Nahum 2:1-4

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Nahum 2:1-10

Here is, I. An alarm of war sent to Nineveh, Nah. 2:1. The prophet speaks of it as just at hand, for it is neither doubtful nor far distant: ?Look about thee, and see, he that dashes in pieces has come up before thy face. Nebuchadnezzar, who is noted, and will be yet more so, for dashing nations in pieces, begins with thee, and will dissipate and disperse thee;? so some render the word. Babylon is called the hammer of the whole earth, Jer. 50:23. The attempt of Nebuchadnezzar upon Nineveh is... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Nahum 2:1

He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face ,.... O Nineveh, or land of Assyria; for this is not to be understood of Sennacherib's coming up against Jerusalem, as Kimchi; but of Nebuchadnezzar against Nineveh, as Aben Ezra; not Nebuchadnezzar the great, who, the Jewish chronologers say F3 Seder Olam Rabba, c. 24. p. 69. , took Nineveh in the first year of his reign; but his father, Nebuchadnezzar the first, called Nabopolassar, who, with Cyaxares or Ahasuerus the Mede, joined... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Nahum 2:2

For the Lord hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel ,.... Or, "will render" a recompence for, or "revenge the pride of Jacob" F5 כי שב יהוה את גאון יעקב "ulciscitur enim Jehova adhibitam in Jacobaeos superbiam", Castalio; "reponit Deus Assyrio illam superbiam quam ipse in Jacobo et Israele exercuit", Grotius; "quia reddidit superbiam", &c.; Tirinus. ; all that insolence, and those injuries done in a proud and haughty manner by Sennacherib... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Nahum 2:3

The shield of his mighty men is made red ,.... The shields of the soldiers in the armies of the Babylonians and Medes, those dashers in pieces that would come up against Nineveh, should be red; either with the blood of the slain, or thus coloured on purpose to inject terror to their enemies; or this may express the lustre of them, which being gilded, or made of gold or brass, in the rays of the sun glittered, and looked of a fiery red; see the Apocrypha: "Now when the sun shone upon the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Nahum 2:4

The chariots shall rage in the streets ,.... In the streets of Nineveh when taken; where they shall be drove in a furious manner from place to place, the men in them breathing out slaughter and death wherever they came. Kimchi understands this of the chariots of the Ninevites; who shall drive about in them in the streets of the city like madmen; not daring to go out to fight the enemy, being mightier and more numerous than they. They shall justle one against another in the broad ways ;... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Nahum 2:1

He that dasheth in pieces - Or scattereth. The Chaldeans and Medes. Keep the munition - Guard the fenced places. From this to the end of the fifth verse, the preparations made at Nineveh to repel their enemies are described. The description is exceedingly picturesque. Watch the way - By which the enemy is most likely to approach. Make thy loins strong - Take courage. Fortify thy power - Muster thy troops; call in all thy allies. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Nahum 2:2

For the Lord hath turned away - Bishop Newcome reads, for the Lord restoreth, by a slight alteration in the text. I do not see that we gain much by this. The Lord has been opposed to Jacob, and the enemy has prevailed against him. Emptied them out - Brought them from their own land into captivity. This was the emptying! read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Nahum 2:3

The shield of his mighty men is made red - These things may refer to the war-like preparations made by the Ninevites: they had red shields, and scarlet or purple clothing; their chariots were finely decorated, and proceeded with amazing rapidity. The fir trees shall be terribly shaken - This may refer to the darts, arrows, and javelins, flung with destructive power. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Nahum 2:4

The chariots shall rage - Those of the besiegers and the besieged, meeting in the streets, producing universal confusion and carnage. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Nahum 2:1

Verse 1 The waster spoken of here by the Prophet, some consider him to have been Sennacherib, and others, Nebuchodonosor. The verb עלה, ole, is also variously explained: it is often taken metaphorically in Hebrew for vanishing, as we say in French,Il s’en va en fumee ; for smoke ascends, and this is the reason for the metaphor. They then elicit this meaning, — that a destroyer had ascended before the face of the chosen people, that is, openly; so that it was evidently the work of God, that the... read more

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