Nahum, << NAY uhm, >> Book of, is a book of the Hebrew Bible (also called the Old Testament) named for an Israelite prophet. Nahum lived in the kingdom of Judah during the second half of the 600’s B.C. The book has three chapters. Chapter 1, a hymn, is a vision of God that may be the work of another author. In chapters 2 and 3, Nahum praises the capture and destruction in 612 B.C. of Nineveh, the capital of the hated and feared Assyrian empire. Nahum’s description of Nineveh is so vivid that some people believe he actually witnessed the city’s fall. The poetic style of the book is among the most elegant in the Bible. Nahum’s striking images of God’s anger, along with images of the safety God can offer, lend great power and immediacy to the prophet’s words.
