DRAFT: A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Nahum
Kuruvilla Thomas
Bangalore
Published on 18 January 2025 *

Introduction
This study treats Nahum 1:9-3:19 as a cryptochiasmus in order to arrive at a coherent reconfiguration of the text ( see definition of cryptochiasmus in [1] ). If you wish to skip the technicalities of a chiastic parse, you may read starting from Section 4 of the Discussion section, which has the reconfigured text.
While it may appear that Nahum only predicts the defeat of ancient Nineveh, we show with this reconfiguration that the prophecy primarily predicts the final destruction of Satan's empires of 'Babylon' and the 7-headed Beast (Rev 13,17) at the start of Christ's Millennial Reign. Nahum adopts an impressionistic poetic style for this prophecy, describing war and destruction with a series of short, evocative phrases.
Discussion
1. Presuppositions
We base our parse of Nahum on the assumption that it refers to 3 periods:
- The Destruction of Nineveh (c. 612BC). Nineveh was ransacked by a coalition led by the Medes and the Babylonians.
- The Destruction of Jerusalem (70AD) during the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD). The Roman army began their siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD and completely destroyed the city and its people shortly thereafter.
- Satan's Empires are Destroyed at the Start of Christ's Millennial Reign (c. 2027AD). Satan's Empires - 'Babylon' and the Beast - are destroyed forever.
2. Parsing the chiasmus
We will use the ESV Bible for this parse. We chose the ESV because the NIV and several other translations have incorrectly inserted the name "Nineveh" throughout the text.
Parsing this chiasmus involves dividing portions of the text into three categories as above. We will call the time of the destruction of Nineveh Period 1, the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD Period 2 and the start of Christ's Millennial Reign Period 3.
Categorizing Nahum
Ch 1 vs 9 - Ch 2 vs 4 belong to Period 3. We believe this passage refers to the period of the start of the Millennial Reign because of the indicated finality of Israel's triumph over its enemies. The passage in 2:3-4 seems to describe modern military vehicles.Ch 2 vs 5 belong to Period 2. We expect to see this Period of the war at Jerusalem in all chiastic reconstructions. The Romans lay siege to Jerusalem and break down its walls with the aid of siege ramps (Nineveh in Period 1 was not breached by siege engines but by floods, and there will be no siege in the Beast war of Period 3). This is a short passage about a war, wedged between passages about two other wars.
Ch 2 vs 6 - Ch 3 vs 3a belong to Period 1. Nineveh is defeated after a section of its fortification was washed away by a flooding Tigris. The passage ends in 3:2-3a with an image of a vanquished city crowded with the chariots, horses and gleaming weapons of invading armies.
Ch 3 vs 3b belong to Period 2. The great massacre at Jerusalem in 70AD. The word "stumble" in this subunit ties it to the previous subunit on Period 2. ( As in any war, there were deaths in the battle at Nineveh, but not the kind of absolute slaughter of this war.)
Ch 3 vs 4 - Ch 3 vs 19 belongs to Period 3. The mention of the 'whore' in Ch 3:4 indicates that this passage is about the Vatican (see Rev. 17:1) and Satan's empires of 'Babylon' and the Beast (Nineveh openly worshipped demon gods - it cannot be called a whore because these were the only gods it knew).
Original text
We color-code the chiastic units of the original text (ESV) below for easy visual identification using: red for Period 1, blue for Period 2 , green for Period 3 and purple for text outside the cryptochiasmus. We have retranslated parts of the text.
Nahum 1 1 An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.
2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. 3 The Lord is slow to anger but [a] great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. 4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; he dries up all the rivers. [b] Bashan and Carmel wither; the bloom of Lebanon withers. 5 The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all that [c] dwell in it. 6 Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him. 7 The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. 8 With [d] an overflowing flood he will make a complete end of the adversaries, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
9 What do you plot against the Lord? He will make a complete end; trouble will not rise up a second time. 10 For they will be consumed like entangled thorns, like the drink of a drunkard and like straw that is fully dry. [e] 11 From you comes forth a plotter of evil against the LORD, a counselor of Belial [f].
12 Thus says the Lord, “Though they are at full strength and many, they will be cut down and pass away. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more. 13 And now I will break his yoke from off you and will burst your bonds apart.”
14 The Lord has given commandment about you: “No more shall your name be perpetuated. From [g] the house of your gods I will cut off the carved image and the metal image. I will make your grave, for you are vile.”
15 Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace! Keep your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows, for never again shall Belial invade [h] you; he is utterly cut off.
Retranslation notes for Nahum 1:
[a] vs 3 "but" instead of "and".
[b] vs 4 "rivers. Bashan" instead of "rivers; Bashan". For the chiasmus.
[c] vs 5 "that" instead of "who".
[d] vs 8 "With" instead of "But with".
[e] vs 10 is taken from the Christian Standard Bible.
[f] vs 11 "comes forth a plotter of evil against the LORD, a counselor of Belial" instead of "came one who plotted evil against the LORD, a worthless counselor".
[g] vs 14 "perpetuated. From" instead of "perpetuated; from". ( Changed the punctuation for the chiasmus.)
[h] vs 15 "Belial invade" instead of "the worthless pass through".
Nahum 2 1 He that dashes in pieces [a] has come up against you. Keep the munition [b]; watch the road; dress for battle; collect all your strength.
2 For the Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob like [c] the majesty of Israel, for plunderers have plundered them and ruined their branches.
3 The shield of his mighty men is red; his soldiers are clothed in scarlet. The metal on the chariots flashes on the day they are made ready [d]; the spears [e] are brandished. 4 The chariots race madly through the roads [f] ; they rush to and fro through the highways [g]; they gleam like torches; they dart like lightning.
5 He recalls his gallant; they stumble in their haste as they walk. They [h] hasten to the wall; the siege tower is set up.
6 The river gates are opened; the palace melts away; 7 It is fixed: She is stripped, she is carried away, And her handmaids are moaning like the sound of doves, Beating on their breasts. [i] 8 Nineveh is like a pool whose waters run away. “Halt! Halt!” they cry, but none turns back. 9 Plunder the silver, plunder the gold! There is no end of the treasure or of the wealth of all precious things.
10 She is pillaged, plundered, stripped! [j] Hearts melt and knees tremble; anguish is in all loins; all faces grow pale! 11 Where is the lions' den, the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion and lioness went, where his cubs were, with none to disturb? 12 The lion tore enough for his cubs and strangled prey for his lionesses; he filled his caves with prey and his dens with torn flesh.
13 Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the land [k], and the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard.
Retranslation notes for Nahum 2:
[a] vs 1 "He that dashes in pieces" instead of "The scatterer".
[b] vs 1 "Keep the munition " instead of "Man the ramparts".
[c] vs 2 "like" instead of "as".
[d] vs 3 "The metal on the chariots flashes on the day they are made ready" instead of "The chariots come with flashing metal on the day he musters them". (From the NIV.)
[e] vs 3 "spears" instead of "cypress spears". (From the NKJV.)
[f] vs 4 "roads" instead of "streets".
[g] vs 4 "highways" instead of "squares".
[h] vs 5 "He recalls his gallant; they stumble in their haste as they walk. They" instead of "He remembers his officers; they stumble as they go, they"
[i] vs 7 is taken from the NASB.
[j] vs 10 "She is pillaged, plundered, stripped!" instead of "Desolate! Desolation and ruin!".
[k] vs 13 "land" instead of "earth".
Nahum 3 1 Woe to the bloody city, all full of lies and plunder— no end to the prey! 2 The crack of the whip, and rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot! 3a Horsemen charging, flashing sword and glittering spear.
3b Hosts [a] of slain, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end— they stumble over the bodies!
4 All this because of the wanton lust of a prostitute, alluring, the mistress of sorceries, who enslaved nations by her prostitution and peoples by her witchcraft. [b]
5 Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts, and will lift up your skirts over your face; and I will make nations look at your nakedness and kingdoms at your shame. 6 I will throw filth at you and treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle. 7 All [c] who look at you will shrink from you and say, “Wasted is Nineveh; who will grieve for her?” Where shall I seek comforters for you?
8 Are you better than Thebes that sat by the Nile, with water around her, her rampart a river [d], and water her wall? 9 Cush was her strength; Egypt too, and that without limit; Put and the Libyans were her helpers.
10 Yet she became an exile; she went into captivity; her infants were dashed in pieces at the head of every street; for her honored men lots were cast, and all her great men were bound in chains. 11 You also will be drunken; you will go into hiding; you will seek a refuge from the enemy. 12 All your fortifications [e] are like fig trees with first-ripe figs— if shaken they fall into the mouth of the eater. 13 Behold, your troops are women in your midst. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire has devoured your bars.
14 Draw water for the siege; strengthen your forts; go into the clay; tread the mortar; take hold of the brick mold! 15 There will the fire devour you; the sword will cut you off. It will devour you like the locust. Multiply yourselves like the locust; multiply like the grasshopper! 16 You increased your merchants more than the stars of the heavens. The locust spreads its wings and flies away.
17 Your administrators [f] are like grasshoppers, your officials [g] like clouds of locusts settling on the fences in a day of cold— when the sun rises, they fly away; no one knows where they are.
18 Your shepherds are asleep, O king of Assyria; your nobles slumber. Your people are scattered on the mountains with none to gather them. 19 There is no easing your hurt; your wound is grievous. All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you. For upon whom has not come your unceasing evil?
Retranslation notes for Nahum 3:
[a] vs 3 "spear. Hosts" instead of "spear, hosts" (Changed punctuation for chiasmus.)
[b] vs 4 "All this because of the wanton lust of a prostitute, alluring, the mistress of sorceries, who enslaved nations by her prostitution and peoples by her witchcraft." instead of "And all for the countless whorings of the prostitute, graceful and of deadly charms, who betrays nations with her whorings, and peoples with her charms.". (Based on the NIV translation.)
[c] vs 7 "All" instead of "And all". (For the chiasmus)
[d] vs 8 "river" instead of "sea".
[e] vs 12 "fortifications" instead of "fortresses".
[f] vs 17 "administrators" instead of "princes".
[g] vs 17 "officials" instead of "scribes".
3. Building the reconfigured text
From this parse, it appears that Nahum forms a cryptochiasmus as below:
A1 Ch 1 vs 9 - Ch 2 vs 4 Period 3. The Beast empire is defeated
B1 Ch 2 vs 5 Period 2. The Romans attack Jerusalem
X Ch 2 vs 6 - Ch 3 vs 3a Period 1. The sacking of Nineveh
B2 Ch 3 vs 3b Period 2. The massacre at Jerusalem
A2 Ch 3 vs 4 - Ch 3 vs 19 Period 3. Satan's earthly empires are destroyed
We now reconstruct the passages in the right order based on the chiastic structure above and based on the ordering rules of a cryptochiasmus [1].
We lead with central pivot point 'X'. The corresponding subunits (For example; subunit A1 corresponds to A2) are placed contiguously to form units (For example, A1,A2 is a unit ) so that we get a list of such units.
The sequence selected for rearrangement is:
X [A1,A2] [B1,B2] (1)
Translating (1) into verse numbers, we get:
Ch 2 vs 6 - Ch 3 vs 3a [Ch 1 vs 9 - Ch 2 vs 4, Ch 3 vs 4 - Ch 3 vs 19 ] [Ch 2 vs 5, Ch 3 vs 3b] (2)
We arrive at the reconfigured passage in the next section by rearranging the verses so they are in sequence (2).
4. Nahum Reconfigured
The Destruction of Nineveh (c. 612BC) (Ch 2 vs 6 - Ch 3 vs 3a)Satan's Empires are Destroyed at the Start of Christ's Millennial Reign (c. 2027AD) (Ch 1 vs 9 - Ch 2 vs 4, Ch 3 vs 4 - Ch 3 vs 19)
Chiasmus 1: The Beast army's attack on the New Israel will be thwarted
Chiasmus 2: The Beast army will be thoroughly humiliated for its attack on Israel
Chiasmus 3: The Vatican, the capital of "Babylon", is destroyed
Chiasmus 4: Satan's Empire "Babylon" is destroyed
The Destruction of Jerusalem (70AD) during the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD) (Ch 2 vs 5, Ch 3 vs 3b)
5. A Commentary on the Reconfigured Text
5.0 The Introduction and a Poem on God's Wrath (Ch 1 vs 1-8)
This opening section lies outside the cryptochiasmus, but it serves to introduce this prophecy on God's wrathful destruction of His enemies.
5.0.1 The Introduction (Ch 1 vs 1)
Chapter 1 1 An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.
The name Nahum is an abbreviated form of the name Nehemiah, which means “Comfort of Yehovah.” We date this prophecy to shortly before the fall of Nineveh in 612BC.
This vision predicts the destruction of Nineveh, Satan's world capital at the time of the vision, but it primarily predicts the end of Nineveh's final successor, 'Babylon' and the Beast, Satan's empire at the start of the Millennial Reign.
5.0.2 A Poem on God's Wrath (Ch 1 vs 2-8)
This opening poem is arranged in the form of a three-unit chiasmus:
A1 1:2 A vengeful God punishes His enemies
B1 1:3a The Lord is just: He will certainly punish the wicked
C1 1:3b-4a The awesome punitive power of God
X 1:4b-5 The world is terrified at God's anger
C2 1:6 The awesome punitive power of God
B2 1:7 The Lord is just: He is good to those who worship Him
A2 1:8 A vengeful God punishes His enemies
This is a sort of partial acrostic poem about God's vengeful judgement on the wicked. The rest of the book details three examples of this judgement.
Subunit A1: A vengeful God punishes His enemies (1:2)
Chapter 1 2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies.
Nahum emphasises the righteous wrath and vengeance of God against His adversaries through repetition. He uses this kind of parallel structure throughout the prophecy, a design whereby he conveys the same idea in several ways. The word "jealous", in this context, refers to God's anger at those who come against Him or against the righteous of the world.
Subunit B1: The Lord is just: He will certainly punish the wicked (1:3a)
Chapter 1 3a The Lord is slow to anger but great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.
It may appear that those who do evil go unpunished ("slow to anger"), but God is just and capable of meting out justice ("great in power") and eventually all the unrepentant wicked will face God's wrath (cf. Exodus 34:6-7, Jonah 4:2).
Subunit C1: The awesome punitive power of God (1:3b-4a)
Chapter 1 3b His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. 4a He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; he dries up all the rivers.
God is all-powerful ("His way is in whirlwind...the clouds are the dust of his feet") and His wrath can figuratively dry up the seas and rivers.
Pivot X: The world is terrified at God's anger (1:4b-5)
Chapter 1 4b Bashan and Carmel wither; the bloom of Lebanon withers. 5 The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all that dwell in it.
The elements of nature in this pivot represent the wicked people of the earth. Nahum builds a rhetorical climax/ladder to emphatically state that the wicked are in terror at God's powerful wrath; he enumerates progressively grander metaphors for the terror of the wicked of the world: the vegetation withers in fear (Bashan, Carmel and Lebanon were known for their luxuriant plants), the hills and mountains quake and melt in terror, the whole world and all of nature on it heaves in fear.
We infer from this pivot that this poem is primarily regarding the destruction of the wicked in Period 3, when the whole world witnesses the angry vengeance of the God of Israel.
Subunit C2: The awesome punitive power of God (1:6)
Chapter 1 6 Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.
No one can stand the full force of God's terrifyingly powerful wrath - a wrath like fire, a wrath that can figuratively "break rocks".
Subunit B2: The Lord is just: He is good to those who worship Him (1:7)
Chapter 1 7 The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.
The righteous who worship God and remain faithful to Him will be protected by their God.
Subunit A2: A vengeful God punishes His enemies (1:8)
Chapter 1 8 With an overflowing flood he will make a complete end of the adversaries, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
The enemies of God, those who come against Him, will be severely punished with overwhelming force ("an overflowing flood") until they are utterly destroyed ("complete end", "into darkness").
5.1 The Destruction of Nineveh (c. 612BC) (Ch 2 vs 6 - Ch 3 vs 3a)
This Period is arranged in the form of a single-unit chiasmus:A1 2:6-10 Nineveh is destroyed
X 2:11-12 The people of Nineveh had enjoyed the city's wealth and power
A2 2:13 - 3:3a Nineveh is destroyed
More than a century prior to their defeat in this Period, the Ninevites had heeded the prophet Jonah's warning and repented (Jonah 3); but they apparently reverted to their former ways, because God decided to destroy the city for good on this occasion.
Subunit A1: Nineveh is destroyed (2:6-10)
Chapter 2 6 The river gates are opened; the palace melts away;
The city of Nineveh was besieged by an alliance led by the Babylonians and Medes. According to the historian Diodorus, around 2 years into the siege (c. 612BC), the nearby Tigris overflowed, creating a breach in the fortifications; this breach must have opened at the river gates - the gates through which a river enters the city. The attackers entered and conquered the city through this opening in its extraordinarily thick walls; the palace was looted and burned down (we take "melt away" to be figurative).
Chapter 2 7 It is fixed: She is stripped, she is carried away, And her handmaids are moaning like the sound of doves, Beating on their breasts.
Nineveh was thoroughly plundered as preordained by God ("it is fixed"). Its allied and dependent regions ("handmaids") mourned the defeat of the great city and the attendant loss of their security, wealth and status.
Chapter 2 8 Nineveh is like a pool whose waters run away. “Halt! Halt!” they cry, but none turns back.
For a long time, Nineveh was like a pool into which all the wealth of the nations was collected. Now, like a breached pool, all this wealth is flowing away. The pillaging enemy soldiers ignore the pleas of the citizens to stop their plunder. ( We assume that this passage is regarding the plunder of Nineveh's wealth, like the previous and next verses. Note that this is one of the two places in which Nahum mentions the name, "Nineveh" - the other is in 3:7 under Period 3.)
Chapter 2 9 Plunder the silver, plunder the gold! There is no end of the treasure or of the wealth of all precious things.
The Babylonian conquerors of Nineveh are urged to ransack this extraordinarily wealthy city, as God decreed. Over the centuries, this powerful city had accumulated vast quantities of treasure from its many conquests and from vassal tributes.
Chapter 2 10 She is pillaged, plundered, stripped! Hearts melt and knees tremble; anguish is in all loins; all faces grow pale!
The devastation of the city is indicated by three Hebrew words of increasing intensity (translated "pillaged, plundered, stripped!"). The abject terror and pain of the citizens of this once-secure city is described in four ways: hearts melt, knees tremble, anguish in loins (cf. Jer 30:6), faces pale. The people of Nineveh face the same great loss they had visited on many other cities.
Pivot X: The people of Nineveh had enjoyed the city's wealth and power (2:11-12)
Chapter 2 11 Where is the lions' den, the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion and lioness went, where his cubs were, with none to disturb? 12 The lion tore enough for his cubs and strangled prey for his lionesses; he filled his caves with prey and his dens with torn flesh.
The people of Nineveh had, for a long time, lived in a powerful, prosperous, protected city. We propose that the various types of lions of these passages represent the various classes of people of Nineveh. The "lions" represent the leadership class (the king and his administration) and the "young lions" represent the warriors. The "lionesses" probably are the aristocracy, and the "cubs" are the commoners; the "lionesses" and "cubs" were beneficiaries of Assyria's conquests and the consequent tributes ("prey", "torn flesh"), though they were not directly involved (vs 12). The phrases "den", "feeding place" and "none to disturb" indicate that the city had been a safe haven for its citizens until this assault.
Subunit A2: Nineveh is destroyed (2:13 - 3:3a)
Chapter 2 13 Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the land, and the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard.
God takes away Nineveh's sources of power and wealth, so that it cannot recover from this loss. Assyria's army is destroyed - the "young lions" represent the Assyrian army and the "chariots" synecdochically represent its military equipment. Assyria can no longer plunder other nations (its "prey is cut off from the land"); its envoys ("messengers") will no longer be able to enforce Assyrian decrees in conquered nations (for ex., see 2 Kings 18:9-37) and extract tribute (their "voice is no longer heard").
Chapter 3 1 Woe to the bloody city, all full of lies and plunder— no end to the prey!
God pronounces "Woe" on Nineveh and lists some of the reasons. Nineveh was notorious for the exceptional cruelty and violence it committed on its captives ("bloody city"). It was Satan's world capital for a period (see Isa. 10:24 in [3]), and like all of Satan's capitals, it was a centre of lies of all kinds (for Satan is the father of lies - John 8:44). It had become rich by extracting great wealth through its many conquests ("no end to the prey").
Chapter 3 2 The crack of the whip, and rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot! 3a Horsemen charging, flashing sword and glittering spear.
The once proud, wealthy, powerful city of Nineveh is now overrun by invading armies, because God decreed it.
5.2 Satan's Empires are Destroyed at the Start of Christ's Millennial Reign (c. 2027AD) (Ch 1 vs 9 - Ch 2 vs 4, Ch 3 vs 4 - Ch 3 vs 19)
This Period is structured as a series of 4 chiasmi. The primary theme of these chiasmi is the destruction of Satan's empires of "Babylon" and the Beast.Chiasmus 1: The Beast army's attack on the New Israel will be thwarted
The passage below in 1:9 - 2:2 is arranged in the form of a three-unit chiasmus:
A1 1:9-11 The Beast army is told that it will be destroyed
B1 1:12-13 The Israelites are reassured
C1 1:14a The Antichrist is told that he will die
X 1:14b The Israelites are turned away from idolatry
C2 1:14c The Antichrist is told that he will die
B2 1:15 The Israelites are reassured
A2 2:1-2 The Beast army is told that it will be destroyed
This chiasmus is unusual in that its unit divisions are based primarily on the entity addressed (the Beast, Israel, the Antichrist) and not so much on the topics they cover.
Subunit A1: The Beast army is told that it will be destroyed (1:9-11)
Chapter 1 9 What do you plot against the Lord? He will make a complete end; trouble will not rise up a second time.
God will thwart the Beast empire's (the Beast of Rev 13:1-3) plot to attack His nation, the New Israel, at the start of the Millennial Reign. This attack will end in the utter devastation ("a complete end") of the Beast empire (see Ezekiel 39 [1], Rev. 19:17-21, Rev. 14:19-20), a devastation from which it will not recover ("trouble will not rise up a second time").
Chapter 1 10 For they will be consumed like entangled thorns, like the drink of a drunkard and like straw that is fully dry.
The speed and completeness of the Beast army's ("they") end is illustrated in three ways; it will be like: thorns that burn quickly (thornbushes that are cut and dried burn rapidly - cf. Isa 33:12); the drink of the drunkard; dried straw/stubble that easily catches fire (the first and third similes are equivalent).
Chapter 1 11 From you comes forth a plotter of evil against the LORD, a counselor of Belial.
The Antichrist will lead the Beast army into this war against the New Israel (see Rev 19:20). The Antichrist (see Rev. 13:11–18, 2 Thess. 2:3-12) plots against God and His people, and he is the leader ("counselor") of Satan's kingdoms of "Babylon" and the Beast ("Belial" can refer to Satan - see 2 Cor. 6:15).
Subunit B1: The Israelites are reassured (1:12-13)
Chapter 1 12a Thus says the Lord, “Though they are at full strength and many, they will be cut down and pass away.
Although this Beast army is extraordinarily large and powerful (see Dan. 7:7), it will be destroyed through an act of God (Isaiah 29:5-7, Rev. 19:20-21).
Chapter 1 12b Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more. 13 And now I will break his yoke from off you and will burst your bonds apart.”
The Lord will no longer punish the Israelites for the sins of their forefathers. After this destruction of the Beast army, the Israelites will never again be under the control of Satan's empires (see also Isa 9:4).
Subunit C1: The Antichrist is told that he will die (1:14a)
Chapter 1 14a The Lord has given commandment about you: “No more shall your name be perpetuated.
Neither the Antichrist nor his descendants will continue to rule the world, for he will soon be killed (Rev. 19:20).
Pivot X: The Israelites are turned away from idolatry (1:14b)
Chapter 1 14b From the house of your gods I will cut off the carved image and the metal image.
God will open the Israelites' spiritual eyes, so that they do away with their idolatry (Isaiah 30:21,22) and return to worshipping the God of their fathers. They had been cursed with spiritual blindness at the beginning of their exile for the sins of their fathers, and so they had worshipped idols until this time of the start of the Millennial Reign (Isaiah 29:9,10).
Subunit C2: The Antichrist is told that he will die (1:14c)
Chapter 1 14c I will make your grave, for you are vile.”
The Lord will kill the Antichrist for he is extraordinarily wicked (Rev. 19:20).
Subunit B2: The Israelites are reassured (1:15)
Chapter 1 15a Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace!
The coming Messiah explains prophecy and brings the good news of the coming peaceful Millennial Reign of Christ, during which he will be the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6). We believe this text predicts the coming of the Messiah of the Millennial Age, based on the interpretation in 11QMelch of a similar passage in Isaiah 52:7 (11QMelch is a Qumran or "Dead Sea Scroll" pesher/commentary, Melch is short for Melchizedek). According to 11QMelch, this text indicates that the coming Messiah will interpret ("feet upon") the writings of the prophets (the "mountains" are the prophecies) (Paul quotes from this passage in another context in Romans 10:15). The pesher connects this text to Daniel 9:25, which also predicts the coming of an anointed one who explains prophecies [2].
Chapter 1 15b Keep your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows, for never again shall Belial invade you; he is utterly cut off.
The Israelites ("Judah") need not fear their oppressors anymore, for their enemy Satan ("Belial") is eternally defeated (see Rev. 20:1-3), and they will be protected during the Messiah's Reign from Jerusalem; they are to celebrate all the prescribed feasts and keep all the vows they make to God so as to praise and honour their God. (Judah, the remnant of Israel at the time of the prophecy c 612BC, after the exile of the Northern Tribes, here represents the Israel of the Millennial Age.)
Subunit A2: The Beast army is told that it will be destroyed (2:1-2)
Chapter 2 1 He that dashes in pieces has come up against you. Keep the munition; watch the road; dress for battle; collect all your strength.
The Beast army is advised to prepare for an attack from God, the one who "dashes to pieces". The four preparation directions in the passage are stated mockingly, for God has decided to destroy the Beast, and His will cannot be thwarted by the strongest defences.
Chapter 2 2 For the Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob like the majesty of Israel, for plunderers have plundered them and ruined their branches.
The Beast army is warned that attacks on Israel will be disastrous from this time on, as the nation is now under God's protection. The Israelites ("Jacob") have suffered plunder and death ("ruined branches" of families) in the past as punishment from God for their waywardness (see Deut. 28:15-68), but they will be returned to their former power and glory ("like the majesty of [ancient] Israel"), for they will be ruled by God during the Millennial Reign.
Chiasmus 2: The Beast army will be thoroughly humiliated for its attack on Israel
The passage below in 2:3-4, 3:4-6 is structured as a single-unit chiasmus:
A1 2:3-4 The Beast army is destroyed and humiliated as it prepares to attack Israel
X 3:4 The Beast was created by the Vatican
A2 3:5-6 The Beast army is destroyed and humiliated as it prepares to attack Israel
Subunit A1: The Beast army is destroyed and humiliated as it prepares to attack Israel (2:3-4)
Chapter 2 3 The shield of his mighty men is red; his soldiers are clothed in scarlet. The metal on the chariots flashes on the day they are made ready; the spears are brandished. 4 The chariots race madly through the roads; they rush to and fro through the highways; they gleam like torches; they dart like lightning.
The Beast army is on a highway at the borders of the New Israel, preparing to attack, but the Israelites need not fear its might (Ezekiel 39). We believe this subunit describes a vision of the modern motorized infantry of the Beast army as it prepares for battle, apparently at night. This army's 'shield' is red - the 'shield' (note the singular) may refer to the coat-of-arms of the Beast army - and the warriors are clothed in scarlet; there appears to be some spiritual significance with these colours that are used for Satan's army (see also Rev 12:3, Rev. 17:4). The army's metal-skinned military vehicles ("chariots") glint in the light, they shine their lights/headlights ("torches") as they rush along the highways at the great speed of modern vehicles, and the soldiers on the vehicles brandish their guns ("spears").
Pivot X: The Beast was created by the Vatican (3:4)
Chapter 3 4 All this because of the wanton lust of a prostitute, alluring, the mistress of sorceries, who enslaved nations by her prostitution and peoples by her witchcraft.
The Vatican created this powerful Beast empire that has come to fight against God's people (see Rev 17:6). The Vatican, the capital of 'Babylon', is called a whore (see Rev 17:1-5), because it worships Satan and demon gods while pretending to be a Christian institution. It has covertly seduced the leaders and peoples of the nations of the world astray into witchcraft by rewarding them with wealth and power (see Rev. 18:2.3), convincing them to sell their souls to Satan and fight God.
Subunit A2: The Beast army is destroyed and humiliated as it prepares to attack Israel (3:5-6)
Chapter 3 5 Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts, and will lift up your skirts over your face; and I will make nations look at your nakedness and kingdoms at your shame. 6 I will throw filth at you and treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle.
God will destroy the Beast army in a thoroughly humiliating manner ("lift up your skirts over your face"..., "throw filth at you"...). He will kill the entire army suddenly and at once, so that the bodies of the soldiers lie out in the open for a long time to be eaten by scavenging birds and animals (Ezekiel 39:4-5,12-19, Rev 19:17-18); their remains will then be thrown into an open pit, a mass grave (Ezekiel 39:11, Isaiah 14:19). The Israelites will plunder the military equipment left behind by this army (Ezekiel 39:9-10), an army that was just recently the mightiest in the world (Rev. 13:4).
Chiasmus 3: The Vatican, the capital of "Babylon", is destroyed
The passage below in 3:7-12 is structured as a single-unit chiasmus:
A1 3:7 The Vatican, Satan's capital, is destroyed
X 3:8-10 Well defended Thebes has been destroyed
A2 3:11-12 The Vatican, Satan's capital, is destroyed
Subunit A1: The Vatican, Satan's capital, is destroyed (3:7)
Chapter 3 7 All who look at you will shrink from you and say, “Wasted is Nineveh; who will grieve for her?” Where shall I seek comforters for you?
The Vatican ("Nineveh") is destroyed by the very Beast that she created and controlled (see Rev. 17:16-18). All who see the Vatican's devastation will shrink from her in horror. Her abominations and the misery she has spread around the world has been so great that no one grieves for this institution that was once revered around the world.
Satan's capital at the Start of the Millennial Reign, the Vatican, is called "Nineveh" in this passage, because Nineveh was Satan's capital during the reign of the Assyrians, at the time of the prophecy. ( This is one of only two times in the text that the name "Nineveh" is used - the other is in 2:8 under Period 1.)
Pivot X: Well defended Thebes has been destroyed (3:8-10)
Chapter 3 8 Are you better than Thebes that sat by the Nile, with water around her, her rampart a river, and water her wall? 9 Cush was her strength; Egypt too, and that without limit; Put and the Libyans were her helpers.
Nahum takes the example of the great and powerful city of Thebes that was devastated a half century before the prophecy. Thebes (also known as No Amon) of ancient Egypt had excellent natural defences, for it was surrounded by the waters of the Nile ("her rampart a river..."). The nations of Egypt and Ethiopia (Cush) were united during the reign of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt (744BC–656BC), and the empire had powerful allies in Put and Libya; Thebes was the capital of this united empire, so the city was protected by one of the strongest armies of the time ("strength...without limit").
Chapter 3 10 Yet she became an exile; she went into captivity; her infants were dashed in pieces at the head of every street; for her honored men lots were cast, and all her great men were bound in chains.
Despite its excellent defences, Thebes was conquered and ransacked by the Assyrians under Ashurbanipal in 663 BC, never to fully recover. Its people were exiled, its infants killed, and its leaders humiliated - they were put in chains and lots were cast to determine their slave masters.
Subunit A2: The Vatican, Satan's capital, is destroyed (3:11-12)
Chapter 3 11 You also will be drunken; you will go into hiding; you will seek a refuge from the enemy.
Satan's modern capital at the Vatican has no substantial fortifications and it will face a revolt by its Beast army. So the Vatican, in spite of its spiritual power, will be subjected to a humiliating and permanent defeat (see Rev 17:15-18), far more easily than Thebes. The defeat and flight of the people of the Vatican are described in three ways: they will reel in terror (as though drunk), go into hiding, and they will seek refuge in secret hideaways (the last two are equivalent).
Chapter 3 12 All your fortifications are like fig trees with first-ripe figs— if shaken they fall into the mouth of the eater.
The Vatican's defences are so weak that it will be destroyed as easily as first-ripe figs. For figs that ripen well before the main harvest are effortlessly shaken off the tree and immediately eaten during the harvest (cf. Isaiah 28:4).
Chiasmus 4: Satan's Empire "Babylon" is destroyed
The passage below in 3:13-19 is structured as a single-unit chiasmus:
A1 3:13-15a "Babylon" is destroyed
X 3:15b-17 People associated with "Babylon" flee from it
A2 3:18-19 "Babylon" is destroyed
The scope of the prophecy broadens from the destruction of the Vatican , the capital, in the previous chiasmus to the devastation of Satan's worldwide empire of "Babylon" in this chiasmus (Rev. 18,16). "Babylon" is not a nation in the common sense of the word, but a worldwide cabal of Satan worshippers. It is destroyed through an uprising of the righteous around the world (see Jer. 50:21-34).
Subunit A1: "Babylon" is destroyed (3:13-15a)
Chapter 3 13 Behold, your troops are women in your midst. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire has devoured your bars.
Nahum mocks the precarious condition of "Babylon's" defences with three metaphors: its troops are women (its army is weak - see Jer. 50:30); its "fortress gates" are wide open, fire has destroyed the "bars of the gates" (cf. Jer. 51:30) (the last two are equivalent).
Chapter 3 14 Draw water for the siege; strengthen your forts; go into the clay; tread the mortar; take hold of the brick mold!
'Babylon' makes defence preparations, and this is predicted in three figurative ways: store water, strengthen forts, make bricks to strengthen forts (the last two are equivalent). The predictions of this passage are in the form of sarcastically stated imperatives, for all preparations against God's wrath are futile.
Chapter 3 15a There will the fire devour you; the sword will cut you off. It will devour you like the locust.
The "strongholds" that 'Babylon' created around the world ("there") will be destroyed by fire and by weapons ("sword"), with the thoroughness of a locust attack (see Rev 18:8, Rev 16:3,8,9, Jer. 50:26-28).
Pivot X: People associated with "Babylon" flee from it (3:15b-17)
In this pivot, 2 classes of people associated with "Babylon" distance themselves from the fallen empire (see also Rev 18:9-19).
Chapter 3 15b Multiply yourselves like the locust; multiply like the grasshopper!
"Babylon" has acquired great power around the world by enlisting people working at commercial and political organizations as its allies. Although this passage is in the imperative form, we imagine these words spoken in a sarcastic, mocking tone, because 'Babylon' has already "multiplied itself" as much as possible, as can be seen in the next 2 verses.
Chapter 3 16 You increased your merchants more than the stars of the heavens. The locust spreads its wings and flies away.
The "merchants" represent the people that work at commercial institutions around the world and secretly serve 'Babylon' (see Rev. 18:11-16). They will "fly away", distancing themselves from this now pariah organization.
Chapter 3 17 Your administrators are like grasshoppers, your officials like clouds of locusts settling on the fences in a day of cold— when the sun rises, they fly away; no one knows where they are.
The people that work at political organizations ("administrators", "officials") and also serve 'Babylon' will also vanish at this time (these are the "kings of the earth" in Rev 18:9-10). Locusts settle on the ground in large numbers in the cold nights of cold weather ("day of cold"), but they disappear after they have been warmed by the rising sun; the people of these political organizations, that had controlled the world for "Babylon" when it was thriving, will similarly disappear suddenly.
Subunit A2: "Babylon" is destroyed (3:18-19)
Chapter 3 18a Your shepherds are asleep, O king of Assyria; your nobles slumber. Your people are scattered on the mountains with none to gather them.
The leaders of "Babylon" ("shepherds", "nobles") have been killed in the assault or rendered impotent (they "sleep", "slumber"). All the people of "Babylon" that haven't been killed have slipped away (like sheep "on the mountains", to a place where they are difficult to find), and there are no leaders ("shepherds") to gather them back (cf. similar metaphor in 1 Kings 22:17).
The 'King of Assyria' in this verse is the Antichrist, the leader of Satan's "Babylon" and Beast empires (Assyria, Satan's kingdom at the time of the prophecy, represents Satan's Beast empire in this Period).
Chapter 3 19 There is no easing your hurt; your wound is grievous. All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you. For upon whom has not come your unceasing evil?
The loss of its people is a fatal blow to the organization of "Babylon" ("your wound is grievous"). The righteous of the world, who had suffered at the hands of the Antichrist and 'Babylon' (Rev. 13:7,10), rejoice that Satan's evil kingdom is grievously wounded ("clap their hands over you" is a gesture indicating schadenfreude) (see Rev. 18:20).
5.3 The Destruction of Jerusalem (70AD) during the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD) (Ch 2 vs 5, Ch 3 vs 3b)
This Period is arranged in the form of a single-unit chiasmus:A1 2:5a The Romans retreat after destroying Jerusalem
X 2:5b The Romans attack Jerusalem
A2 3:3b The Romans retreat after destroying Jerusalem
Subunit A1: The Romans retreat after destroying Jerusalem (2:5a)
Chapter 2 5a He recalls his gallant; they stumble in their haste as they walk
Titus calls his soldiers to retreat after they had destroyed Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem is littered with dead bodies, so the soldiers stumble over them as they hurry back (see corresponding subunit A2 below).
Pivot X: The Romans attack Jerusalem (2:5b)
Chapter 2 5b They hasten to the wall; the siege tower is set up.
The Romans, under general Titus, laid siege to Jerusalem from the spring of 70AD. They breached the city walls in the summer of that year with the aid of siege engines. (See details on this war in the paper on the 70 weeks of Daniel [2])
Subunit A2: The Romans retreat after destroying Jerusalem (3:3b)
Chapter 3 3b Hosts of slain, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end— they stumble over the bodies!
All the Judahites remaining in Jerusalem were brutally killed by the Romans, as punishment from God for their wickedness and unbelief; those who believed in Christ escaped this massacre. The city was covered with dead bodies, so that soldiers walking through stumbled over them - an undignified end for the wicked of Jerusalem.
Conclusion
With this chiastic reconstruction of the text, we have shown that the book of Nahum contains prophecies on three distinct Periods. In each of the 3 Periods a great city - Nineveh, Jerusalem, the Vatican - is defeated and annihilated as punishment from God. The destruction of Nineveh and the end of Assyria's reign, seems to be a type of the destruction of the Vatican and Satan's kingdoms of "Babylon" and the Beast at the start of the Millennial Reign; Neo-Assyria was Satan's first world-dominating empire and "Babylon" and the Beast are his last.
References
[1] A Definition of Cryptochiasmus[2] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of "The 70 Weeks Of Daniel"
[3] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Isaiah 10-12
[4] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Daniel 8
[5] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Revelation 4-22, Part 2
[6] A Commentary on Ezekiel 39
* First version published on 20 September 2021.