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Names of the Book

ASSYRIAN ROYAL PALACE AT NINEVEH ON THE TIGRIS RIVER, BEFORE ITS DESTRUCTION IN 612 BCE- unknown artist

English:  Nahum
Hebrew:  נקם
Transliterated:  Naqum
Other names:   

 

whoWho

Wrote the book:  Nahum
Are the key people:  The people of Judah and the people of Nineveh
Is it written to:  The people of the southern kingdom of Judah and the people of Nineveh

 

whatWhat

G-d is the Judge of Nineveh (Nahum 1:1-15)
G-d's judgement against Nineveh (Nahum 2:1-3:19)

 

whenWhen

Was it written:  c 694 BCE
Did the events occur:  c 694-612 BCE
Was it canonized:  c 499-100 BCE
(see the Timeline of the Tanakh)

 

whereWhere

Was it written:  Unknown
Did the events occur:  Nineveh

 

whyWhy

Nahum was written to inform us that: 
G-d is the Judge of any who would harm Israel.
G-d is sovereign over all creation.

 

whyIntroduction

Nahum, a book of prophecy and history, in many ways mirrors the book of Jonah. While Jonah rebels against G-d's command to preach repentance to Nineveh, Nahum is also sent there but does not rebel. Nineveh of Jonah's day hears G-d's message and repents in ashes and sackcloth but a century later, Nineveh of Nahum's day does not repent and soon falls to Babylon. The Assyrians themselves experience the brutality and aggression that they had once visited upon Israel. Most of the book of Nahum is directed at the people of the southern kingdom of Judah who could rejoice at the news of Nineveh's imminent fall.

 

 

Torah Portion

unknown

 

 

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Today is

Yom Sh'lishi, 9 Adar II, 5784

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

 

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