The only mention in scripture of nahum the elkoshite occurs in the first verse of his own book. Nahum begins his book with an acrostic poem the first letter of each line follows the hebrew alphabet. The prophets name means comfort, and his word of comfort is for judah, the lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and he knoweth them that trust in him nahum 1. He was raised up to preach gods judgment for a second time to nineveh. Avoiding the fierce punishment of the lord is not dependent on ethnicity, class, intelligence, skin color, or family history, but on repentance and faith. Study guide for nahum 1 by david guzik blue letter bible. The god of heaven is a god of mercy to the penitent, yet a god of doom to the impenitent.
The prophecy of nahum, written by a hebrew against the capital of a gentile world power nineveh, is a denunciation of rampant militarism and tyranny, especially as it affects gods people. The name nahum means comfort and is related to the name nehemiah, meaning the lord comforts or comfort of the lord. Use highlighting, underlining, and take notes while you study the bible. Micah, nahum, habakkuk, and zephaniah, new american commentary by kenneth barker more insights from your bible study get started with logos bible software for free. One hundred years after gods prophet jonah went to nineveh, god sent another prophet, nahum with a message.
Nahum the new testament of the king james version bible. While scholars have proposed a number of theories about nahum s hometown, elkosh, the best option identifies it with a city in southern judah that later came to be known as elcesi, near where the prophet micah lived. Therefore it is reasonable to affirm that nahum was written sometime. Nahum with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. The central theme of the book of nahum is the overthrow of the greatest capital city of the ancient gentile world in the 7 th century bc. The book would then have been written in jerusalem, where nahum would have witnessed the invasion of sennacherib and the destruction of his host 2 kings 19.
This is all that is known of the writer of this book. Nahum s book is a sequel to, and a dramatic contrast with, the book of jonah. These bible study questions and answers are an ongoing project. The book h2377 of the vision h5151 of nahum h512 the elkoshite. The lord had harsh words for nineveh, who had again become disobedient to him, but this time nineveh would not escape destruction. Ninevehs fall, which is nahum s theme, would bring comfort to judah. This lesson renews our study of the minor prophets by beginning to examine the book of nahum.
Elkosh was a city in assyria, a few miles north of the ruins of nineveh. Transcribed and edited by david sielaff, august 20. Very candidly, i must say that the little book of nahum is not the greatest in the bible, but it is a great book, and it is in the word of god for a very definite purpose. Nineveh, the arrogant capital of the assyrian empire, will be destroyed. Tucked away among the minor prophets is the relatively unknown book of nahum. Referencing daniel, exodus, isaiah and babylon, nahum shows us that the destruction of nineveh and assyria are examples of how god works in history in every age. The book of nahum mentions the recent fall of noamon, or thebes, which occurred in.
As i come to each new book and chapter of the bible, some folk kid me that i. However, nahum is a thrilling book to study because it reveals the other side of the attributes of god. This summary of the book of nahum provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of nahum. Jonah recounts the remission of gods promised judgment toward nineveh, while nahum depicts the later execution of gods judgment. Although god uses pagans to punish his peoples apostasy and sin, the tool itself is also liable to punishment. Ninevehs fall, which is nahums theme, would bring comfort to judah. The books title is taken from the prophetofgods oracle against nineveh, the capital of assyria. Nahums book is a sequel to, and a dramatic contrast with, the book of jonah. God is love, but god is also holy and righteous and good. Jan 02, 2020 book of nahum bible survey what are the major prophets and minor prophets. Nahum preached to the city of nineveh 100 years after jonah had preached to the city. An avenger is jehovah on his adversaries, and he is watching for his enemies. Intro to nahum biblica the international bible society. But we dont know where that was because it is not mentioned elsewhere in the bible.
The book of nahum comes some one hundred years after the prophecy of jonah. We will add, update, and clarify the truths as the holy spirit shows them to us. Actually, i like to study the little books of jonah and nahum together because it. Bible study guide book of nahum united church of god. To understand the prophets exultant outburst of joy over the impending destruction it is necessary to recall the savage cruelty of assyria, which had made it the scourge of the ancient near east for almost three centuries. Introduction from the niv study bible go to nahum author the book contains the vision of nahum 1. Nahum prophesied, according to some, in the beginning of the reign of ahaz b. They will be updated each time the book is studied. Nahum s name means comforter, but nahum is not trying to comfort the people. Shortly before the fall of nineveh, the capital of assyria, in 612 b. Chapters two and three describe the fall of nineveh, which later took place in 612 bc.
Although god uses pagans to punish his peoples apostasy and sin, the tool itself is also. The nwt study bible is complete with cross references, maps, and an accurate bible dictionary. In the hebrew bible, there are just three words at the start of verse 10. The book was composed, therefore, between 664 and 612 b. It reveals the other side of the attributes of god. When we see the vivid, descriptive way nahum writes we understand that the book records what he saw in his vision. The study claims a decline in historical approaches and charts the preference for studying the book s literary growth, such as the relationship of nahum to the book of the twelve. Nineveh is compared to thebes, the egyptian city that assyria itself had destroyed in 663 bc. Please feel free to copy the questions and answers for easier or further study. Christ in all the scriptures a m hodgkin the destruction of nineveh is the one burden of nahum. This gives us an idea of the hebrew poetry in the book of nahum. Nahum means comfort or consolation and is a short form of nehemiah comfort of yahweh. When god told jonah to go to nineveh and to bring a message there, a remarkable thing happenedthe entire city turned to god100 percent.
This summary of the book of nahum will help with many different forms of bible study. The book contains the vision of nahum, whose name means comfort and is related to the name nehemiah, meaning the lord comforts or. The lord takes vengeance on his foes and vents his wrath against his enemies. Study scripture verses with commentary, concordances, and use highlighting, underlining, take notes in the bible. Although in many lessons the writer or teacher decides on a lesson aim the main. Book of nahum overview insight for living ministries. Jonahs mission to nineveh was probably sometime in the first half of the eighth century b. Sep 21, 2017 today our bible lesson is from nahum nayhuhm. Nahum forms a sequel to the book of jonah, who prophesied over a century earlier. In this book, nahum portrays the downfall of nineveh and assyria as an image of how god will confront and bring down all violent human empires. Nahum in the picture study bible the book of nahum with. During this time, nineveh had repented of its repentance, and had begun to do the same things again that called forth the threat of judgment through the prophet jonah.
Study nahum using the geneva study bible to better understand scripture with full outline and verse meaning. Barry thus shows how nahum interpretation is influenced by the critical methodologies used. If taken out of its context, the book of nahum is a tough read. To jonahs dismay, the ninevites listened to his message, repented, and were spared gods judgment. Nahum inductive bible study for youth every child ministries. Exact or approximate indications of time are totally missing in nahum s book. Book of nahum read, study bible verses online bible study tools.
Book of nahum bible survey what are the major prophets and minor prophets. Why is it in the bible and what message does the prophet nahum have for us. A summary, synopsis or recap is a shortened version of the original. Because this is a vision, in some way nahum saw it. The consuming wrath of god a jealous and avenging god is the lord, the lord is avenging and wrathful. With this additional short summary of the book of nahum you can discover the people, places and stories detailed in this holy scripture.
Barton payne, 2 chronicles, in the expositors bible commentary. Notice how halleys bible handbook introduces the book of nahum. Perhaps the book s emphasis upon the power of the assyrians may suggest a date before 645 b. The scholarly consensus is that the book of vision was written at the time of the fall of nineveh 3. The book of the vision as prophets were of old called seers, so their prophecies were called visions. Nahum describes the siege and frenzied activity of ninevehs troops as they try in vain to halt the invaders. His book is a message of destruction for nineveh, and that would have been a message of consolation for the nations she had oppressed. Nahum thus expresses vengeance and hope in the neoassyrian downfall by celebrating the fall of nineveh in 612 bce. With bible gateway plus, you gain instant access to a digital bible study library, including complete notes from the niv cultural backgrounds study bible and the new bible commentary. Actually, i like to study the little books of jonah and nahum together because it was between 100 and 150 years before nahum appeared on the scene that jonah went to nineveh with a message from god. Nahum could well have lived there and have prophesied to nineveh, as daniel did to babylon later on. Nahum summary we have detailed a brief summary of the book of nahum for bible study or sunday school lessons. The book s title is taken from the prophetofgods oracle against nineveh, the capital of assyria.
Nahum, bible courses, bible study guides, bible study questions, books of bible, english. Excellent bible study the amazing claims of bible prophecy the book of nahum dr mark hitchcock duration. Reading the chapter before looking at the notes, while working with the notes, and after finishing with the notes will give each researcher a powerful sense of the series of meanings within each chapter. Authorship the author of this remarkably literary book is probably nahum. The book of nahum is a collection of poems announcing the downfall of assyria, one of israels worst oppressors.
The lords anger against nineveh the lord is a jealous and avenging god. It begins with the lord is a jealous and avenging god. The book of nahum is the seventh book of the 12 minor prophets of the hebrew bible. His message was basically an oracle against nineveh. Bible study guide book of nahum saturday, august 24, 2012 background on nahum the name nahum means comfort and is related to the name nehemiah, meaning the lord comforts or comfort of the lord. Thus opens nahum s prophecy, and this is the message of this book of the bible for the world today. This was more than a message communicated to nahum in words or phrases from god. Why did god judge nineveh so harshly in the book of nahum. While scholars have proposed a number of theories about nahums hometown, elkosh, the best option identifies it with a city in southern judah that later came to be known as elcesi, near where the prophet micah lived. The facts that the kingdom of the 10 tribes in which galilee lies was already in assyrian captivity at nahum s time and that nahum directly speaks to the kingdom of judah chap.
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