Nahum Preliminaries

Who wrote the letter?

Not much is known about Nahum, who wrote this book, or about Elkosh, the place from where he hailed. 'Nahum' means 'consolation' or 'full of comfort'.

To whom was the letter written?

This book is written to the nation of Judah.

Why was the letter written?

The letter was written to prophesy the fall of Nineveh and that it would never rise again.

The prophecy came when Nineveh was the largest human settlement ever.

The prophecy, made around 630 B.C., came true less than 25 years after it was made. This is remarkable because, per Wikipedia, Nineveh existed since around 1800 B.C. – for more than 1100 years before the prophecy was made.

Since then, for the last 2500 years, the ruins of Nineveh remain. People have built near those ruins, but the ruins themselves have never been restored. The city of Mosul, in Iraq, built on the opposite bank of the Tigris River became the successor of ancient Nineveh.

I would urge you to read the Wikipedia article on Nineveh to get more context on the prophecy was such an improbable statement that still came true.

When was the book written?

Scholars say that this book was written sometime around 620 B.C. since it refers to the capture of Thebes (No-Amon) in Nahum 3:8 and prophesies the fall of Nineveh. Thebes fell to the Assyrians in 661 B.C. Nineveh fell somewhere between 612 B.C. and 604 B.C.

Preliminary comments

The Old Testament books were written for our instruction (1 Cor 10:11; 2 Tm 3:16,17). When we read them we must see what we can learn from them about God and about man, and then we must apply what we learn to our own lives and our times.

God does not change (Mal 3:6). Therefore, He will behave the same today as He behaved in the days of Nahum. If the condition of the people today is the same as the condition of the people in the days of Nahum then the word that God has for the people today will be the same as the word that He had for the people in those days.

The prophets of God are to be messengers who speak the oracles of God to the people. Prophets need to know how God deals with different situations and discern the situation today and speak to the people accordingly.

Those who listen to the prophets of today also need to know how God deals with different situations and discern the situation today and determine whether the word of the prophets are in line with what God has said before.

It is in this frame of mind that we should study the book of Nahum.