Interpretation of the book of the prophet Nahum

The seventh place in the department of sacred books of the so-called minor prophets, after the book of the prophet Micah or, as in many editions of the LXX text, after the book of the prophet Jonah, and before the book of the prophet Habakkuk in the sacred Old Testament canon, is occupied by the book of the prophet Nahum, Heb. "Nachum" נחום, Greek. Ναουμ, lat. Nahum. The common meaning of the name of the prophet from Hebrew: “full of consolation” (nachum particip. pass.), as well as “comforter” (“consolator”, as explained by Blessed Jerome), accurately marks the content, character and significance of his prophetic book. The content of the book, as already shown by the first half of its inscription, is the “prophecy of Nineveh”, from the Hebrew “burden of Nineveh” (mass - Ninveh), i.e. a prediction and image of the final ruin, the final destruction of the city of Nineveh, and together with the entire Assyrian kingdom, and this world event should bring joy to all peoples and kingdoms oppressed by Assyria (cf. Nahum 3.19), including and the kingdom of Judah (Nahum 1.15; Heb. 2:1). “Ten tribes,” says the blessed one. Jerome, in the prologue to his interpretation of the book of the prophet Nahum, was taken into captivity by the Assyrians already under Hezekiah, king of Judah, under whom the vision now appears (i.e., described in the book of the prophet Nahum) against Nineveh to console the displaced people. And it was no small consolation both for those who had already been enslaved by the Assyrians, and for the rest who belonged to the tribe of Judah and Benjamin and were besieged by the same enemies under Hezekiah, to hear that the Assyrians, in their turn, would be taken captive by the Chaldeans, as will be shown later in this book. (Blessed Jerome, one book of interpretations on the prophet Nahum. Created in Russian translation, part 13. Kyiv. 1896, p. 254). Thus, if in general in the Old Testament proper names at all times served as an expression of the hope and religious aspirations of the people of God, and among the great God-chosen representatives of the latter they often served as a living and constant sermon for their contemporaries about God and His works, about the normal attitude of Israel towards Him, then the name of the prophet Nahum was an expression of hope for the mercy of God, “the aspiration of the Joy of Israel” (Luke 2.25) among all the troubles that the domination of Assyria brought to Israel, by the way. Another evidence about him, besides the meaning of the prophet’s name, is the epithet ha-Yelkosi, ???, LXX: του Ελκεσαιου given to him in the inscription. Elkesaei – slav.: son of Elkeseev, Russian: Elkoseyanin. As can be seen from a comparison of the various renderings of this epithet by different translations, as well as from a comparison of different ancient and new interpretations, it is possible and indeed at different times a double understanding of the word Elkosi was expressed: 1) patronymic - in the sense of indicating the father or patronymic of the prophet and 2) geographical - in the sense of designating the area of ​​his birth. But the first interpretation is already contradicted by the absence in the Hebrew text and in most lists of the LXX translation of the usual definition in such cases: son, Hebrew. ben, ??? (cf. Isa 1.1; Jer 1.1; Eze 1.3; Hos 1.1; Joel 1.1; Jonah 1.1; Zeph 1.1; Zech 1.1), as well as the complete unknown of the prophet’s father not only in the Bible, but also in tradition. On the contrary, this last circumstance speaks in favor of the second understanding: usually in the Bible a form similar to the expression in question is used to indicate the place of birth of persons of humble origin, for example: Ahijah the Shilamite (Heb. ha-Shiloni, 1 Kings 11.29), Micah Morasfitin (Heb. ha-Maragiti, Micah 1.1), Jeremiah the Anathothite (ha-Annetoti Jer. 19.27), etc. The high authority of Blessed Jerome forces us without hesitation to recognize in the expression under consideration an indication of the place of birth of the prophet. “Regarding the words of the prophet Haym the Elkesian (elcesaei),” says Blessed. Jerome, - some believe that Elkesei was the father of Nahum and that he, according to Jewish tradition, was also a prophet, while in Galilee there is still a village of Elkesi (Elesi); although it is small, and the ruins barely indicate the ruins of ancient buildings, it is known to the Jews and was also pointed out to me by the guide” (Prologue p. 255). In the sense of the Palestinian, and more particularly the Galilean, area, the blessed one understands. Jerome uses the word Elkosh, Elkese, and in another case in his Onomastics, according to Eusebius of Caesarea (Onomast. 418). And other ancient interpreters, for example. St. Cyril of Alexandria, Blessed. Theophylact consider the word in question to be the name of the prophet’s hometown. Nahum, whom they place in Palestine; only some of them, like the blessed one. Theophylact, pseudo-Epiphanius, pseudo-Dorotheus, Isidore of Spain, in contrast to Blessed. Jerome, argued that Elkeseh was located beyond the Jordan, within Bethabara (Judgment 7.24; John 1.28. Onomast 233), and that the prophet Nahum came from the tribe of Simeon. This opinion is difficult to reconcile with the direct and clear testimony of the blessed. Jerome, but here it is important to indicate the Palestinian origin of the prophet Nahum. The latter has been disputed more than once in modern times: some commentators (Ewald, Kleinert, etc.) considered the village of Elkush or Alqush on the eastern side of the Tigris north of Massul, denoting (together with Krondzhik and Nebi-Yunus) the position of ancient Nineveh, the birthplace, and at the same time the burial place of the prophet Nahum, on the basis, firstly, that the prophet’s close acquaintance with the area of Nineveh and Assyria in general (see, for example, Nahum 2.5–7; Nahum 3.12–14 of his book) and the extraordinary vividness of the image supposedly require recognition of the native, Assyrian origin of the prophet, and then in view of the fact that the local tradition near this village in the Roman Catholic monastery of St. Antonia points out the tomb of the prophet, revered by Christians, Muslims and Jews and attracting thousands of pilgrims (this is evidenced by Askhmani, Niebuhr, Laillard and others). But this legend about the Assyrian Elkosh is very late: it does not go back earlier than the 16th century; The famous Jewish traveler of the 12th century, Benjamin of Tudela, who visited the territory of ancient Assyria and in particular Nineveh, does not mention anything about Elkosh or Alqush as the homeland of the prophet Nahum. This area has no signs of antiquity, and the very house in which the tomb is located is of modern architecture. The very content of the book does not contain anything that would necessarily require its writing in Assyria: the prophet’s acquaintance with the nature and culture of the latter in the 7th century BC could have been accessible to every Jew living in Palestine, since the frequent destructive campaigns of the Assyrian kings in Palestine could not help but acquaint its inhabitants with the features of Assyrian culture; in the same way one can explain the presence in the book of the prophet of two undoubtedly Assyrian root words (minnesar and tifsar in Nahum 3.17). Thus, in the legend under consideration we have an example of the materialization of beliefs and traditions, which is not uncommon in the east, by attaching them to one or another locality; an analogy to this is the name of another village in the south of the territory of ancient Nineveh named Nebi Yunus, i.e. the prophet Jonah, where the grave of the prophet Jonah is indicated. On the contrary, the whole content and the whole character of the book point to Palestine as the place of origin of the prophet and his book; in particular, the prophet’s speech, generally pure and elegant, bears the imprint of the northern part of the Palestinian territory, and this confirms the thought of the blessed one. Jerome about the Galilean origin and residence of the prophet Nahum. We can also mention here the opinion of Strauss, Hitzig, Knobel and others, that Elkosh, the birthplace of the prophet, is identical with Capernaum, the name of which, translated from Hebrew, means “village of Nahum.” This opinion is not confirmed either by the Bible, or by historical evidence, or by philology, but it may have some significance - indirect confirmation of Jerome's testimony about the Galilean location of Elkosh - the homeland of the prophet Nahum 1. So, the opinion about the stay of the prophet Nahum in Assyria and about the writing of his book there should be abandoned. On the contrary, in the book of the prophet there are quite clear indications that he prophesied in Judea (Nahum 1.15; Heb. 2:1) and among the Jews to whom he addressed his speech (Nahum 1.7,12–13). Finally, the close acquaintance of the prophet Nahum with the preaching and writings of other prophets (cf. e.g. Nahum 1.4 and Amos 1.3), especially the prophet Isaiah (cf. Nahum 1.13 and Isaiah 10.27; Nahum 3.5 and Isaiah 47.2–3; Nahum 1.4–5 and Isaiah 24.1; Nahum 3.7 and Isaiah 51.19); Nahum 1.15 (Heb. 2:1) and Isaiah 52.7) the closest similarity of the turns and figures of speech he used, the similarity of language - all this was a consequence of constant mockery (as in the original - editor's note) - the prophet's treatment of his native Jewish environment and the study of the sacred national scriptures of biblical Israel. The time of life and activity of the prophet Nahum and the time he wrote his prophetic book, due to the lack of direct evidence of this in the Bible and tradition, must be judged only by indirect, internal data contained in the book itself. The indications of the book that serve to determine its chronological date are as follows. The prophet assumes the accomplished fact of the fall of the northern or Israeli kingdom (Nahum 2.2), which took place in the 6th year of the reign of the Judah king Hezekiah 2 Kings 18.10 or, according to the accepted biblical chronology, around 722 BC (cf. "Explanatory Bible", vol. II, pp. 537 and 544), as well as the invasion of Judea The Assyrian king Sennacherib and his devastation of this country (Nahum 1.9–11,12,15), which occurred in the 14th year of the reign of the same king of Judah (2 Kings 18.13), i.e., around 714 BC (Explanatory Bible, vol. II, p. 544), and this last disaster passed ( Nahum 1.15), and serves only as a subject of terrible, but at the same time comforting (Kings cf. 19:35–37) memories for the people (Nahum 1.12). Thus, the terminus a quo of the activity of the prophet and the writing of the book cannot be assumed earlier than the last event, and for example. the opinion of Josephus, according to which St. Nahum prophesied under the Judah king Jotham (Jude. Ancient. 9:11, 3), must be rejected. As for the other limit - terminus ad quern, it is quite obvious that the prophecy about Nineveh was spoken by the prophet Nahum no later than the very event of the fall of Nineveh - according to the chronology accepted in science in 607-606. BC (following the example of Clement of Alexandria, Nahum prophesied under Zedekiah), but much earlier than this event. Nineveh still exists, its destruction is only predicted (Nahum 2.9,13 and many others). Moreover, the power, glory and wealth of the Assyrians are at the highest level of their development, and Nineveh is completely prosperous (Nahum 1.12; Nahum 2.1; Nahum 3.8,12–17). The prophet does not name the future culprits of the fall of Assyria and Nineveh by name, and the fall itself is a matter of the distant future, and moreover (in view of the prosperity of Assyria and Nineveh) so unlikely from a human point of view that the prophet needed to give deliberate examples of the fall of the political power of the great Egyptian city of No-Ammon (Nahum 3.8 v.) or (according to the most likely explanation) the great Diospolis or hundred gates of Thebes in Upper Egypt. This historical evidence also provides a solid basis for establishing the chronological date of prophecy and the writing of the book that interests us. The historical fact of the destruction of No-Ammon or Thebes, according to Schrader, is firmly attested by the wedge-shaped Assyrian writings, according to which it was carried out by Assurbanipal, the son and successor of Asargaddon, in his second Egyptian campaign against Urdamani, the successor of Pharaoh Tirgaki. Moreover, the Assyrian annals date this event to a time shortly after the death of the latter, which followed in 664 BC. In the next 663. the destruction of Thebes or No-Ammon could have followed. And since the prophet Nahum threatens Nineveh with the fate of No-Ammon, obviously under the fresh impression of the death of this city, then the utterance of the prophecy about Nineveh and the writing of his prophetic book should be dated back to approximately 662–660. BC, that is, by the time of the reign of Manasseh, who, according to the accepted chronology, reigned from 698 to 643 (see in detail about this “Explanatory Bible”, vol. II, pp. 443–444). With this assumption, some features of the content of the book become more understandable than when attributing the prophecy of Nahum to the second half of the reign of Hezekiah, as many researchers and interpreters of the book claim. But it is incredible to see in the words of the prophet Nahum 1.13: “Today I will break the yoke of him (the enemy, Assyria) that lies on you, and I will break your bonds” an indication of King Manasseh, bound in bonds and taken captive by the Assyrian military leaders (2 Chronicles 33.11). And the acquaintance of the prophet Nahum with the prophetic books of Isaiah and Micah in this case becomes much clearer. It was not in vain that the Talmudists asserted, on the basis of ancient tradition, that the prophet Nahum lived until the time of Manasseh (like Isaiah, who, according to betrayal, suffered from this king), and that it was the captivity of this king by the Assyrians (2 Chronicles 33.11) that was the reason for pronouncing the prophecy about the fall of Nineveh, in the consolation of the subjects abandoned by the king, whose name the prophet omitted in inscription of his book as unworthy of memory (Seder Olam rabba, p. 55). In terms of order and consistency in the disclosure of content, the book of the prophet Nahum represents a remarkably harmonious whole. The division of the book into three chapters fully corresponds to the three stages in the revelation of the prophet's thoughts. In the first chapter, which is like an introduction to the whole book, the theme of the entire book is indicated: the all-holy, all-powerful, all-righteous God always carries out his decrees, both merciful in relation to the God-fearing and threatening in relation to the wicked and godless, therefore the final fate awaits the arrogant godless Assyrians, and salvation awaits the Jews faithful to Jehovah. The second chapter already depicts the fulfillment of God’s judgment on Assyria and Nineveh, contemplated by the spiritual eyes of the prophet: the complete and final fall of their power and the cessation of their very existence. The third chapter, answering the naturally arising question about the reasons and the very possibility of the death of the world-wide monarchy with its amazing capital, points out these reasons in the vices that nested in Assyria and Nineveh, as well as in Divine Justice that embraces the whole world. Thus, the entire book of the prophet Nahum represents one completely correctly located and completely completed poem. According to the judgment of experts in the Hebrew language (for example, Lota, De s. poes. Hebr. p. 216 sqq.), the language and style of the book of the prophet Nahum is classic in all respects, and in the height of fiery animation and boldness of the flight of thought, in the brightness of colors and liveliness of presentation, the prophet Nahum is the first among all the minor prophets. He depicts the scenes described with extraordinary vividness, depicting them as an eyewitness. His speech is like a rushing stream in its rapid and unexpected transitions with frequent conciseness and meekness (with frequent changes between singular and plural, masculine and feminine, singular and plural (Nahum 1.10–12; Nahum 2.9; Nahum 3.7–10), etc. The significance of the prophetic book of Nahum in the general organism of the sacred biblical books must be determined from two points of view: historical and theological (with the inclusion of a special messianic one). In the first respect, the prophecy in question refers, in its origin, to the so-called “Assyrian period” of biblical history and the sacred writing of the Old Testament, that is, to the time of the dominance of Assyria over other peoples and kingdoms. The prophets of the Assyrian period include partly the most ancient - Jonah, Joel, Amos, and mainly those who followed them: Hosea, Isaiah, Micah; Nahum closes the series of prophets of the named period, since his book concludes the last prophecy about Nineveh (however, the prophet Zeph 2.13–15 speaks about the destruction of Nineveh even later, but he was already almost a contemporary of the very event of the destruction of Nineveh and, moreover, spoke as if about the fulfillment of Nahum’s prophecy on it), announcing, of course, the triumph of the world-ruling truth of God over the human untruths of Assyria (Nahum 2.13, Heb. 14; Nahum 3.19). Blessed Theodoret says: “The Ninevites, fearing God’s threat, preached to them by the godly Jonah, resorted to fervent repentance and found salvation for themselves; Instead of the final destruction that threatened them, they were granted God’s love for mankind. But, after a little time, they forgot about this ineffable mercy, returning to their former vices, committed thousands of new iniquities and dared to go with an army against Israel... But later, after the transfer of the royal throne to Babylon, the entire line of these kings died out; the city of Nineveh is devastated and abandoned to final desolation. This destruction of Nineveh is predicted by the blessed prophet Nahum, having received the power of God’s spirit, and teaches those foretold that the Lord God does not leave anything without his care and providence, but according to His just determination, he demands from everyone an account of everything that he has done in life” (Creation in Russian translation, part V, pp. 5–6). The last words also indicate the theological significance of the content of the book of the prophet Nahum - this is precisely the teaching, common to him with other prophets, about the world-ruling providence of the Holy, Almighty and All-righteous God, who is at the same time a consuming fire for the wicked, and an unshakable refuge for the pious and those who hope in Him. The basis of this attitude of God towards the world and people is His plan for universal salvation, the foreshadowing of which is also heard in the broadcasts of the prophet Nahum (Nahum 1.15; Heb. 2:1), as in similar expressions in the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 3.7), and then, after the fulfillment of the work of our salvation, is reproduced by the apostle (Rom. 10.15). The ancient Hebrew legend about the life and work of the prophet Nahum has been preserved in a unique form in our Chetii-Minaia. In the life of St. Prophet Nahum here (under December 1st), by the way, we read: “The Holy Prophet Nahum is not from Elkesea, he fought over the Jordan, against Vegavar, from the tribe of Simeon. This, according to the holy prophet Jonah of Nebia, prophesied that their city was about to perish by water and fire, and it was... that their destruction would be overwhelming: at Nineveh there was a great lake of water surrounding the city, but when a great earthquake was created on the earth, the city was mired in that lake; the part of it that remained on the mountain was the fire that came out of the desert. And thus Noum’s prophecy came true, God executed sinful people with His righteous judgment... The holy prophet prophesied another future one, and he died in peace in the forty-fifth year from his birth, and was buried honestly in his land.” It is difficult to say to what extent this information is reliable; but the news of the destruction of Nineveh from water and fire is obviously timed to coincide with the data of the prophetic book itself (Nahum 1.10; Nahum 3.13–15). The memory of the holy prophet Nahum is celebrated in the Christian Orthodox Church on December 1. Patristic interpretations of the book of the prophet Nahum: St. Cyril of Alexandria, Blessed. Theodorit, blessed Jerome, blessed Theophylact. Of the rabbinic commentaries on this book, the most remarkable is p. Abarbanela ln Nanum commentarius, latino donutus a I. D. Sprechero 1703. Of the very numerous works in the West, let us name a few of the newest: Strauss, Nahumi de Nino vaticinium explicavit ex assyris monuments IIIustravuit 0. Sir. 1853; Breiteneicher, Ninive und Nahum. Mit Beiziehund der Resultate der neuesten Entdeckungen histor. – exeget. beabeit 1861; Reinke, Zur more or less brief general comments about the book of the prophet Nahum in the manuals, which are: holy. V. Smaragdov (St. Petersburg. 1869), X. Horde (Bishop Irenaeus, Kyiv 1871), Metropolitan Arseny (Kyiv 1873), A. Hergozersky (St. Petersburg. 1885), prof. A. A. Olesnitsky (SPB. 1894), D. N. Nartsisoov (Guide to the study of the prophetic books of the Old Testament. Poltava 1904. pp. 193–200, as well as articles of the Sunday Reading 1854/55 (year XVIII) “Memory of the Holy Prophets: Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah" (p. 321 next) there are several special works specifically about the book of the prophet Nahum. These are: 1) I. Smirnova (now Bishop John), The Prophet (Nahum from the August book “Readings in the Society of Lovers of Spiritual Enlightenment” 1876); 2) prof. M. A Golubeva, Holy Prophet Naum and his book (Christian Reading 1852, part I, pp. 518–562). and 3) – surpassing both the first in volume and thoroughness – the book of M. Simashkevich (now Bishop Mitrofan). Nahum's prophecy about Nineveh. An exegetical study, with an outline of the history of the Assyrian state and a historically critical solution to the question of the origin of the book of the prophet Nahum SPB. 1875, p. 342. according to Strauss and others, the name of the Palestinian area, which served as the birthplace of the prophet Nahum, was preserved in the name of the Elkezaites, one of the most ancient sects that appeared in Palestine during the time of Trajan (according to Epiphanius - in Eusebius, C. Ist. VI, 38). But this circumstance, of course, does not add anything essentially new to the already known arguments about the Palestinian origin of the prophet Nahum and his book You might be interested in: