John Gill Commentary Nahum 1

The burden of Nineveh

Of the city of Nineveh, and the greatness of it, (See Gill on Jonah 1:2); (See Gill on Jonah 3:3). Jonah was sent to this city to threaten it with ruin for its sins; at that time the king and all his people humbled themselves and repented, and the threatened destruction was averted; but they relapsing to their former iniquities, this prophet foretells what would be their certain fate; very rightly therefore the Targum, and some other Jewish writings^F13, observe, that Jonah prophesied against this city of old; and that Nahum prophesied after him a considerable time, perhaps at a hundred years distance. This prophecy is called a burden; it was taken up by the prophet at the command of the Lord, and was carried or sent by him to Nineveh; and was a hard, heavy, grievous, and burdensome prophecy to that city, predicting its utter ruin and desolation; and which, as Josephus^F14 says, came to pass hundred fifteen years after this prophecy; and which event is placed by the learned Usher^F15 in the year of the world 3378 A.M., and which was 626 B.C.; and by others^F16 in the year of the world 3403 A.M., of the flood 1747, in 601 B.C.; but by Dean Prideaux^F17 and Mr. Whiston^F18, in 612 B.C.

the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite

No other prophecy is called a book but this, as Abarbinel observes; and gives this reason for it, because the other prophets immediately declared their prophecies, as Jonah; but Nahum never went to the Ninevites, but wrote his prophecy in a book, and sent it to them. It is called "the book of the vision"; what it contains being made known to him by the Lord in a vision, as was common; hence the prophets are called seers; and the prophet is described by the place of his birth, an Elkoshite; though some think he is so called from his father, whose name was Helkesi, and said to be a prophet too, as Jerom relates; and with this agrees the Targum, which calls him Nahum of the house or family of Koshi; but Jarchi says that Elkosh was the name of his city; Aben Ezra and Kimchi are in doubt which to refer it to, whether to his city, or to his ancestors; but there seems no reason to doubt but that he is so called from his native place.

Since Jerom^F19 says, that there was a village in Galilee called Helkesi in his days, and which he had seen; though scarce any traces of the old buildings could be discerned, it was so fallen to ruin, yet known, to the Jews; and was shown him by one that went about with him; and which is, by Hesychius^F20 the presbyter, placed in the tribe of Simeon. This is another instance, besides that of Jonah, disproving the assertion of the Jews, that no prophet rose out of Galilee, (John 7:52).

FOOTNOTES:

• F13: Tzemach David, fol. 15. 1.
• F14: Antiqu. l. 9. c. 11. sect. 3.
• F15: Annales Vet. Test. A. M. 3378.
• F16: Universal History, vol. 4. p. 331.
• F17: Connexion par. 1. B. 1. p. 47, 48.
• F18: Chronological Table, cent. 9.
• F19: Proem. in Nahum.
• F20: Apud Reland. Palestina Illustrata, tom. 2. p. 748.

God [is] jealous, and the Lord revenges
He is jealous of his own honour and glory, and for his own worship and ordinances; and will not give his glory to another, nor his praise to graven images; and therefore will punish all idolaters, and particularly the idolatrous Assyrians: he is jealous for his people, and cannot bear to see them injured; and will avenge the affronts that are offered, and the indignities done unto them: the Lord revenges, and [is] furious ;
or, is "master of wrath" ^F21 ; full of it, or has it at his command; can restrain it, and let it out as he pleases, which man cannot do; a furious and passionate man, who has no rule over his spirit. The Lord's revenging is repeated for the confirmation of it; yes, it is a third time observed, as follows; which some of the Jewish writers think has respect to the three times the king of Assyria carried the people of Israel captive, and for which the Lord would be revenged on him, and punish him: the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries ;
on all his adversaries; particularly the Assyrians are here meant, who were both the enemies of him and of his people. The Targum explains it,

FOOTNOTES:

• F21: (hmx leb) "dominus irae", Calvin, Vatablus, Grotius; "dominus excandescentiae", Piscator, Tarnovius; "dominus irae aestuantis, [sive] fervoris", Burkius.

The Lord is slow to anger. He is not in haste to execute it; he takes time for it, and gives men space for repentance. Nineveh had had a proof of this when it repented at the preaching of Jonah, upon which the Lord deferred the execution of his wrath;

but lest they should presume upon this, and conclude the Lord would always bear with them, though they had returned to their former impieties; they are let to know, that this his forbearance was not owing to want of power or will in him to punish: since he is great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked; he is able to execute the wrath he threatens, and will by no means clear the guilty, or let them go free and unpunished; though he moves slowly, as he may seem in the execution of his judgments, yet they shall surely be brought on his enemies, and be fully accomplished:

the Lord has his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet; he spoke to Job out of the whirlwind; he descended on Mount Sinai in a storm and tempest; and the clouds are his chariots; in which he rides swiftly; and which, for their appearance and number, are like the dust raised by a multitude of horsemen riding full speed,

The wrath of God may be compared to a whirlwind, and a storm, which is sometimes hastily and suddenly executed upon men: respect seems to be had to the armies of the Medes and Chaldeans against the Assyrians; who, as the Babylonians against the Jews, came up as clouds, and their chariots as the whirlwind, (Jeremiah 4:13); and the figures beautifully describe the numbers of them, the force with which they came; and in an elegant manner represent the vast quantity of dust raised by an army in full march; at the head of which was the Lord himself, ordering, directing, and succeeding, before whom none can stand.

He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry. As he did the Red sea, when the children of Israel passed through it as on dry land; which shows his power and sovereignty over it; that it is at his command, as a servant at his master's; and since the wind and sea obey him, what is it he cannot do? see (Isaiah 50:2) (51:10) ; and drieth up all the rivers. That is, he can do it if he will; he divided the waters of Jordan, through the midst of which the Israelites passed on dry ground; and will dry up the river Euphrates, to make way for the kings of the east; and as for Tigris, on the banks of which the city of Nineveh stood, of which the inhabitants boasted, and in which they trusted for their security, he could dry up, and make way for the enemy to enter in; or make that their enemy, and overflow them with it, as he did; see (Nahum 1:8) (2:8) .

By the "sea" and "rivers" may be meant the whole Assyrian empire, and many nations and people, as Jarchi and Abarbinel interpret it, of whom it consisted; see (Jeremiah 51:36) (Revelation 17:15) .

Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. When the Lord restrains the heavens from giving rain, then Bashan, famous for its fat pastures and fruitful meadows, and Carmel for its rich grain fields, and Lebanon for its tall shadowy cedars, these, and the glory of all, wither and fade away, being parched and dried up for want of moisture.

These were places in the land of Israel, but may be put for like flourishing and fruitful hills and countries in the land of Assyria, which should become desolate; see (Psalms 107:33Psalms 107:34) .

The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt
As Sinai of old did, when the Lord descended on it, (Exodus 19:18) (Judges 5:5) . Mountains figuratively signify kings and princes; and hills large countries, as Jarchi and Abarbinel observe, and the inhabitants of them; particularly the kingdoms and nations belonging to the Assyrian empire, which would tremble and quake, and their hearts melt with fear, when they should hear of the destruction of Nineveh their chief city; and of the devastation made by the enemy there and in other parts, under the direction of the Lord of hosts; his power and providence succeeding him:

and the earth is burnt at his presence ;
either when he withholds rain from it, and so it becomes parched and burnt up with the heat of the sun; or when he rains fire and brimstone on it, as he did on Sodom and Gomorrah; or consumes any part of it with thunder and lightning, as he sometimes does; nay, if he but touch the mountains, they smoke; see (Psalms 104:32) ;

yea, the world, and all that dwell therein ;
as in the last day, at the general conflagration, when the world, and all the wicked inhabitants of it, will be burnt up; see (2 Peter 3:10) .