Charles Ellicott Commentary Nahum 1
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Nahum 1
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Nahum 1
"The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite." — Nahum 1:1 (ASV)
The burden of Nineveh — that is, the sentence against Nineveh (see Isaiah 13:1, Note). On the names Nahum and Elkoshite see Introduction.
"Jehovah is a jealous God and avengeth; Jehovah avengeth and is full of wrath; Jehovah taketh vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth [wrath] for his enemies." — Nahum 1:2 (ASV)
God ... furious. —Better, A jealous and vengeful God is Jehovah, an avenger is Jehovah, indeed, wrathful. This verse lays the groundwork for the declaration of God’s sentence against the offending city. There are, of course, several passages in the Law which attribute the same character to Jehovah, for example, Exodus 20:5; Deuteronomy 4:24. Nahum’s model, however, is a passage of opposite meaning, the well-known proclamation of Jehovah’s attribute of mercy (Exodus 34:6–7). To that passage the present is a kind of counterpoise, Êl kannô v’ nôkêm here being the counterpart to Êl rachoom v’ channoon there.
"Jehovah is a jealous God and avengeth; Jehovah avengeth and is full of wrath; Jehovah taketh vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth [wrath] for his enemies. Jehovah is slow to anger, and great in power, and will by no means clear [the guilty]: Jehovah hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel; and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt; and the earth is upheaved at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by him. Jehovah is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that take refuge in him. But with an over-running flood he will make a full end of her place, and will pursue his enemies into darkness." — Nahum 1:2-8 (ASV)
God’s character: a pledge that the oppressor of His servants shall be destroyed.
"Jehovah is slow to anger, and great in power, and will by no means clear [the guilty]: Jehovah hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet." — Nahum 1:3 (ASV)
And great in power. —Better, but great in power. Jehovah’s forbearance is not attributable to weakness. To vindicate His power, Nahum, after the manner of other Hebrew poets and prophets, reverts to the wonders of the Exodus (Nahum 1:4–5). The pillars of cloud and fire in the desert march; the quaking cliffs of Sinai; the Red Sea and Jordan divided at His word; Canaan succumbing at every point, upwards to mighty Lebanon in the north, and across from Eastern Bashan to Western Carmel—these are the testimonies to Jehovah’s might. (Compare to Habakkuk 3:6-10.)
"The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt; and the earth is upheaved at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein." — Nahum 1:5 (ASV)
Is burned. —Better, heaves.
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