Nahum 1:1

The announcement of God as the executioner of his wrath upon Assyria is made in Nahum 1:1-6. His wrath will not fall upon his own people, but upon their enemies (Nahum 1:7-11). He will break the yoke of Asshur from off the neck of his people, and destroy the Assyrians (Nahum 1:12-14). This prophecy is so certain of fulfillment that a proleptic announcement of the good news, with Messianic overtones, concludes the chapter (Nahum 1:15).

Nahum 1:1

"The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite."

"The burden of Nineveh ..." As used in the Holy Scriptures, this expression means "the prophecy of the doom of Nineveh." The word "burden" carries with it the idea of a heavy load; and the imagery is that Nineveh's sins have at last become such a heavy load that God will no longer permit the city to stand. Their destruction had long before been prophesied by Jonah; but the repentance of the people led to the delay of the penalty. In the meanwhile, the sins of the people have returned overwhelmingly, plunging the whole nation into the utmost savagery of greed, violence, and treachery. This time, there,would be no repentance and no commutation of the sentence of death upon them.

"Nineveh ..." (For a discussion of the nature, size, and fortifications of Nineveh see in my commentary on the minor prophets, Vol. 1, pp. 280-282.) One of the greatest cities of antiquity, it was situated upon the Tigris River at its junction with two lesser streams, and for an extended period was the most powerful city on earth. Any prophecy of the doom of such a city must have appeared to be sheer madness at the time of Nahum's prophecy.

"The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite ..." By the book's designation here as "the vision of Nahum," the origin of his message is indicated as being God Himself. Nahum did not write merely his political and social judgments; and it must be thought that his message appeared just as impossible of fulfillment in Nahum's eyes as it must have appeared to others. (For notes on Elkosh, see the Introduction to the Book of Nahum.)

This first verse has the utility of identifying the object of God's wrath so forcefully mentioned. Without the expression, "the burden of Nineveh," we should not have known until Nahum 2:8 the identity of the object of God's wrath.