Verse 1
Nahum turned from addressing the people of Judah to the people of Nineveh. He used the Hebrew prophetic perfect tense, which predicts future events as though they were past, to heighten belief in their certainty. One who would scatter would come up against Nineveh. "Scatterer" is a common figure for a victorious king (cf. Psalms 68:1; Isaiah 24:1; Jeremiah 52:8). Consequently the Ninevites should man their fortress, watch the road for the coming invader, and strengthen themselves. These measures would prove futile because the Lord would destroy the city. Nahum was speaking ironically. This section has been called "a taunt song." [Note: Longman, "Nahum," p. 801.]
"Sennacherib had spent no less than six years building his armory, which occupied a terraced area of forty acres. It was enlarged further by Esarhaddon and contained all the weaponry required for the extension and maintenance of the Assyrian empire: bows, arrows, quivers, chariots, wagons, armor, horses, mules, and equipment (cf. Ezekiel 23:24; Ezekiel 39:9). The royal ’road’ had been enlarged by Sennacherib to a breadth of seventy-eight feet, facilitating the movement of troops." [Note: Armerding, p. 472.]
Even though the Ninevites did all these things they could not escape overthrow. The invader proved to be Cyaxeres the Mede and Nabopolassar the Babylonian. [Note: For an ancient account of the battles that resulted in Nineveh’s fall, see D. Winton Thomas, ed., Documents from Old Testament Times, p. 76; or James B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, pp. 303-5.] However, the "scatterer" behind them was Yahweh.
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