Nahum 2:3-10
2:4 a Chariots were virtually unstoppable in battle because of their maneuverability and power.2:5 b The Assyrian king overcomes the initial shock of Nineveh’s being attacked and shouts to his officers. He and the city have been caught off guard and they rush to the walls to thwart the siege.
• to set up their defenses (literally the covering is prepared): The meaning of the Hebrew term here is uncertain. Covering probably refers to something the attackers or the defenders used to protect themselves from armaments hurled through the air.
2:6 c The rush to defend (2:5 d) comes too late; the defenses are already breached.
• Nineveh was served by a reservoir formed by a double dam on the Khosr River, a tributary of the Tigris that flowed through the city. The reservoir was augmented by a series of flood gates. The Greek historian Diodorus reported that during this time torrential rains had already swelled the city’s river system. By first closing, then opening the flood gates, Nineveh’s attackers released the pent-up water as a battering ram against the city walls.
2:7 e Because Nineveh’s exile had been decreed by God, it would certainly happen.
• To beat their breasts was a common sign of mourning (see, e.g., Luke 18:13 f).
2:8 g The people would run away as fast as water flows from a breached reservoir (see study note on 2:6).
2:9 h The vast, uncounted wealth of other nations poured into the Assyrian capital as trade, tribute, and spoils, but it was gone in an instant. Ruthless aggression and wickedness may succeed temporarily, but ultimately they will be destroyed (Prov 13:22 i; Obad 1:15 j; Luke 12:16-20 k).
2:10 l plundered, empty, and ruined: The Hebrew here is alliterated for effect: buqah umbuqah umbullaqah. The effect might be translated into English as “devastated, despoiled, and destroyed.”
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