The 2nd part of the book deals with the history of the christians of iraq, who consider themselves descendants of the ancient assyrians, but since the 2003. Old testament figure who prophesied nineveh s fall. The book of nahum is a collection of poems announcing the downfall of assyria, one of israels worst oppressors. He was raised up to preach gods judgment for a second time to nineveh. This chronicle belongs to one large text that started with the early years of nabopolassar abc 2 and continued with the fall of nineveh and the.
The period of nineveh s supremacy seems to have been from the beginning of the reign of sennacherib to the end of that of assurbaniapli, including, probably, the reigns of his successors likewisea period of about 98 years 704606 bc. Nahum was written after the assyrians sacked the egyptian city of thebes, or noamon nah 3. Assyrians beyond the fall of nineveh, provides irrefutable historical and archaeological evidences attesting to the survival of the ancient assyrians, and the progression of their descendants into the christian era. Nineveh, and the assyrian empire, was at its height of power.
All night in slumber deep the armies laybut while the eastern sky with first faint beamyet dimly reddened in both camps arose. The prophet nahum wrote this book just before the fall of nineveh. The reaction of at least one individual to the fall of nineveh is preserved in a poem echoing sheer mocking joy in the defeat of assyria. Nineveh to fall an attacker advances against you, nineveh. Nineveh was the capital of the ancient assyrian empire modernday. The translation with some missing text reads as follows. The fall of nineveh, 1829 by john martin the collection. Ninevehs downfall which came in 612 bc is compared with the destruction of thebes luxor, the capital of egypt, by the assyrians themselves in 663bc. At its peak, the neoassyrian empire was a formidable force, dominating populations from eastern egypt to the persian gulf, demanding agricultural goods and other resources as tribute. Book of nahum overview insight for living ministries. The sun arose and flooded earth and skywith ruby and with gold.
The fall of nineveh, the capital of the assyrian empire, provided the occasion for this prophetic oracle. The book of jonah is structured with this many even sections. According to ancient documents such as the fall of nineveh chronicle, a coalition of forces destroyed nineveh in 612 b. Ancient nineveh background bible study bible history online. Destruction of nineveh and assyrian empire in bible prophecy. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. The assyrian king ashurbanipal conquered thebes around 664 b. He has a vision of nineveh, the capital of assyria, where jewish people from the northern kingdom of israel have been living in slavery for over a hundred years. Excavations have been undertaken intermittently since that period by many persons. The description of nineveh in jonah likely was a reference to greater nineveh, including the surrounding cities of rehoboth, calah and resen the book of jonah depicts nineveh as a wicked city worthy of destruction. The book of nahum mentions the recent fall of noamon, or thebes, which occurred in 663 bc nahum 3. Nahums poem on the fall of nineveh is the description of a contemporary, if not an eyewitness. The city and the empire for which it stands feature prominently in entertaining biblical stories such as jonah, and major museums around the world proudly display largerthanlife assyrian sculpture, feeding. The lord takes vengeance on his foes and vents his wrath against his enemies.
The audience of the book of jonah was the people of israel and all future readers of the bible and, typically, prophets issued warnings or gave instructions to the people of israel. The book of nahum reveals that god will punish all evil. Heavy rains occurred during his reign and were washing the walls out. Jonah was a prophet of god and in his book and the first chapter we read that the command of god came to jonah to go preach to the city of nineveh. Zephaniah also predicts its destruction along with the fall of the empire of which it was the. Nineveh, the capital of the assyrian empire from 705 to 612 b. The prophet was nahum, whose name means consolation a.
The lords anger against nineveh the lord is a jealous and avenging god. Bible verses about nineveh 17 passages king james version. Nineveh is compared to thebes, the egyptian city that assyria itself had destroyed in 663 bc. The lord will restore the splendor of jacob like the splendor of israel, though destroyers have laid them waste and have ruined their vines. Other than his book and those opening lines, we do not know that much about the man. Judah and edom in the book of kings and in historical reality 197. The first person to survey and map nineveh was the archaeologist claudius j. The chronicle concerning the fall of nineveh abc 3 is one of the historiographical texts from ancient babylonia. In all three chapters nahum prophesied nineveh s fall, which was fulfilled in 612.
The fall of nineveh, 1829 by john martin the collection art. Nahum therefore uttered this oracle between 663 and 612, perhaps near the end of this period since he represents the fall of nineveh as imminent 2. You have maybe read books about the fall of rome, or berlin, or saigon, but the fall of nineveh was far greater than any city i can think of because of the suddenness and. Nahum also predicts the fall of nineveh, the capital of assyria, as a future event. Nov 09, 2018 throughout its over 3,000 year history, nineveh was not known to be kind and gentle. The book of nahum is about the fall of the great city of nineveh. Assyrians beyond the fall of nineveh presents historical and archaeological evidences to document these facts. Although this article is a few years old, gordon franz has a nice discussion on nahum, nineveh, and the assyrians. It was likely written before the babylonians took over nineveh in 612 b. Even though the destroyer has destroyed judah, the lord. God sent jonah to preach to the ninevites of their coming destruction, and they fasted and repented because of this.
Nineveh archaeology of ancient assyria bible history online. Nineveh, the oldest and mostpopulous city of the ancient assyrian empire, situated on the east bank of the tigris river and encircled by the modern city of mosul, iraq. Thus, the book was written somewhere between 663 and 612 bc. How the characters and the setting relate to each other and the. The city of nineveh, the ancient capital of the assyrian empire, was destroyed in 612 b. A case can be made for the proclamation of the message, and writing of the book, about 650 bc. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1, 2, or 3 months new customers receive 15% off your. The fall of nineveh book fourteenth edwin atherstone. Jul 19, 2014 warnings of the last days from god christian short film the days of noah have come duration. Studies in the minor prophets nahum the fall of nineveh 1. Out of that land went forth asshur, and builded nineveh, and the city rehoboth, and calah, genesis 10. The mighty assyrian empire, which had long been a threat to. Jonah is the only other book of the bible to end with a rhetorical question. Chapter one shows the majesty and might of god the lord in goodness and severity.
When the fall of nineveh was published on 1 july 1830, it bore the printed dedication. Assyria from the earliest times to the fall of nineveh by. At the same time jeremiah and zephaniah were pronouncing judgment against judah, another prophet was directing his attention at one of her enemies 2. The second part of the title of the book of nahum, the vision of nahum the elkcoshite, belongs to the fourth poem describing the fall of nineveh, while the first part, the utterance on nineveh, should. It provides information about the survival of the ancient assyrians after their fall, in the cities of ashur, hatra, nineveh, harran, and other places. Nineveh destroyed amazing bible timeline with world history. Neil indicates this term could hardly be used if the assyrian empire had been in existence. In addition, this book examines herodotus book, the histories, in order to understand cyaxares role in the fall of assyria and whether or not scythians and cimmerians were present by providing an alternative to the cyaxares story. The fall of nineveh your enemy is coming to crush you, nineveh. The fall of nineveh 1829 artist john martin england 1789 1854. During the prophet jonahs day, nineveh was spared by gods compassion in response to their repentance jonah 3. For example, the assyrian king ashurbanipal, who reigned only 50 years before the fall of nineveh, had to rebuild the cities walls that his grand father, sennacherib, had built. I breathe the airof the young world i see her giant sons.
I have always been expecting a thoroughly researched book about the fate of the assyrians after the fall of nineveh and the assyrian empire. Nahum predicts the fall of nineveh the bible journey. The website states, and this information shows that it is a primary source of data which can be used to interpret the events that occurred during the fall of nineveh. Lack of information about the ancient assyrians, in the contemporary history books. It can be assume that the book was written before 612 bc because that is when nineveh was. Ancient nineveh background bible study bible history. Other topics in this book are the story of cyaxares and the account found in the fall of nineveh chronicle. It was located at the intersection of important trade routes and its proximity to the tigris added to the value of the fertile lands in the district. The fall of that great city was not a matter of chance, but rather a fulfillment of bible prophecy. May 28, 2009 the entire book is a prediction of the fall of the city of nineveh in 612 bc.
As with babylon, nineveh is never mentioned favorably in the biblical narratives and, as the focus of those writers was on the story of the god of the hebrews, no mention is ever made of the cultural and. Mention of the herodotus account of the medes conquering the assyrians. The classical authors offered a more dramatic version of ninevehs fall where sinsharishkun burned himself alive with all of his material possessions. This lack of information has led to the erroneous assumption that assyrians were defeated into extinction. In vision are the centuries rolled backthe dead past lives again. The book of the prophet nahum falls into two parts. The study of the archaeology of nineveh reveals the wealth and glory of ancient assyria under kings such as esarhaddon 681669 b. The chronicle concerning the fall of nineveh abc 3 is one of the. The biblical book of tobit takes place in nineveh and the gospels of matthew 12. This article provides helpful background not only on the book of nahum, but also jonah as well. The prophecy ends with the assertion that everyone who hears of ninevehs fall will clap their hands, for who has not felt your endless cruelty.
Chapter 1 contains an incomplete poem in an alphabetic acrostic form, 1 and chapters 2 and 3 are concerned with nineveh. Jonah didnt want those idolaters to be saved, so he ran away. A 2,624 years journey history books provide no information about what happened to the ancient assyrians after their 612 bc defeat by the babylonians and the medians. The prophet nahum explained in great detail why the lord decided to remove nineveh as a power. Assyria, fall of fall of nineveh source book for bible.
It is not again noticed till the days of jonah, when it is described jonah 3. To understand the prophets exultant outburst of joy over the impending destruction it is necessary to recall the savage cruelty of assyria, which had made it the scourge of the ancient near east for almost three centuries. Ninevehs fall, which is nahums theme, would bring comfort to judah. An ancient account called the fall of nineveh chronicle reveals an account of this time period, providing firsthand, extrabiblical documentation. Biblical jonah visits nineveh the evil city ancient pages. Rich in 1820, a work later completed by felix jones and published by him in 1854. Jan 02, 2020 a number of factors combine to determine both the date and manner of ninevehs destruction. Timeline of nahum nahum is an early contemporary of habakkuk, zephaniah, and jeremiah. The english romantic poet edwin atherstone wrote an epic the fall of nineveh.
The entire book is a prediction of the fall of the city of nineveh in 612 bc. Referencing daniel, exodus, isaiah and babylon, nahum shows us that the destruction of nineveh and assyria are examples of how god works in history in every age. The bible journey nahum predicts the fall of nineveh. Chapters two and three describe the fall of nineveh, which later took place in 612 bc. A number of factors combine to determine both the date and manner of nineveh s destruction. Nergal gate the partially reconstructed nergal gate in nineveh, iraq. King of nineveh vs king of assyria if this be the case, then one must consider why, if the author of the book lived centuries after the historical jonah of 2 kings 14. Shortly before the fall of nineveh, the capital of assyria, in 612 b. So sennacherib king of assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at nineveh. Book of nahum, the seventh of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets grouped together as the twelve in the jewish canon.
Others support the idea that nahum was written shortly before the fall of nineveh at the hands of the medes and babylonians 612 bc. It deals with nabopolassars capture of nineveh, rhe capital of assyria, one of the most shocking events in ancient history. Nahum refers to the fall of thebes as a wellknown occurrence. It might help to think of nahum as a followup to the book of jonah. In all three chapters nahum prophesied ninevehs fall, which was fulfilled in 612. Both prophets speak gods word regarding the city of nineveh. Nahum 1,nahum 2,nahum 3 niv a prophecy concerning nineveh. The discoveries of ancient nineveh have contributed a multitude of extrabiblical material that confirms that the bible is indeed a book of history. The title identifies the book as an oracle concerning nineveh and attributes it to the vision of nahum of elkosh. The book was composed, therefore, between 664 and 612 b. The fall of nineveh is a long poem in blank verse by edwin atherstone.
The book of jonah, despite its brevity, gives some verifiable information regarding nineveh, a very old city, which disappeared completely after its destruction in 612 bce. But when, during this more than fiftyyear period, did nahum preach. The book of nahum was written after the destruction of the egyptian city of thebes nahum 3. Instead, god told jonah to evangelize in the city of nineveh, home of israels cruelest enemy. Guard the fortress, watch the road, brace yourselves, marshal all your strength. The book of nahum explains in vivid detail why god had decided to destroy nineveh. The king of akkad mustered his army and marched to assyria. The work tells of an uprising against its king sardanapalus of all the nations that were dominated by the assyrian empire. The book of the prophet nahum is almost exclusively taken up with prophetic denunciations against this city. Historians consider the biblical account about jonahs warning against nineveh as a pious fiction, however, the gospels refer to it as a real story lk 11. Nineveh is very much a characterdriven book, there is a plot but the focus is mainly on katya and the deserted estate nineveh which is very much a character in itself. This book fulfills that expectation and goes even beyond that to the refuting of the misconceptions and prejudices against the existence of assyrians today. Assyria from the earliest times to the fall of nineveh book. The fall of nineveh chronicle is broken up into a year by year statement of the events of the war on assyria from 616 b.