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 affords support to this opinion, which is supposed to be further confirmed by the language of eh. i. 11, 12, which, it is said, a.Hudes to the invasion of J udma by the Assyrians ; and that of eh. ii. 13, w.hich, it is affirmed, hints at the mission ·of Rabshakeh (Isa.. x.xxvi.). It must be allowed the.t the allusions are most obsca.re if regarded a.s con- cerned with those facts (see the Exposition, in loc.). One thing is certain, viz. that Nahum prophesied aftar the deportation of the ten tribes. The words of eh. ii. 2 (" The Lord bath turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel," etc.) can refer to nothing else than that event. Another point is that there are many passages in Na.hum and Isaiah which ,are so similar that one prophet must have copied from the other; bat which was the original, which the borrower, cannot be settled by a. mere comparison of the writings. But all surmises as to the prophet's date have been set at rest of late years by certain discoveries in the Assyrian inscrip- tions (see Schrader, p. 450, etc.). In eh. iii. 8 our prophet speaks of the capture and destruction of No-Amon, and the deportation of its inhabitants, as a recent and well-remembered event. No is Thebes, in Upper Egypt, called by th_e Greeks Diospolis, the capital of that pa.rt of the kingdom ; and we now· learn from the cuneiform records that AsSllrba.nipal, the son and successor of Esarhaddon, took that city in bis second expedition against Urdamani, or Rud-Amon, the successor of Tirhaka.h, and carried the inha- bitants away. This invasion took place soon after the death of Tirhakah, which occurred B.C. 664. So we may reckon the date of Nahum's prophecy to he.ve been within ten years of the fall of Thebes, during the reign of Manasseh. whose name was suppressed in the title of the book, owing to that king's evil reputation. As an instance of destructive criticism, we may note that Hitzig and others, knowing no corroborative evidence concerning the capture of No, at once conoluded that the passage in Nahum which asserted this fact was an interpolation deserving of no credit. The inscriptions have happily proved the veracity of the prophet, and the rashness of his critics.
§ IV. GBNEIUL CHARACTER. Among the minor prophets Na.hum holds the highest place. His prophecy is a poem, stately, orderly, and impressive, all the parts of which are well arranged and mutually conducive to the unity of the whole. It is eminently tuneful and rhythmical, the words "re-echoing to the sense," and hurrying the hearer away with the speaker in complete sympathy. The style is full of force, the colouring brilliant, the picturing lifelike. The majestic opening, in which are described the attributes of God, his mercy and justice, is equalled by the vivid representation of tho sac:k aud NAHUM. b Yi INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF NAHUM.
ruin of Nineveh, which he paints as if passing before his own eyes. The language is pure and classical, with a certain originality in words and forms which separates it from other writings. It is true that here and there may be found remembrances of Joel and Isaiah; but these expres- sions may be derived from sources common to all the prophets, and from which, unconsciously as it may be, they drew some materials. And this incidental indebtedness does not diminish the character of originality in treatment and execution which is claimed for Nahum's work. •The variety of illustration, the force of imagery, the elegance of diotion, the clearne88 of style, in spite of rapidity of transition, give a unique character to this poem, and differentiate it from all others in the collection. There e.re no Messianic references ; nor is there room for any lengthened array of moral and religious ideas; but these are entwined in forcible, if concise, terms. God's existence, justice, and providence are everywhere asserted, witnessed to by the past, expected in the future ; and from the coming judgment is drawn & lesson of comfort for the chosen people.
§ V. LITEBATtTBB, The special co=entaries on Nahum are chiefly these: Bibliander (Zurich, 1534); Pcritus (Coimbre, 1582, etc.); Gesner, • Explicatio' (Wittemberg, 1565); .Augustin de Quiros (Seville, 1622); Crocius (Breme, 1620); Ursin, • Hypomnemata' (Francfort. lfi52); Hufenreffer (Stutgard, 1663); Tamovius (Rost., 1623); Van Hoke, •,Explicatio.' (1709); Kalinsky, 'Observationes' (Breslau, 1748); Agrek (Upsal, 1788); Greve (1798); Grimm,' Erklii.rung' (Diisseldorf, 1790); Svanborg (1806); Bodin (Upsal, 1806); Friilin; ' Curie' (Rostocb, 1806); J usti (Leipzig, 1820); Holemann 'Illustratio' (Leipzig, 1842); 0. StmUBS, 'Nahumi de Nino Vaticinium' (Berlin, 1853); also G.. Strauss,' ~ineveh und das Wort Gottes' (Berlin, 1855); Vance Smith, 'The Prophecies relating to Nineveh and the Assyrians' (London, 1857); Breiteneicher, 1 Ninev11h lind Na.hu·m·• (Munich, 1861); Reinke, 'Aelt Version' (Munster, 1867); B. B. Edwards, 'Translation of Nah.,' in Biblioth. Sacra, v. 551.
§ VL ARRANGEMENT IN SECTIONS,
Part L (Ch. i 1-15.) The judgment upon Nineveh decreed by God. § 1. (Ch. i. 1.) The heading of the book.. . . , · § 2. (Ch. i 2-6.) The Divine justice is described, nnd the iinsistibie power of God illustrated by his control of th.e material world. § 3. (Oh. i. 7-11.) But the wrath of God falls not on those who trulit in him j it is reserved for his enemies geoerally. § 4. (Oh. i.12-15.) And especially for Nineveh, which shall be utterly destroyed, while Zion shall rejoice at the joyful news of its ruin, and keep her feasts in safety. Part II. (Ch. ii. 1-13.) The execution of the decree; the destruction of Nineveh. § 1. (Ch. ii 1-8.) Nineveh shall be besieged, because Go~ is about 1? exalt his people by taking vengeance on the enemy, whose defence 1s of no avail. f 2. (Ch. ii. 9-13.) The city is plundered, ~nd lies waste in terrible contrast with its former excellency. Part III. (Ch. iii. 1-19.) The cause of the judgment--the sins of the city, which bring inevitable punishment. § 1, (Ch. iii. 1-7.) The crimes that have brought this fate upon Nineveh. § 2. (Ch. iii. 8-13.) 'l'he ruin can be no more averted than was that of No-Amon. § 0. (Oh. iii. 14-19.) In spite of all its efforts and all its rc~ources, it will meet 11·ith a terrible end. THE BOOK OF NAHUM.