John Gill Commentary Nahum 3

Woe to the bloody city Nineveh, in which many murders were daily committed; innocent blood shed; the lives of men taken away, under the colour of justice, by false witnesses, and other unlawful methods; and which was continually making war with neighbouring nations, and shedding their blood, which it stuck not at, to enlarge its wealth and dominions; and therefore "woe" is denounced against it; and it is threatened with the righteous judgments of God, with all sorts of calamity and distress: or, "O bloody city", as the Septuagint; for the word used is vocative, and expressive of calling, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi observe:

it [is] all full of lies [and] robbery ; the palace and court; the houses of noblemen and common persons were full of flattery and deceit; men of high degree were a lie, and men of low degree vanity; no man could trust another, or believe what he said; there were no truth, honesty, and faithfulness, in conversation or commerce; their warehouses were full of goods, got by rapine and violence; and their streets full of robbers and robberies:

the prey departeth not ; they go on in making a prey of their neighbours, in pillaging and plundering their substance; they repent not of such evil practices, nor desist from them; or because of the above sins they shall fall a prey to the enemy, who will not cease plundering them till he has utterly stripped them of all they have; and who is represented in the next verse (Nahum 3:2) as just at hand.

The noise of a whip
Of a horseman or chariot driver whipping his horses to make speed to Nineveh, and enter into it, so near as to be heard by the inhabitants of it; and is thus represented in order to strike terror into them:

and the noise of the rattling of the wheels ;
that is, of the chariots upon the stones, whose drivers drove Jehu like, making the utmost haste they could to get in first, and seize the prey:

and of the pransing horses ;
or bounding steeds, upon a full gallop; either with horsemen on them riding full speed to partake of the booty; or in chariots, in which they caper and prance, and shake the ground as they go; hence it follows:

and of the jumping chariots ;
which, through the swiftness of the motion, seem to leap and dance as they run along.

The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the
glittering spear
Or, "the flame of the sword and the glittering spear" ^F23 ; he rides with a drawn sword, which,being brandished to and fro, looks like a flame of fire; or with a spear made of polished iron, or steel,which, when vibrated and moved to and fro, glitters like lightning; a large number of which entering the citymust be terrible to the inhabitants of it.

and [there is] a multitude of slain, and a greatnumber of carcasses ;
of dead men lying in the streets, pierced and slain with the bright sword and glittering spear of the Medesand Chaldeans.

and [there is] none end of [their] corpses ;
the number of them could not be told; they lay so thick in all parts of the city, that there was no tellingthem.

they stumble upon their corpses ;
the Ninevites in fleeing, and endeavouring to make their escape, and the Medes and Chaldeans pursuingthem.

FOOTNOTES:

• F23: (tynx qrbw brx bhl) "flammam gladii etfulgorem hastae", Piscator; "flammam gladii et fulgur hastae", Cocceius; "flamma gladii et fulgurlanceae", Burkius.

Because of the multitudes of the whoredoms of the
well-favoured harlot
Meaning Nineveh; which, as it was an ancient city, was a well built one; full of stately and beautiful buildings, the seat of the kings of Assyria, and the metropolis of the nation, and abounded with wealth and riches; perhaps here may be an allusion to the name of the city, and to the signification of it; for Nineveh may have its name from the beauty of it, and be read, in Hebrew, (hwn yan) or (ywn) , and may signify a beautiful or pleasant habitation; so Hillerus ^F24 and Cocceius ^F25 give the etymology of it; which agrees with its delightful situation on the banks of the river Tigris, and the stately edifices in it, as the king's palace, and others; just as Zion is said to be "beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth", (Psalms 48:2) and the epithet of "well-favoured" well agrees with a harlot, whose beauty is engaging and ensnaring, as Lais, and others; particularly Semiramis, the wife of Ninus, from whom it is generally thought Nineveh had its name, was first a harlot, and one of exceeding beauty, who surpassed all others in it; on account of which she was beloved by the king of Assyria, and after a short time made his wife, and then he delivered the government of the kingdom to her ^F26 ; yea, Sardanapalus the Last, and at this time the present king of the Assyrians, was very effeminate, used to dress himself in women's clothes, imitate a woman's voice, and paint his face, and even his whole body; and, by other tricks and enticements of harlots, made himself more lascivious, and behaved more lewdly, than any harlot ^F1 ; in short, all the Assyrian women must be harlots, since they were obliged once in their lifetime to lie with a stranger in the temple of Venus, whom the Assyrians call Mylitta, as Herodotus ^F2 and Strabo ^F3 relate; to all which here may be an allusion:

And particularly the inhabitants of this city had all the arts of address and insinuation to deceive others as harlots have; and both men and women very probably were given to whoredom and adultery in a literal sense as is generally the case where luxury and intemperance abound; and especially were grossly guilty of idolatry, which in Scripture is frequently expressed by whoredom and adultery; worshipping Bel, Nisroch, and other deities, and which was highly provoking to God; and therefore for these things, his judgments came upon them, before and after described:

the mistress of witchcrafts :
thoroughly versed in such wicked and devilish practices, literally understood; see (Isaiah 47:9Isaiah 47:12) for the Assyrians, as well as the Babylonians and Chaldeans, were addicted to such diabolical arts, as appears from a passage in Theocritus ^F4 , which Grotius has also quoted; where one is represented saying that she kept in her box or chest very pernicious poisons, which she had learned from an Assyrian guest. The allusion seems to be to philtres, and other tricks used by harlots to besot young men, and bewitch and captivate them:

Likewise this city and its inhabitants were well versed in all the arts of flattery, deceit, and carnal policy; and in all the charms of wealth, riches, luxury, and sensuality, the pomp of superstition and idolatry, to draw in kingdoms and nations into subjection to them: that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through
her witchcrafts ;
enslaved whole kingdoms, and brought them under her power and dominion, to be her vassals; and was the instrument, not only of corporeal servitude, but of their selling themselves to work wickedness, by committing spiritual fornication or idolatry; into which multitudes were led by her influence and example, and particularly the kingdoms and families of Israel and Judah; see (2 Kings 16:10) (Ezekiel 23:5Ezekiel 23:7Ezekiel 23:11Ezekiel 23:12) .

In these whoredoms and witchcrafts, as well as in her bloodthirstiness, lies, and oppression, Nineveh was a type of the whore of Rome; see (Revelation 17:1Revelation 17:2Revelation 17:5Revelation 17:6) (18:23) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F24: Onomastic. Sacr. p. 304, 431, 898.
• F25: Comment. in Jonam, c. 1. 2.
• F26: Diodor. Sicul. l. 2. p. 93. 107. Ed. Rhodoman.
• F1: Ibid. p. 109, 110.
• F2: Clio, sive. l. 1. c. 199.
• F3: Geograph. l. 16. p. 513.
• F4: Pharmaceutria, sive Idyll. 2. prope finem.

Behold, I [am] against you, says the Lord of hosts
Because her doings were against him; (See Gill on Nahum 2:13): and I will discover your skirts upon your face ;

turn up the skirts of her garments over her head, and thereby discover what should be concealed, than which nothing is more disagreeable and abominable to modest persons; it is here threatened she should be used in character as a harlot, or as women oftentimes are by rude soldiers, when a city is taken by them.

and I will show the nations your nakedness, and the kingdoms your
shame ;
all her charms shall be taken away, and she become odious as a harlot to her former lovers; all her impostures, arts, and tricks, and shameful actions, will be discovered; and her aims and views at universal monarchy will be seen and her weakness to effect it made to appear; and, upon the whole, will become the object of the scorn and derision of kingdoms and nations.