Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery. The prey doesn't depart.
KJV
Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;
Commentary
Commentary
This chapter goes on with the burden of Nineveh, and concludes it.
I. The sins of that great city are charged upon it, murder
( ver. 1 ),
whoredom and witchcraft
( ver. 4 ),
and a general extent of wickedness, ver. 19 .
II. Judgments are here threatened against it, blood for blood
( ver. 2, 3 ),
and shame for shameful sins, ver. 5-7 .
III. Instances are given of the like desolations brought upon other
places for the like sins, ver. 8-11 .
IV. The overthrow of all those things which they depended upon, and
put confidence in, is foretold, ver. 12-19 .
1 Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;
2 The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the
wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots.
3 The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the
glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a
great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:
4 Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favoured
harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through
her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.
5 Behold, I am against thee, saith the L ORD of hosts; and I
will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the
nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.
6 And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee
vile, and will set thee as a gazing-stock.
7 And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon
thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who
will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?
Here is,
I. Nineveh arraigned and indicted. It is a high charge that is here
drawn up against that great city, and neither her numbers nor her
grandeur shall secure her from prosecution.
1. It is a city of blood, in which a great deal of innocent
blood is shed by unrighteous war, or under colour and pretence of
public justice, or by suffering barbarous murders to go unpunished; for
this the righteous God will make inquisition.
2. It is all full of lies; truth is banished from among them;
there is no such thing as honesty; one knows not whom to believe nor
whom to trust.
3. It is all full of robbery and rapine; no man cares what
mischief he does, nor to whom he does it: The prey departs not, that is, they never know when they have got enough by spoil and
oppression. They shed blood, and told lies, in pursuit of the prey,
that they might enrich themselves.
4. There is a multitude of whoredoms in it, that is, idolatries,
spiritual whoredoms, by which she defiled herself, and to which she
seduced the neighbouring nations, as a well-favoured harlot, and sold
and ruined nations through her whoredoms. 5. She is a mistress of witchcrafts, and by them she sells
families, v. 4 .
That which Nineveh aimed at was a universal monarchy, to be the
metropolis of the world, and to have all her neighbours under her feet;
to compass this, she used not only arms, but arts, compelling some,
deluding others, into subjection to her, and wheedling them as a harlot
by her charms to lay their necks under her yoke, suggesting to them
that it would be for their advantage. She courted them to join with her
in her idolatrous rites, to tie them the faster to her interests, and
made use of her wealth, power, and greatness, to draw people into
alliances with her, by which she gained advantages over them, and made
a hand of them. These were her whoredoms, like those of Tyre, Isa. xxiii. 15, 17 .
These were her witchcrafts, with which she unaccountably gained
dominion. And for this that God has a quarrel with her who, having made of one blood all nations of men, never designed one to be a
nation of tyrants and another of slaves, and who claims it as his own
prerogative to be universal Monarch.
II. Nineveh condemned to ruin upon this indictment. Woe to this bloody
city! v. 1 .
See what this woe is.
1. Nineveh had with her cruelties been a terror and destruction to
others, and therefore destruction and terror shall be brought upon her.
Those that are for overthrowing all that come in their way will, sooner
or later, meet with their match.
(1.) Hear the alarm with which Nineveh shall be terrified, v. 2 .
It is a formidable army that advances against it; you may hear them at
a distance, the noise of the whip, driving the chariot-horses
with fury; you may hear the noise of the rattling of the wheels, the
prancing horses, and the jumping chariots; the very noise is
frightful, but much more so when they know that all this force is
coming with all this speed against them, and they are not able to make
head against it.
(2.) See the slaughter with which Nineveh shall be laid waste
( v. 3 ),
the sword drawn with which execution shall be done, the bright sword
lifted up and the glittering spear, the dazzling brightness of
which is very terrible to those whom they are lifted up against. See
what havoc these make when they are commissioned to slay: There is a
great number of carcases, for the slain of the land shall be many; there is no end of their corpses; there is such a multitude
of slain that it is in vain to go about to take the number of them;
they lie so thick that passengers are ready to stumble upon their
corpses at every step. The destruction of Sennacherib's army,
which, in the morning, were all dead corpses, is perhaps looked
upon here as a figure of the like destruction that should afterwards be
in Nineveh; for those that will not take warning by judgments at a
distance shall have them come nearer.
2. Nineveh had with her whoredoms and witchcrafts drawn others to
shameful wickedness, and therefore God will load her with shame and
contempt
( v. 5-7 ): The Lord of hosts is against her, and then she shall be
exposed to the highest degree of disgrace and ignominy, shall not only
lose all her charms, but shall be made to appear very odious. When it
shall be seen that while she courted her neighbours it was with design
to ruin their liberty and property, when all her wicked artifices shall
be brought to light, then her shame is discovered to the
nations. When her proud pretensions are baffled, and her vain
towering hopes of an absolute and universal dominion brought to nought,
and she appears not to have been so strong and considerable as she
would have been thought to be, then to see the nakedness of the land
do they come, and it appears ridiculous. Then do they cast
abominable filth upon her, as upon a carted strumpet, and make
her vile as the offscouring of all things; that great city, which
all nations had made court to and coveted an alliance with, has become
a gazing-stock, a laughing stock. Those that formerly looked upon her,
and fled to her, in hopes of protection from her, now look upon her
and flee from her, for fear of being ruined with her. Note, Those
that abuse their honour and interest will justly be disgraced and
abandoned, and, because miserable, will be made contemptible, and
thereby be made more miserable. When Nineveh is laid waste who will
bemoan her? Her trouble will be so great, and her sense of it so
deep, as not to admit relief from sympathy, or any comforting
considerations; or, if it would, none shall do any such good office: When shall I seek comforters for thee? Note, Those that showed
no pity in the day of their power can expect to find no pity in the day
of their fall. When those about Nineveh, that had been deceived by her
wiles, come to be undeceived in her ruin, every one shall insult over
her, and none bemoan her. This was Nineveh's fate, when she was made a
spectacle, or gazing-stock. Note, The greater men's show was in the day
of their abused prosperity the greater will their shame be in the day
of their deserved destruction. I will make thee an example; so
Drusus reads it. Note, When proud sinners are humbled and brought down
it is designed that others should take example by them not to lift up
themselves in security and insolence when they prosper in the
world.
8 Art thou better than populous No, that was situate among the
rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?
9 Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers.
10 Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her
young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the
streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her
great men were bound in chains.
11 Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou also
shalt seek strength because of the enemy.
12 All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the
first-ripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the
mouth of the eater.
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.
14 Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go
into clay, and tread the mortar, make strong the brick-kiln.
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 locusts.
16 Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of
heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away.
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. 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. 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?
Nineveh has been told that God is against her, and then none can be for
her, to stand her in any stead; yet she sets God himself at defiance,
and his power and justice, and says, I shall have peace. Threatened folks live long; therefore here the prophet largely shows
how vain her confidences would prove and insufficient to ward off the
judgment of God. To convince them of this,
I. He shows them that other places, which had been as strong and as
secure as they, could not keep their ground against the judgments of
God. Nineveh shall fall unpitied and uncomforted (for miserable
comforters will those prove who speak peace to those on whom God will
fasten trouble), and she shall not be able to help herself: Art thou
better than populous No? v. 8 .
He takes them off from their vain confidences by quoting precedents.
The city mentioned is No, a great city in the land of Egypt
( Jer. xlvi. 25 ), No-Ammon, so some read it both there and here. We read of it, Ezek. xxx. 14-16 .
Some think it was Diospolis, others Alexandria. As God
said to Jerusalem, Go, see what I did to Shiloh ( Jer. vii. 12 ),
so to Nineveh that great city, Go, see what I did to populous
No. Note, It will help to keep us in a holy fear of the judgments
of God to consider that we are not better than those that have fallen
under those judgments before us. We deserve them as much, and are as
little able to grapple with them. This also should help to reconcile us
to afflictions. Are we better than such and such, who were in like
manner exercised? Nay, were not they better than we, and less likely to
be afflicted? Now, concerning No, observe,
1. How firm her standing seemed to be, v. 8 .
She was fortified both by nature and art, was situate among the
rivers. Nile, in several branches, not only watered her fields, but
guarded her wall. Her rampart was the sea, the lake of
Mareotis, an Egyptian sea, like the sea of Tiberias. Her wall
was from the sea; it was fenced with a wall which was thought to
make the place impregnable. It was also supported by its interests and
alliances abroad, v. 9 . Ethiopia, or Arabia, was her strength, either by the
wealth brought to her in a way of trade or by the auxiliary forces
furnished for military service. The whole country of Egypt also
contributed to the strength of this populous city; so that it was infinite, and there was no end of it (so it might be rendered);
She set no bounds to her ambition and knew no end of her wealth and
strength; people flocked to her endlessly, and she thought there never
would be any end of it; but it is God's prerogative to be infinite. Put and Lubim were thy helpers, two neighbouring countries of
Africa, Mauritania and Libya, that is, Libya Cyrenica, a country that
Egypt had much dependence upon. No, thus helped, seemed to sit as a
queen, and was not likely to see any sorrow. But,
2. See how fatal her fall proved to be
( v. 10 ): Yet was she carried away, and her strength failed her; even she
that was so strong, so secure, yet went into captivity. This
refers to some destruction of that city which was then well-known, and
probably fresh in memory, though not recorded in history; for the
destruction of it by Nebuchadnezzar (if we should understand this
prophetically) could not be made an example to Nineveh; for the
reducing of Nineveh was one of the first of his victories and that of
Egypt one of the last. The strength and grandeur of that great city
could not be its protection from military execution.
(1.) Not from that which was most barbarous; for her young
children had no compassion shown them, but were dashed in pieces
at the top of all the streets by the merciless conquerors.
(2.) Not from that which was most inglorious and disgraceful: They
cast lots for her honourable men that were made prisoners of war,
who should have them for their slaves. So many had they of them that
they knew not what to do with them, but they made sport with throwing
dice for them; all her great men, that used to be adorned on
state-days with chains of gold, were now bound in chains of
iron; they were pinioned or handcuffed (so the word
properly signifies), not only as slaves, but as condemned malefactors.
What a mortification was this to populous No, to have her
honourable men and great men, that were her pride and confidence, thus
abused! Now hence he infers against Nineveh
( v. 11 ),
"Thou also shalt be intoxicated, infatuated; thou also shalt reel and
stagger, as drunk with the cup of the Lord's fury, that shall be put
into thy hand" (see Jer. xxv. 17, 27 );
" Thou shalt fall and rise no more. The cup shall go round, and
come to thy turn, O Nineveh! to drink off at last, and shall be to thee
as the waters of jealousy."
II. He shows them that all those things which they reposed a confidence
in should fail them.
1. Did the men of Nineveh trust to their own magnanimity and bravery?
Their hearts should sink and fail them. They shall be hid, shall abscond for shame, being in disgrace, abscond for fear, being in
distress and danger, and not able to face the enemies, because of whose
strength and terror, having no strength of their own, they shall seek strength, shall come sneaking to their neighbours to beg
their assistance in a time of need. Thus God can cut off the
spirit of princes, and take away their heart. 2. Did they depend upon their barrier, the garrisons and strongholds
they had, which were regularly fortified and bravely manned? Those
shall prove but paper-walls, and like the first-ripe figs, which, if you give the tree but a little shake, will fall into the
mouth of the eater that gapes for them; so easily will all their
strongholds be made to surrender to the advancing enemy, upon the first
summons, v. 12 .
Note, Strongholds, even the strongest, are no fence against the
judgments of God, when they come with commission. The rich man's
wealth is his strong city, and a high wall, but only in his own
conceit, Prov. xviii. 10 .
They are supposed to make their strongholds as strong as possible, and
are challenged to do their utmost to make them tenable, and serviceable
to them against the invader
( v. 14 ): Draw thee water for the siege; lay in great quantities of water,
that that which is so necessary to the support of human life may not be
wanting; it is put here for all manner of provision, with which Nineveh
is ironically told to furnish herself, in expectation of a siege. "Take
ever so much care that thou mayest not be starved out, and forced by
famine to surrender, yet that shall not avail. Fortify the
strongholds, by adding out-works to them, or putting men and arms
into them," as with us by planting cannon upon them. " Go into clay,
and tread the mortar, and make strong the brick-kiln; take
all the pains thou canst in erecting new fortifications; but it shall
be all in vain, for
( v. 15 )
there shall even the fire devour thee if it be taken by storm."
It is by fire and sword that in time of war the great devastations are
made.
3. Did they put confidence in the multitude of their inhabitants? Were
they, from their number and valour, reckoned their strongest walls and
fortifications? Alas! these shall stand them in no stead; they shall
but sink the sooner under the weight of their own numbers
( v. 13 ): Thy people in the midst of thee are women; they have no wisdom,
no courage; they shall be fickle, feeble, and faint-hearted, as women
commonly are in such times of danger and distress; they shall be at
their wits' end, adding to their griefs and fears by the power of their
own imagination, and utterly unable to do any thing for themselves; the
valiant men shall become cowards. O verè Phrygiæ, neque
enim Phryges -- Phrygian dames, not Phrygian men. Though they make themselves many ( v. 15 ),
as the canker-worm and as the locust, that come in vast
swarms, though thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of
heaven, though thy exchange be thronged with wealthy traders, who,
having so much money to stand up in defence of and so much to lay out
in the means of their defence, should, one would think, give the enemy
a warm reception, yet their hearts shall fail them too; though they be
numerous as caterpillars, yet the fire and sword shall eat them up
easily and irresistibly as the canker-worm, v. 15 .
They are as numerous as those wasting insects, but their enemies shall
be mischievous like them. He adds
( v. 16 ), The canker-worm spoils, or spreads herself, and flies
away. Both the merchants and the enemies were compared to
canker-worms. The enemies shall spoil Nineveh, and carry away the
spoil, without opposition, or any hope of recovering it. Or the rich
merchants, who have come from abroad to settle in Nineveh, and have
raised vast estates there, out of which it was hoped they would
contribute largely for the defence of the city, when they see the
country invaded and the city likely to be besieged, will send away
their effects, and remove to some other place, will spread their
wings and fly away where they may be safe, and Nineveh shall
be never the better for them. Note, It is rare to find even those that
have shared with us in our joys willing to share with us in our griefs
too. The canker-worms will continue upon the field while there is any
thing to be had, but they are gone when all is gone. Those that men
have got by they do not care to lose by. Nineveh's merchants bid her
farewell in her distress. Riches themselves are as the canker-worms,
which on a sudden fly away as the eagle towards heaven, Prov. xxiii. 5 .
4. Did they put a confidence in the strength of their gates and bars?
What fence will those be against the force of the judgments of God? v. 13 . The gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thy enemies, the gates of thy rivers
( ch. ii. 6 ),
the flood-gates, or the passes and avenues, by which the enemy would
make his entrance into the country, or the gates of the cities; these,
though ever so strong and well-guarded, shall not answer their end: The fire shall devour thy bars, the bars of thy gates, and then
they shall fly open.
5. Did they put a confidence in their king and princes? They should do
them no service
( v. 17 ): Thy crowned heads are as the locusts; those that had pomp and
power, as crowned heads, were enfeebled, and had no power to make
resistance, when the enemy came in like a flood. " Thy captains, that should lead thy forces into the field, are great indeed, and look
great, but they are as the great grasshoppers, the maximum
quod sic--the largest specimens of that species; still they
are but grasshoppers, worthless things, that can do no service. They
encamp in the hedges, in the cold day, the cold weather, but,
when the sun arises, they flee away, and are gone, nobody knows
whither. So these mercenary soldiers that lay slumbering about Nineveh,
when any trouble arises, flee away, and shift for their own safety. The hireling flees, because he is a hireling. " The king of
Assyria is told, and it is a shame he needs to be told it (who
might observe it himself), that his shepherds slumber; they have
no life or spirit to appear for the flock, and are very remiss in the
discharge of the duty of their place and the trust reposed in them: Thy nobles shall dwell in the dust, and be buried in silence.
6. Did they hope that they should yet recover themselves and rally
again? In this also they should be disappointed; for, when the
shepherds are smitten, the sheep are scattered; the people are
dispersed upon the mountains and no man gathers them, nor
will they ever come together of themselves, but will wander endlessly,
as scattered sheep do. The judgment they are under is as a wound, and
it is incurable; there is no relief for it, " no healing of thy
bruise, no possibility that the wound, which is so grievous and
painful to thee, should be so much as skinned over; thy case is
desperate
( v. 19 )
and thy neighbours, instead of lending a hand to help thee, shall clap their hands over thee, and triumph in thy fall; and the
reason is, because thou hast been one way or other injurious to them
all: Upon whom has not thy wickedness passed continually? Thou
hast been always doing mischief to those about thee; there is none of
them but what thou hast abused and insulted; and therefore they shall
be so far from pitying thee that they shall be glad to see thee
reckoned with." Note, Those that have been abusive to their neighbours
will, one time or another, find it come home to them; they are but
preparing enemies to themselves against their day comes to fall: and
those that dare not lay hands on them themselves will clap their
hands over them, and upbraid them with their former wickedness, for
which they are now well enough served and paid in their own coin. The troublers shall be troubled will be the burden of many, as
it is here the burden of Nineveh.
INTRODUCTION TO NAHUM 3
In this chapter is contained the prophecy of the destruction of Nineveh, and with it the whole Assyrian empire; the causes of which, besides those before mentioned, were the murders, lies, and robberies it was full of, Na 3:1 for which it should be swiftly and cruelly destroyed, Na 3:2 as also its whoredoms and witchcrafts, or idolatry, by which nations and families were seduced, Na 3:4 and hence she should be treated as a harlot, her nakedness exposed, and she cast out with contempt, and mocked at by all, Na 3:5 and all those things she placed her confidence in are shown to be of no avail; as her situation and fortresses, as she might learn from the case of No Amon, Na 3:8 nor the number of her inhabitants, which were weak as women; nor even her merchants, captains, nobles, and king himself, Na 3:13 nor the people she was in alliance with, who would now mock at her, her case being irrecoverable and incurable, Na 3:19.
Ver. 1. Woe to the bloody city,.... Nineveh, in which many murders were daily committed; innocent blood shed; the lives of men taken away, under the colour of justice, by false witnesses, and other unlawful methods; and which was continually making war with neighbouring nations, and shedding their blood, which it stuck not at, to enlarge its wealth and dominions; and therefore "woe" is denounced against it; and it is threatened with the righteous judgments of God, with all sorts of calamity and distress: or, "O bloody city", as the Septuagint; for the word used is vocative, and expressive of calling, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi observe:
it [is] all full of lies [and] robbery; the palace and court; the houses of noblemen and common persons were full of flattery and deceit; men of high degree were a lie, and men of low degree vanity; no man could trust another, or believe what he said; there were no truth, honesty, and faithfulness, in conversation or commerce; their warehouses were full of goods, got by rapine and violence; and their streets full of robbers and robberies:
the prey departeth not; they go on in making a prey of their neighbours, in pillaging and plundering their substance; they repent not of such evil practices, nor desist from them; or because of the above sins they shall fall a prey to the enemy, who will not cease plundering them till he has utterly stripped them of all they have; and who is represented in the next verse Na 3:2 as just at hand.
Nahum 3:2
Ver. 2. The noise of a whip,.... Of a horseman or chariot driver whipping his horses to make speed to Nineveh, and enter into it, so near as to be heard by the inhabitants of it; and is thus represented in order to strike terror into them:
and the noise of the rattling of the wheels; that is, of the chariots upon the stones, whose drivers drove Jehu like, making the utmost haste they could to get in first, and seize the prey:
and of the pransing horses; or bounding steeds, upon a full gallop; either with horsemen on them riding full speed to partake of the booty; or in chariots, in which they caper and prance, and shake the ground as they go; hence it follows:
and of the jumping chariots; which, through the swiftness of the motion, seem to leap and dance as they run along.
Nahum 3:3
Ver. 3. The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear,.... Or, "the flame of the sword and the glittering spear" {w}; he rides with a drawn sword, which, being brandished to and fro, looks like a flame of fire; or with a spear made of polished iron, or steel, which, when vibrated and moved to and fro, glitters like lightning; a large number of which entering the city must be terrible to the inhabitants of it:
and [there is] a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcasses; of dead men lying in the streets, pierced and slain with the bright sword and glittering spear of the Medes and Chaldeans:
and [there is] none end of [their] corpses; the number of them could not be told; they lay so thick in all parts of the city, that there was no telling them:
they stumble upon their corpses; the Ninevites in fleeing, and endeavouring to make their escape, and the Medes and Chaldeans pursuing them.
{w} tynx qrbw brx bhl "flammam gladii et fulgorem hastae", Piscator; "flammam gladii et fulgur hastae", Cocceius; "flamma gladii et fulgur lanceae", Burkius.
Nahum 3:4
Ver. 4. Because of the multitudes of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot,.... Meaning Nineveh; which, as it was an ancient city, was a well built one; full of stately and beautiful buildings, the seat of the kings of Assyria, and the metropolis of the nation, and abounded with wealth and riches; perhaps here may be an allusion to the name of the city, and to the signification of it; for Nineveh may have its name from the beauty of it, and be read, in Hebrew, hwn yan or ywn, and may signify a beautiful or pleasant habitation; so Hillerus {x} and Cocceius {y} give the etymology of it; which agrees with its delightful situation on the banks of the river Tigris, and the stately edifices in it, as the king's palace, and others; just as Zion is said to be "beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth", Ps 48:2 and the epithet of "well favoured" well agrees with a harlot, whose beauty is engaging and ensnaring, as Lais, and others; particularly Semiramis, the wife of Ninus, from whom it is generally thought Nineveh had its name, was first a harlot, and one of exceeding beauty, who surpassed all others in it; on account of which she was beloved by the king of Assyria, and after a short time made his wife, and then he delivered the government of the kingdom to her {z}; yea, Sardanapalus the Last, and at this time the present king of the Assyrians, was very effeminate, used to dress himself in women's clothes, imitate a woman's voice, and paint his face, and even his whole body; and, by other tricks and enticements of harlots, made himself more lascivious, and behaved more lewdly, than any harlot {a}; in short, all the Assyrian women must be harlots, since they were obliged once in their lifetime to lie with a stranger in the temple of Venus, whom the Assyrians call Mylitta, as Herodotus {b} and Strabo {c} relate; to all which here may be an allusion: and particularly the inhabitants of this city had all the arts of address and insinuation to deceive others as harlots have; and both men and women very probably were given to whoredom and adultery in a literal sense as is generally the case where luxury and intemperance abound; and especially were grossly guilty of idolatry, which in Scripture is frequently expressed by whoredom and adultery; worshipping Bel, Nisroch and other deities and which was highly provoking to God; and therefore for these things, his judgements came upon them, before and after described:
the mistress of witchcrafts: thoroughly versed in such wicked and devilish practices, literally understood; see Isa 47:9 for the Assyrians, as well as the Babylonians and Chaldeans, were addicted to such diabolical arts, as appears from a passage in Theocritus {d}, which Grotius has also quoted; where one is represented saying that she kept in her box or chest very pernicious poisons, which she had learned from an Assyrian guest. The allusion seems to be to philtres, and other tricks used by harlots to besot young men, and bewitch and captivate them: likewise this city and its inhabitants were well versed in all the arts of flattery, deceit, and carnal policy; and in all the charms of wealth, riches, luxury, and sensuality, the pomp of superstition and idolatry, to draw in kingdoms and nations into subjection to them:
that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts; enslaved whole kingdoms, and brought them under her power and dominion, to be her vassals; and was the instrument, not only of corporeal servitude, but of their selling themselves to work wickedness, by committing spiritual fornication or idolatry; into which multitudes were led by her influence and example, and particularly the kingdoms and families of Israel and Judah; see 2Ki 16:10. In these whoredoms and witchcrafts, as well as in her bloodthirstiness, lies, and oppression, was a type of the whore of ; see Re 17:1.
{x} Onomastic. Sacr. p. 304, 431, 898. {y} Comment. in Jonam, c. 1. 2. {z} Diodor. Sicul. l. 2. p. 93. 107. Ed. Rhodoman. {a} Ibid. p. 109, 110. {b} Clio, sive. l. 1. c. 199. {c} Geograph. l. 16. p. 513. {d} Pharmaceutria, sive Idyll. 2. prope finem.
Nahum 3:5
Ver. 5. Behold, I [am] against thee, saith the Lord of hosts,.... Because her doings were against him; See Gill on "Na 2:13":
and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face; turn up the skirts of her garments over her head, and thereby discover what should be concealed, than which nothing is more disagreeable and abominable to modest persons; it is here threatened she should be used in character as a harlot, or as women oftentimes are by rude soldiers, when a city is taken by them:
and I will show the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame; all her charms shall be taken away, and she become odious as a harlot to her former lovers; all her impostures, arts, and tricks, and shameful actions, will be discovered; and her aims and views at universal monarchy will be seen and her weakness to effect it made to appear; and, upon the whole, will become the object of the scorn and derision of kingdoms and nations.
Nahum 3:6
Ver. 6. And I will cast abominable filth upon thee,.... As dirt and dung, or any or everything that is abominable and filthy; and which is thrown at harlots publicly disgraced, and as used to be at persons when carted. The meaning is, that this city and its inhabitants should be stripped of everything that was great and glorious in them, and should be reduced to the utmost shame and ignominy:
and make thee vile: mean, abject, contemptible, the offscouring of all things; rejected and disesteemed of all; had in no manner of repute or account, but in the utmost abhorrence:
and I will set thee as a gazingstock; to be looked and laughed at: or, "for an example" {e}; to others, that they may shun the evils and abominations Nineveh had been guilty of, or expect the same disgrace and punishment. Kimchi interprets it "as dung" {f}; to be no more reckoned of than that, or to be made a dunghill of; and so many others interpret it; or, "for a looking glass" {g}; that others may look into, and take warning, and avoid the sins that have brought on such calamities.
{e} yawrk eiv paradeigma, Sept.; "in exemplum", Drusius, Tarnovius; "sicut spectacalum", Burkius. {f} "Tanquam stercus", , Montanus, Vatablus, Calvin, Cocceius. {g} "Ut speculum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Quistorpius.
Nahum 3:7
Ver. 7. And it shall come to pass, [that] all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee,.... As something loathsome and abominable, not fit to be come near unto, or touched; and as astonished and amazed at an object so forlorn and miserable, and lest they should partake of the same punishment:
and say, Nineveh is laid waste; utterly destroyed; its walls broke down, its houses demolished, its substance plundered, and its inhabitants killed, or carried captive; who could have thought it, when it was once so stately, rich, and powerful? but so it is indeed!
who will bemoan her? there are none left in her to do it; and as for others, her neighbours, whom she has oppressed and cruelly used, these will laugh and rejoice, instead of lamenting her case:
whence shall I seek comforters for thee? none from among her inhabitants, being destroyed, or carried into a foreign land; and none from among the nations round about, who will rather deride and insult than pity and comfort; so wretched and miserable would her case be!
Nahum 3:8
Ver. 8. Art thou better than populous No,.... Or No Amon, a city in Egypt so called, not because the kings of Egypt were nursed and brought up there, as Jarchi and Abarbinel; see Pr 8:30 but from Ham the son of Noah, whose land Egypt was; or from Jupiter Ammon, worshipped there. No Amon signifies the mansion or , or Hamon; the Egyptians, as Herodotus says {h}, call Jupiter by the name of Ammon. The Targum interprets it of Alexandria the great, a city so called long after this, when it was rebuilt by Alexander the great; so Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, understand it: others take Diospolis or Thebes to be meant, famous in Homer {i} for its hundred gates; though some think this was not the number of the gates of the city, but of the temples in it; and others are of opinion that these were so many palaces of princes {k}. The city was built by Osiris; or, according to others, by Busiris, and seems more likely to be the place here meant; since here was a temple dedicated to Jupiter, called by the Egyptians Ammon, as Diodorus Siculus {l} relates, and was a very large and populous city. Indeed, according to the above historian, it was in compass but a seventeen and a half miles {m}; which is to be understood of the city when first built, and before it was enlarged; for it must have been a great deal larger in later times, if we may judge of it by its ruins. Strabo {n}, who was an eyewitness of them quickly after its last destruction by Cornelius Gallus, says, the footsteps of its largeness were seen fourscore furlongs in length, or ten miles; and even this was but small, in comparison of what it was before it was destroyed by Cambyses, when it is said to reach four hundred and twenty furlongs, or fifty two miles and a half {o}. It was the metropolis of all ; and formerly the whole country was called after its name, as Herodotus {p} observes. The accounts given of its inhabitants are incredible, and particularly of the soldiers it sent out; according to the epitaph of Rhampses, seven hundred thousand soldiers dwelt in it; which number Diodorus Siculus {q} gives to all the people in Egypt; but, though it may seem too large for Thebes, must be too little for all Egypt; especially if what Agrippa in Josephus {r} says is right, that Egypt, from Ethiopia and the borders of India to Alexandria, had no less than 7,500,000 inhabitants: however, if Pomponius Mela {s} may be credited, when it was necessary, the hundred palaces in Thebes could each of them send out ten thousand armed men, or, as some say, twenty thousand; and if what Diodorus Siculus {t} affirms is true, that twenty thousand chariots used to go out from thence to war, this shows it to have been a very populous city indeed, and might well be called "populous" No; but now it is utterly destroyed, first by the Assyrians and Babylonians, then by the Persians, and last of all by the Romans; the first destruction must be here referred to, if this city is designed. Strabo {u} says in his time it was only inhabited in villages; and Juvenal {w} speaks of it as wholly lying in ruins; and Pausanias {x}, making mention of it with other cities which abounded with riches, says they were reduced to the fortune of a middling private man, yea, were brought to nothing. It is now, or what is built on the spot, or near it, called Luxxor, or Lukorcen {y}. Some {z} think the city is meant, so Vitringa on Isa 19:5.
See Gill on "Eze 30:14",
See Gill on "Eze 30:15", this was for many ages the metropolis of all . Strabo {a} calls it a large and "populous" city, and full of men, and second to in his time. The compass of it, when first built, was eighteen and three quarter miles {b}; but now there is no more remaining of it than if there had never been such a city; nay, it is not easy to say where it once stood: now Nineveh is asked, or its inhabitants, if it could be thought that their city was in a better and safer condition than this city; it might indeed, according to the account of it by historians, and as in the prophecy of Jonah, be larger, and its inhabitants more numerous; but not better fortified, which seems to be the thing chiefly respected, as follows:
that was situate among the rivers; the canals of the river Nile:
[that had] the waters round about it: a moat on every side, either naturally or artificially:
whose rampart [was] the sea, [and] her wall [was] from the sea? which agrees with Alexandria, according to the description of it by Strabo {c}, Solinus {d}, and Josephus {e}, which had two seas on each side of it; the Egyptian sea on the north, and the lake Mareotis on the south, as well as had the canals of the Nile running into it from various parts; and is represented as very difficult of access, through the sea, rivers, and marshy places about it; and, besides, might have a wall towards the sea, as by this account it should seem, as well as the sea itself was a wall and rampart to it: and this description may also agree with Diospolis or Thebes, which, though more inland, yet, as Bochart {f} observes, it had, as all Egypt had, the two seas, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, and the canals of the Nile, which might be said to be as a rampart to it. So Isocrates {g} says of all Egypt, that it is fortified with an immortal wall, the Nile, which not only affords a defence, but sufficient food, and is insuperable and inexpugnable; nor is it unusual, as to call rivers and lakes seas, so particularly the Nile, and its canals; see Isa 11:15, and in the Alcoran the Nile is often called a sea {h}. There is another Diospolis in Egypt, near Mendes, which, as Strabo {i} says, had lakes about it; but this, being a more obscure place, is not likely to be intended here; though Father Calmet {k} is of opinion that it is here meant; it being situated in the Delta, on one of the arms of the Nile, between Busiris to the south, and Mendes to the north. The description seems to agree better with Memphis, whose builder Uchoreus, as Diodorus Siculus {l} says, chose a very convenient place for it, where the Nile divided itself into many parts, and made the Delta, so called from its figure; and which he made wonderfully strong, after this manner: whereas the Nile flowed round the city, being built within the ancient bed of it, and at its increase would overflow it; he cast up a very great mound or rampart to the south, which was a defence against the swell of the river, and was of the use of a fortress against enemies by land; and on the other parts all about he dug a large and deep lake, which received a very great deal of the river, and filled every place about the city but where the mound (or rampart) was built, and so made it amazingly strong; whence the kings after him left Thebes, and had their palace and court here; and so Herodotus, who makes Menes to be the builder of it, says {m}, that without the city he caused lakes to be dug from the river to the north, and to the west, for to the east the Nile itself bounded it; and Josephus {n}, who also makes Minaeus, or Menes, the first Pharaoh, to be the builder of it, speaks of that and the sea together, as if not far off each other: now, if a city so populous, and so well fortified by art and nature, as each of these were, was taken, and its inhabitants carried captive, Nineveh could not depend on her numbers or situation for safety, which were not more or better than this.
{h} L. 2. sive Euterpe, c. 42. {i} Iliad. 9. ver. 381. {k} Vid. Mela de Situ Orbis, l. 1. c. 9. Diodor. Sicul. l. 1. p. 43. {l} Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 14, 42. Ed. Rhodoman. {m} Ibid. p. 42. {n} Geograph. l. 16. p. 561, Ed. Casaubon. {o} See the Universal History, vol. 1. p. 396. {p} Euterpe, sive l. 2. c. 15. {q} Ut supra, (Bibliothec. l. 1.) p. 27. {r} De Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 16. sect. 4. {s} De Situ Orbis, l. 1. c. 9. {t} Ut supra, (Bibliothec. l. 1.) p. 43. Vid. Homer, ut supra. (Iliad. 9. ver. 381.) {u} Ut supra. (Geograph. l. 16. p. 561, Ed. Casaubon.) {w} "Vetus Theba centum jacet obruta portis", Satyr. 15. l. 6. {x} Arcadica, sive l. 8. p. 509. Ed. Hanau. {y} Norden's Travels in and , vol. 2. p. 61, 62. {z} So Hillerus, Onomast. Sacr. p. 571, 572. & Burkius in loc. {a} Geograph. l. 17. p. 555. {b} Diodor. Sicul. Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 46. {c} Geograph. l. 17. p. 545. {d} Polyhistor. c. 45. {e} De Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 16. sect. 4. {f} Phaleg. l. 1. c. 1. col. 6, 7. {g} Busiris, p. 437. {h} Vid. Schultens in Job xiv. 11. {i} Geograph. l. 17. p. 551. {k} Dictionary, in the word "Diospolis". {l} Ut supra. (Diodor. Sicul. Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 46.) {m} Euterpe, sive l. 2. c. 99. {n} Antiqu. l. 8. c. 6. sect. 2. & l. 2. c. 10. sect. 1.
Nahum 3:9
Ver. 9. and [were] her strength,.... That is, the strength, support, protection, and defence of No, whether Alexandria, or Thebes, or Memphis: Egypt was, for these cities were in it, and subject to it; or, if this was a free city, as some think, yet in alliance with Egypt, and under its protection; and in like connection it was with Ethiopia, that is, Arabia, a country that lay near to it; and yet, though it was strengthened by such powerful neighbours and allies, it was not secure from the devastation of the enemy:
and it [was] infinite; or there was "no end" {o}; of its strength, or of the number of its allies, or the forces they were able to bring in its defence. The Ethiopians were very numerous, as may be learnt from 2Ch 14:9 and so were the Egyptians, to whom some interpreters strictly connect this sentence. In the times of Amasis, as Mela {p} relates, there were twenty thousand cities inhabited in it; and Josephus {q} says there were in it seven hundred and fifty myriads of men; as Sethon, king of Egypt, and Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, were about this time the allies of the Jews, in whom they trusted, no doubt they were confederate together, and so both the strength of this city; see Isa 36:6:
Put and Lubim, were thy helpers; Put, or the Putim, were the people of the Moors, that dwelt in Mauritania; and Lubim were the Lybians that bordered on Egypt, and whose country is sometimes reckoned a part of it. The Jews {r} say Lybia is Egypt; see Ac 2:10 these several people were the confederates of No; and helped them, not only by their commerce with them, but in time of war assisted them against their enemies; and yet, though so strengthened by alliances, were not safe and secure; and therefore Nineveh could not depend upon such helps and helpers.
{o} huq Nyaw "non est finis", Pagninus, , Cocceius. {p} De Orbis Situ. l. 1. c. 9. {q} De Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 16. sect. 4. {r} T. Hieros. Celaim, c. 8. fol. 31. 3.
Nahum 3:10
Ver. 10. Yet [was] she carried away, she went into captivity,.... Not by Nebuchadnezzar; though this city was afterwards taken, and its inhabitants carried captive, by that monarch, as was foretold,
Jer 46:25 but the prophet here does not predict an event to be accomplished, and instance in that, and argue from it, which could have no effect on Nineveh and its inhabitants, or be an example or terror to them; but refers to what had been done, a recent fact, and which they were well acquainted with. Aben Ezra says, this city No was a city of the , which the king of the Chaldeans took as he went to ; but when, and by whom it was taken, is nowhere said. According to Bishop Usher {s} and Dean Prideaux {t}, the destruction of the city of Thebes was by Sennacherib, in his expedition against Egypt, which he harassed for three years together, from one end to the other; at which time Sevechus, the son of Sabacon, or So, the Ethiopian, was king of Egypt; and Egypt and Ethiopia were as one country, and helped each other; but could not secure this city from falling into the hands of Sennacherib, about three years before he besieged Jerusalem; and so, according to Mr. Whiston {u}, it was destroyed three years before the army of Sennacherib was destroyed at Jerusalem:
her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: against the walls of the houses, or upon the stones and pavements of the streets; which cruelties were often used by conquerors upon innocent babes at the sacking of cities, Ps 137:9:
and they cast lots for her honourable men; the soldiers did, who should have them, and sell them for slaves; which was done without any regard to their birth and breeding, Joe 3:3:
and all her great men were bound in chains; as nobles may be meant by "honourable men", by "great men" may be designed the gentry, merchants, and others; these were taken, and bound in iron chains, handcuffed, and pinioned, and so led captive into a foreign land; and Nineveh might expect the same treatment.
{s} Annales Vet. Test. A. M. 3292. {t} Connexion, par. 1. B. 1. p. 22, 23. {u} Chronological Tables, cent. 8.
Nahum 3:11
Ver. 11. Thou also shalt be drunken,.... This is said to Nineveh, whose turn would be next to drink of the cup of the wrath of God, and be inebriated with it, so that they should not know where they were, or what they did; and be as unable to guide and help themselves as a drunken man. So the Targum,
"thou also shalt be like to a drunken man;''
this was literally true of Nineveh when taken; see Na 1:10:
thou shalt be hid; or, "thou shall be", as if thou wast not; as Nineveh is at this day, "hid" from the sight of men, not to be seen any more. So the Targum,
"thou shall be swallowed up or destroyed.''
The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions, render it "despised"; or the meaning is, she should "hide herself" {w}; or be lurking about through shame, as drunken, or through fear of her enemies:
thou also shall seek strength because of the enemy; seek to others to help them against the enemy, not being able with their own strength to face them: or, seek strength "of the enemy" {x}; beg their lives of him, and their bread; pray for quarter, and desire to be taken under his protection; to so low and mean a state and condition should Nineveh and its inhabitants be reduced, who had given laws to all about them, and had been a terror to them.
{w} hmlen "latitans", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "abscondes te", Vatablus; "eris abscondita", Burkius. {x} bywam ex ecyrwn, Sept.; "ab hoste", Montanus, Calvin, Drusius, Grotius, Cocceius.
Nahum 3:12
Ver. 12. All thy strong holds [shall be like] fig trees with the first ripe figs,.... Upon them, or like them: "and the first ripe figs"; which are easily shook and gathered; and so easily should the fortresses and towers of Nineveh, in which they trusted for safety, be taken by the enemy, not only one, but all of them:
if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater; as such ripe fruit is very desirable, and the mouth of a man is open and ready for them; so if he gives the tree but the least shake, they will fall into his mouth, or about him in great plenty: in like manner, as the fortresses of Nineveh, being of importance, were desirable by the Chaldeans and Medes, and for which they were gaping; so upon the least assault they would fall into their hands; see Re 6:13.
Nahum 3:13
Ver. 13. Behold, thy people in the midst of thee [are] women,.... Or like women, weak and feeble, fearful and timorous; frightened at the first approach of the enemy; run away, and run up and down in the utmost consternation and distress, having neither skill nor courage to oppose them; some regard may be had to the effeminacy of their king; see Na 2:7. The sense is, they should be at once dispirited, and lose all strength of mind and body, and have neither heads nor hearts to form schemes, and execute them in their own defence; and thus should they be, even in the midst of the city, upon their own ground, where, any where, it might be thought they would exert themselves, and play the man, since their all lay at stake: this was another thing they trusted in, the multitude of their people, even of their soldiers; but these would be of no avail, since they would lose all their military skill and bravery:
the gates of thy land shall be set wide open to thine enemies: instead of guarding the passes and avenues, they would abandon them to the enemy; and, instead of securing the gates and passages, they would run away from them; and the enemy would find as easy access as if they were thrown open on purpose for them; perhaps this may respect the gates of the rivers being opened by the inundation, which threw down the wall, and made a way into the city; see Na 2:6:
the fire shall devour thy bars; with which their gates had been shut, but now opened, and in the enemies' hands; who would set fire to them, that the way to go in and out might be open and free.
Nahum 3:14
Ver. 14. Draw thee waters for the siege,.... Before the siege is begun, fetch water from the river, wells, or fountains without the city, and fill cisterns, and such like receptacles of water, with them; that there may be sufficiency of it to hold out, which is often wanting in long sieges; the want of which gives great distress to the besieged: this is put for all necessary provisions, which should be made when a city is in danger of being blocked up: this, and what follows, are said ironically; signifying, let them do what they would or could for their support and security, it would be all in vain:
fortify thy strong holds; repair the old fortifications, and add new ones to them; fill them with soldiers, arms, and ammunition:
go into clay, and tread the mortar; make strong the brick kiln; repair the brick kilns, keep them in good order; employ men in digging clay, and treading it, and making it into bricks, and burning them in the kiln, that there be no want of bricks to repair the fortifications, or such breaches as might be made by the enemy. Bricks were much used instead of stone in those countries; but when they had done their utmost, they would not be able to secure themselves, and keep out the enemy.
Nahum 3:15
Ver. 15. There shall the fire devour thee,.... In the strong holds, made ever so firm and secure; either the fire of divine wrath; or the fire of the enemy they should put into them; or the enemy himself, as Kimchi; and so the Targum,
"thither shall come upon thee people who are as strong as fire:''
the sword shall cut thee off; it shall eat thee up as the cankerworm: that is, the sword of the Medes and Chaldeans shall utterly destroy thee, as the cankerworm is destroyed by rain or fire; or rather, as that creature destroys all herbs, plants, and trees it falls upon, and makes clear riddance of them, so should it be with Nineveh:
make thyself many as the cankerworm; make thyself many as the locust; which go in swarms, innumerable, and make the air "heavy" in which they fly, and the earth on which they fall, as the word {y} signifies. The locust has one of its names, "arbah", in Hebrew, from the large numbers of them; so a multitude of men, and large armies, are often signified in Scripture to be like grasshoppers or locusts, for their numbers; see Jud 6:5. So Sithalces king of Thrace is represented {z} as swearing, while he was sacrificing, that he would assist the Athenians, having an army that would come like locusts, that is, in such numbers; for so the Greek scholiast on the place says the word used signifies a sort of locusts: the sense is, gather together as many soldiers, and as large an army, as can be obtained to meet the enemy, or cause him to break up the siege: and so we find {a} the king of Assyria did; for, perceiving his kingdom in great danger, he sent into all his provinces to raise soldiers, and prepare everything for the siege; but all to no purpose, which is here ironically suggested. The word in the Misnic language, as Kimchi observes, has the signification of sweeping; and some render it, "sweep as the locust" {b}; which sweeps away and consumes the fruits of the earth; so sweep with the besom of destruction, as Jarchi, either their enemies, sarcastically spoken, or be thou swept by them.
{y} dbkth "aggravate", Montanus; "onerate", Tigurine version; "gravem effice te", Burkius. {z} Aristophan. in Acharnens. Act. 1. Scen. 1. {a} Diodor. Sicul. l. 2. p. 113. {b} So R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 39. 1.
Nahum 3:16
Ver. 16. Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven,.... A hyperbolical expression, setting forth the great number of merchants that were in Nineveh, and in the land of Assyria; who either were the natives of the place, or came thither for the sake of merchandise, which serve to enrich a nation, and therefore are encouraged to settle; and from whom, in a time of war, much benefit might be expected; being able to furnish with money, which is the sinews of war, as well as to give intelligence of the designs of foreign princes, they trading abroad:
the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away; or "puts off" {c} its clothes, disrobes and changes its form; or breaks out with force, as the Septuagint, out of its former worm state, and appears a beautiful butterfly, and then flies away. The word is rendered a caterpillar,
Ps 105:34 and what we translate "spoileth" is used of stripping, or putting off of clothes, 1Sa 19:24 and the sense may be, that though their merchants were multiplied above the stars of heaven, in which there may be an allusion to the increase of caterpillars, Na 3:15 yet, as the caterpillar drops its clothes, and flies away, so their merchants, through fear of the enemy, would depart in haste, or be suddenly stripped of their riches, which make themselves wings, and fly away, Pr 23:5. These merchants, at their beginning, might be low and mean, but, increasing, adorning, and enriching themselves in a time of peace, fled away in a time of war: or, "spreads itself" {d}, and "flies away"; so these creatures spread themselves on the earth, and devour all they can, and then spread their wings, and are gone; suggesting that in like manner the merchants of Nineveh would serve them; get all they could by merchandise among them, and then betake themselves elsewhere and especially in a time of war, which is prejudicial to merchandise; and hence nothing was to be expected from them, or any dependence had upon them.
{c} jvp "exspoliavit", De Dieu; "proprie est, exuere, vestem detrahere et exspoliare", De Dieu. {d} "Diffundit se", , so the Targum; "effunditur", Cocceius.
Nahum 3:17
Ver. 17. Thy crowned men [are] as the locusts,.... Tributary kings, and hired officers, as some think, who might be distinguished by what they wore on their heads; or their own princes and nobles, who wore coronets or diadems; unless their religious persons are meant, their Nazarites and devotees, their priests; these were like locusts for their number, fear, and flight in time of danger, and for their spoil of the poor; and some locusts have been seen with little crowns on their heads, as those in Re 9:7 "which had on their heads as it were crowns like gold". In the year 1542 came locusts out of Turkish Satmatia into , , , and Misnia, which had on their heads little crowns {e}. In the year 1572 a vehement wind brought large troops of locusts out of Turkey into Poland, which did great mischief, and were of a golden colour {f}; and Aelianus {g} speaks of locusts in Arabia, marked with golden coloured figures; and mention is made in the Targum on Jer 51:27, of the shining locust, shining like gold:
and thy captains as the great grasshoppers; or "locusts of locusts" {h}; those of the largest size. The Vulgate Latin renders the word for captains "thy little ones", junior princes, or officers of less dignity and authority; these were, as the Targum paraphrases it, as the worms of locusts; but rather as the locusts themselves, many and harmful:
which camp in the hedges in the cold day; in the cold part of the day, the night; when they get into the hedges of fields, gardens, and vineyards, in great numbers, like an army, and therefore said to encamp like one:
[but] when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they [are]; whither they are fled, as the Targum; so these captains, or half pay officers, swarmed in great numbers about the city, and in the provinces, while it was a time of peace, and they were indulged in sloth, and enjoyed much ease and prosperity; but when war broke out, and the heat of it began to be felt, these disappeared, and went into their own countries, from whence they came, with the auxiliaries and hired troops; nor could they be found where they were, or be called upon to do their duty: this is true of locusts in a literal sense, who flee away when the sun rises; hence the Arabs, as Bochart says {i} elegantly express this by the word "ascaara"; signifying, that when the sun comes to the locust it goes away, According to Macrobius {k}, both Apollo and Hercules are names for the sun; and both these are surnamed from their power in driving away locusts: Hercules was called Cornopion by the Oeteans, because he delivered them from the locusts {l}: and Apollo was called Parnopius by the Grecians, because, when the country was hurt by locusts, he drove them out of it, at Pausanias {m} relates; who observes, that they were drove out they knew, but in what manner they say not; for his own part, he says, he knew them thrice destroyed at Mount Sipylus, but not in the same way; one time a violent wind drove them out; another time a prodigious heat killed them; and a third time they perished by sudden cold; and so, according to the text here, the cold sends them to the hedges, and the heat of the sun obliges them to abandon their station.
{e} Vid. Frantzii Hist. Animal. Sacr. par. 5. c. 4. p. 799. {f} Ibid. p. 798. {g} Hist. Animal. l. 10. c. 13. {h} ybwg bwgk "ut locustae locustarum", Vatablus, Pagninus, Montanus; "sicut locusta locustarum", Burkius. {i} Hierozoic. par. 2. c. 2. col. 458. {k} Saturnal l. 1. c. 17. p. 335. & c. 20. p. 362. {l} Strabo. Geograph. l. 13. p. 422. {m} , sive l. 1. p. 44.
Nahum 3:18
Ver. 18. Thy shepherds slumber, O king of ,.... Who this king of Assyria was is not easy to say; some think Esarhaddon, who is the last of the kings of Assyria the Scriptures speak of; according to Diodorus Siculus {n}, Sardanapalus was the last of these kings, and in him the Assyrian monarchy ended; though, according to Alexander Polyhistor {o}, Saracus, perhaps the Chyniladanus of Ptolemy, was king when Nineveh was destroyed: it is very likely that Sardanapalus and Saracus design the same person, though set at a great distance by historians; since the same things are said of the one as of the other; particularly that, when they saw their danger, they burnt themselves and theirs in the royal palace at Nineveh; nor is it probable that the same city with the empire should be destroyed and subverted twice by the same people, the Medes and Babylonians, uniting together; and it is remarkable that the double destruction of this city and empire is related by different historians; and those that speak of the one say nothing of the other: but this king, be he who he will, his case was very bad, his "shepherds slumbered"; his ministers of state, his counsellors, subordinate magistrates in provinces and cities, and particularly in Nineveh; his generals and officers in his army were careless and negligent of their duty, and gave themselves up to sloth and ease; and which also was his own character, as historians agree in; or they were dead, slumbering in their graves, and so could be of no service to him:
thy nobles shall dwell [in the dust]; be brought very low, into a very mean and abject condition; their honour shall be laid in the dust, and they be trampled upon by everyone: or, "they shall sleep" {p}; that is, die, and be buried, as the Vulgate Latin renders it: or, "shall dwell in silence", as others {q}; have their habitation in the silent grave, being cut off by the enemy; so that this prince would have none of his mighty men to trust in, but see himself stripped of all his vain confidences:
thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth [them]; like sheep without a shepherd, which being frightened by beasts of prey, run here and there, and there is none to get them together, and bring them back again; so the subjects of this king, being terrified at the approach of the Medes and Babylonians, forsook their cities, and fled to the mountains; where they were scattered about, having no leader and commander to gather them together, and put them in regular order to face and oppose the enemy. So the Targum interprets it
"the people of thine armies.''
{n} Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 109, 115. {o} Apud Syncell. p. 210. {p} wbkvy "dormiunt", Piscator; so Ben Melech interprets it, "the rest of death." {q} "Habitarunt in silentio", Buxtorf, Drusius.
Nahum 3:19
Ver. 19. [There is] no healing of thy bruise,.... Made by the fatal blow given to the empire by the taking of Nineveh; the ruin of it was irreparable and irrecoverable; the city of Nineveh was no more, and the Assyrian empire sunk, and never rose again: or, "there is no contraction of thy bruise" {r}; as when a wound is healed, or near it, the skin round about is wrinkled and contracted. The Targum is,
"there is none that grieves at thy breach;''
so the Syriac version; so far from it, that they rejoiced at it, as in a following clause:
thy wound is grievous; to be borne; the pain of it intolerable; an old obstinate one, inveterate and incurable: or, is "weak", or "sickly" {s}; which had brought a sickness and weakness on the state, out of which it would never be recovered:
all that hear the bruit of thee; the fame, the report of the destruction of Nineveh, and of the ruin of the Assyrian empire, and the king of it:
shall clap the hands over thee; for joy; so far were they from lending a helping hand in the time of distress, that they clapped both hands together, to express the gladness of their hearts at hearing such news:
for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually? to which of thy neighbours hast thou not been troublesome and injurious? which of them hast thou not oppressed, and used with violence and cruelty? what province or city but have felt the weight of thine hand, have been harassed with wars, and distressed with tributes and exactions? and therefore it is no wonder they rejoice at thy fall. The destruction of this city, and so of the whole empire, is placed by Dr. Prideaux in the twenty ninth year of Josiah's reign, and in the year 612 B.C.; and by what Josephus says {t} it appears to have been but a little while before Josiah was slain by Pharaohnecho, who came out with an army to Euphrates, to make war upon the Medes and Babylonians; who, he says, had overturned the Assyrian empire; being jealous, as it seems, of their growing power. Learned men justly regret the loss of the Assyriaca of Abydenus, and of the history of the Assyrians by Herodotus, who promised {u} it; but whether he finished it or no is not certain; however, it is not extant; and in one place, speaking of the Medes attacking Nineveh, and taking it, he says {w}, but how they took it I shall show in another history; all which, had they come to light, and been continued, might have been of singular use in explaining this prophecy.
{r} hhk Nya "nulla est contractio", Junius & Tremellius, Burkius. {s} hlxn "infirmata", Pagninus, Montanus; "aegritudine plena", Vatablus; "aegra", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius, Burkius. {t} Antiqu. l. 10. c. 5. sect. 1. {u} L. 1. sive Clio, c. 184. {w} Ibid. c. 106.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
When proud sinners are brought down, others should
learn not to lift themselves up. The fall of this great city should be a
lesson to private persons, who increase wealth by fraud and
oppression. They are preparing enemies for themselves; and if the
Lord sees good to punish them in this world, they will have none to
pity them. Every man who seeks his own prosperity, safety, and
peace, should not only act in an upright, honourable manner, but
with kindness to all.
When proud sinners are brought down, others should
learn not to lift themselves up. The fall of this great city should be a
lesson to private persons, who increase wealth by fraud and
oppression.
They are preparing enemies for themselves; and if the
Lord sees good to punish them in this world, they will have none to
pity them. Every man who seeks his own prosperity, safety, and
peace, should not only act in an upright, honourable manner, but
with kindness to all.
Sources: Matthew Henry; Gill's Exposition; Matthew Henry Concise
Commentary
Commentary