Nahum 2

Nahum 2 is the middle chapter of the three chapters of Nahum. Whereas Nahum 1 proclaims the LORD's vengeance and the comfort of Judah, chapter 2 depicts that judgment actually falling on Nineveh through scenes of battle.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 The one who "dasheth in pieces" comes up against Nineveh. Along with a warning to guard the city, the passage declares that the LORD will restore the excellency of Jacob, which has been plundered.
• Verses 3–5 The attacking army is described with red shields, garments of scarlet, and chariots like torches and lightning. Inside the city, the defenders hastily prepare their defenses.
• Verses 6–8 The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace collapses. The queen is led away, and her maids mourn like doves. The people flee without looking back, even as the cry goes up, "Stand, stand."
• Verses 9–10 A cry goes out to seize the silver and gold, and Nineveh is left empty and desolate.
• Verses 11–12 The prophet asks where the den of the lions is now, the lions that once tore their prey and filled their dens with it.
• Verse 13 The LORD of hosts declares that He is against Nineveh and that He will burn its chariots and cut off its prey.

Key Verses

• Nahum 2:2 The LORD's dealing with "the excellency of Jacob" shows that the judgment on Nineveh is bound up with the restoration of Israel.
• Nahum 2:11 "Where is the dwelling of the lions...?" This image likens Assyria, which plundered other nations, to a lion.
• Nahum 2:13 "Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts." This conclusion makes clear that Nineveh's destruction is the LORD's will; the same words appear again in Nahum 3:5.

People and Places

• The LORD: Appears as the One who judges Nineveh and restores Jacob.
• Nineveh: The capital of Assyria. Verse 8 compares the city to "a pool of water."
• Jacob/Israel: Here these names refer not to an individual but to the people of God as a whole.
• The one who dashes in pieces: The text does not name this attacker. Historically, the common view identifies the attacker with the coalition of Babylonians and Medes that overthrew Nineveh.

Points for Reflection

• The verse divisions differ in the Hebrew text. Nahum 1:15 in English and Korean Bibles is 2:1 in the Hebrew text, so chapter 2 in Hebrew has 14 verses.
• The meaning of the original word in verse 7, rendered in some versions as "it is decreed," is uncertain, and translations render it in different ways. Some interpreters understand it as a personal name.
• One well-known interpretation connects the river gates of verse 6 with an account by an ancient Greek historian that floodwaters broke down the city walls. This account, however, comes from a source outside the biblical text.
• The chapter is often read in contrast with the story of Jonah, in which Nineveh repented and escaped judgment.
• This chapter is not directly quoted in the New Testament.