The Book of Nahum

A Message of Comfort

Nahum means “comfort” in Hebrew. Since Nahum’s short book is a prophecy of God’s judgments upon Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, his message must have comforted the Israelites who suffered at the hands of the Assyrians.

Background

As with some of the prophets in the Old Testament, we know little about Nahum. The content of his book leads us to believe he wrote his prophecies sometime between 663–612 B.C., which was during the time when Assyria was the most powerful nation in the Middle Eastern world.

Nahum’s prophecies about the destruction of Assyria also apply to the world just before and at the time of the Second Coming.