The book contains the vision of nahum, whose name means comfort and is related to the name nehemiah, meaning the lord comforts or comfort of the lord. Armed skeletons confirm fall of nineveh bible probe. The period of nineveh s supremacy seems to have been from the beginning of the reign of sennacherib to the end of that of assurbaniapli, including, probably, the reigns of his successors likewisea period of about 98 years 704606 bc. Nineveh also serves as the setting for the hellenistic compositions judith and tobit. But when, during this more than fiftyyear period, did nahum preach. The fall of nineveh, the capital of the assyrian empire, provided the occasion for this. Nahum the book contains the vision of nahum, whose name means comfort. Bible verses about nineveh 17 passages king james version. The bible journey nahum predicts the fall of nineveh.
Jonah is the only other book of the bible to end with a rhetorical question. Now the babylonian horsemen are attacking with bright. Chapter 3 continues the picture of the fall of nineveh and gives the underlying reasons. He has a vision of nineveh, the capital of assyria, where jewish people from the northern kingdom of israel have been living in slavery for over a hundred years. According to ancient documents such as the fall of nineveh chronicle, a coalition of forces destroyed nineveh in 612 b. Now nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a threeday journey in extent.
The prophet nahum explained in great detail why the lord decided to remove nineveh as a power. The short prophecy against nineveh is considered to be some of the highest quality of hebrew poetry. In all three chapters nahum prophesied nineveh s fall, which was fulfilled in 612. Bible study guide book of nahum united church of god.
Nahum introduction united states conference of catholic bishops. At its peak, the neoassyrian empire was a formidable force, dominating populations from eastern egypt to the persian gulf, demanding agricultural goods and other resources as tribute. Twopage spread from johannes gutenbergs 42line bible, c. The prophet nahum predicted the destruction of nineveh in the book that bears his name. Now that youve created a bible gateway account, upgrade to bible gateway plus. The fall of that great city was not a matter of chance, but rather a fulfillment of bible prophecy. A number of factors combine to determine both the date and manner of ninevehs destruction. You have maybe read books about the fall of rome, or berlin, or saigon, but the fall of nineveh was far greater than any city i can think of because of the suddenness and completeness of its destruction. It had a circumference of some 60 miles and was adorned by more than 1,200 towers.
And should not i spare nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand. In all three chapters nahum prophesied ninevehs fall, which was fulfilled in 612. The fall of nineveh seems to be imminent throughout, but it has not yet taken place. The rest of the book is devoted to narrating the history of the christian. Assyria, fall of fall of nineveh source book for bible. This free audio bible name pronunciation guide is a valuable tool in your study of gods word. The book of the prophet nahum is almost exclusively taken up with prophetic denunciations against this city. The purpose of nahums book, then, was to announce ninevehs fall and thereby comfort the judean jews with the assurance that their god was. Ninevehs fall, which is nahums theme, would bring comfort to judah. King james bible king james version kjv search the bible select a book. Whether or not he actually did write such an account is uncertain since no history of his has yet to be found describing ninevehs fall in detail.
Destruction of nineveh and assyrian empire in bible prophecy. Nineveh will fall nineveh, someone is coming to attack and scatter you. Nineveh is mentioned in the bible, most notably in the book of jonah, where it is associated with sin and vice. Ancient nineveh background bible study bible history online. Bible study guide book of nahum saturday, august 24, 2012 background on nahum the name nahum means comfort and is related to the name nehemiah, meaning the lord comforts or comfort of the lord. The book of nahum is the seventh book of the 12 minor prophets of the hebrew bible. Ninevehs fall was so important because for a time it was the greatest. The chronicle concerning the fall of nineveh abc 3 is one of the historiographical texts from ancient babylonia. Book of nahum was written for the decline of assyria sometime between 660620 b. When god allowed the assyrians to conquer israel and harass judah, they did so with great cruelty. Nineveh, the capital of assyria, was destroyed in 612 b.
A part of their plans included gods chosen people, israel and judah. The book of nahum mentions the recent fall of noamon, or thebes, which occurred in 663 bc nahum 3. The city of nineveh, the ancient capital of the assyrian empire, was destroyed in 612 b. Who wrote the book of jonah and what is its purpose. Previous cities like asshur and calah were ancient capitals of assyria, but nineveh became most famous in the seventh century bc. Click the play button below to hear how to pronounce nineveh. Nothing is known about him except his hometown elkosh, and even its general location. Assyrian ninevehs destruction by the mighty warriorjudge, yahweh, is. Books of the bible list order complete new and old testament. The title identifies the book as an oracle concerning nineveh and attributes it to the vision of nahum of elkosh. The city was destroyed in 612 bce by a coalition led by babylonians and medes which toppled the assyrian empire.
This city was used by assyrian kings as their primary location to rule their territories. Whether or not he actually did write such an account is uncertain since no history of his has yet to be found describing nineveh s fall in detail. There is also a phonetic guide to use to see the proper pronunciation of nineveh. Herodotus also mentions that he would write in detail as to the fall of nineveh in future history of his yet to be written. Intro to nahum biblica the international bible society. The entire book is a prediction of the fall of the city of nineveh in 612 bc. Book of nahum, the seventh of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets grouped together as the twelve in the jewish canon. He has a vision of nineveh, the capital of assyria, where jewish people from the northern kingdom of israel have been living in slavery for over a hundred years nahum lived in the hill country of judah.
Bible gateway plus equips you to answer the toughest questions about faith, god, and the bible with access to a vast digital bible study library. God sent jonah to preach to the ninevites of their coming destruction, and they fasted and repented because of this. C, merely before their downfall at the hands of the babylonians and almost 150 years after the events in the book of jonah. Shortly before the fall of nineveh, the capital of assyria, in 612 b. The focal point of the entire book is the lords judgment on nineveh for her oppression, cruelty, idolatry, and wickedness. Thus, the book was written somewhere between 663 and 612 bc. Nahum not only predicted the fall of nineveh, but the very manner in which it would fall. The bible journey introduction to the book of jonah.
A number of factors combine to determine both the date and manner of nineveh s destruction. Micah predicted the fall of her capital, samaria, and also foretold the inevitable desolation of judah. Notice how halleys bible handbook introduces the book of nahum. Nahum therefore uttered this oracle between 663 and 612, perhaps near the end of this period since he represents the fall of nineveh as imminent 2. And its all integrated seamlessly into your bible gateway experience. The fall of nineveh charlie taylor ministries bible. It deals with nabopolassars capture of nineveh, rhe capital of assyria, one of the most shocking events in ancient history. Ninevehs downfall which came in 612 bc is compared with the destruction of thebes luxor, the capital of egypt, by the assyrians themselves in 663bc. The assyrians ruthless military tactics are also pictured in reliefs from the kings palace in nineveh, now in the british museum.
In the book of jonah, why did god send jonah to nineveh. The battle of nineveh is conventionally dated between 6 and 611 bc, with 612 bc being the. It is a bloody city and full of lies and robbery, having seized booty from many others. Armed skeletons confirm fall of nineveh they lie as they fell more than 2,600 years ago, a writhing clump of humanity frozen in a moment of fearful combat. Book of nahum read, study bible verses online bible study tools. Associates for biblical research nahum, nineveh and. Oct 20, 2012 the book of nahum explains in vivid detail why god had decided to destroy nineveh. Book of nahum old testament britannica encyclopedia britannica.
Pieces of armor, iron daggers, pikes, and other weapons litter the ground. The description of nineveh in jonah likely was a reference to greater nineveh, including the surrounding cities of rehoboth, calah and resen the book of jonah depicts nineveh as a wicked city worthy of destruction. Associates for biblical research nahum, nineveh and those. The book of nahum prophesied and described its doom. Out of that land went forth asshur, and builded nineveh, and the city rehoboth, and calah, genesis 10. This article is a chapter from our 3 volume book series bible believers archaeology which can be. The fall of nineveh led to the destruction of the neoassyrian empire over the next three. The prophecy ends with the assertion that everyone who hears of ninevehs fall will clap their hands, for who has not felt your endless cruelty.
The title identifies the book as an oracle concerning nineveh and attributes it to the. His name means comforter, and he was from the town of alqosh. The scriptures relate to us how both israel and judah fell away from god. Ancient nineveh ancient manners and customs, daily life, cultures, bible lands. The book of jonah is quite unlike any other prophetic book of the bible as it tells the story of a prophet who tries to disobey gods command. Nahum predicts the fall of nineveh the bible journey. Book of nahum overview insight for living ministries.
But the lord is going to restore their power and glory. The scholarly consensus is that the book of vision was written at the time of the fall of nineveh at the hands of the medes and babylonians in 612 bc. Such objections fall outside the realm of serious scholarship for the lord himself attested to its historicity matthew 12. The prophetic book of nahum is an israelite tauntsong over ninevehs destruction by the babylonians in 612 b. As predicted, in both the bible and the book of nahum, the fall of nineveh was caused by the flooding of the tigris river. May 28, 2009 nahum describes the conquest of thebes noamon by ashurbanipal ii in 663 bc as a past event, thus the book could not have been written before that date. Prediction of the downfall of assyria and fall of nineveh. How to pronounce say nineveh by bible speak pronunciation. Nineveh is not mentioned again in scripture till the days of jonah, when it is described as a great and populous city, the flourishing capital of the assyrian empire 2 kings 19.
Nahum describes the conquest of thebes noamon by ashurbanipal ii in 663 bc as a past event, thus the book could not have been written before that date. Historical evidence for nahums prophecy against nineveh. So jonah arose and went to nineveh, according to the word of the lord. The fall of nineveh was a fulfillment of bible prophecy. The book would then have been written in jerusalem, where nahum would have witnessed the invasion of sennacherib and the destruction of his host 2 kings 19. This was in fulfillment of the prophet nahums prediction that god would completely destroy the city nahum 1. This chronicle belongs to one large text that started with the early years of nabopolassar abc 2 and continued with the fall of nineveh and the late years. Nineveh was the ancient capital of the assyrian empire and was destroyed in 612 b. For more information about nineveh, check out the easton bible dictionary entry as well.
The book of nahum is about the fall of the great city of nineveh. Judah and israel are like trees with branches broken by their enemies. Nothing is known about him except his hometown elkosh, and even its general location is uncertain. The subject of nahums prophecy is the approaching complete and final destruction. The book of jonah, likely written over a hundred years after ninevehs destruction, narrates the rapid repentance of this great citys king in order to make a point about divine forgiveness. Now, is there any record of these things happening at the fall of nineveh. So sennacherib king of assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at nineveh. The name appears to be compounded from that of an assyrian deity nin, corresponding, it is conjectured, with the greek hercules, and occurring in the names of several assyrian kings, as in ninus, the mythic founder, according to greek tradition of the city. Ninevehs fall was so important because for a time it was the greatest city in the.
The name is probably a passive form comforted with the name yahweh omitted. To understand the prophets exultant outburst of joy over the impending destruction it is necessary to recall the savage cruelty of assyria, which had made it the scourge of the ancient near east for almost three centuries. Nineveh is mentioned in the bible, most notably in the book of jonah. In conclusion, the fall of nineveh was mostly predicted by the bible, through the words of the prophet nahum. Nineveh destroyed amazing bible timeline with world history. The destruction of nineveh left such a strong impression on the psyche of ancient peoples that it was written about for several subsequent centuries in the babylonian cuneiform annals, the writings of greek and roman historians, and even in the old testament of the bible. It tells how jonah a jew is sent by god to the pagan city of nineveh, the capital of assyria, israels worst enemy.
It was destroyed around 612 bc which is when this event appears on the old testament timeline. Aramaic speaking and christian assyrians of northern iraq, southeast turkey. Nineveh was the ancient capital of the assyrian empire. Jun 20, 2016 this free audio bible name pronunciation guide is a valuable tool in your study of gods word. Ancient nineveh background bible study bible history.
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