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, that again to dress her hair; and 80 lioness. The lion is de~ignnted hy different they he.ve whole nations, not only privy to nnmes, which mo.y, perhaps, refer to the their lusts, but also abettors of them" (see vnrious so.tre.pse.nd chieftains of the Assyrian Arnold's note on Thucydides, i. 138 ; comp. kiugdom. There are the full-grown male 2 Me.cc. iv. 30). lion, the lioness, tho young lion able to seek Ver.13.-1 e.m against thee. The destruc- its own food, o.nd the whelp too young to tion shall be surely accomplished, because find its owu living. Instee.dof" the lioneee," God himself directs it. Liternlly, I u, thee the LXX., Vulgate, and Syriao, reading (eh. iii. 5; Jer. Ii. 25; Ezek. xxxviii. 3). differently, give, ToiJ,la-,M,iv, ut ingrederetur, The Lord of hosts (aabaoth), Lord of the "that the lion's whe1p should enter there." forces of heaven e.nd earth, e.nd therefore And none made them afraid. They lived omnipote11t. Kop,o• 1raVTo,cpd,n.,p (Septua- in perfect security, without fear or co.re, gint). I will bum her chariots in the irresistible in might (Lev. x.xvi. 6; Micah emok11. "Chariots" stand for the whole iv. 4; Zeph, iii. 13). apparatus of war and military power. Sep- Ver. 12.-Tho figure of the lion is con- tuagint for" chariots" gives ,r,\ij9o<," multi- tinued, and this verse, in loose apposition to tudes." Thy young lions. Thy fighting men, the preceding, may be best explained by the metaphor being continued. Cut oft' thy <'Ontinning the interrogation in thought- prey. Thou she.It no more be able to pillage Where is now the lion that used to tear in other countries. Thy messengers. These pieces, etc.? The lion did tear in pieces are the heralds who carried the king's com- enough for his whelps. The Assyrian mands to his lieutenants, or those, like the monarch provided for his children and de- imperions Rabsbakeh (2 Kings xviii. 17, etc.; penden ts by plundering other nations. Ria xix. 23), who summoned nations to sur- lioneeees may mean his wives and concu- render, and imposed tributes. " 0 Nineveh," bines. It we.a the custom both with the writes St. Jerome, "thou shalt suffer e.ll Persie.ns e.nd Assyrie.ns to e.ssign towns e.nd that has been spoken. I the Lord will burn provinces to their favourites. Xenophon to ashes thy oho.riots, and will cause thy (' Anab.,' i. 4. 10) mentions certain ville.ges nobles and satraps to be devoured by the ns set ape.rt for the girdle of Qneen Pe.ry- sword; never again shalt thou lay countries satis.' A Lapi\le quotes Cicero, 'Verr.,' ii. we.ate, nor exact tribute, nor will thy 3. 33, "They' say the.t the barba.rian kings emisse.ries' voice be heard throughout thy of the Persie.ns and Syrians [ i.e: A.e·syrians] provinces."
HOMILETICS. Vere. 1.:......1O,-.d predicted invasion. I. THE ENEMY DESCRIBED. 1. His v,:nlence. Nahum calls him "a.dasher in pieces" (ver.1), and represents his warriors as "m1~1, ty" e.nd "valiant" (ver, 3)--epithets which apply with fitness and force to the Medo- Be.bylonian army under Cyaxares and Nabopolassar. 2. Bis boldness. He comes up against Nineveh, not stealthily and under cover of darkness, but openly, pitching his tent opposite the city gates. His fearless attitude was a proof that God was secretly impelling him, using him against Assyria. as formerly Assyria had been used against other nations. 3. His invincibility. Nineveh may" keep the munition, watch the way, make her loins strong, fortify her power mightily,"-all will be in vain. The onset of this terrible assailant will be practically resistless. Whether irony (Fausset) or poetry (Keil), the meaning is the same, that Nineveh's utmost-exertions will not be able to ward off her ruin. 4. His fierceness. With crimson-coated soldiers, bea.ring red-coloured shields and shaking terribly tall spears of fir, and with cha.riots flashing with the gleam of steel plates, his a.ppea.rance we.s fitted to inspire terror (ver. 3). "The chariots of the Assyrians, as we see them on the monuments, glare with shining things made either of iron or steel, be.ttle-a.xes, bows, arrows, and shields, and all kinds of weapons" (Strauss). 5. Hia impetuosity. 'l'he swiftness and the fury of his attack are vividly described (ver. 4). His cha.riots the prophet represents as raging, driving on madly, through the streets, e.s crowding .the broad spaces in such a fashioo as to jostle against and threaten to run down one another, as flashing to e.nd fro like tol'ches, e.s running hither and thither with the celerity of liii;htning. II. 'l'HE ATTACK EXrLAINED. l. The Assyrian oppressicm ef Israel, "Th@ 80 THE :BOOK OF NAHUM. [011. IL 1-13