Nahum Bible Study Resources

Study questions, maps, charts, outlines, and links to help you study the Old Testament book of Nahum.

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Jump to: Background; ** Maps; ** Key Words; ** Encyclopedias; ** Commentaries; ** Articles; ** GotQuestions ** Next **

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Basics

• Nahum means “comfort” or “consolation” and is a short form of Nehemiah (“comfort of Yahweh”).
• There is no mention of any kings in the introduction, so the date of Nahum’s prophecy must be implied by historical data.
• The message of judgment against Nineveh portrays a nation of strength, indicating a time prior to her fall in 612 BC and probably before the death of Ashurbanipal in 626 BC, after which Assyria’s power fell rapidly.
• Nahum mentions the fall of Thebes in 663 BC (Nahum 3:8–10) at the hands of Ashurbanipal, which appears to be recent, suggesting a date during the reign of Manasseh (ca. 695–642 BC; cf. 2 Kings 21:1–18).
• In 612 BC the Tigris River overflowed its banks and destroyed part of Nineveh’s wall. As a result, the Babylonians invaded through the breach, plundered and burned the city.
• Battle of Nineveh (Wikipedia)

Simple Outline

• 1:1-15 – Nineveh’s doom declared
• 2:1-13 – Nineveh’s doom described
• 3:1-19 – Nineveh’s doom deserved

Genre: Understanding Prophecy

Section 1: Background

Background

• Introduction to the Prophets
• Chart: Bible History at a glance
• Blue Letter Bible: Old Testament Timeline
• Biblehub: The Divided Kingdom
• Chart: Kings of Israel & Judah
• Bible Atlas: Nineveh
• Biblehub: Sennacherib
• Topical Bible: Nineveh
• Bible Atlas: Assyria
• Jensen’s Survey of the Old Testament
• Hebrew Calendar
• Minor Prophets Quotes in the New Testament
• Ray C Stedman: Overview of the Book
• John MacArthur: Author, Date, Background
• ESV: Introduction to Minor Prophets
• ESV: Introduction to Nahum
• ESV: The Global Message of Nahum
• NIV: Introduction to Nahum
• James van dine: Analysis of Nahum
• David Malick (Bible.org): An Introduction to the Book of Nahum
• David Malick: An Argument of the Book of Nahum
• JVernon McGee: Nahum and Habakkuk – Introductory Notes, Outlines
• William Orr: Nahum – Thirty-Nine Keys to the Old Testament
• Charles Swindoll: Book of Nahum Overview
• JHampton Keathley: The Minor Prophets

Section 2: Maps

Maps from Bible-History.com

• Assyrian Conquests
• Judah under Babylon
• Judah under Hezekiah
• Babylonian Empire
• Old Testament Judah

Section 3: Key Words

Key Words

• “I am against you” (Nah 2:13, 3:5)
• “I will” (Nah 1:12, 13, 14, 2:13, 3:5, 6)
• Nineveh (Nah 1:1, 2:8, 3:7, plus synonyms referring to Nineveh)

Section 4: Encyclopedias

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

• Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology: Nahum, Theology of
• American Tract Society: Nahum
• Bridgeway Bible Dictionary: Nahum
• Easton’s Bible Dictionary: Nahum; Nahum, Book Of
• Fausset Bible Dictionary: Nahum (1); Nahum (2); Nahum, the Book Of
• Holman Bible Dictionary: Nahum
• Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible: Nahum
• Kitto’s Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature: Nahum
• Morrish Bible Dictionary: Nahum
• International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Nahum; Nahum, the Book Of
• McClintock and Strong: Nahum
• The Nuttall Encyclopedia: Nahum
• The Jewish Encyclopedia: Nahum
• 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica: Nahum
• Nahum Articles – Easton, Smith, ISBE

Section 5: Commentaries

Commentaries & Study Bibles

• Ligionier.org Top 5 Commentaries: Nahum
• Tim Challies Best Commentaries:
• Commentary Reviews: Nahum
• Walter Kaiser-Preacher’s Commentary (Micah through Malachi)
• Calvin’s Commentary on the Bible: Nahum
• Matthew Henry: Nahum
• Albert Barnes Notes: Nahum
• Reformation Study Bible Notes: Nahum
• Geneva Study Bible: Nahum
• Precept Austin Commentaries & Sermons: Nahum

Section 6: Articles

Articles

• Literary Analysis and the Unity of Nahum by Richard D. Patterson
• Literary Look at Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah by Richard D. Patterson
• Nahum: Poet Laureate Of The Minor Prophets – Richard D. Patterson
• Nahum, Nineveh & Those Nasty Assyrians – Gordon Franz
• Plundering the Lion’s Den – A Portrait of Divine Fury – Nahum 2:3-11 – J Daryl Charles
• A Perfectly Broken Acrostic in Nahum 1? – Thomas Renz
• Nahum, Nineveh, Elkosh – Oswald Allis
• The Book of Nahum – Paul Haupt (Or here)
• The Book of Nahum as a Liturgical Composition: A Prosodic Analysis-Duane Christensen
• The Book of Nahum: The Question of Authorship within the Canonical Process-Duane Christensen
• Nahum Reconsidered: The Rhetoric of Violence and Divine Justice – Justin J King
• Jonah and Nahum: English Bible – 96 pages – Robert V McCabe
• The West as Nineveh: How Does Nahum’s Message of Judgment Apply to Today? – 31 page article – J Woods
• Nahum’s Rhetorical Allusions To The Neo-Assyrian Lion Motif-Gordon Johnston
• Nahum’s Rhetorical Allusions to Neo-Assyrian Conquest Metaphors – Gordon Johnston
• Assyrian Brutality – Bob Boyd

Section 7: Got Questions

GotQuestions.org

• Book of Nahum – Bible Survey
• What are the Major Prophets and Minor Prophets?
• Why did God judge Nineveh so harshly in the book of Nahum?
• When will the peace of Nahum 1:15 come?
• Why were infants dashed to pieces (Nahum 3:10)?
• Do we ever reach a point that we cannot be forgiven (Nahum 3:19)?
• When and how was Nineveh destroyed?

Section 8: Next

Next: Habakkuk

Previous: Micah

Series: Resources by Book

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