The Pulpit Commentary — Nahum — Section 47

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- the following verse. Some tronslnto it, tions, e. considerable qua.ntity of ohucoe.l, "brick-monld." If the Anglican Version is e.nd even pieoes of wood either ha.If-burnt correct, the prophet bids them repair their or in e. perfect state of preserva.tion, were kilns, unused in the days of prosperity, found in many places. The lining of the when they had no need to look to tho seourity ohe.mbers 11,Jso be&l'II oertain me.rks of the of their walls. Virtually the same sense is e.otion of fire. All these things oa.n be ex- elicited hy rende1ing, "lay bold of the plnined only by supposing the fall of e. brick-mould." burning roof, wliich oe.loined tho sla.bs of Ver. 15.-There. In the very place where gypsum, e.nd ronverted them into dust.... thou bast taken all these precautions. Shall It must he.ve been e. violent e.nd prolonged the fire devour thee. That fire played a fire to be able t.o oalcine not only a few great part in the destruction of Nineveh is ple.oes, but every pint of th~se slabs, which asserted by historians and proved by the were ten feet high and several inches thick. remains of the city discovered in modern So complete e. decomposition OA.n be attri- times (see note on ver. 13; also Herod., i. buted but to intense beat" (ibid., p. 213). 106; Diod. Sio., ii. 25-28 ; Athen., xii. Vere. H-19.-§ 8. In spite of aU its 529). The fate of the last king, who burnt efforts and aU itsi resources, Nine'Deh shall himself and his palace, is a well-known story ( see Justin, • Hist.,' i. 3; Eusebius, meet witJ, a terr-t"ble end. • Cbron.,' i. 9; xiv. a; xv. 7; SyncelL, Ver. 14.-Nahnm ironically bids the 'Chrou.,' i. 396, edit. Dind.) (Knabenbauer). Ninevites prepare for the siege they were The sword shall out thee off. While fire a.bout to sustain. Draw thee waters for the destroys the buildings, ibe sword shall Iii.age. The drinking water neoessary for a devour the inhabitants of the city. The long siege is meant. This injunction is not oankerworm; literally, the licker (Joel i partionle.rly applioable to Nineveh, which 4). The locust in its earlier stage is thus from its situation was abunde.ntly supplied described (see ver. 16). The figure implies with water, unless there was clanger that that the destruction of Nineveh should be the enemy would divert the courses of the sudden and complete, as that wrought on rivers. But the warning would come home vegetation by an inroad of locusts. Make with peculiar force to the inhabitants of thyself many. Collect thine armies, gather Jerusalem, among whom Ne.hum prophesied hosts as innumerable as the locusts, it will (2 Kings XL 20; ls&. x.xil. 11; n:x. 20). be all in vain. The "cnnkerworm" repre- Fortify thy strong holds; strengthen thy sented the enemy; the "locusts" represent fortresses. Repair all defects in thy defences the Aasyrians themselves. (2 Chron. xi. 11). The mode of doing this Ver. 16.-Its extensive commercial rela- in the Assyrian fashion is then denoted. tions shall not save it. Thou hast multiplied Go into clay, a.nd tread the mortar. The thy merohants. Nineveh was most favour- soil round Nineveh was of a tenacious ably situated for carrying on commerce with quality; and when moistened with water other countries. The roads from Asia Minor, a.nd kneaded either with feet or hands, with Syria, Egypt, and Phmnicia, that led into the addition usne.lly of a little chopped Media, Persia, and the interior of Asia, con- strnw, was easily formed into bricks. These, verged at Nineveh, and brought thither even without the aid of fire, became dry and merchandise from all lands; and the As- hard in the oonrse of a few days. But it is syrians themselves exported their own pro- plain from the investigations of ruins that duce and manufactures t.o the far West. the Aasyrians used both kiln-baked and Among these are enumerated textile fabrics, sun-dried bricks, though the mass of the carpets, dyed attire, and embroidered work, walls was nsnally composed of the latter, carvings in ivory, gems, spices (see l'aw- the more durable material being employed linaon, • Ano. Mon.,' ii. 179, etc.; Lay ud, merely as an accessory (see Bonomi, 'Nine- • Nineveh,' ii 414, etc.). The cankerw, nn veh and its Palaces,' p. 9; Layard, •Nineveh,' spoileth; or, spreadeth itsielf for plundrr: ii 252). Xenophon, • Anab.,' iii. 4. 11, Vulgate, ex1.1amus est; Septuagint, C,pµTJ<T• 11, speaks of the brick wall (..-ll.(118,11011 -r••xos) " attacked. • The cankerworm (see note <7ll of a town he calls Mespila. Make strong ver.15)are theenemy,whospread themselve11 the briok-kiln. There is an uncertainty over the rich produce of Nineveh, and then about the meaning of the last word (malben), ftee away laden with spoil. Pusey ma.kes which occurs only in two other places (2 the cankerworm represent Nineveh. She Sam. xii. 31 and Jer. xliil. 9). In the latter spread herself everywhere wasting and p1U1s11ge it may possibly mean "a. square" plundering, and now she is gone, has dis- (ll "open quadrangle." Jerome has, tene l,a- appeared. But the former explanation Oil, 111, 1-10.] THE BOOK OF NAHUM. 45