The Pulpit Commentary — Nahum — Section 46

"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 women are tear- is here suddenly addressed. Put, or Punt, ing their he.ir in despair (see Bonomi, dcsign,.tes either a part of Arabia or that 'Nineveh and its Palaces,' pp. 226,277). In pnrt of the coast of Egypt opposite to it a be.a-relief at Khorsabad ce.pti ves a.re led by (see Ehers, • lEgypt. und die Buch. Mos.,' a rope fastened to a ring in the lip ( comp. p. 64, etc.). Lubim are the Lyhie.ns, dwell- 2 Kings xix. 28; see Rawlinson, 'AnP-. ing on the west of the CRnopic mouth of the Mon.,' i. 304; Le.yard, 'Nineveh,' fig. 60, ~me. Thus the enumeration of the forces and vol. i. p. S76). of Thebes is rogfilarly arranged, beginning Ver. 11.-Tbou alao ahalt be drunken. with the south, Ethiopia, then through Egypt Ne.hnm makes the application: The fate of proper to the north, and then to the provinces Thebes shall be thine, 0 Nineveh. Thou on the east and west (Kna.benbe.uer). The shalt drink to the full the cup of God'& Vulgato translates the two terms, Africa et wrath (see note on Obad. 16; and comp. Libya. The LXX. combines them in one, Jer. xxv. 15, 17, 27). The metaphor Alf3u,s. These peoples are named together indicates the effect of some overwhelming elsewhere: e.g. Jer. xlvi. 9; Ezek. x.xvii. calamity that makes men reel with terror lO ; XXX, 5 ; xxxviii. 5. or stupefies them with amazement. Thou Ver. 10.-Yet was she oarried away. In shalt be hid ; thou shalt be powe.-less, or re- spite of her strong position and infinite duced to nothing; 'EITr, {nr,p,,,,paµ.•117/," Thou resources, Thebes was captured and de- shalt he despised "(Septuagint); Eris despe~ spoiled ; and shall Nineveh faro better ? (Vulgate). Nineveh, whi<1h was taken and Surely not. Thls capture of Thebes took destroyed between B.o. 6J!6 and 608, was so place B.o. 664, and mW!t have been in men's effectually "hidden" thRt its very site was minds when Nahum wrote his prophecy. discovered only in late years, and its monu- The Aesyrians twice took Thebes in the ments have only been partially disinterred days of Assurbnnipe.l. The first time it is after immense labour. Thou also &halt seek merely recorded that the soldiers, under the strength bee ause of the enemy ; or, thou also commander of the so.traps, me.de a slaughter ,halt 8eek a 8tronghold from the enemy. A.;i in the city. The second capture is thus the Egyptians fled for refuge from one place described in the monarch's own tablet to another (see note on ver. 10), so shall the (Brugsch,' Egypt,' i. 272-275, Eng. transl.): Assyrians attempt in vain to escape the "Urde.maneh fled alone, and entered Thebes, enemy. History records that they en- the city of his kingdom . . . I diroct.ed my deavoured to effect a retreat from Nineveh march in pursuit of him. I came to Thebes. during the siege (see Introduction, § I.). He saw the strength of my army, e.nd left Ver. 12.-Shall be like (are) fig trees Thebes, e.ud fled to the city of Kipkip. Of with the first-ripe figs. The Assyrians' that whole city (Thebes), with thanksgiving fortresses are as ready for destruction and to Asur and Iste.r, my hands iook the as ee.sy to destroy as ripe figs are ready to complete possession. Silver, gold, mete.ls, fall from the tree at the least shake of the stones, all the tree.aures of its palace what- eater (Isa. xxvili. 4). soever, dyed garments of berom and linen, Ver. 13.-'l'he reason why the fortresses great horses [elephn.nts ?] men and women, an, so readily taken is now given. Are great and small, works of zakah [be.salt?] women. The A.ssyrians were essentially a and marble, their kelal and manzas, the brave nation, but they should be now no gates of their palace ... I tore away and morB able to resist the enemy than if they oarried to Assyria. I made spoil of the were women (comp. Isa. xix. 16; Jcr. l. 37; animals of the land without number, and Ii. 30). The gates of thy land. The various carried them forth in the midst out of approaches and passes which leRd into Thebes. I caused a catalogue to be made Assyria (comp. Jer. xv. 7; Micah v. 6). So of the spoil. I returned in safety to Stra.bo (xi.12.13) speaks of certain mounWu Nineveh " (see a different version in G. passes wi "the Caspian gates," and Xenophou Smith, • Assurbanipal,' p. 52, etc.). Were (' Ano.b.,' i. 4. 4) mentions "the g-ates of de.shed in pieoes. The prophet desoribes Oilicia and Syria." The famous defile that the usual treatment of captured oities led into Greece was called Thermopylie. The (comp. 2 Kings viii. 12; Ps. cx.xxvii. 9; lire shall devour thy bars. Hitzig, Keil, Isa. xiii. 16). At the top of all the streets. and others take the "bars" metaphoric- In the most publio plaoes, where many ally, meaning the forts and castles which streets converge (Lam. ii. 19). Cast lots. defend the passes; but the literal sense is The viotors divided the nobles among them- the most natural, as in the parallel passage, 11elves by lot (see note on Ohad. 11). Were Jer. Ii. 30 (see note on Amos i. 5). It was bound in ohains. We find in the Aesyrian theA111yrians' custom to set fire to the gatea  THE BOOK OF NAHUM. [en. m. 1-19.