ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Nahum 2

Nah. 2:1–13 Focus on Nineveh: The Lord’s Coming Judgment. Nahum’s prediction reads like an eyewitness account of Nineveh being attacked, overrun by the enemy, and plundered.

Nah. 2:1 scatterer. This description of the enemy foretells the outcome of the attack. Any Ninevites not slaughtered will flee (see 3:17–18) or will be taken into exile. Ultimately, it is God who “scatters.” has come up. A technical phrase signifying hostile military action (compare Judg. 1:1; 1 Sam. 7:7). Man the ramparts. Nineveh is told to get ready for battle.

Nah. 2:2 God no longer needs the Assyrians to discipline unfaithful Judah because the Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob. Judah’s true majesty was that God had separated them from the nations to be devoted to him. With them he made his covenants; from them would come the Messiah (Rom. 9:4–5). plunderers. The Assyrians plundered Judah (see Nah. 2:13). Their branches are the individual clans, families, or members of the southern kingdom, compared to a vineyard (compare Isa. 5:1–7).

Nah. 2:3–4 shield . . . red. Perhaps their shields were permanently stained with the blood of defeated foes from previous battles. His. . . . he is a reference to the scatterer mentioned in v. 1. The attacking army was a coalition of Medes and Babylonians, and possibly Scythians. The streets and squares are those of the suburbs surrounding Nineveh, the first areas to be overrun by the attacking army.

Nah. 2:5 The attacking army now reaches the wall of Nineveh proper. He remembers. “He” (see v. 3) may be so eager to be involved in the attack that he almost forgets to delegate parts of the operation to his officers. These officers, eager both to join in the attack themselves and to please their superior(s), practically stumble over one another trying to rush into the action.

Nah. 2:6 river gates. The Khoser River flowed through Nineveh. North of the city were dams, most likely with gates to control the flow of the river. The attacking army could easily have closed the gates, waited until a large quantity of water collected, and then opened the gates. The resulting rush of water would have damaged portions of the city’s wall and internal structures, thus greatly aiding the enemy. The palace melts away because of the floodwaters.

Nah. 2:8 like a pool. See note on v. 6. Halt . . . they cry. Nahum places the reader in Nineveh as the city is attacked by enemy forces. The reader “sees” the fleeing inhabitants and “hears” some of the Assyrian commanders crying out, “Halt! Stand and fight,” but none turns back to do so.

Nah. 2:9 silver . . . gold. Nineveh had taken great wealth during Assyria’s military victories.

Nah. 2:10 Desolate . . . ruin is a description of Nineveh emptied of inhabi­tants and destroyed by the victorious invaders. Hearts melt . . . pale. The Assyrians previously had been proud of how they terrorized other peoples. Now they experience such terror themselves.

Nah. 2:11–12 lions. Members of the Assyrian royal house. The lion was a symbol for kingship (compare Gen. 49:9). The Assyrian kings exhibited great power in their “devouring” other lands, and even called themselves lions. none to disturb. During the time of Assyrian strength, no other nation dared to attack Nineveh. enough . . . prey . . . torn flesh. That is, the vast amounts of goods taken by the Assyrians in their conquest of numerous lands.

Nah. 2:13 Nineveh will fall because this is the will of the Lord. In vv. 1 and 13 Nineveh is addressed (“you,” “your”), and both verses express the thought “against you.” Lord of hosts. See note on Mic. 4:4. burn your chariots. A striking contrast to the conquering army’s swift chariots (Nah. 2:3–4). sword shall devour. The destructive lions (vv. 11–12) shall now be conquered by the enemy.