Minor Prophets:
Nahum

God is good . . . and angry.  That's the title of a sermon that you can find linked below and it does a good job of summing up Nahum's message to Nineveh.  Some 150 years earlier, Jonah had brought a message of divine displeasure to Nineveh, resulting in the city's repentance.  But Nahum simply brought the news of impending and inescapable doom.

Left: A medieval rendering of Nahum

 

The Bare Facts

Who:  We know virtually nothing about Nahum.  His name means "comforter" or "consolation."  He is almost certainly not the Nahum mentioned in Luke's genealogy of Christ (3:25).

Where:  Nahum is identified as "the Elkoshite" in 1:1, but the location of Elkosh is unknown.  The name means "God my bow."  Some place the town in Galilee.  Smith's Bible Dictionary suggests it as located near present-day Mosul, Iraq, on the Tigris River, an intriguing idea given the political geography of the time.

When:  The date of Nahum is somewhat conjectural.  Since it refers to the fall of Thebes (661 B.C.) as completed and looks forward to the fall of Nineveh (612 B.C.), it can be placed between those dates.  This places Nahum's writings after the fall of the Northern Kingdom and

What:  Nahum brought just one message, an oracle concerning the imminent destruction of Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire.

 

Memorable Passages
1:7	Praise for God.
1:15	Messianic prophecy.  Christ brings peace and protection.
3:1-4	"Woe to the city of blood."

Overviews and Outlines

An Introduction to the Book of Nahum

An outlined overview by David Malick.

An Argument of Nahum

David Malick's rhetorical outline of the book.

The Grace Institute: Nahum

A well-rounded overview from a Eugene Oregon church.

The Book of Nahum

An introduction from Quartz Hill School of Theology.

About Bible Prophecy: Nahum

A list and discussion of the prophecies and their fulfillments.  Created by a team of Catholics and Wisconsin-Synod Lutherans.

Bible Basics

A very brief list of facts, but it includes a wav file pronouncing the book's title.

Easton Bible Dictionary: Nahum

The article from M.G. Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary.

Catholic Encyclopedia: Nahum

The appropriate entry from the public domain edition of this venerable reference work.

Columbia Encyclopedia: Nahum

A brief article from the 2001 edition of this reference work.

Jewish Encyclopedia

An article from the 1901-06 reference work.  Generally liberal in its critical presuppositions.

Bible Explained

This is a commentary by an energetic fellow named Ted Wade.  He provides brief notes on each chapter and most verses for the entire Bible.

Luther Productions

A very brief overview including key verses.

The Blue Letter Bible

An excellent source for text, cross-references, concordance, language helps, commentaries, and more.

Antiquities of the Jews--Book IX

The writings of Flavius Josephus. Chapter 11 (about 3/4 of the way down), paragraph 3 covers the ministry of Nahum.

Dead Sea Scrolls: Nahum Commentary

An image, translation, and explication of Dead Sea Scroll 4Q169.

Bible Studies: Whole Book

The Minor Prophets: Nahum

Number 8 in a 13-lesson series by Hampton Keathley IV.

The Book of Nahum

A study course by Greg Herrick.

Studies in the Minor Prophets--Nahum--The Fall of Nineveh

An executable outline by Mark Copeland.

Nahum and HabakkukStudies in the Minor Prophets--Nahum--The Fall of Nineveh

A study on these two prophets from BibleTeacher.org.

Notes on Nahum

A 28-page pdf file of notes, including a lengthy bibliography, by Thomas L. Constable of Dallas Thelogical Seminary.

Nahum on Nineveh: Whatever Happened to Jonah?

A 2002 article by Dan Clendenin provided by Intervarsity Christian Fellowship.

Klaas Spronk: Nahum

An extract from a 1997 commentary.

John Calvin's Commentary

The commentary of the 16th-century French reformer.

Love the Lord Bible Studies: Nahum

A three-lesson study with questions from an Arkansas-based ministry.  They seem orthodox enough, although the statement of faith makes me wonder if they're not into prosperity gospel teachings.

Talks from Nahum

A nifty three-part study, which includes a brief sermon, question, and answers.  A project from Talks for Growing Christians.

Geneva Notes

In 1599, English Puritans, working in Geneva, published the first study Bible.  These are the notes from that edition.  To move among the chapters, you'll have to change the numeral in the URL.

Coffman's Commentary

A verse-by-verse commentary by Dr. James Burton Coffman, a leading Church of Christ scholar.

Matthew Henry's Commentary

The chapter-by-chapter 1712 commentary by the great English Puritan writer..

John Wesley Notes

Over his career, the founder of Methodism maintained notes on the entire Bible.

JFB Commentary

The comments of Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown from Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871).

Scofield Reference Notes

The notes from the 1917 edition of the great study Bible.  From a dispensationalist viewpoint.

Old Testament Life and Literature

Gerald Larue's 1968 overview of the Old Testament is, oddly enough, hosted at an atheist website.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

A combination brief commentary and thorough cross-reference.  Developed by R.A. Torrey.

David Guzik's Commentaries on the Bible

David Guzik, a former senior pastor at Clavary Chapel Simi Valley in California, provides a verse-by-verse commentary. Currently Guzik directs the Calvary Chapel Bible College in Siegen, Germany.

The Jerome Bible Commentary

A commentary by a Catholic doctor, Jerome Dominguez, M.D.  His English isn't perfect, but you have to admire his energy.  Although Catholic in orientation, this source has some good material for study.

Clarke's Commentary

The first chapter for this book from Adam Clarke's nineteenth-century commentary.

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

The commentary of the 17th century Baptist theologian and preacher.

The Minor Prophets: Nahum

A study by Al Maxey.

Jewish Bible (JPS 1917)

Three versions of the text in Hebrew.

Beginning the Second Wave of Prophecy

A study by John W. Miller concerning the prophets Zephaniah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Obadiah.  Hosted at MyJewishLearning.com.

Is World War II Yet To Be Finished

A 1947 sermon by a preacher from the Branch Davidians.  Please read skeptically.

Bible Studies: Part of Book

The Wrath of God (1:1-8)

A sermon by Ronald W. Scates.

Morning and Evening (1:2)

One of C.H. Spurgeon's renowned devotions.

My First Ever Sermon on Nahum (1:2-14)

By Kenneth G. Page with a blend of rage and love.

Morning and Evening (1:3)

One of C.H. Spurgeon's renowned devotions.

The Stronghold (1:7)

Notes for one of C.H. Spurgeon's sermons.

Predictions of Salvation (1:14-15)

A portion of Augustine of Hippo's City of God covering Nahum and others.

Sermons

Nahum: The Terrible Wrath of God

The appropriate sermon from Ray C. Stedman's Adventuring through the Bible series.

Nahum: The Goodness and Severity of God

A sermon by William Klock.

C.H. Spurgeon

A listing of sermons, some of which are available online, by the great British Baptist.

Ken Gehrels--God is Good . . . and Angry

An overview sermon from a Reformed pastor.

Max Forsythe

Sermons from a series on the minor prophets.  Look for the appropriate sermon(s) on this page, which contains all twelve. 

Books and Bibliographies

Theodicy and the Nature of God in Nahum and Jonah

An article, apparently by a graduate student, from a Villanova University publication.

Keeping Company with Nahum: Reading the Oracles against the Nations as Scripture

An article from the journal Word and World written by Richard Nysse of Luther Seminary of St. Paul, MN.

New American Commentary

The Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah volume from the excellent Broadman and Holman commentary series.

Two-Age Bibliography

A list of recommended sources, mostly scholarly in nature, provided by a website devoted to the "Redemptive Historical" school of theology.

Denver Seminary Bibliography

This will take you to the top of the "Commentary" section.  You'll need to scroll down to find the relevant section.

Annotated Bibliography on Nahum

A nine-page list of sources by Thomas F. McDaniel of Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary.