Nahum 1:14

3. The termination of Nineveh 1:14

The subject reverts to Nineveh.

Yahweh had commanded His heavenly host to manage the world’s affairs so Nineveh’s name (or perhaps the king of Nineveh’s name) would not continue forever. This does not mean that succeeding generations would be completely ignorant of Nineveh and its rulers. More is known about Assyrian literature than that of any other ancient Semitic people except the Hebrews. [Note: See Longman, "Nahum," p. 798.] But the residents, particularly the king, would have no surviving descendants (heirs). [Note: For a chart of the historical fulfillments of Nahum’s prophecies, see The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, p. 1495. Patterson, pp. 105-7, also catalogued some fulfillments.]

The Lord also promised to destroy Nineveh’s idols and remove them from their temples. The Assyrians often carried off the idols of the nations they conquered to demonstrate the superiority of their gods over those of the conquered, as did other ancient Near Eastern nations (cf. 1 Samuel 5). The conquering Medes, however, despised idolatry and did away with multitudes of images that existed in Nineveh. [Note: Charles Lee Feinberg, Jonah Micah and Nahum, p. 132.] Yahweh would prepare Nineveh’s grave since He would bury the contemptible city. It was a great curse in the ancient Near East to have no descendants, and it was a great humiliation to have no gods, but both fates would befall Nineveh.