Nahum 2:6

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 2:6

The gates of the rivers shall be opened ,.... Of Diava and Adiava, or Lycus and Caprus, between which, according to some writers F9 Vid. Fuller. Miscel. Sacr. l. 3. c. 6. , Nineveh was situated; or the gates of the city, which lay nearest to the river Tigris, are meant; or that river itself, the plural for the singular, which overflowing, broke down the walls of the city for two and a half miles, and opened a way for the Medes and Chaldeans to enter in; of which see Nahum 1:8 , ... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Nahum 2:6

The gates of the rivers shall be opened - I have already referred to this, see the note on Nahum 1:8 ; but it will be necessary to be more particular. The account given by Diodorus Siculus, lib. ii., is very surprising. He begins thus: Ην δ ' αυτῳ λογιον παραδεδομενον εκ προγονων, κ.τ.λ. - "There was a prophecy received from their forefathers, that Nineveh should not be taken till the river first became an enemy to the city. It happened in the third year of the siege, that the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Nahum 2:6

Verse 6 By the gates of the rivers the Prophet means that part of the city which was most fortified by the river Tigris; for the Tigris flowed close by the city. As then the Tigris was like the strongest defense, (for we know it to have been a most rapid river,) the Prophet ridicules the confidence of the Ninevites, who thought that the access of enemies could be wholly prevented in that part where the Tigris flowed. The gates then of the rivers are opened; that is, your river shall not prevent... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Nahum 2:1-8

§ 1. Nineveh shall be besieged, because God is about to exalt his people by taking vengeance on the enemy, whose defence, howsoever formidable, is of no avail. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Nahum 2:1-10

A predicted invasion. I. THE ENEMY DESCRIBED . 1 . His violence. Nahum calls him "a dasher in pieces" (verse 1), and represents his warriors as "mighty" and "valiant" (verse 3)—epithets which apply with fitness and force to the Merdo-Babylonian army under Cyaxares and Nabopolassar. 2 . His boldness. He comes up against Nineveh, not stealthily and under cover of darkness, but openly, pitching his tent opposite the city gates. His fearless attitude was a proof that God was... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Nahum 2:1-13

Part II . THE EXECUTION OF THE DECREE ; THE DESTRUCTION OF NINEVEH DESCRIBED . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Nahum 2:3-13

The downfall of Nineveh, as illustrative of the Divine and the human dements in revelation. There are two elements in the Bible, the Divine and the human. God speaks to us in every page, nor does he speak the less emphatically, but all the more so, in that he addresses us through men possessing throbbing hearts, and who were phasing through experiences like our own. We honour the volume as being in the highest sense God's Word, nor do we honour it the less in this respect because we... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Nahum 2:6

All defence is vain. The prophet describes the last scene. The gates of the rivers shall be ( are ) opened . The simplest explanation of this much disputed clause is, according to Strauss and others, the following: The gates intended are those adjacent to the streams which encircled the city, and which were therefore the best defended and the hardest to capture. When these were carried, there was no way of escape for the besieged. But, as Rosenmuller remarks, it would have been an act... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Nahum 2:6

The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be disolved - All gives way in an instant at the will of God; the strife is hushed; no more is said of war and death; there is no more resistance or bloodshed; no sound except the wailing of the captives, the flight of those who can escape, while the conquerors empty it of the spoil, and then she is left a waste. The swelling of the river and the opening made by it may have given rise to the traditional account of Ctesias, although... read more

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