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1–7. Reflecting on the reasons for the terrible judgment of God over Nineveh, depicted in the first two chapters, the prophet here indicates these reasons: a) that this criminal city mercilessly shed the blood of other nations (vv. 1-3) and b) that for the peoples it conquered it served as a corrupting, seductive example in relation to idolatry and vices of all kinds (vv. 4-7). 8–13. Then, the prophet proves the immutability of God’s determination about the destruction of Nineveh and the very possibility of this destruction: a) by indicating the death of another strong city - Thebes (vv. 8-10) and b) the obvious weakness of Nineveh, the insignificance of its fortifications and forces in the face of the enemy, who is the instrument of the Avenger God (vv. 11-13). 14–19. Finally, the inevitability of the destruction of Nineveh due to the complete unsuitability of the means of defense at its disposal is once again affirmed; at the same time, the death of the world capital and world power will be met with the unanimous joy of the tribes, peoples and countries subject to Assyria. Nahum.3:1. Woe to the city of blood! it is all full of deception and murder; The robbery does not stop there. Nahum.3:2. You can hear the flapping of a whip and the sound of spinning wheels, the neighing of a horse and the roar of a galloping chariot. Nahum.3:3. The cavalry rushes, the sword flashes and the spears glisten; there are many killed and piles of corpses: there is no end to the corpses, they stumble over their corpses. Before the God-enlightened gaze of the prophet stands a whole sea of ​​blood shed by Nineveh and giving it the name “city of blood” (v. 1, cf. Ezekiel 22.2–4), as well as deception, violence, and robbery. As a preacher of repentance, the prophet would like to move Nineveh onto the path of moral self-correction, but at the same time, as a God-enlightened seer of the future, he sees the impossibility of correction for Nineveh, which has already reached the last degree of fall, and this double feeling towards it is expressed by the sorrowful words often used by the prophets (Isa 10.1; Isa 18.1; Jer 48.1; Am 6.1; Mic 2.1). exclamation “Woe, alas!” (Hebrew goy), as the prophet Zephaniah later spoke about Nineveh with the same exclamation of “woe” (Zeph 3.1), almost a contemporary of the fulfillment of Naumov’s formidable prophecy about this capital of Assyria. But the prophet’s reflection on the causes of the death of Nineveh is interrupted by the already audible and visible approach of the enemy army to it, and he gives an inimitable in beauty, liveliness and strikingness (if, of course, one reads the prophet’s speech in the Hebrew original 3) image of the rapid movement of these executors of God’s judgment over the lawless Nineveh: the whistle of a horse whip is heard, like an earthquake, the tramp of chariot wheels, the tramp and the neighing of horses, the fast, impetuous movement of chariots (v. 2), and then the enemy himself appears: riders rush in orderly and countless rows, shining with swords like flames and spears like lightning (3a), and at the end of it all a new terrible picture appears, as a consequence of the previous one: the prophet sees a terrible place of bloodshed and on it - first many fallen, mortally wounded and lying in their death throes, and then - whole piles of corpses, countless bodies that one cannot help but trip over (3b). Thus, the immutable law of God of retribution for any murder (Gen. 9.6), especially for a whole sea of ​​shed blood, will be fulfilled over the “city of blood.” Nahum.3:4. This is for the many fornications of a harlot of a pleasant appearance, skilled in sorcery, who with her fornications sells nations and with her enchantments tribes. Nahum.3:5. Behold, I am upon you! says the Lord of hosts. And I will lift up the hem of your garment from your face, and will show your nakedness to the nations and your shame to the kingdoms. Nahum.3:6. And I will pelt you with abominations, make you despicable and put you to shame. Nahum.3:7. And it will happen that everyone, seeing you, will run from you and say: “Nineveh is ruined! Who will regret it? where will I find comforters for you? From depicting Nineveh’s guilt in various kinds of murders and bloodshed and her punishment for these crimes, the prophet moves on to depicting another type of Nineveh’s crimes - “fornication”, Heb. zenunim, LXX πορνεια, Vulg. fornications. This expression, like the whole image in general, under which in Art. 4, Nineveh is presented, can be understood in two ways: in a narrower, special sense - in relation to the prophetic view of Jehovah’s relationship with His people - Israel, as a relationship of marriage (Ezek 16.8; Hos I-III ch.), and the falling away of the Israelis from the true God and deviation towards idolatry (Eze 16.30-31; Hos 1.1 – Hos 3.1) – in the sense of idolatry – and in a broader sense. In the first sense, Blessed Theodoret understands the expression in question when he calls “idol charm and great lasciviousness” the cause of the death of Nineveh (p. 16); likewise, according to blessed Jerome, “Nineveh will be punished because she committed fornication with many nations and honored the idols of the whole world, which she subjected to herself” (p. 291), but such a special understanding of the term in question in relation to Nineveh, strictly speaking, cannot be applied, since covenantal relations between Jehovah and the pagan peoples (like the covenant with Israel) did not exist; Moreover, there is no talk about the idolatry of Nineveh in the section under consideration (vv. 4–7). Obviously, the expression in question must have a broader meaning, in which, however, the element of idolatry may not be absent, since Babylon, as a type of paganism, is named after the “great harlot” in the Apocalypse (Rev 17.1 seq.). Thus, the name of fornication in the place under consideration can generally mean “the godless life of the Assyrians, who did not have God in their hearts and, carried away by their own passions, in essence loved only themselves and in their relations with others were guided by their pride, which is always covered with the guise of love and, under the cover of it, seeks the satisfaction of its own lust: so the harlot squanders only feignedly her caresses on others and under these caresses hides only concern for her personal benefits. Such was Nineveh, which, with all its cunning and insidious treaties, attracted peoples to itself and subjugated them to its power” (Simashkevich, pp. 250–251). On this side, the seductive tactics of Nineveh were too well known to Israel, who had experienced through bitter experience many times the deceitfulness of the caresses she lavished and the favorable promises she gave (such was the activity of Tiglathellaser (Tiglat-Pilezer, 2 Chronicles 28.20-21; 2 Kings 16.7-8; Isa 7.18-20; Shalmaneser - 2 Kings 18.13–17; and Sennacherib Isa 36.1; 2 Kings 18.1). The means for the goal of the harlot, Nineveh, were: brilliant appearance and the appearance of invincible power and, in addition, deliberate means of magical properties. And the consequence of all this was her general enslavement of all surrounding tribes and peoples (v. 4). With this general interpretation of the sin of Nineveh, a more special one, given by the blessed one, can be allowed. Theodoret: “Living in wickedness and lawlessness, you (Nineveh) seemed glorious and famous to those who do not have the right to judge the essence of things, and leaving the Creator and Savior, Who rewarded you with great love for mankind when you repented, you indulged in sorcery and did everything with magic... Not content with your own wickedness, you forced your subjects to be of the same opinion as you.” (p. 16). This is the crime of Nineveh, and further, v. 5–7, God’s punishment for her is indicated, corresponding in its nature to the nature of the crime, just as the first crime of Nineveh - bloodshed - has to cause the same vengeance (vv. 1-3). The exposure and extreme shame of Nineveh the harlot is expressed in the prophet in sharp, but not unusual, features in other prophets (Isa 47.2; Jer 13.22,26; Eze 16.36–40; Hos 2.3) and, in general, characteristic of the east. “Since,” paraphrases the thought of Art. 5–6 bliss. Jerome, - you, Nineveh, sold nations through your fornications and families through your enchantments, and, like a public lewd woman, spread out your legs for everyone, then I myself will come to destroy you - I will not send an Angel and will not entrust others with judging you. I will reveal your private parts before your face, so that you may see something before your eyes that you have never seen before. I will show your nakedness to the nations and your dishonor to kingdoms, so that those who committed fornication with you will despise you, mock you and disgrace you, and you will serve as an example to those who see you. All this is presented under the image (sub metaphora) of an adulterous woman, who, having been caught, is taken out before the people and dishonored before the eyes of everyone” (p. 295). By blessed Theodoret, everything that is said in Art. 5–6, “said in a figurative sense and taken from slaves subjected to great reproach and dishonor” (p. 16). Art. 7 indicates the consequence of the desecration of Nineveh and the attitude of other nations to this. “Whoever sees that Nineveh is ruined and that it is turned into an example for everyone will be afraid, surprised and say: who will grieve for you, who can be your comforter? While you were powerful, you, like a cruel ruler, did not spare the old man, did not pay attention to the baby, and did not prepare anyone as a friend for the time of your sadness, because you did not want to have anyone as an accomplice in your reign” (Blessed Jerome, p. 297). Nahum.3:8. Are you better than No-Ammon, located between the rivers, surrounded by water, whose rampart was the sea, and the sea served as its wall? Nahum.3:9. Ethiopia and Egypt, with countless others, served as reinforcements for him; The Copts and Libyans came to your aid. Nahum.3:10. But he too was resettled and went into captivity; even his infants were broken at the crossroads of all the streets, and lots were cast for his nobles, and all his nobles were bound in chains. In order to eliminate any doubt about the possibility of what was depicted by the prophet - the complete destruction of Nineveh (vv. 1-3) and its extreme humiliation (vv. 4-7), which was especially necessary in view of the deep self-confidence of Nineveh, which considered itself impregnable, invincible (Nahum 2.11; cf. Zeph 2.15), the prophet points to the death under the blows of Assyrian weapons even more powerful than Nineveh, the city of Upper Egypt - But, otherwise Diospolis (Onomast. 390), according to the accepted opinion in science, the Hundred Gates of Thebes (Jer 46.25; Eze 30.14–15) with the famous prophecy of the god Ammon. It is to this famous city of antiquity that those mentioned in Art. 8 next signs. The city of Thebes in Upper Egypt was the capital, like Memphis in Lower Egypt. Even in the time of Homer, he was famous for his greatest power and countless treasures (Iliad. IX. 381–383), which gave him the name of the firstborn of the cities of the world (Diod. Sicul. II, p. 2, § 4). He is exactly what is indicated in Art. 8, - lay on both sides of the Nile, between the channels and canals of this river sacred to the Egyptians, so that, like an impregnable fortress, it was surrounded by waters like walls. On the contrary, one cannot see in No-Ammon either Alexandria 5 (an opinion based on the Chaldean translation and the testimony of Blessed Jerome, see pp. 299–300), nor the so-called small Diospolis in Lower Egypt: for each of these cities indicated in Art. 8 features are not very suitable, moreover, comparing the world-famous Nineveh with an insignificant city like Diospolis small would be strange and unsubstantiated. For the great Diospolis, or Thebes, it is already characteristic that it is called the city of Ammon - from the church of the god of this name, built by Ramses I, the pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. In Art. 9, the prophet, continuing his speech, expresses the idea that the city of No-Ammon was strong not only by the inaccessibility of its natural position and not only by its own power, but also by its numerous and also powerful allies and defenders, called here in the direction from south to north with a deviation then to the west, namely the inhabitants of the country of Cush or Cush - Ethiopia (Gen. 2.13; 2 Kings 19.9, see note to the last place - Interpretations. Bibl. II, p. 549) and Mizraim - Egypt (in the very name of the latter - in duality. The form contains an indication of the two components of the country: Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt). Along with the Egyptians and Ethiopians, as the main allies and defenders of No-Ammon, the Fut-Copts or Mauritans (Joseph Fla. Jude. Ancient. 1:6, 2) and Luvim - Libyans (usually mentioned in the Bible together with Mizraim and Cush. 2 Chronicles 12.3; 2 Chronicles 16.8; Dan) are also called 11.43 ). In sharp contrast with the depicted power of No-Ammon is the disastrous fate of him and his inhabitants after the capture and destruction of the city, the captivity and extreme humiliation of its inhabitants - v. 10. The Prophet, obviously, speaks of the recent and still fresh in the memory of the Assyrians and Jews, the capture of No-Ammon or Thebes, namely by the Assyrian king Esargaddon, the son of Sennacherib (the captor of Manasseh 2 Chronicles 32.11), called on the Assyrian monuments not just a king, but also the conqueror of Mizraim and Cush (see Simashkevich, pp. 27:6–284). On the contrary, the opinion of the blessed one is completely unacceptable. Theodorit, blessed Jerome and some new interpreters who see in Art. 10 is an indication (or actually a prophecy) about the final destruction of Thebes by Cambyses, in 525 BC. The prophet enhances the strikingness of the event with three more pictures of the barbarity of the conquerors of the city of No-Ammon, and since the conquerors of this city, who so cruelly dealt with its inhabitants, were Assyrians, these new strokes of the whole terrible picture could, according to the prophet’s intention, strengthen the retribution he proclaimed against Nineveh and all of Assyria, once again pointing to the complete justice and deservedness of the punishment awaiting them (the commonality of such pictures in the time of wars and conquests in the east is proven by comparison, for example, 2 Kings 8.14; Isa 13.16; Judgment 5.30; Nahum.3:11. So you will get drunk and hide; so you too will seek protection from the enemy. Nahum.3:12. All your fortifications are like a fig tree with ripe fruits: if you shake them, they will fall straight into the mouth of someone who wants to eat. Nahum.3:13. Behold, your people are like your women: the gates of your land will be opened wide to your enemies, fire will devour your bars. A completely similar fate inevitably awaits Nineveh. She will have to accept from the hands of God and drink the cup of God’s wrath (cf. Ps 74.9; Jer 25.15–17; Jer 51.7; Hab 2.16, etc.). “As if by some intoxication you will be given over to disaster and, rushing hither and thither, you will begin to look for some kind of deliverance from the evils that beset you, but you will not find it... Like fig trees shaken by the wind, from which even unripe figs easily fall, you will be deprived of inhabitants: your courageous warriors, overwhelmed with fear, will not differ in any way from their wives; but without effort your gates will open when the fire destroys the faith, and, like a stream, the opposing forces invade them” (Blessed Theodoret, p. 18). In Art. 11 the expression “you will be hidden” is significant: naalama tags: the surprisingly accurate fulfillment of this prophecy can be seen in the fact that the ruins of the once glorious, world-famous Nineveh, soon after the fateful event of 606, indeed fell into oblivion and remained completely unknown to the world for a long time, and now, with the location of ancient Nineveh established, its ruins still present a sad picture of a lost without a trace and irretrievably, completely destroyed by everyone despicable greatness. In Art. 12–13 shows the ease and ease of the conquest and fall of Nineveh, the inevitability and certainty of which was shown in Art. 8–11. The Palestinian flavor is used in Art. 12 comparison of the fortifications of Nineveh with early ripening bikkurim figs: this genus of figs ripened not only in June, but also even earlier (Mark 11.13), while the usual season for collecting figs is only the end of August; they hold on to the tree very precariously and easily fall off (Isa 28.4; Hos 9.10; Micah 7.1; Jer 24.4). So all the strongholds of Assyria will fall into the hands of the enemies without effort on their part. First half of 13th century. explains the reason for the ease of conquest of Nineveh and the entire country - a decisive decline in courage in the army: the Assyrian warriors, out of despondency and cowardice, will be like women (cf. Is 19.16; Jer 50.37; Jer 51.30). In the second half of the verse, not only is the ease of conquest of the most important strongholds of Assyria once again indicated, but the very image of the destruction of the latter is revealed, namely the extraordinary speed of the fatal catastrophe: “the gates of your land will be opened wide to your enemies, fire will devour your locks.” In the last words they see an indication of the custom of the Assyrians - during the siege of cities and fortresses, they use lighted torches in order to light the door locks and thus open access to the besieged city; they have to deal with them in the same way. Nahum.3:14. Draw water for the duration of the siege; strengthen your fortresses; go into the mud, trample the clay, fix the brick kiln. Nahum.3:15. There the fire will devour you, the sword will cut you off, and eat you like a caterpillar, even though you multiply like a caterpillar, multiply like locusts. Nahum.3:16. You have more merchants than stars in the sky; but these locusts will scatter and fly away. Nahum.3:17. Your princes are like locusts, and your commanders are like swarms of midges, which during cold weather nest in the cracks of the walls, and when the sun rises, they fly away, and you do not recognize the place where they were. As above in ch. II Art. 1, euro 2, so here, art. 14, the prophet with bitter irony advises Nineveh to strain all its strength, to use all means of defending the city against the besieging enemies, but all these efforts and measures will be completely fruitless, v. 15–17. The general idea of ​​this section is blessed. Theodoret expresses it this way: “Do not rely on these strongholds, for they will not provide you with any help, but, like clay, which is trampled along with tares to make plinth out of it, you will be trampled under foot by the enemies who attack you: they will burn the city, and you will be struck by all kinds of arrows at your inhabitants, just as locusts and moss will completely destroy you all; the wealth that you have collected from everywhere, and which is also not easy to count, like the stars of heaven, will be taken by the hostile” (pp. 18–19). In Art. 17 EUR The original contains two words: minnezarim and tifsarim, the philological composition, etymological formation and exact meaning of which are difficult to determine. Jewish interpreters (eg Abarbanel) derived minnesarim from Hebrew. neter diadema, conveyed the meaning of this term as follows: principes, quorum capitibus diadema et corona inest. In modern times, Gesenius, König and others. brought this word closer to the word nazir, prince, initiate, Nazirite. But, according to the more accepted opinion in science (leremias, lensen, Zimmem), both Minnesarim and Tifsarim are both Assyrian roots and are the names of important military positions or ranks in the Assyrian army; The Assyrian is considered the prototype of the first. massaru (tanzaru) “guards”, and the second is Assyrian. dupsarru (tupsams) “scribes”. One way or another, the comparison of the Assyrian military leaders with locusts and midges (v. 17) indicates both their extraordinary number and the particular speed with which they will disappear, without providing Nineveh with any protection. Nahum.3:18. Your shepherds sleep, O king of Assyria, your nobles rest; Your people are scattered across the mountains, and there is no one to gather them. Nahum.3:19. There is no cure for your wound, your ulcer is painful. All who have heard the news about you will applaud you, for to whom has your malice not incessantly extended? Finishing the broadcast of his prophetic “burden” on Nineveh, the prophet once again returns to the thought of the inevitable, by God’s judgment, fatal end of Nineveh. Addressing the whole of proud Assyria in the person of the Assyrian king, the prophet announces to him the coming deathly peace on its territory, namely: the uninterrupted eternal sleep of death awaits all representatives, leaders and commanders of the Assyrian people who have fallen from the enemy’s sword in the very first battle with the enemy; the soldiers, left without leaders, will flee, and after the army they will flee and be scattered across the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd, and all the inhabitants of Assyria (cf. 1 Kings 22.17; Zech 13.7; Ezek 34.6). At the same time, the political existence of the powerful global Assyrian power will completely cease. And this fall of Nineveh, together with the death of the entire state, despite all its tragedy, will cause among the surrounding peoples not grief, compassion and regret, but amazed joy and a feeling of deep satisfaction about the death of the cruel ruler of the world - Nineveh, which brought them nothing but great evil and harm. “Remembering the disasters that they suffered from you, they will rejoice that you are also suffering, and they will applaud” (Blessed Theodoret, p. 20). Nahum's terrible prophecy about the fate of Nineveh was fulfilled with all accuracy in the destruction of Nineveh, and with it all of Assyria, by the united forces of the Medes and Babylonians. A brief but accurate testimony about this important world event is read in the book of Tobit (Tov 14.15); This evidence is confirmed by a comparison of similar testimonies of classical writers - Herodotus, Abydenus, Alexander Polyhistor, Ctesius, especially - the data of the Nabonidus inscription discovered in 1894, which also indicates the chronological date of the destruction of Nineveh and the death of Assyria - the 607th or 606th year BC - a date that can currently be recognized as generally accepted in science (Cf. Simashkevich, pp. 324–341; in Prof. N. M. Drozdov, On the origin of the book of Tobit, 1901, pp. 515–527; Blessed Jerome notes to Art. 2–3: “The Hebrew text is so beautiful in its depiction of an army preparing for war, and so similar to a painting, that my speech is much weaker” (p. 290) bliss Theodoret obviously has in mind the pardon of Nineveh as a result of her repentance after the preaching of the prophet Jonah Vulg.: numquid es melior Alexandria populorum. Reading the first half of the article. 8 for LXX and slav. dark and unclear. slav.: he will prepare a part, he will arrange a string, he will prepare a part for Ammon You might be interested in: