Nahum 3:12-19 – The Incurable Wound

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church of Manhattan, KS, 16 March 2025

Introduction

v. 12 – God Starts To Trash-talk!

v. 13 – The Ease With Which God Will Overthrow Nineveh

v. 14 – God’s Enemies Prepare In Vain

v. 15 – Three Images of God’s Punishment

v. 16 – Riches Take Wings

v. 17 – The People Vanish Under God’s Judgment

v. 18 – Nineveh’s Leaders Are Incapacitated in God’s Judgment

v. 19 – No Remedy & No Pity For God’s Judgment

CONCLUSION


Nahum 3:11-19 Side-by side comparison of versionsA

DouayB (Vulgate)

LXXC

BrentonD (Vaticanus)

KJVE

NAW

Masoretic HebrewF

11 There­-fore thou also shalt be made drunk, and shalt be despised: and thou shalt seek help from the enem[ies].

11 κα σὺG μεθυσθήσῃ καὶ ἔσῃ ὑπερεωρ­αμένη, καὶH σὺ ζητήσεις σεαυτῇ στάσινI ἐξ ἐχθρῶν.

11 And thou shalt be drunken, and shalt be over­looked; and thou shalt seek for thy­self strength because of [thine] enem[ies].

11 Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou also shalt seek strength because of the enemy.

11 Even you yourself will become intoxicated; you will be disregarded, Even you yourself will seek refuge from the enemies.

(יא) גַּם אַתְּ תִּשְׁכְּרִיJ תְּהִי נַעֲלָמָה K גַּם אַתְּ תְּבַקְשִׁי מָעוֹז מֵאוֹיֵבL.

12 All thy strong holds shall be [like] fig trees with [their] green [figs]: if they be shaken, X they shall fall into the mouth of the eater.

12 πάντα τὰ ὀχυρώματά σου συκαῖ σκοποὺς ἔχουσαιM· ἐὰν σαλευ­θῶσιν, καὶ πεσοῦνται εἰς στόμα ἔσθοντος.

12 All thy strong-holds are [as] fig-trees having watchers: if they be shaken, X they shall fall into the mouth of the eater.

12 All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the first­ripe [figs]: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater.

12 All your forts are fig-trees with first-fruits; just let them be shaken, and they will fall into the mouth of the devourer!

(יב) כָּל מִבְצָרַיִךְ Nתְּאֵנִים עִם בִּכּוּרִים אִם יִנּוֹעוּ וְנָפְלוּ עַל פִּי אוֹכֵל.

13 Behold thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open to thy enemies, the fire shall de­vour thy bars.

13 ἰδοὺ ὁ λαός σου [ὡς] γυναῖ­κες ἐν Oσοί· τοῖς ἐχθροῖς σου ἀνοιγ­όμεναι ἀνοιχθή­σονται πύλαι τῆς γῆς σου, καὶP κατα­φάγεται πῦρ τοὺς μοχ­λούς σου.

13 Behold, thy people within thee are [as] wo­men: the gates of thy land shall surely be opened to thine ene­mies: the fire shall devour thy bars.

13 Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine ene­mies: the fire shall devour thy bars.

13 Look, your people are women in your midst. Before your enemies, the gates of your land are completely open; fire devours your door-bolts.

(יג)הִנֵּה עַמֵּךְ Qנָשִׁים בְּקִרְבֵּךְ לְאֹיְבַיִךְ פָּתוֹחַ נִפְתְּחוּ שַׁעֲרֵי אַרְצֵךְ אָכְלָה אֵשׁ בְּרִיחָיִך.

14 Draw thee water for the siege, build up thy bulwarks: go into the clay, and tread, work it [and] make brick.

14 ὕδωρ περι­οχῆς ἐπί­σπασαι σεαυτRκαὶ κατακράτ­ησον τῶν ὀχυρωμά­των σου, ἔμβηθι εἰς πηλὸνS καὶ συμπατήθητι ἐν ἀχύροις, κατακράτ­ησον ὑπὲρ πλίνθονT·

14 Draw thee water for a siege, and well secure thy strong-holds: enter into the clay, and be thou trod­den in the chaff, make [the for­tifica­tions] stron­ger than brick.

14 Draw thee waters for the siege, forti­fy thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread X the morter, make strong the brickkiln.

14 Bottle water for yourself for the siege. Strengthen your forts. Go to the mud-pit and make a mix with the clay; get a handle on the brick-work.

(יד) מֵי מָצוֹר שַׁאֲבִי לָךְ חַזְּקִי מִבְצָרָיִךְ בֹּאִי בַטִּיט וְרִמְסִי בַחֹמֶר הַחֲזִיקִי מַלְבֵּן.U

15 There shall the fire devour thee: thou shalt perish by the sword, it shall devour thee like the bruchus: assemble together like the bruchus, make thyself many like the locust.

15 ἐκεῖ καταφάγ­εταί σε πῦρ, ἐξολεθρεύ­σει σε ῥομφαία, καταφάγ­εταί σε ὡς ἀκρίς, καὶ βαρυνθήσῃV ὡς βροῦχος X X XW.

15 There the fire shall de­vour thee; the sword shall utterly destroy thee, it shall de­vour thee as the lo­cust, and thou shalt be pressed down as a palmerworm. X X X X

15 There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the can­ker­worm: make thy­self many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locust[s].

15 It is there that the fire will devour you. The sword will cut you down; it will devour you like a young-locust. Let it make itself as overwhelming as the young-locust; let it make itself as overwhelming as the swarming-locust!

(טו) שָׁם תֹּאכְלֵךְ אֵשׁ תַּכְרִיתֵךְ חֶרֶב תֹּאכְלֵךְ כַּיָּלֶקX הִתְכַּבֵּדY כַּיֶּלֶק הִתְכַּבְּדִי כָּאַרְבֶּהZ.

16 Thou hast multi­plied thy merchan­dises above the stars of heaven: the bruchus hath spread [himself] and flown away.

16 ἐπλθυνας τὰς ἐμπορίας σου ὑπὲρAA τὰ ἄστρα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ· βροῦχος ὥρμησεν καὶ ἐξ­επετάσθη.

16 Thou hast multi­plied thy merchan­dise beyond the stars of heaven: the palmer­worm has attacked [it], and has flown away.

16 Thou hast multi­plied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the canker­worm spoileth, and flieth away.

16 You have made your merchants more numerous than the stars of the skies. The young-locust has molted and taken wing.

(טז) הִרְבֵּית ABרֹכְלַיִךְ מִכּוֹכְבֵי הַשָּׁמָיִםAC יֶלֶק פָּשַׁטAD וַיָּעֹף.

17 Thy guards are like the locusts: and thy little ones like the locusts of locusts which swarm on the hedges in the day of cold: the sun arose, and they flew away, and their place was not known where they were.

17 ἐξήλατο ὡς ἀττέλεβος ὁ σύμμικτόςAE σου, ὡς X ἀκρὶς ἐπι­βεβηκυῖα ἐπὶ φραγ­μὸν ἐν ἡμέραις πάγους· ὁ ἥλιος ἀνέτειλεν, καὶ ἀφήλατο, καὶ οὐκ ἔγνω τὸν τόπον αὐτῆς· οὐαὶ [αὐτοῖς].

17 Thy mixed multitude has sud­denly de­parted as the grass­hopper, as the locust perched on a hedgeX in a frosty day; the sun arises, and it flies off, and knows not its place: woe [to them]!

17 Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshop­pers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.

17 Your devotees are like the swarming-locust. Furthermore, your officers are like burrowing locusts that entrench in the walls on a cold day. When the sun has risen, he is withdrawn, and it is not known where his location is.

(יז)AFמִנְּזָרַיִךְ כָּאַרְבֶּה וְטַפְסְרַיִךְAG כְּגוֹב גֹּבָיAH הַחוֹנִים בַּגְּדֵרוֹתAI בְּיוֹם קָרָהAJ שֶׁמֶשׁ זָרְחָה וְנוֹדַד וְלֹא נוֹדַע מְקוֹמוֹ אַיָּם.

18 Thy shepherds have slum­bered, O king of As­syria, thy princes shall be buried: thy people are hid in the mount­ains, and there is none to gather them.

18 ἐνύστα­ξαν οἱ ποιμένες σου, βασιλ­εὺς Ἀσσύρ­ιος ἐκοίμι­σεν τοὺς δυνάστας σου· ἀπῆρεν ὁ λαός σου ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη, καὶ οὐκ ἦν ὁ ἐκδεχ­όμενοςAK.

18 Thy shepherds have slum­bered, the Assyrian king has laid low thy mighty men: thy people departed to the mou­ntains, and there was none to re­ceive them.

18 Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no [man] gath­ereth them.

18 Your shepherds have gotten drowsy, O King of Assyria. Your nobles have gotten cozy. Your people were panicked upon the mountains, and there is no rallying them.

(יח) נָמוּAL רֹעֶיךָ מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר יִשְׁכְּנוּ אַדִּירֶיךָAM נָפֹשׁוּAN עַמְּךָ עַל הֶהָרִים וְאֵין מְקַבֵּץ.AO

19 Thy destruction is not hid­den, thy wound is grievous: all that have heard the fame of thee, have clapped their hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed con­tinually?

19 οὐκ ἔστιν ἴασις APτῇ συν­τριβῇ σου, ἐφλέγμανενπληγή σου· πάντες οἱ ἀκού­οντες τὴν ἀγγελίαν σου κροτή­σουσιν χεῖρας ἐπὶ σέ· διότι ἐπὶ τίνα οὐκ ἐπῆλ­θεν ἡ κακία σου διὰ παντός;

19 There is no healing for thy bruise; thy wound has rankled: all that hear the report of thee shall clap [their] hands against thee; for upon whom has not thy wickedness passed continually?

19 There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?

19 There is no diminishing to your brokenness[no] weakening of the strike against you. All who listen to the hearsay about you clap hands over you, for upon whom has your evil not had a lasting effect?

(יט) אֵין כֵּהָהAQ לְשִׁבְרֶךָ נַחְלָה מַכָּתֶךָ כֹּל שֹׁמְעֵי שִׁמְעֲךָ תָּקְעוּ כַףAR עָלֶיךָ כִּי עַל מִי לֹא עָבְרָה רָעָתְךָ תָּמִיד.



1Perhaps also to provide close shade (John 1:48).

2“And hence an useful doctrine may be deduced: whatever strength men may seek for themselves from different quarters, it will wholly vanish away; for neither forts, nor towers, nor ramparts, nor troops of men, nor any kind of contrivances, will avail any thing…” ~J. Calvin, 1559 AD

3καταναλίσκον, a synonym to the word “eater” (ἔσθοντος) in the LXX of Nahum.

4“God prepares men for ruin, when he debilitates their hearts, that they cannot bear the sight of their enemies… By saying, in the midst of thee, he intimates, that though they should be separated from their enemies and dwell in a fortified city, they should yet be filled with trembling…. smitten by the hand of God… that they would not cease to tremble, even while they were dwelling in a safe place.” ~Calvin, 1559 AD

5Isaiah 19:16 “In that day Egypt will be like women, and they will tremble and fear before the hand that Yahweh Commander of armies shakes over them.” (NAW)
Jeremiah 50:37 “A sword is against their horses, Against their chariots, And against all the mixed peoples who are in her midst; And they will become like women. A sword is against her treasures, and they will be robbed...” (NKJV)
cf. Luke 21:26 “...men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth...” (NKJV)

6And of Egypt (Isa. 45:1-2) and of Babylon (Jer. 51:30b).

7Pusey noted that “gates of the land” were different from “city gates,” explaining that mountain passes which afforded access to Nineveh are probably what is meant. Kyle agreed and interpreted the “bolts” as forts at those passes.

8“For as we see that so great is the vehemence of fire, that it melts iron and brass, so the Prophet means, that there would be no strength which could defend Nineveh and its empire against the hand of God.” ~Calvin

9בצר, a synonym to Nahum’s חזק.

10I, along with Metsudath David, Newcome and others interpret the locusts as an image of the Medo-Persians destroying Nineveh. Calvin and Grotius, however, interpreted the locusts as the Ninevites destroying other nations. Matthew Henry and Keil maintained that both were the case here.

11The only other place this verb appears in this hitpael stem in the Bible is Prov. 12:9, where it is translated “he honored himself/pretended to be somebody/played the great man/was self-important.”

12Every commentator I read interpreted it as such.

13Matthew Henry, however, said that the merchants came “from abroad.”

14Pusey noted lists of goods in which Nineveh traded, published by Rawlinson and Brugsch, including: nard, amonium, myrrh, frankincense, indigo, embroidery, brocades, wrought iron, silver dishes, brass harps, lapis lazuli, ebony, ivory, vases, etc.

16AJV renders “spreads itself,” but Lehrman translated “sheds the skin.” Keil insisted (inaccurately, as I point out in the endnotes) that “Pashat never means anything else than to plunder,” but he noted that Maurer, Ewald, and Hitzig interpreted it in terms of young locusts molting.

17Ibn Ezra and Kimchi supported “crowned,” while Daath Soferim and Keil supported “devoted” – the latter specifying “those levied, selected (for war).”

18“...Appoint a general against her; Cause the horses to come up like the bristling locusts.” (NKJV)

19Keil, like almost all the other commentators I read, took this position even though he admitted that “locusts do not take refuge in walls or hedges during the winter.” Calvin suggested yet another interpretation of the Assyrians themselves being the locusts who hibernated in Nineveh and “betook themselves in different directions... when the suitable time for plunder came.” But I don’t think this fits with the overall way Nahum is presenting the judgments upon Nineveh.

20I refer to Strong’s and Brown Driver & Briggs. It may be noted, however, that Holladay’s gloss is “swarm.” See also commentary notes in endnotes.

21“The point is that all the officials and leaders disappear when the trouble comes. Without the leadership, chaos ensues.” ~Michael Barrett, 2021 AD

22Cf. Calvin: “He refers to their sloth… they shall remain idle; they shall not be able to sally out against their enemies, to stop their progress” Barrett and others agreed.

23This was the interpretation of the KJV, Vulgate, and, among the commentators, Pusey and Keil (who also cited Theodoret, Hesselberg, and “Str.” in support).

25Cf. Psalm 47:1 “All you peoples: Clap your hands; cheer for God with a sound of singing.” (NAW) and Lam. 2:15, Job 27:23, where a synonym for Nahum’s “clap” (תקע) is used to show derision: ספק/שׂפק.

26Calvin agreed: “the pain of thy stroke cannot be allayed.”

27Micah 1:9 “because her plague is incurable [אנושׁה, a synonym to Nahum’s נחלה], because he has come to Judah; he has reached to the gate of my people – unto Jerusalem! (NAW)
Jeremiah 30:12-13 "For thus says the LORD: `Your affliction is incurable [אנושׁ], Your wound is severe.’ There is no one to plead your cause, That you may be bound up; You have no healing medicines [רפאות תעלה].’” (NKJV)

28מרפא, a synonym to Nahum’s כהה.

29Jeremiah 46:11 "Go up to Gilead and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt; In vain you will use many medicines [רפאות]; You shall not be cured [תעלה].” (NKJV)

30“And he says, ‘continually,’ to show that God’s forbearance had been long exercised. Hence, also, it appears, that the Assyrians were inexcusable, because, when God indulgently spared them, they did not repent, but pursued their wicked ways for a long course of time.” ~Calvin

AMy original chart includes the following copyrighted English versions: NASB, NIV, ESV, Bauscher’s version of the Peshitta, and Cathcart’s version of the Targums, but I remove these columns from my public, non-copyrighted edition of this chart so as not to infringe on their copyrights. NAW is my translation. When a translation adds words not in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use of italics or greyed-out text, I put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different from all the other translations, I underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original text, I use strikeout. And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I insert an X. I also place an X at the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English translation is singular. I occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between the various editions and versions when there are more than two different translations of a given word. The only known Dead Sea Scrolls containing Nahum 3 are 4Q82 (containing parts of verses 1-3 & 17 and dated between 30-1 BC), The Nahal Hever Greek scroll (containing parts of vs. 1-3 & 6-16 and dated around 25BC), and the Wadi Muraba’at Scroll (containing parts of verses 1-19 and dated around 135 AD). Where the DSS is legible and in agreement with the MT or LXX, the text is colored purple. Where the DSS support the LXX/Vulgate/Peshitta with omissions or text not in the MT, I have highlighted with yellow the LXX and its translation into English, and where I have accepted that into my NAW translation, I have marked it with /forward and back slashes\.

BDouay Old Testament first published by the English College at Douay, A.D. 1609, Revised and Diligently Compared with the Latin Vulgate by Bishop Richard Challoner, Published in 1582, 1609, 1752. As published on E-Sword.

C“Septuagint” Greek Old Testament, edited by Alfred Rahlfs. Published in 1935. As published on E-Sword.

DEnglish translation of the Septuagint by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton, 1851, “based upon the text of the Vaticanus” but not identical to the Vaticanus. As published electronically by E-Sword.

E1769 King James Version of the Holy Bible; public domain. As published electronically by E-Sword.

FFrom the Wiki Hebrew Bible https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%9B%D7%94_%D7%90/%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%AA.
DSS text comes from https://downloads.thewaytoyahuweh.com

GNahal Hever reads γε instead of the LXX συ. Και γε might be a slightly better-nuanced translation of the the Hebrew gam, but the Hebrew does have an emphatic pronoun “you” here, which is in the LXX, but not in Nahal Hever. However, since the verb has the second person embedded in it, the meaning is not really different.

HNahal Hever is partially illegible, but the letter ε is visible before συ here, presumably translating the Hebrew gam as και γε, like it did at the beginning of the verse also, yet another indication that Nahal Hever was a separate translation into Greek from the LXX.

IBy the time of the Greek N. T., this word had a different meaning, that of “insurrection/disputation,” but there is an interesting judgment-day parallel in Rev. 6:17 which uses the same Greek root in the phrase “who is able to stand?”

JCf. Hab. 2:16.

KThe Niphal spelling is properly interpreted reflexively by the Geneva (“hide thyself”) or passively (“be concealed/ignored/disregarded”) by Vulgate, LXX, Peshitta, Targums, KJV, and NASB, but the Niphal stem is ignored and translated actively (“hiding”) by NIV & ESV. There are other words in Hebrew with a more primary meaning of “cover/hide,” but this one is used throughout the HOT to indicate accidental ignorance or a purposeful averting of the eyes or ears so as not to see or hear another person. BHS suggested that switching the second and third letters of this word could generate the Targum’s word “destroyed.”

LPeshitta, Symmachus, and Brenton add “your,” but it is not in the LXX (not even Vaticanus) or Vulgate. However, what is in the Peshitta, LXX, and Vulgate is a plural ending. Since no DSS have survived with this word intact, those ancient versions are much closer to the time of the original than the existing Hebrew text itself. The fact that Symmachus also saw a suffix on the ending of the Hebrew word also raises doubt as to the MT spelling. But whether it is “your enemy,” “enemy” or “enemies,” the general meaning comes out the same.

MNahal Hever does not have room in its lacuna for this word. The MT has the preposition “with,” whereas the LXX has the participle form of the verb for “have,” which means basically the same thing but is a longer word. The shorter space in the N.H. may support the MT, since the Greek prepositions for “with” in Greek (συν, ‘αμα, μετα, εν) are shorter that the participle used by the LXX.

NThe Vulgate, Peshitta, and Targums (followed by all the English versions except the NASB) add the comparative particle “like,” but it is not in the MT or LXX or DSS (and therefore not in the NASB).

ONahal Hever lacuna begins here, which has too much space for the LXX wording, but a word like μεσω (“the middle of”) could be added without changing the meaning.

PThe lacuna in Nahal Hever here is too small to contain all the letters in the LXX, but it doesn’t necessarily require a different meaning since what the LXX says could be stated more concisely in Greek.

QIn a reversal of policy from the previous verse, the NET & NLT follow the LXX, Peshitta, and Targums which add a comparative “as,” but most standard English versions followed the MT (it’s illegible in all the DSS) and Vulgate with the grammar of metaphor instead of simile. Ultimately there is no difference in meaning as long as one doesn’t hold strictly to a literal hermeneutic with metaphors, which it seems the NIV did.

RThe lacuna in Nahal Hever, which begins here, is about 10 characters/spaces too short for the text in LXX.

SThe lacuna in Nahal Hever, which begins here, is about 9 characters/spaces too short for the text in LXX.

TNahal Hever reads πλινθειου instead of the LXX πλίνθον, but both words are obviously related to “bricks.”

UThis is one of only 3 instances of this word in the HOT, the others being 2 Sam. 12:31 (something that forced laborers could “bend/cross over”) and Jer. 43:9 (something that masons could “hide large stones” in). Calvin interpreted it in terms of mortar “joining together” the bricks.

VThe translators of Nahal Hever and of LXX went with the “heaviness” idea of the Hebrew verb rather than with the “greatness” idea of the verb which all other translators followed, but multiple commentators pointed out that this distinction should be preserved.

WLXX apparently skipped the last phrase, but it is in Nahal Hever: καταβαρυνθητι ‘ως ακρις.

XThis word only occurs here and in Ps. 105:34 (referring to the Egyptian plague, where it is translated “young locusts/caterpillars/grasshoppers”), Jer. 51:14 & 27 (describing the men and horses of the army coming up against Babylon as “caterpillars/locusts”), and Joel 1:4 & 2:25 (describing an army invasion of Judah, where it is translated “cankerworm/ crawling/creeping/hopping/young locust”). BDB’s gloss is “young locust,” with a root meaning “to lick up,” so Keil’s translation reads “lickers.”

YThis is an imperative masculine singular, so it should not refer to the feminine “you.” I think it refers to the common-gendered “fire.” (Both words for “locust” in this verse are also masculine.) The only other place this verb appears in this hitpael stem in the Bible is Proverbs 12:9, where it is translated “he honored himself/pretended to be somebody/played the great man/was self-important.” The next verb is exactly the same, except it is feminine, so I think it refers to the feminine “sword.” (The word for “you” is also singular and feminine, but it makes more sense for the fire and sword to be “multiplying/becoming overwhelming” rather than the city of Nineveh. The next verse does speak of Nineveh “multiplying,” but it uses a different verb for that – רב, which simply means “multiply,” whereas here the verb is כבד, which has more to do with the effect of “weight” or “importance” upon others, which is why I translated it “overwhelm” here.) The best way I could figure to bring out the nuance that the commands are to the fire and sword rather than to the people of Nineveh, was to make the imperative into a Jussive, so that I could use the word “it” – rather than the word “you” - as their subjects. Keil was the only commentator I found to even comment on this difficulty, but his solution was to have “the people [masculine עם which does not occur in this verse or in the previous verse] floating before his mind” followed by “thinking of the city [feminine עיר, which one would have to go back 15 verses to find].”

ZThis is the kind of locust which formed one of the plagues in Egypt (Ex. 10, Ps. 78:46, & 105:34 – where it is differentiated from the yeleq-locust and simply translated “locust”), and one of the curses for covenant-breaking (Deut. 38:28, 1 Ki. 8:37), but was kosher for eating (Lev. 11:22). Multitudinous enemies were often referred to as being like locusts (Judges 6:54, 7:12, Jer. 46:23, and Joel 1:4, 2:25 – where it is differentiated from the yeleq-locust by being translated “locust/swarming locust/great locust”) as here. BDB’s gloss is “locust,” with a root meaning “to be many.”

AANahal Hever translated with the preposition ως (“like/as”) requiring the “stars” be in the Accusative rather than the Genitive case, but here is a rare case where the LXX made a better translation with “above.”

ABThis word is only used elsewhere in the HOT to describe merchants at Jerusalem (1 Ki. 10:15; Neh. 3:31-32; 13:20; Cant. 3:6; Ezek. 17:4) and the merchants of Tyre (Ezek. 27:3, 13, 15, 17, 20, 22-24). The Greek translation of this word in the LXX of Nah. 3:16 only shows up in Matt. 22:5 in the parable of the invitations to the wedding feast when one of the first invitees went back to his “shop/business/merchandise,” and in John 2:16, where Jesus said that the sellers in the temple should not make His Father's house into a “house of business/merchandise/market/trade”! James 4:13 uses a verbal form too.

ACThis is one of only two places in the Bible (Isaiah 13:10’s eschatological one being the other) where this phrase “stars of the heavens” does not refer to the number of descendants promised to Abram (‎Gen. 22:17, 26:4, Ex. ‎32:13, Deut. 1:10, 10:22, ‎28:62, ‎1 Chron. 27:23, Neh. 9:23, Heb. 11:12).

ADThe NASB and NIV follow the Targums in translating this word according to the meaning of “strip” (esp. changing clothes), which is the most-common meaning of the word. However a secondary meaning of this same verb is “to conduct a surprise-attack” (Judges 9:33, 44, & 20:37, and 1 Sam. 23:27; 27:8-10; and 30:1, 14, 1 Chron. 14:9-13, 28:18, Job 1:17, and possibly Hos. 7:1), and this is the meaning brought out by the LXX. (Perhaps the Peshitta’s word has a similar range of meaning because Lamsa translated it “swarms” and Baucher translated it “sheds skin.”) The ESV, following the Vulgate, translates it according to its tertiary meaning “to spread out” (found only in 1 Chr. 14:9 &13 and its parallel passages in 2 Sam. 5:18 & 22, and advocated by Pusey and Keil), but the ESV was unwarranted in adding the word “wings.” Perhaps it speaks of the young larvae eating voraciously, then molting and flying away on their adult wings.

AEIt appears that Nahal Hever reads οχλος (“crowd”) here instead of the LXX “mixed multitude,” but the rest of the book of Nahum is too obliterated to read in N.H.

AFAlthough this word is a Hapex Legomenon, its related form appears 10 times, denoting consecrated priests (Lev. 15:31; 22:2), Nazirites (Num. 6:2,3,5,6,12), and devotees of various gods (Eze. 14:7, Hos. 9:10, and Zec. 7:3). May refer to a particular Assyrian official rank. Pusey, noting the headgear worn in Assyrian bas-reliefs, advocated for “crowned ones,” quoting Gosse’s book on Assyria, “All high officers of state… were adorned with diadems.”

AGThis word is only found in the HOT only here and in Jer. 51:27, where it is translated “commander/general/marshal/captain.” May refer to a particular rank of Assyrian officer. ESV renders “scribe” here. Ashurbanipal developed an impressive library and saw to it that his images always depicted a writing stylus in his belt, so being a scribe was highly valued in Nineveh. Keil noted that this word for “general” also appears in Targum Jonathan on Dt. 28:12 describing an angel.

AHThis word is repeated here. Its only other occurrence is Amos 7:1, where it is translated “locusts/locust-swarms/grasshoppers.” BDB and Strong related it to a root meaning “to dig/grub,” Lehrman traced its meaning to the Arabic cognate “to gather” and translated it “swarms” (cf. Holladay’s lexicon, followed by NASB, NIV, and ESV). Calvin (and Pusey and Keil) said the construction is a “superlative degree in Hebrew” and thus means “the locust of all locusts” or, as the KJV put it, “great locust,” followed by Henry “the largest specimens of that species.”

AIThis word shows up in only 7 other verses: Num. 32:16, 24, 36, 1 Sam. 24:4, Ps. 89:41, Jer. 49:3, and Zeph. 2:6, where it is translated “sheepfolds/pens/hedges/walls.”

AJ“cold” – in combination with “day” only here and in Prov. 25:20 “Like one who takes away a garment in cold weather ... Is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.” (NKJV) - and without “day” in Job 24:7, 37:9, and Ps. 147:17 – all about literal cold weather.

AKAq., Sym., Theod. translated with συναγων, which is much closer to the meaning of the Hebrew word.

ALA relatively-rare word found only here and in Psalm 76:6 & 121:3-4, and Isa. 5:27 & 56:10.

AMcf. Perhaps the same “noblemen” mentioned in 2:5, although I think the ones in chapter 2 could be Nineveh’s adversaries. After the feminine “your” in previous verses referring to the city of Nineveh, the 2nd singular possessive pronoun changes in this verse to masculine, referring to the King of Assyria.

ANThis rare verb, found only here and in Jer. 50:11 and Mal. 3:20 (and only here in the Niphal stem), is never used to describe anything but cattle (cf. “shepherds” here, although clearly a metaphor for people), and all the other occurrences, which are in the Qal stem, denote leaping about and frolicking – even stampeding, so this “scattering” is not so much about “distribution” as it is about “going every which-way” in a panic. Calvin agreed, but his solution was to claim (without any evidence) that the MT was misspelled (and should have been spelled פוץ as in Nah. 2:1) and to use the word “scatter” anyway!

AOI think this participle can be interpreted reasonably as a noun “rally,” but NASB & NIV interpreted it (reasonably) in terms of a particular person “one to gather.” Incidentally, in Isaiah 56:8 “The Lord Yahweh” is the “One who gathers.” Cf. 1 Kings 22:17 "...I saw all Israel scattered [פוץ instead of Nahum’s פוש] on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd...’” (NKJV)

APBHS notes suggested that this would be a better translation of גהה than of the MT’s כהה.

AQHapex Legomenon, but shares the same root as “dim/diminish” in Lev. 13:6, 21, 26, 28, 56, Isa. 42:3, and 61:3.

ARThis is one of two instances of the phrase “clap hands” in the HOT where the context is triumph (the other being Ps. 47:2), the other three instances of the phrase use a different verb and have to do with providing surety for a loan (Prov. 6:1, 17:18, 22:26).

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