NAHUM
AT-A-GLANCE
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0.T. BOOK #34
AUTHOR: THE PROPHET NAHUM
WRITTEN: 650 BC
Prophecies Come True in this Time Period: 658-615 BC
Old Testament: 39 Books
34
New Testament: 27 Books
CLAIMS TO FAME: Focused most on the coming judgment of Nineveh
FAMOUS STORIES INCLUDED:
MOST FAMOUS VERSES:
• None; this book is a prophecy almost
solely against Nineveh in Assyria.
The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He
cares for those who trust in him. Nahum 1:7
But with an overwhelming flood he will make an end
of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into darkness.
Nahum 1:8
Important points about the Book:
The book is only three chapters long and almost exclusively focuses on God's pending judgment against Nineveh.
Nineveh was the capitol of Assyria, the nation that had invaded and destroyed the Northern Kingdom (Kingdom of
Israel) nearly a hundred years earlier.
The name Nineveh may be familiar. It is the city Jonah preached to around 780 BC after he had been swallowed by
the great fish. Nineveh did repent at that time. But this is more than 200 years later, and they are up to their bad
tricks of idolatry, violence, invading the Northern Kingdom, and tormenting the Southern Kingdom (Kingdom of
Judah).
Many of God's prophecies have come at what seem like strange times. Assyria was very strong at the time of
Nahum's prophesy. And 40 some years after Nahum prophesied the complete destruction of the city of Nineveh, its
Assyrian army took Jews from the Northern Kingdom into exile. It looked like a very victorious time for the
Assyrians. The 10 tribes of Israel that made up the Northern Kingdom completely disappeared into these and other
foreign peoples.
However, God was good to his word brought through Nahum. The Medean army took Nineveh in 612 BC and
destroyed it forever. It was finally excavated, dug out of the sand, in the 1800s AD.