The burden of Nineveh. This book is divided into two parts. One is called “The Burden of Nineveh,” comprising the prophecies in chapters 1 and 2; the second is the Book of the Vision of Nahum, comprising the prophecy in chapter 3. For Nineveh was destroyed twice. The burden relates the first destruction of Nineveh, which occurred either before the prophet’s time or during his lifetime, while the vision concerns distant times, in which he foresaw Nineveh’s second destruction. This took place in the first year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, when the city was utterly destroyed. Now, the second destruction of Nineveh, which was brought about by Nebuchadnezzar, is mentioned in the words of our Sages. The first destruction, however, is not found in the works of our Sages, but is an accepted account related in all the ancient chronicles. This is their account: Sardanapalus, king of Assyria, was a wicked man—a glutton, a drunkard, a pursuer of immorality, foolish, and exceedingly corrupt. The commander of the Babylonian army, whose name was Belesys and who was under his rule, conspired against him together with the commander of the Median army, whose name was Arbaces, and the other military commanders. They assembled with their forces, numbering about four hundred thousand men, to wage war against Nineveh. The king went out against them, struck down many of them, and pursued them as far as the border of the land of the Chaldeans, where the rebels made their stand. They then learned that a great army had come out of Bactria to aid the king, so they sent messengers to meet them and persuade them to join the conspiracy. The king knew nothing of this and placed his trust in the mighty men who had come to assist him. They ate, drank, and became intoxicated; then the conspirators rose against them at night and struck down the king’s entire army. The king’s forces that went out against them, together with their commander Shalman, the brother of the king’s wife, also fell in battle. All the commanders who had been subordinate to him rebelled and cast off his yoke. The king and his remaining forces then shut themselves within the city of Nineveh, which was a fortified city surrounded by the Tigris River. The rebels besieged the city for three years but could not capture it. The sorcerers told the king that so long as the Tigris River did not turn against him as an enemy, the city would not be taken. He trusted in this and feared no harm. After three years, however, the river overflowed its banks and breached the city wall for a distance of about half a parasang. When the king saw that the river had turned against him as an enemy, he was greatly terrified and despaired. He ordered a great pyre of wood and fire to be erected in his palace, placed all his possessions upon it, and then he himself, together with the queen and his concubines, ascended the pyre, and they were all consumed by fire. The enemies conquered the city but did not lay their hands upon its spoils. Nor did they wish to harm its inhabitants, for they said that they had come only to destroy the royal house. Nevertheless, fear fell upon the people of the city, and they all fled, leaving the city as desolate as a wilderness. The enemy erected a monument of contempt and disgrace to King Sardanapalus as a memorial to his evil deeds, while all the monuments of honor that had testified to the king’s glory they shattered and demolished, making him a sign and a byword. This is the substance of the account found unanimously in all the chronicles. But when did this event occur, and at what time? We cannot extract from their words anything certain or clear. The commentators say that King Sardanapalus was Esarhaddon, who is mentioned in Scripture and who reigned after Sennacherib, whose sons struck him down with the sword. They say that “Sardanapalus” is a compound name: Sar means Assur, while napal refers to Haddon and Pul, who are mentioned in Chronicles. According to this, the event occurred at the end of Hezekiah’s reign or during the reign of Manasseh, and this accords with the opinion of our Sages that Nahum prophesied in the days of Manasseh. Yet one who examines the historical chronicles will understand that it occurred much earlier. We have no means of deciding the matter. If it occurred earlier, Nahum delivered the burden concerning a destruction that had taken place before his time; and if it occurred in his lifetime, he delivered the burden concerning a destruction that took place in his own time. Concerning this he said, “The burden of Nineveh.” In addition, he beheld a vision concerning Nineveh’s second destruction, which would occur in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. Concerning this he said, “The book of the vision,” for a vision concerns the future. We shall explain the verses in a manner consistent with all these possibilities.

God, he first presents an introduction and preface to his book: “Hashem is a jealous and avenging God.” That is, He possesses two attributes: first, to be jealous for the honor of His desecrated Name; and second, to avenge the evil committed in opposition to Him. There is a distinction between them. When He avenges the evil that the wicked have actually committed, He does not remain slow to anger; rather, “Hashem avenges”—He takes vengeance immediately, so that they will not persist in their wickedness and destroy the world. But when He is jealous for the honor of His Name, He does not take vengeance immediately; rather, He is “a Master of wrath.” The defining feature of wrath is that one preserves his anger within his heart and does not bring it into action by imposing punishment, for anger expressed through punishment is called “anger.” The prophet now explains these two matters: “He takes vengeance upon His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies.” There is a distinction between an adversary and an enemy. An adversary is one who actively causes distress, whereas an enemy is one who desires another’s harm in his heart but does not actively cause him distress. It is possible for someone to be an adversary without being an enemy, when he causes harm for his own benefit rather than out of hatred; and one may be an enemy without being an adversary, when he does not actually inflict harm. In relation to God, those who actively commit evils against their fellow human beings are called Hashem’s adversaries, even though such a person may not be His enemy, since he may act merely for his own benefit. Those who willfully deny Him and oppose belief in Hashem are called His enemies, even though they may not actively harm their fellow human beings. There is also a distinction between vengeance and bearing a grudge: bearing a grudge means preserving hatred within the heart, whereas vengeance means taking action to punish. Therefore, Scripture says that against “His adversaries,” who actively commit evil, Hashem “takes vengeance” immediately and does not wait; but toward “His enemies,” who deny His Divinity without actively inflicting harm, He “reserves” the wrath within His heart and does not punish them immediately.

“Hashem is slow to anger.” He explains the meaning of reserving wrath: in this respect, He is slow to anger and does not punish immediately. This is because He is “great in power,” as it is written, “And now, I pray, let the power of Hashem be great, as You have spoken, saying: ‘Hashem is slow to anger.’” Slowness to anger demonstrates the greatness of His power, for He is able to endure the present offense and punish whenever He chooses. A human being cannot remain slow to anger because his power to endure is limited. He also fears that by tomorrow he may no longer possess the power to punish, since his strength does not endure. But Hashem, because He is great in power, is slow to anger. Nevertheless, “He will by no means acquit,” for in the end He will punish and destroy His enemies when the measure of their sin is full. By this, Nahum means that Hashem granted Nineveh an extension from the time Jonah prophesied against it. Although at that time its people repented only of the violence in their hands and did not repent of worshipping other gods, as explained there, God waits until the measure of sin is full before punishing idolatry, heresy, and denial of faith; their punishment had not yet reached its completion. It was only because of their violence—on account of which they are called “adversaries”—that He sought to destroy them immediately, within forty days. The prophet therefore first presented Hashem’s attribute and His manner of governing the punishment of the wicked, explaining how He remained slow to anger toward them until their end arrived. He now begins to describe the nature of His punishment and vengeance. He portrays Hashem’s coming and revelation to destroy the wicked in three successive stages, depicting each stage through a different image that is exceedingly awesome, tumultuous, and terrifying. He clothes his poetic expression in frightening visions, as though the four mighty foundations of the earth—the four elements—were going forth with Him to devastate and destroy the entire face of the earth. In the first stage, he depicts Hashem stirring Himself to descend from the highest heavens to the earth in order to destroy it. He portrays the progress of the Divine King in holiness accompanied by the two elements through which poets represent His path and movement: the element of air and the element of water. Therefore, he says, “Hashem—His way is in the whirlwind and in the storm.” The path by which He travels toward the earth is through the whirlwind and storm, and He rides upon a swift cloud bearing the element of water. The “cloud” is “the dust of His feet,” as though, in the swiftness of His movement, He raises dust, which is the cloud. That is, the two elements that sometimes devastate inhabited lands will then be aroused: a raging storm that uproots mountains and shatters rocks, and torrents from the clouds, with floods and deluges of water.

“He rebukes.” The prophet depicts how He will then bring destruction both upon the sea and upon the dry land: “He rebukes the sea and dries it up, and He makes all the rivers desolate.” Although at a time of flooding, when the clouds burst open, the rivers fill with water and pour into the sea, He will bring about two contrary effects at once. Although the torrent of the sea will have passed over and inundated the land, the rivers will become dry and their waters will no longer flow into the sea, so that the sea itself will dry up. He will likewise bring destruction upon the dry land, for then “Bashan and Carmel will wither.” Through the storm, the torrent of hail, and the devastating tempest, all the grainfields will be cut down and the blossoms of the trees destroyed, as it is written: “The voice of Hashem is upon the waters; the voice of Hashem breaks the cedars,” and so forth.

“The mountains”—this is the second stage. When He reaches the summits of the lofty mountains along His path, He is then close to the earth. Here the prophet depicts the third destructive force going forth to perform its work: the element of earth. When He stands upon the mountaintops, “the mountains quake before Him,” and even “the hills,” which are lower than the mountains, “melt away.” That is, the element of earth will then be shaken, producing an earthquake. It will begin in the mountains, where earthquakes most commonly occur, and afterward spread to the hills. He adds that “the earth rises before Him,” as though the entire earth were lifting itself from its place to stand before Him, like one who rises before a great king. Together with it, “the world and all who dwell in it” will rise. This poetically signifies that the entire earth will then quake and its pillars will tremble. It is an image of universal destruction brought about through the shaking of the element of earth.

“Before.” This is the third stage, in which the Judge has already come to the earth, judged its inhabitants according to their deeds, and poured out indignation, fury, and distress upon them. Here the prophet depicts the fourth destructive force going forth to devastate and destroy: the element of fire. There is a distinction between anger, wrath, and fury. Wrath is the inward anger restrained within the heart. When that anger manifests itself outwardly, it is called anger, for punishment is then decreed. The curse and punishment themselves are called fury. Therefore, he says, “Who can stand before His fury?”—meaning the punishment itself. He adds, “Who can rise up even amid His fierce anger?” even before He has poured out His fury. He further adds that even His inward wrath, although it has not yet emerged outwardly, is nevertheless “poured out like fire.” He depicts this wrath as a burning fire confined within the eternal mountains and consuming down to the great abyss. When the fire is liquefied through sulfurous substances and other fiery materials found in the depths of the earth, and the earth spews forth the substances contained within it, His wrath is poured out like fire cast forth from mountains that discharge flames. Solid substances then melt, until even the mighty rocks “are shattered by Him,” rising like flying dust to devastate and destroy everything around them.

“Good.” After this terrifying depiction, in which the universal place—the globe of the earth—has descended into chaos and perished, leaving no place or foundation for anything existing upon the face of the earth, the prophet asks: Upon what will the inhabitants of the world now stand? Has not the earth crumbled and collapsed? He answers: “In the day of distress, Hashem is good as a stronghold.” It is good to rely upon Hashem, for He is now the Place of the world; upon Him the creatures will stand, and in Him they will find strength and refuge. “He knows those who take refuge in Him.” That is, the stronghold in which they will now seek shelter—Hashem—is superior to any stronghold that a person might find in something natural. A natural stronghold does not know who is sheltering within it, but Hashem is a stronghold who knows those who take refuge in Him and watches over each of them through individual Divine Providence. In other words, amid this universal destruction, He will watch with a compassionate eye to save those who trust in Him and rescue them from distress.

“With an overflowing flood.” Alongside the image of Hashem as a stronghold against distress, the prophet also depicts Him as passing through an overwhelming flood to eliminate the source of that distress. That is, when Hashem passes through with a flood and a torrent of water, “He will make a complete end of its place”—the place from which distress came upon the entire world, namely the land of Assyria. “And darkness will pursue His enemies.” This depicts the waters of the Tigris overflowing and inundating Nineveh at Hashem’s command. All the inhabitants of the city fled as though their path were dark and slippery and the angel of Hashem were pursuing them, as explained in verse 1.

“What do you devise concerning Hashem?” Why do you entertain an evil thought concerning Hashem, as though He had gone forth to do harm, to devour, and to destroy? Such conduct is not among His attributes. In truth, His intention is not to inflict evil; rather, “He is making a complete end; distress will not arise twice.” Through this He will eliminate the source of distress—namely, the kingdom of Assyria, which had been the scourge of the world. By means of this flood, He will eliminate the distress so that it will not arise twice. Although Assyria will arise once more after this downfall, it will eventually return to destruction a second time through Nebuchadnezzar; and after the second destruction, it will never arise again. Thus, distress will arise only once more, but not twice.

“For while they are entangled like thorns.” Through this flood, Sardanapalus became terrified and despaired. He arranged a mass of thorns to be kindled by fire, and he and his entire household ascended the pyre and were burned there. The prophet thus depicts the king and all the members of his household as drinking and becoming intoxicated, as was their custom, for they were continually among those who drank wine to excess. In their drunkenness, they came “among entangled thorns”—the mass of thorns and the fiery pyre. Although “the drunkards” were “in their drunken state,” meaning saturated with wine, nevertheless, when they approached the entangled thorns, “they were consumed like fully dried stubble.” That is, they were like stubble whose time of growth had been completed and which had dried out, so that it burns immediately upon encountering fire. Though they were moist with wine, they became like dry stubble.

“From you.” He turns to the city of Nineveh and addresses her: Behold, “from you has gone forth” this wicked man, “who devises evil against Hashem” by denying the existence of God and His Providence. He is “a counselor of wickedness,” advising others to cast off the Divine yoke and commit every abomination.

“Thus says Hashem.” Therefore, it was decreed that Nineveh would become desolate, and the fear of Hashem consequently came upon its inhabitants, causing them all to flee. “Though they were intact and likewise numerous,” meaning that they were a numerous people and their numbers had not been diminished in war, since they had not fought at all, nevertheless, “so were they shorn away” and fled from the city, “as he passed away”—the king who had devised evil against Hashem. According to those who say that the Sardanapalus involved in this event was Esarhaddon, son of Sennacherib, the prophet may be understood as addressing Sennacherib directly: “You who devise evil against Hashem! From you has gone forth a counselor of wickedness”—that is, Esarhaddon, who counseled wickedness by casting off the Divine yoke, came forth from you. You are Sennacherib, who devised evil against Hashem and sent messengers to blaspheme the living God. “Therefore, thus says Hashem: If they were shorn away intact and likewise numerous,” then “he too shall pass away.” That is, this counselor of wickedness will likewise pass away. For through this form of death—death by fire—many intact multitudes from Sennacherib’s camp were shorn away from the world: the angel who went forth and struck the Assyrian camp burned them all, according to the tradition of our Sages. Therefore, “he too shall pass away”—he too will pass through the fire. The verse uses the language of passing through fire because it was their practice to make their children pass through fire to Molech. Sennacherib himself wished to do this to his sons, which is why they struck him down with the sword, as explained in connection with the verse (Isaiah 30:33), “For Topheth has long been prepared; it too has been made ready for the king.” That is, this death—being burned upon the pyre—had been prepared for him since the days of his father. “And though I have afflicted you.” He now turns to Israel: The affliction that I brought upon you through Assyria—“I will afflict you no more.” This is especially fitting if we say that this event occurred during the reign of Esarhaddon, for Assyria then ceased afflicting Israel. If we say that it occurred earlier, Assyria nevertheless ceased afflicting them at that particular time, for the king had intended to wage war against Israel and oppress them, but the destruction of Nineveh frustrated his plan at that time.

“And now I will break his yoke.” This refers to the yoke of Assyria—the burden of taxation and servitude. “And I will tear your bonds apart”—the bonds by which you were restrained because of your fear of his troops and armies. If this event occurred during the reign of Manasseh, as explained above, then the yoke was broken completely, for from that time onward Assyria’s dominion over Israel ceased. If it occurred earlier, the meaning is that, at any rate, “now I will break it,” whereas Sennacherib’s later invasion of Israel still lay in the future.

“And Hashem has commanded concerning you.” He turns to Sardanapalus: Hashem has commanded and decreed concerning you that “your name shall be perpetuated no longer”—none of your descendants will arise as a king called by your name, for both he and his offspring have been wiped away, and his name will no longer be remembered. “From the house of your god I will cut off the carved image and the molten image.” It was customary for kings to erect statues in their own likenesses within the temples of their gods. The people honored the king’s image and attributed divinity to him. They then removed every statue that had served as a monument to his honor. In its place, they erected upon his grave a statue of disgrace, signifying his worthlessness and humiliation, as related in the historical chronicles. Therefore, He says: “I will make the carved and molten image your grave,” so that it will serve as a monument declaring that “you have become contemptible” and exceedingly despised.