Nahum 1, A Divine Avenger

The prophet Nahum speaks out around 630 BC.

Nahum 1:1, An oracle
An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

This verse introduces us to the book of Nahum. It serves as a title page, says Longman. We know almost nothing about Nahum. His name means (loosely) "compassion." There are a variety of conjectures as to the meaning of "Elkoshite" or the location of Elkos. The text of the book will date the prophet to somewhere between 663 BC and 612 BC, when Assyria, with capital Nineveh, is threatening Judah. The northern kingdom of Israel is long gone.

The hometown of Jesus in the New Testament, is Capernaum in Galilee. Capernaum means "town of Nahum", but neither Longman nor Amerding give much credit to the idea that Capernaum was named after this individual.

Nahum 1:2-3, The Divine Warrior

The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; 

the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. 

The LORD takes vengeance on his foes 

and maintains his wrath against his enemies. 

The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; 

the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. 

His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, 

and clouds are the dust of his feet.

 

After giving his name and hometown in the first verse, Nahum leads off the second verse with wordplay on both his name and hometown. The Hebrew of verse 2 begins with ’êl qan·nō·w ("is a jealous God") which is very close to  the town name Elqoshi.  Nahum then (three times!) calls this jealous God naqam, "an avenger". Thus the prophet Nahum Elqoshi speaks for naqqam el gannow.

The main message of the scroll will be that YHWH, the Divine Avenger, will be victorious over Assyria and its capital, Nineveh. The victory is a statement of judgment over a nation that has ignored God and consistently threatened Judah.

YHWH rides into battle in a whirlwind, with storm clouds at His feet. In Psalm 18:6-15, David provides similar dramatic descriptions of God stepping down to help him. (See also Psalm 68:4-6 and Psalm 29, both also by David.)

Nahum 1:4-6, Shattered rocks

He rebukes the sea and dries it up; 

he makes all the rivers run dry. 

Bashan and Carmel wither 

and the blossoms of Lebanon fade. 

The mountains quake before him 

and the hills melt away. 

The earth trembles at his presence, 

the world and all who live in it. 

Who can withstand his indignation? 

Who can endure his fierce anger? 

His wrath is poured out like fire; 

the rocks are shattered before him.

God's power includes power over the seas and rivers. As He did in Exodus, he can dry up a sea; as He did for Joshua, He can stop a river. He can make mountains move and disappear; He can make all the earth tremble.

Bashan, Carmel and Lebanon are mountainous regions to the west, east and north, respectively, of Israel, says Longman. These regions, with generally good vegetation, surround Judah.

The Hebrew of verse 6 has classic chiastic structure:

Before His indignation 

who can stand

who can endure 

the fierceness of His anger

His fury  

is poured out 

like fire 

the rocks

are thrown down 

by Him

Nahum 1:7-8, A refuge in times of trouble

The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. 

He cares for those who trust in him, 

but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of [Nineveh]; 

he will pursue his foes into darkness.

 

Ultimately YHWH acts because He is good. His judgment is appropriate and He offers a refuge to those who trust Him and run to Him. Judah's enemy, Nineveh/Assyria, however, has not done this, and so will see His destruction and darkness. The object of the phrase "he will make an end of" is only implied in the Hebrew text of verse 8. The Hebrew text postpones the identity of that city until 2:8 and so the NIV translation inserts Nineveh in brackets. 

The statements about God as a strong refuge reflect ideas from the psalms. Chasing His foes into darkness echoes the next-to-last plague in God's confrontation with Pharaoh (Exodus 10:21-29.)

Verses 2 through 8 form a song of praise, structured as a partial acrostic (Longman) in which the first letter in the bicolons run in order from aleph in verse 2 though kaph in verse 8, except that dalet and zayin are skipped! Scholars debate the meaning of this; one has suggested that the acrostic is deliberately incomplete because the prophetic message is incomplete.

Nahum 1:9-10, Drunk and entangled

Whatever they plot against the LORD he will bring to an end; 

trouble will not come a second time. 

They will be entangled among thorns 

and drunk from their wine; 

they will be consumed like dry stubble. 

The enemies of Judah are staggering, entangled, drunk -- and will be destroyed as quickly as dry grass goes up in a fire.

Nahum 1:11-14, Judgment and salvation

From you, [O Nineveh,] has one come forth 

who plots evil against the LORD 

and counsels wickedness. 

This is what the LORD says: 

"Although they have allies and are numerous, 

they will be cut off and pass away. 

Although I have afflicted you, [O Judah,] 

I will afflict you no more. 

Now I will break their yoke from your neck

and tear your shackles away."

The LORD has given a command concerning you, [Nineveh]: 

"You will have no descendants to bear your name. 

I will destroy the carved images and cast idols

that are in the temple of your gods. 

I will prepare your grave,

for you are vile."

The enemy city has plotted against YHWH far too long. Their political power will be destroyed. But Judah will be protected. The passage alternates between condemnation of this enemy city and protection of Judah, with verse 14 explicitly declaring that YHWH has given a command. That curse has three parts: no descendants, destroyed idols, corpse buried.

As earlier in verse 8, here the names Nineveh and Judah do not appear in the Hebrew text but are only implied. Until verse 14, the Hebrew text assigns a feminine gender to the unnamed object. This is a standard Hebrew gender assignment to countries and cities and so the NIV inserts "[Nineveh]" or "[Judah]" based on context. But in verse 14 the unknown object is masculine. Longman suggests that the object then is not the city of Nineveh but is instead the king of Assyria. This fits with the declaration that this individual will not have descendants and will be buried.

The Masoretic Text has a  chapter division at the end of verse 14, putting the next verse into chapter 2.

Nahum 1:15, Beautiful feet

Look, there on the mountains, 

the feet of one who brings good news, 

who proclaims peace! 

Celebrate your festivals, O Judah, 

and fulfill your vows. 

No more will the wicked invade you; 

they will be completely destroyed.

This verse picks up a theme from Isaiah, from a century before. As God judges the enemy nations, He will also bring peace to Judah. The first sentence of verse 15 appeared in Isaiah 52:7 a century before. And is quoted by Paul in the New Testament in Romans 10:14-15. 

First published July 21, 2025; updated July 21, 2025