The Pulpit Commentary — Nahum — Section 5

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\s been remarked that recent Ver. 7.-The Lord ia good. The Te.rgum sri<>ntific rli~cov<>rY asserts that clouds owe adds unnecessarily," for Israel" (Ps. xxv. 8). their beauty, &nd ·even their very <>Xistence, He is " good," in that he is a strong hold in to the presence of dust-p11.rticles in the ntmo- the day of trouble, e.s in the perilous time sphPrc. The aqueous vapour, it is said, when the Assyrians attacked Judma (comp. condenses on these particles, and thus Ps. xxvii. 1; J er. xvi. 19). He lm.oweth; loves becomes visible. and cares for (Ps. i. 6; xxxvii. 18; comp, Yer. 4.~The great physical changes and 2 Tim. ii. 19; nnd see note on Amos iii. 2). con,-ulsions in the world are tokens of God's Ver. 8.-With a.noverrnnning 11.ood. This wrath on sinful nntions. He rebuketh the may be merely a metaphor to express the see.. as at the passage of the Red Sea (Exod. utter devastation which should overwhelm xi..-. 21; Ps. en. 9). This is a sign of Nineveh, as the invasion of a hostile army omnipotence (comp. Luke viii. 24). All the is often thus depicted (comp. lea, viii. 7; rivers. A !!eneralization from the miracle Dan. xi. 26, 40); or it may be an allusion to e.t the Jordan (Josh. iii.; comp. Ps. cvii. 33; the inundation which aided the oe.pture of Isa. 1. 2). Septuagint, ,ro-raµ.o/Js i{,p71µ.wv, the city (see note on oh. ii. 6). Of the ple.oe "me.king rivers desolate;" Vnlgate,j!wnina thereof; i.e. of Nineveh, not named, but ad desertum deducens. Ba.sha.n (see note on present to the prophet's mind, and under- .Amos iv. 1). Ca.rmel (see on Amos i. 2). stood from the heading (ver. 1). (For the Flower of Leba.non. This district was utter destruction of Nineveh, ,comp. Zeph. famous, not only for its cedars, but also for ii. 13, etc.) The LXX. has, .,-o/J, i,re-y••~ it,; ,·ines and flowers (comp. Hos. xiv. 7; poµ.,vou< (" those the.t rise up"). The Ca.nt. iv. 11). These three regions are men- Chaldee has a similar reading, with the tioned as remarkable for their fertility, and meaning that God would exterminate those they occur most naturally to the mind of a who rise up against him, DarkneBB shall native of Galilee, as was Nahum. They pursue his enemies. So the Septuagint and also geographically are the eastern, western, Vulgate. But it is better rendered, He and northern boundaries of the land. They shall pursue his enemies into darkness, so e.re used here proverbially to express the that they disappear from the ea.rth. If this truth that God can cause th" most luxuriant is the meaning of the cle.use, it resembles re~ions to wither at his word. the termination of many Assyrian iaecrip• Ver. 5. - The m_ounte.ins quake. The tions which reoor<l the defeat of a hostile mountains, the very emblems of stability, chieftain : "and no one has seen e.ny trace tremble before him (Amos viii. 8). The of him sinoe." hill& melt; 01 ,Bovv1>l eua>..,6871rrav, "The hilli Ver. 9.-The prophet suddenly addresses were •haken " (Septuagint). The hills dis- , both Jews e.nd Assyrians, encouraging the solve like wax or snow at his presence (see former by the thought that God 01m perform Amos iv. 13; Micah i. 4). :Burned; Sep· what he pl'Omises, and warning the latter tuag-int, iz.11EtrTd.>...1J, "recoils," ''is upheaved," that their boasting ( comp. Isa. x. 9, etc.; e.s by an ee.rthqnake. This rendering has xxxvi. 20) was vain. What do ye imagine the greatest authority. The world; i.e. the again.st the Lord t Quid cogitatis contra habitable world, and all living creatures lJcmiinumf (Vulgate). This rendering re- therein (Joel i. 18-20). Nature animate gards the question as addressed to the and inanimate is represented as actuated by .Assvrians, demo.nding of them what it is the terror of conscious guilt. that they dare to plot against God ; do they Ver. 6.-Who can stand! (Ps. Ix.xvi. 7; presume to fight against him, or to fe.noy Joel ii 11; MaL iii. 2; comp. Rev. vi. 17). that his threats will not be accomplished? :Hi& fllry is poured out like fire (Dent. iv. 24) ; But the sentence is best translated, What like the brimstone and fue that destroyed think ye of the Lord 'I Tt >o.uyl(,rre, l,rl .,-b11 Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. xix. 24), or K6p,011; "Whe.t devise ye against the Lord?" like the molten lava that issues from e. (Septuagint). This is addressed not only voice.no (Jer. vii. 20). Septuagin.t (reading to the Jews in the sense, "Do ye think that differently), o 8uµ.os av.-ov -rfi,w o.px&s: con- he will not e.coomplish his threat against sumit prineipatus (Jerome). Are thrown Nineveh?'' but to the Assyrians also. He down; rather, are rent a,;under (comp. 1 will make an utter end. This denunoie.tion Rings xix. 11; Jer. xxiii. 29). If such is the is repeated from ver. 8 to denote the e.bsolute power of God, how shall A•syria resist it? certainty of the doom. Affljction shall not rise up the second time. 'l'he Aseyriaus Vere. 7-11.-§ 3. The prophet prepare, ~hall never again have the power of oppress- fJ.e way for proclaiming the punishment of ing Judah as they have ruined Israel;  OJI, I, 1-16.] THE BOOK OF NAHUM. 8