heart." 8. Imposture. The city is represented as "full of lies and robbery" (eh. iii. 1), or, ae Keil renders it, " full of…
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Laye.rd in 1845, not only determined its site, but disclosed the dwellings, ornaments, liistory, manners, of the inh1tbitants of the old Assyrian metropolis. Now, in the yiropbecy which Nahum gives, we learn. that its destruction reveals several things. I. THE FiltTITJ,ESS~,ESS OF THE MOST STRl!:NUOUS EFFORTS OF REBIS…
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Ver. 1-ch. iii. 19.-Wicked nations: 3. Providence often employs one wicked nation to inflict ruin upon another. "He that dasbeth," etc. " He that dasbeth in pieces is come up before thy face.'' "The disperser hath come up before thee" (Hender- son); "A dasher in pieces comes against thee" (Keil). Who is "he that dashet…
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EXPOSITION. CHAPTER m which they never kept, t.o induce nations to submit t.o their yoke. Suoh, doubtless, were Vers. 1-19.-Pa.rt Ill. Tim CAUSE OF those of Rabshakeh (Isa. xxxvi. 16). Raw- '1'BB Jt:DGMENT-TIIE SINS OF THE CITY, linson, " Falsehood and treachery . . . are WJDOB BRING 1.NEVTTA.BLE PUNJSlll[l!:h'T. of…
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'Keilinsohr.,' 195, et.o., 216, 283, eto.; comp. Knabenb11ucr r0m11rks, the Assyrians used lea. xxxiii. l). Septuagint, Ob ,j,71Aa.,P116~,,-.,,.a, no meretricious blandishmente to effect their 8~pa, whioh gives " sense contradictory to conquests, but the crnel arts of war and the the text, "Prey shall not be handled…
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8 pubUo exBmple,'' which recalls MRtt. i. rlistl\nce or some forty miles hetwMn Erment 19. Bnrl Qobt.. Here, for the first time since Ver. 7.-Bhall llee from thee. Aseu object quitting the NubiBn desert, does the Nile of disgust, or feBring to be in.volverl in thy enter upon a wide 11.nd ample spa.Ge. On ruin (Rev.…
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"Thero was no limit of the flight." This monuments delineations of rn;itivee with is thought by Jerome to he connected with their e.rms bound together by a rope heir! the previous verses, and to refer to Nineveh. by e. soldier, sometimes men, sometimes Put and Lubim were thy helpers. No-Amon women e.nd children ; the w…
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of nny oity thRI they attaokPd (see Bonomi, terem; the LXX., ito.'ro.1<p,h11,rnv ,\,r~p ..-1dv6ov, • Nineveh and its PnlRcea,' pp. 178, 185, "make them stroug 1thovo (e'luivalent to 192). "It ia incontestable,'' sa.ys Bonomi, 'stronger than') b1•ick," connecting it with in another plnoo, "thRt, during the excava- th…
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hotter suite tho compBriaon in ver. 15, where sometimes to have been or high or priestly " tlie licker" is the enemy; e.nd it ia moat rank. Jerome translates, pM1Juli tui, though natnml that the prophet should allude to in Jeremiah, loc. cit., he retains the Assyrilm the fate of that commercial wealth which he word. 'f…
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the Lord of hosts" (ver. 5). There is a wide difference between God's threateninge nnd man's. II. DEPICTED. (Vers. 2, 3.) 1. The advance of a hostile/Of'06. "The noise of the whip [of charioteers urging on their steeds], and the noise of the rattling of wheels [of war-chariots in motion], and prancing horses [i.e. …
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native forces, those of Egypt and Ethiopia, were prac&ically numberless. (2) Its fol'eign ouxiliaries, Put and Lubim, or the Libyans in the north of Africa. and those. contiguous to Egypt, were reliable. II. TnE DIBABTROUB OVERTHROW. 1. Its unexpected occurrence. "Yet was she carried awoy.'' Notwithstanding her regal …
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build on the only permanent foundation of righteoueneea. 3, The frequenoy with which, in the history of nations, no lees than of private persons, coming events oaet their shadows before. Vers. 14-19.-Thefall of Nineveh. I. PREPARATIONS FOB A BIEGE. (Vcr.14.) In anticipation of the impending attack upon their oa.pita.…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-7.-The guilt and ruin of Nineveh. We have here- I. A MOURNFUL REVELATION OF NATIONAL GUILT AND DEPRAVITY. (Vere. 1, 4.) The Assyria.ns are here charged with: 1. Unrighteo'U8 war. (Ver. 1.) There may be times in a nation's history when war becomes a dire necessity; but all war prom…
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when he decll\red beforehe.nd the ruin or Nineveh. Men, through unbelief, Bre elO\V to &ecept these principles and to acknow\edae the inevitl\b\e msults of their working. They are deoei..-ed by present appearanCIJS. "'They reasou from things as they arc, &nd conclude that, where there is me.terial prosperity, this will…
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fornishetl UB i11 Lhese verses an illustration of hnman effort as directed against tho accomplishment of the purpose of God. S,,metimes this course is ta.ken by men unconsciously, but it w!LB scarcely so in this instance. We know that the Assyrian power in the time of Sennacherib boldly defied the God of heaven, and it…
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and dark-blue clonks, embroidery, brocades, and these conveyed in chests of cedar; her metallurgy was on principles recognized now; iu one practical point of combining beaut~· "·ith strength she has ever been copied" (Pusey on 'Nahum,' p. 394). 2. Vast military resources. (Ver. 17,) "Thy crowned are as the locusts, and…
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IJI, TT OANNOT BF. EXCUSED ON TilE GROUND OF THERE BEING A LACK OF WARl\'n!GR AND EXPOBTULATIONB, IV. IT IB ENTIRELY BELF·OAUBED j THE TRANSGRESSOR BRINGS HIMSELF INTO THIS STATE OF HOPELEBBNEBB j THE BINNER 18 HIB OWN DEBTROYF.R. "Take heed lest ye be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin" (Heb. iii. 12, 13).-S. …
975 wordsSource & rights
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.