Nahum 3 Study Notes

3:1-3 Again, the author is initially vague (cp. note at 2:3-10) about the identity of the bloody city with its mounds of corpses, but the attentive reader knows that it is Nineveh, the once-formidable city, which God will now devastate (see note at v. 10; see also Introduction).

3:4-6 On a prostitute’s punishment, see Introduction and compare Jr 13:26.

3:7 Their motive to recoil is now clearly not fright but rather horror and amazement, like looking at the dead body of a once fierce monster, saying Nineveh is devastated.

3:8-9 Thebes, located about 400 miles south of the Mediterranean at modern Karnak and Luxor, spanned both sides of the Nile River. It became a prominent city during the Sixth Dynasty, about 2200 BC. By the Twelfth Dynasty (ca 1990-1776 BC) its temple to Amun-Ra was one of the most important temples in Egypt, and its god was called “King of the Gods, and who is over the Two Lands (i.e., Egypt).” During the New Kingdom era (1550-1076 BC) Thebes reached even greater heights of influence and was noted as the burial city of kings, in the Valley of the Kings. Many temples were built there to Egyptian gods. It continued to be a major city until it was sacked by Ashurbanipal and the Assyrians in 663 BC.

3:10 The Egyptian children were dashed to pieces by the Assyrians, just as Assyria had recently done to Israel in fulfillment of Hs 13:16 (cp. Ps 137:9; Hs 10:14-15). The atrocities included ripping pregnant women open. Such cruelty was not unique to the Assyrians (see note at vv. 18-19); other invading armies did similar things (see 2Kg 8:12; Is 13:16).

3:11-12 You also will become drunk appears strange since no mention was made of the inhabitants of Thebes becoming drunk. But drunkenness is found several times referring to judgment on God’s enemies. The message of v. 12 is that regardless how secure and invincible Nineveh felt itself to be, before the Lord’s forces they were as exposed and vulnerable as figs on a ripe fig tree.

3:13 Assyria’s troops, known for their ruthless efficiency and skill, are called women. This is a common curse in the ancient Near East. See Is 19:16.

3:14 This verse contains ironic or rhetorical exhortations to prepare for the coming siege.

3:15-17 According to Walter Maier (The Book of Nahum), “Under Ashurbanipal, for the first time in 800 years, western Asia was dominated by a single political rule. With the vast territory of the empire under one central government, commerce could flourish throughout this area as never before.” Locusts are known for appearing and then leaving as quickly as they arrive. Nahum alludes to this characteristic in v. 17. And this is what God is going to cause to happen to the Assyrians.

3:18-19 These final verses are addressed to Nineveh’s king regarding his impending death, which will bring celebration. As attested in the Babylonian Chronicle, between 615 and 612 BC the major cities of Assyria were annihilated: Kalah, Assur, Dur-Sharrukin, and Nineveh. Ashur-uballit II (612-609 BC) set himself up as king and regrouped his forces at Haran. But the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar crushed them at the battle of Carchemish in 605 BC.