Nahum 1

Nahum 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Nahum in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.[1][2] This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Nahum, and is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets.[3][4] This chapter describes the character of God in giving a fair judgment upon Nineveh.[5]

Nahum 1
← Micah 7 chapter 2 →
The whole Book of Nahum in Latin as a part of Codex Gigas, made around 13th century.
Book	Book of Nahum
Category	Nevi'im
Christian Bible part	Old Testament
Order in the Christian part	34

Text

The original text was written in Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 15 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), Aleppo Codex (10th century), Codex Leningradensis (1008).[6]

Fragments cumulatively containing all verses of this chapter were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls including 4QpNah, known as the "Nahum Commentary" (1st century BCE) with extant verses 3-6;[7][8] 4Q82 (4QXII^g; 1st century BCE) with extant verses 7-9.[9][10][11] and Wadi Murabba'at MurXII (1st century CE) with extant verses 1–15 (verses 1:1-14; 2:1 in Masoretic text).[9][12]

There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BC, with extant manuscripts including Codex Vaticanus (B; ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK: ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^S; 4th century), Codex Alexandrinus (A; ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^A; 5th century) and Codex Marchalianus (Q; ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^Q; 6th century).[13] Some fragments containing parts of this chapter (a revision of the Septuagint) were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, i.e., Naḥal Ḥever (8ḤevXII^gr; 1st century CE) with extant: verses 13-14.[9][14]

Simplified plan of ancient Nineveh, showing city wall and location of gateways.

Structure

NKJV groups this chapter:

• Nahum 1:1-8 = I. The Character of God: The holiness of the LORD; judgment upon Nineveh
• Nahum 1:9-15 = II. God's Punishment of His Enemies.

Verse 1

The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.[15]

• "burden" is translated from Hebrew word: משא ma·syā,[16] which can also mean "oracle".[17]
• "Elkosh", the hometown of prophet Nahum, has been identified with several cities, including the modern Alqosh of Assyria and Capharnaum of northern Galilee.[18]

Verse 4

He rebukes the sea and makes it dry,

And dries up all the rivers.

Bashan and Carmel wither,

And the flower of Lebanon wilts.[19]

• Bashan, Carmel, and Lebanon are known to be places of lush vegetation and among the most fertile regions of Palestine.[5][20]

See also

• Calming the storm
• Related Bible parts: Exodus 20, Psalm 18, Matthew 8, 2 Timothy 2

References

1. Collins 2014, p. 342.
2. Hayes 2015, 18. Judean Prophets: Micah, Zephaniah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Jeremiah.
3. Metzger, Bruce M., et al. The Oxford Companion to the Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
4. Keck, Leander E. 1996. The New Interpreter's Bible: Volume: VII. Nashville: Abingdon.
5. The Scofield Study Bible, Oxford University Press. 2003. ISBN 9780195278583. pp. 1185-7.
6. Würthwein 1995, pp. 35-37.
7. VanderKam, James C., The Dead Sea Scrolls Today, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994. pp. 10-11.
8. Fitzmyer 2008, p. 49.
9. Dead sea scrolls - Nahum
10. Ulrich, Eugene, ed. (2010). The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants. Brill. pp. 616. ISBN 9789004181830. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
11. Fitzmyer 2008, p. 39.
12. Fitzmyer 2008, pp. 140-141.
13. Würthwein 1995, pp. 73-74.
14. Fitzmyer 2008, p. 127.
15. Nahum 1:1 KJV
16. Hebrew word #4853 in Strong's Concordance
17. New King James Version
18. Nahum at The Catholic Encyclopedia
19. Nahum 1:4 KJV
20. The Nelson Study Bible. Thomas Nelson, Inc. 1997. ISBN 9780840715999. pp. 1514-5.

Sources

• Collins, John J. (2014). Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures. Fortress Press. ISBN 9781451469233.
• Fitzmyer, Joseph A. (2008). A Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 9780802862419.
• Hayes, Christine (2015). Introduction to the Bible. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300188271.
• Würthwein, Ernst (1995). The Text of the Old Testament. Translated by Rhodes, Erroll F. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-0788-7. Retrieved January 26, 2019.

External links

• Unique Pictures Of Nahum Tomb By Kobi Arami
• Jewish translations:
  • Nachum – Nahum (Judaica Press) translation [with Rashi's commentary] at Chabad.org
• Christian translations:
  • Online Bible at GospelHall.org (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
  • BibleGateway
  • Nahum – King James Version
• Nahum public domain audiobook at LibriVox Various versions