Nachum 1 | The Oracle of Nineveh

According to the title of the book, Nachum’s prophecies are directed at the capital of Assyria: Nineveh. We have encountered similar prophetic oracles concerning foreign nations in Yeshayahu, Yirmiyahu, and Yechezkel, and even an entire book devoted exclusively to prophecy directed outside of Israel – Ovadya. As with all such prophecies, it is crucial to ask: What did the prophet seek to accomplish by delivering this message? Unlike Yona, who also prophesied to Nineveh approximately 150 years earlier and sought their repentance, it appears that Nachum is not calling upon the Assyrians to change their ways. Consequently, his prophecy is not truly directed to Assyria but rather to the kingdom of Yehuda. This raises the essential question: What did Nachum wish to achieve through this prophecy? The primary content of the book is a proclamation of destruction upon the kingdom of Assyria, with no direct words of rebuke or repentance aimed at Yehuda. So what lesson did God want the people of Yehuda to take from this?

To answer this, we must first consider the historical context in which Nachum was active. Nachum prophesied the downfall of Nineveh and refers within his book to the fall of Thebes (3:8). Based on this, scholars place his activity sometime between the fall of Thebes in 661 BCE and the destruction of Nineveh in 612 BCE.

This timeframe overlaps with the reign of Menashe, the most wicked of all the kings of Yehuda, who ruled until approximately 642 BCE. According to Seder Olam Rabbah, Nachum prophesied during Menashe’s reign. King Menashe reversed the religious and political reforms of Chizkiyahu, submitted both culturally and politically to Assyria, and even introduced idolatrous worship into the Temple itself. It may be that Nachum’s prophecies were intended to challenge this submission — to tell Menashe that he should not turn to idolatry and need not fear the kingdom of Assyria. If he remains faithful to God – “Never again will the wicked pass through you; they will be utterly destroyed” (2:1). Rav Yoel Bin-Nun (a link to his broader discussion of these ideas is provided here) takes a similar direction, but situates the prophecy later, during the religious revolution of King Yoshiyahu – the righteous king who followed Menashe. In the eighteenth year of his reign (approximately 622 BCE), Yoshiyahu led a sweeping religious reform. He sought to gather the people for a national celebration of Pesach and to renew their covenant with God (for Pesach is the festival of covenant with God), but he feared Assyria’s potential response. Here, Nachum offers reassurance: “O Yehuda, go ahead, celebrate your feasts; once again you may fulfill your vows. Never again will the wicked pass through you; they will be utterly destroyed” (2:1). Nachum’s prophecy thus becomes a source of strength, emboldening the people of Yehuda to cast off their political and cultural subservience to Assyria.

Rav Professor Yehuda Elitzur places Nachum’s prophecy even later, at the end of Yoshiyahu’s reign. In those years, Pharaoh Nekho sought passage through the land of Israel, and according to Josephus Flavius, his intent was to assist the Assyrian army in its war against Babylon. Yoshiyahu attempted to stop him and was killed in battle. The people were devastated from the fall of Yoshiyahu. How could it be that this most righteous of kings, who was described as: “There was none like him before him – a king who turned to the Lord with all his heart” (Melakhim II 23:25), was killed in battle? In Eikha Rabba (Chapter 1), we find that Yirmiyahu warned Yoshiyahu not to engage in battle, but the king refused to heed the warning. Though this is not stated explicitly in the book of Yirmiyahu itself, Professor Elitzur proposes that this is the message of Nachum — one that aligns with the prophetic outlook found throughout the Tanakh, (particularly in Yeshayahu and echoed in Yirmiyahu) – It is God who rules the world. Empires may wage their wars and play out their rivalries, but Yehuda must not get involved. Assyria will fall by the hand of God. Egypt will not be able to prevent it, and if Yehuda interferes or attempts to shape the outcome, it will only bring suffering upon themselves.