Books of the Bible

The Book of Nahum

Old Testament · Minor Prophets · Genre: Prophecy · Author: The prophet Nahum · Chapters: 3

Nahum announces the downfall of Nineveh, the violent capital of Assyria, a century after Jonah. To a people crushed under Assyrian cruelty, it is a message of comfort: the God who is slow to anger is also just, and will not let tyranny stand forever.

Start reading: Nahum chapter 1

A key verse

The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.Nahum 1:7 (KJV)

The setting and background of Nahum

Nahum is among the twelve Minor Prophets, prophesying against Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, in the seventh century before Christ, roughly a century after the city had repented at Jonah's preaching. In the intervening generations Assyria had returned to its cruelty and become the most feared and brutal power of the age.

The book announces the final downfall of Nineveh, holding together two truths about God from its opening lines: that he is slow to anger and a stronghold for those who trust him, and that he will by no means clear the guilty. It vividly portrays the fall of the violent city and the relief of the nations it had oppressed.

Nahum was written as a message of comfort to peoples crushed under Assyrian tyranny, assuring them that God's justice will not let cruelty stand forever. Together with Jonah it reveals a God merciful to the repentant and just toward the persistently cruel. In the sweep of Scripture, its promise that God overthrows tyranny points to the final overthrow of all evil in Christ.

The story and structure of Nahum

Nahum prophesied against Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire, a century or so after the city had repented at Jonah's preaching. In the intervening generations Assyria had returned to its cruelty, becoming the most feared power of the age, notorious for its brutality and for crushing smaller nations, including the northern kingdom of Israel.

Where Jonah had seen Nineveh spared, Nahum announces its final judgment. The empire that had terrorized the nations and mocked the God of Israel will itself be brought down, its walls breached and its glory ended. For the oppressed peoples who had suffered under Assyria, this is not cruelty but justice, the overthrow of a tyrant.

The book opens by holding together two truths about God that anchor everything that follows. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, a stronghold in the day of trouble who knows those who take refuge in him, and at the same time he will by no means clear the guilty. His patience is real, and so is his justice.

Nahum vividly portrays the fall of Nineveh, the chariots raging in the streets, the city emptied and plundered, and the nations that had suffered under it clapping their hands at the news. The prophet asks who can stand before God's indignation, and answers that no empire, however mighty, is beyond his reach.

For the people of Judah, still under Assyria's shadow, Nahum's message is good news. The God who is a refuge for those who trust him will not let cruelty triumph forever. Tyranny does not have the last word, and the same power that terrifies the wicked is a stronghold for those who take shelter in the Lord.

The great themes of Nahum

Key passages in Nahum

Nahum in the sweep of Scripture

Nahum stands among the twelve as a companion and counterpoint to Jonah, showing the other side of God's dealings with Nineveh. Together the two books reveal a God who is merciful to the repentant and just toward the persistently cruel. Nahum's confession that the Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, has comforted the oppressed in every age, and its assurance that God brings down tyranny points toward the final overthrow of all evil at the end of the Bible's story.

Where Christ is in Nahum

Nahum's assurance that God is a stronghold for those who trust him in the day of trouble points to Jesus, our refuge, who will finally overthrow all evil and comfort the oppressed. The God who judges cruelty and shelters the trusting is the same God who in Christ takes up the cause of the afflicted and who will one day put an end to every tyranny at his return.

How to read Nahum well

Read Nahum when the powerful seem to win and cruelty appears to go unchecked, and take comfort that God is both a refuge for those who trust him and a just judge of every oppressor. Let it hold before you the two truths it joins, that God is patient and merciful yet will not leave the guilty unpunished, and let its picture of Nineveh's fall assure you that tyranny does not have the last word in God's world.

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