Nahumchapter 2
13 verses · Nahum · 663 to 612 BC · The Twelve
Key verse
He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily.
It stands in The shatterer comes up; chariots rage in the streets, verses 1 to 5.
The chapter
Chapter summary
The siege filmed in close-up. 'He that dasheth in pieces is come up against thee: keep the fortress, watch the way', futile orders. Shields dyed red, warriors in scarlet, chariots flashing like steel, raging in the streets and running like the lightnings; officers stumbling in their haste to the wall. Then the collapse in one line: 'the gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace is dissolved.' The queen is carried off, her handmaids moaning like doves and beating on their breasts; Nineveh drains away as her people flee: 'Stand, stand, they cry; but none looketh back.' Take the spoil of silver, the spoil of gold: 'she is empty, and void, and waste.'
Context
Prophecy · Nahum · Nahum overview
The world behind this chapter
Nahum 2The history
This chapter is a battle report written in the present tense. Chariots rage in the streets, shields are red, the defenders stumble on the wall, and the palace is dissolved.
The rest of the history, and what it meant to them
One line has drawn attention for a long time: "the gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved." Nineveh sat where the Khosr river ran into the Tigris, and the city's water system involved dams, canals, and river gates. The Babylonian Chronicle records the city's fall to the allied army; later Greek tradition adds that a flooding river breached the defenses. How much weight the later tradition carries is debated, but the geography and the waterworks are real.
"Nineveh is of old like a pool of water" fits a city fed by an engineered water supply, including a long aqueduct built under Sennacherib whose remains have been found at Jerwan.
The lion imagery at the end of the chapter is precise and cutting. Assyrian kings hunted lions ceremonially, and the palace reliefs from Nineveh showing the royal lion hunt are among the most famous objects to come out of the ancient Near East. Nahum turns the emblem around: where is the dwelling of the lions, the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion tore enough for his whelps?
The plunder is real too. Nineveh's wealth came from tribute and loot hauled in from every direction for generations. "Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold" describes a treasury built out of other people's cities being emptied by somebody else.
What it meant to them
To hear the sack of Nineveh described in advance, in detail, was to hear that the strongest fortress in the world had an appointment.
For Judah the practical meaning was survival. "The LORD turneth away the excellency of Jacob" acknowledges what Assyria had already done to God's people, and then says the empire that did it is finished.
Sources cited
- Austen Henry Layard, Nineveh and Its Remains (public domain)
- D. J. Wiseman, Chronicles of Chaldaean Kings (626–556 B.C.) in the British Museum
Where the chapter sits
Nahum 2 falls in Nineveh's siege and destruction (chapters 2–3). The attack described in vivid battle-poetry; the woe over the ‘bloody city’; the finality of her fall.
Before it: The LORD's character and Nineveh's fall announced, chapters 1.
The whole shape of Nahum→The structure of this chapter
People1
Places1
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
A. The shatterer comes up; chariots rage in the streets
1. (vv. 1-2)
Nahum 2:1
“He that dasheth in pieces - Rather, “the Disperser,” the instrument of God, whereby he should “break her in pieces like a potter’s vessel, or should scatter” her in all lands, is come up against thy face, O Nineveh, i. e., either, over against thee” , confronting her as it were, face to face, or directed against thee . From the description of the peace of Judah, the prophet turns suddenly to her oppressor, to whom, not to Judah, the rest of the prophecy is directed. Jacob and Israel are spoken of, not to .”
2 more voices on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Nahum 2:1
“The prophet speaks of it as just at hand, for it is neither doubtful nor far distant: "Look about thee, and see, he that dashes in pieces has come up before thy face. Nebuchadnezzar, who is noted, and will be yet more so, for dashing nations in pieces, begins with thee, and will dissipate and disperse thee;" so some render the word.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Nahum 2:1
“Ironical advice; equivalent to a prophecy, Thou shalt have need to use all possible means of defense; but use what thou wilt, all will be in vain. make thy loins strong--The loins are the seat of strength; to gird them up is to prepare all one's strength for conflict (Job 40:7).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Nahum 2:2
“For the Lord hath turned away the excellency of Jacob--that is, the time for Nineveh's overthrow is ripe, because Jacob (Judah) and Israel (the ten tribes) have been sufficiently chastised. The Assyrian rod of chastisement, having done its work, is to be thrown into the fire.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Nahum 2:2
“The waster spoken of here by the Prophet, some consider him to have been Sennacherib, and others, Nebuchodonosor. The verb lh, ole, is also variously explained: it is often taken metaphorically in Hebrew for vanishing, as we say in French, Il s'en va en fumee; for smoke ascends, and this is the reason for the metaphor.”
John Calvin· Commentaries (1554)reformed
Nahum 2:2
“For the Lord hath turned away - Bishop Newcome reads, for the Lord restoreth, by a slight alteration in the text. I do not see that we gain much by this. The Lord has been opposed to Jacob, and the enemy has prevailed against him. Emptied them out - Brought them from their own land into captivity. This was the emptying!”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
He that dasheth in pieces: The dasher in pieces is announced to Nineveh's face with mock military orders: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, the prophet drilling a city he knows will fall. Verse 2 gives the ground in a parenthesis: the Lord hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, the emptiers who emptied Israel now to be emptied, which the bench reads as the book's hinge between the comfort of chapter 1 and the assault of chapter 2. Nahum's name means comfort, and the comfort is Judah's precisely here, as Pusey notes: the oppressor's end announced is the oppressed's consolation.
2. (vv. 3-5)
Nahum 2:3
“English Version supposes a transposition of the Hebrew letters. It is better to translate the Hebrew as it is, "the chariots (shall be furnished) with fire-flashing scythes" (literally, "with the fire," or glitter, of iron weapons).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Nahum 2:4
“The chariots shall rage in the streets,.... In the streets of Nineveh when taken; where they shall be drove in a furious manner from place to place, the men in them breathing out slaughter and death wherever they came. Kimchi understands this of the chariots of the Ninevites; who shall drive about in them in the streets of the city like madmen; not daring to go out to fight the enemy, being mightier and more numerous than they.”
1 more voice on this verse
Nahum 2:4
“The chariots shall rage - Those of the besiegers and the besieged, meeting in the streets, producing universal confusion and carnage.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Nahum 2:5
“He shall recount his worthies - The Assyrian king wakes as out of a sleep, literally, “he remembers his mighty men” (as Nah 3:18; Jdg 5:13; Neh 3:5); “they stumble in their walk,” literally, paths , not through haste only and eager fear, but from want of inward might and the aid of God. These whom God leads stumble not Isa 63:13. : “Perplexed every way and not knowing what they ought to do, their mind wholly darkened and almost drunken with ills, they reel to and fro, turn from one thing to another, and in all” labor in vain.”
2 more voices on this verse
Nahum 2:5
“Nebuchadnezzar's commanders are here called his worthies, his gallants (so the margin reads it), his heroes; those he shall recount, and order them immediately and without fail to render themselves at their respective posts, for he is entering upon action, is resolved to take the field immediately, and to open the campaign with the siege of Nineveh.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Nahum 2:5
“But in vain; for they shall stumble in their walk--"they shall stumble in their advance" through fear and hurry. the defence shall be prepared--rather, the covering machine used by besiegers to protect themselves in advancing to the wall. Such sudden transitions, as here from the besieged to the besiegers, are frequent (compare Eze 4:2), [MAURER].”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
The shield of his mighty men is made red: The assault is painted in color and speed: shields red, valiant men in scarlet, chariots with flaming torches raging in the streets and justling in the broad ways, running like the lightnings. The commentators weigh the red, dyed shields or bronze catching sun or blood anticipated, and the readings stand named; the scarlet matches what the monuments show of the Medes and Babylonians who took the city. The recounted worthies stumbling in their walk carry the defense's panic inside the attack's momentum, one poem holding both armies.
B. The river gates opened; Nineveh emptied and void
1. (vv. 6-8)
Nahum 2:6
“The gates of the rivers shall be opened - I have already referred to this, see the note on Nah 1:8; but it will be necessary to be more particular. The account given by Diodorus Siculus, lib. ii., is very surprising. He begins thus: Ην δ’ αυτῳ λογιον παραδεδομενον εκ προγονων, κ.τ.λ. - “There was a prophecy received from their forefathers, that Nineveh should not be taken till the river first became an enemy to the city.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Nahum 2:6
“Traces of dams ("gates," or sluices) for regulating the supply are still visible, so that the whole city could be surrounded with a water barrier (Na 2:8). Besides, on the east, the weakest side, it was further protected by a lofty double rampart with a moat two hundred feet wide between its two parts, cut in the rocky ground.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Nahum 2:7
“And Huzzab shall be led away captive,.... The Targum translates it the queen; and Jarchi and Aben Ezra, after R.”
2 more voices on this verse
Nahum 2:7
“MAURER makes it not a proper name, and translates, "It is established," or "determined" (compare Ge 41:32). English Version is more supported by the parallelism. led away captive--The Hebrew requires rather, "she is laid bare"; brought forth from the apartments where Eastern women remained secluded, and is stripped of her ornamental attire.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Nahum 2:7
“The first word should he rendered, “And it is decreed; She shall be laid bare. It is decreed.” All this took place, otherwise than man would have thought, because it was the will of God.”
Nahum 2:8
“But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water - מימי mimey, from days. Bp. Newcome translates the line thus: “And the waters of Nineveh are a pool of waters.” There may be reference here to the fact given in the preceding note, the overflowing of the river by which the city was primarily destroyed. Stand, stand - Consternation shall be at its utmost height, the people shall flee in all directions; and though quarter is offered, and they are assured of safety it they remain, yet not one looketh back.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Nahum 2:8
“Stand, stand, shall they cry--that is, the few patriotic citizens shall cry to their fleeing countrymen; "but none looketh back," much less stops in flight, so panic-stricken are they.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
The gates of the rivers shall be opened: , and the palace shall be dissolved: the chapter's exactest stroke, and the evidence lane carries it, since the accounts of Nineveh's fall record the river turned against the city and a stretch of wall carried away, water doing what siege engines could not. Huzzab led away with her maids mourning as with the voice of doves takes the readings named, the queen, or the city personified, or a name; the bench does not settle it and neither does the note. Nineveh of old like a pool of water, and now the pool drains: stand, stand, shall they cry, but none shall look back.
2. (vv. 9-10)
Nahum 2:9
“Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold - Nineveh had not hearkened of old to the voice of the prophet, but had turned back to sin; it cannot hearken now, for fear. He turns to the spoiler to whom God’s judgments assigned her, and who is too ready to hear. The gold and silver, which the last Assyrian King had gathered into the palace which he fired, was mostly removed (the story says, treacherously) to Babylon.”
Nahum 2:10
“Their spirits shall melt away like wax before the fire; their knees shall smite together (as Belshazzar's did, in his agony, Dan. v. 6 ), so that they shall not be able to stand their ground, no, nor to make their escape; much pain shall be in all loins, as is the case in extreme frights, so that they shall not be able to hold up their backs.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
Nahum 2:10
“Hebrew, Bukah, Mebukah, Mebullakah (compare Isa 24:1, 3, 4; Zep 1:15). faces of all gather blackness--(See on Joe 2:6). CALVIN translates, "withdraw (literally, 'gather up') their glow," or flush, that is, grow pale.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Take ye the spoil of silver: The plunder order is given to the attackers in the oracle's own voice, take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold, for there is none end of the store: the wealth of a century of empires' tribute handed over in a sentence. Then the after-picture in three Hebrew words the King James renders empty, and void, and waste, a rising rhyme of desolation the commentators note as sound made meaning. The heart melting, knees smiting, faces gathering blackness: the body's inventory of terror, the same anatomy Joel and Isaiah use for the day of the Lord, stated as the shared vocabulary it is.
C. Where is the lions' den now?vv. 11-13
the dwelling of the lions: The taunt closes the chapter at the empty den: where is the dwelling of the lions, where the lion walked and none made them afraid? The lion was Assyria's own royal emblem, carved on its palace walls, and the prophet turns the heraldry into an epitaph, the lion that tore for his whelps and filled his holes with prey now hunted out of history, which the bench sets beside the monuments' lion hunts. The last word is not the armies' but the Lord's, behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts, the sentence repeated at 3:5: one adversary decided this siege, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard, the empire's dispatches ended.
Nahum 2:11
“Where is the dwelling of the lions?.... Of the kings of Assyria, comparable to lions for their strength, courage, and cruelty, tyranny, and oppression; such as Pul, Tiglathpileser, Shalmaneser, and Sennacherib.”
1 more voice on this verse
Nahum 2:11
“It was as full of spoils of all nations as a lion's den is of remains of its prey. The question, "Where," &c., implies that Jehovah "would make an utter end of the place," so that its very site could not be found (Na 1:8).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Nahum 2:12
“The lion did tear - This verse gives us a striking picture of the manner in which the Assyrian conquests and depredations were carried on. How many people were spoiled to enrich his whelps - his sons, princes, and nobles! How many women were stripped and slain, whose spoils went to decorate his lionesses - his queen, concubines, and mistresses. And they had even more than they could assume; their holes and dens - treasure-houses, palaces, and wardrobes - were filled with ravin, the riches which they got by the plunder of towns, families, and individuals.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Nahum 2:13
“Behold I, Myself, am against thee - (Literally, “toward thee”). God, in His long-suffering, had, as it were, looked away from him; now He looked toward (as in Psa 37:20) him, and in His sight what wicked one should stand? “Saith the Lord of hosts,” whose power is infinite and He changes not, and all the armies of heaven, the truly angels and evil spirits and men are in His Hand, whereto He directs or overrules them. “And I will burn her chariots in the smoke.” The Assyrian sculptures attest how greatly their pride and strength lay in their chariots.”
2 more voices on this verse
Nahum 2:13
“Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts,.... Against Nineveh, and the whole Assyrian empire, for such rapine, violence, and oppression, their kings had been guilty of; and if he, who is the Lord of hosts, of all the armies of heaven and earth, was against them, nothing but ruin must inevitably ensue: or, "I come unto thee" (s); or will shortly come unto thee, and reckon with thee for all this; will visit thee in a way of wrath and vengeance.”
Nahum 2:13
“Thy messengers - Embassadors or muster-masters. Probably this refers to Rabshaketh who had blasphemed the living God. Those are not worthy to be heard again, that have once spoken reproachfully against God.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
This page carries no textual note on Nahum 2. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The exposition
Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
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