Table of Contents
Nahum 1
Nahum 1
1 The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
2 God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth, and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.
3 The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
4 He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.
5 The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.
6 Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.
7 The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.
8 But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
9 What do ye imagine against the Lord? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.
10 For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.
11 There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the Lord, a wicked counsellor.
12 Thus saith the Lord; Though they be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more.
13 For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder.
14 And the Lord hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make thy grave; for thou art vile.
15 Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
Notes
Cross Reference
Commentary
Rashi
Verse 1
<html><b>The harsh prophecy concerning Nineveh</b> Heb. מַשָׂא. The burden of the cup of the curse [which was] to be given Nineveh to drink. <b>The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite</b>—חזון is vowelized with a “kamatz” (חָזוֹן) since it is not in the construct state, and it is unlike “חֲזוֹן יִשַׁעְיָהוּ,” the vision of Isaiah, which is vowelized with a “hataf pattah.” This is its meaning: A book of vision has already been written concerning it [Nineveh], the prophecy of Jonah son of Amittai; and now, again, Nahum the Elkoshite prophesied this harsh prophecy over it. Elkosh is the name of his [Nahum’s] city. And so did <i>Jonathan</i> paraphrase: In early times, Jonah son of Amittai prophesied concerning it, and they repented of their sins, and when they continued to sin, Nahum of the house of Elkosh prophesied further concerning them. <b>the Elkoshite</b>—That city is in the province of Ballynia, which is in the state of Eretz Israel, although it is outside the Holy Land. Proof of the matter is that there is gold, silver, and salt dust near it because the Dead Sea, which is near Eretz Israel, goes there under the earth. In this state they do not crown a king the son of a king [i.e., the throne is not hereditary]; and they are of the seed of Judah. [<i>Sod Mesharim</i>]</html>
Verse 2
<html><b>The Lord is a jealous and vengeful God</b>—Nahum prophesied concerning Sennacherib’s descendants, and in the time of Manasseh, as we find in <i>Seder Olalm</i> (ch.20). <b>The Lord is a jealous and vengeful God</b>—from the time He avenged Israel upon their enemies, and now too, He is still vengeful and full of wrath. <b>He is destined to wreak vengeance upon His adversaries</b> who destroyed their land and exiled His people. <b>and he bears a grudge</b> Heb. וְנוֹטֵר, lit. watches. He lays up His hatred for His enemies. Rabbi Simon says: These three expressions of vengeance correspond to the three exiles to which Sennacherib exiled Israel, as we find in <i>Seder Olam</i> (ch. 23).</html>
Verse 3
<html><b>The Lord is slow to anger and great in power</b>—He is great in power, and He has the ability to wreak vengeance. The reason He did not hasten His revenge is that He is slow to anger, but, in any case, He will not acquit. <b>the Lord - His way is with a tempest and with a storm</b>—They [the tempest and storm] are His messengers for wreaking retribution upon His enemies, as it is stated concerning Egypt (Exod. 14:21): “with a mighty east wind”; and concerning the generation of the Flood (Job 4:9): “From the breath of God they perish.” Concerning Tyre, it is stated (Ezek. 27:26): “The east wind has broken you.” <b>and cloud is the dust of His feet</b>—That, too, is the way of His vengeance. (Exod. 14:24) “And the Lord looked over the camp of the Egyptians with a pillar of fire and cloud”; also, (Ezek. 30:18) “As for her, a cloud shall cover her.”</html>
Verse 4
<html><b>He rebukes the sea</b>—To be understood [both] according to its apparent meaning, and as a figure describing the nations, who are compared to water, as the matter is stated (Isa. 17:12): “Like the rushing of mighty waters they rush.” <b>and He has dried up all the rivers</b>—Here he prophesies that the Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to crown Nebuchadnezzar in the days of Jehoiakim, and He will deliver Assyria and all the lands to the sword. <b>Bashan and Carmel</b>—The good dwelling places. <b>and the blossoms of the Lebanon are cut off</b>—The Sages of Israel explained this as an allusion to the various types of sweet fruit that Solomon planted in the Temple, which were gold; and as soon as the gentiles entered the Temple, they withered. [from <i>Yoma</i> 21b, 39b]</html>
Verse 5
<html><b>Mountains quaked because of Him</b>—The kings and the princes (of the heathens) shall fear His decree. <b>raised up</b> Heb. וַתִּשָׂא ; i.e., raised up a pillar of smoke.</html>
Verse 6
<html><b>has reached</b> Heb. נִתְּכָה, has reached the earth, as in (Exod. 9:33) “And rain did not reach (נְתַּךְ) the earth.” <b>have been broken up by Him</b>—by His fear.</html>
Verse 7
<html><b>The Lord is good yea, a stronghold</b>—Even when he inflicts retribution upon His enemies, His mercies do not cease to do good to those who fear Him. [This ability is] unlike the trait of [a man of] flesh and blood, who, when he is busy with one thing, is not free to [simultaneously] do another thing, as the matter is stated (Exod. 15:3): “The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is His Name.” [This is] as it is stated in <i>Mechilta</i> (ad loc.) <b>and is cognizant of</b>—the necessities of those who trust in Him.</html>
Verse 8
<html><b>But, with an overrunning flood</b>—with flooding wrath. <b>He shall make a full end of its place</b>—the place of the land. This refers back to “and the land raised up from before Him,” as is stated above.</html>
Verse 9
<html><b>He will make a full end</b>—of Nineveh and the kings of Assyria. He will not repeat this to you again.</html>
Verse 10
<html><b>For, while the thorns are entangled</b>—I.e., their destruction will come upon them suddenly, and they will not descend from their honor gradually, but while the thorns and the briers are [yet] entangled; i.e., strongly rooted. <b>and the drunkards are drinking</b>—While they are at their feasts and in their joy. Some interpret כִּי עַד סִירִים as an expression of הֲסָרָה, removal. <b>they are consumed like dry stubble, fully ripe</b>—Whose ripening has become full and complete, and it has dried out. <b>fully ripe</b> Heb. מָלֵא ; asovir, to be filled, in O.F And so (Exod. 22:28): “Your ripe fruits (מְלֵאָתְךָ)”; (Deut. 22:9) “The ripe fruit (הַמְלֵאָה) of the seed.”</html>
Verse 11
<html><b>From you</b>—you, Nineveh. <b>emanated</b>—Sennacherib, who plots evil, who thought to destroy the earthly abode and the heavenly abode. One passage reads (II Kings 19:23): “And I will come to its remotest lodge”; and one passage reads (Isa. 37:24): “Its remotest height.” “First I will destroy His earthly abode, and then I will destroy His heavenly abode” - as found in the chapter “<i>Chelek</i>“ (<i>Sanh. 94b).</i></html>
Verse 12
<html><b>Though they be at peace and likewise many</b> Jonathan’s <i>Targum</i> is very appropriate to the verse: If they [the people of Nineveh] are at peace in their counsel, that they will all be of one accord; and likewise, if the people of Nineveh, your enemies, are many, O Jerusalem; and likewise, even if they have crossed the Tigris and passed over the Euphrates to besiege it, they will not succeed, for I have afflicted you; I will no longer afflict you. I have heard further (this rendering): <b>If they are perfect</b>—the people of Nineveh, in their greatness. <b>and likewise</b>—if they will be still greater and more honored. <b>and so they shall be cut down and pass away</b>—And so I will cut them down and take them away. This is like (Exod 1:12) “And the more they would afflict them, the more they would multiply.” <b>and I will no longer afflict you</b>—I will afflict you this time with destruction and annihilation, and I will no longer be involved with you. Our Sages expounded upon this concerning the practice of charity in Tractate <i>Gittin (7a), but it does not fit in with the context.</i></html>
Verse 13
<html><b>And now I will break off his yoke from you</b>—The Shechinah says this to the prophet, who is of Israel: I will break off the yoke of Assyria from you and from My people.</html>
Verse 14
<html><b>And the Lord shall command concerning you</b>—Now the king of Assyria is being addressed. <b>No more [offspring] Of your name shall be sown</b>—No king shall arise from you. <b>I will make your grave</b>—I will make the house of your god your grave, for you shall flee there to escape, and there you shall be slain, as your father was slain in the temple of Nisroch, his god. <b>for you have become worthless</b>—in My eyes.</html>