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Pentecost
Minor Prophets

Nahum

Old Testament7th century BCHebrew

Nahum announces the fall of Nineveh, the violent empire that once repented under Jonah but returned to cruelty. The book is a comfort to the oppressed and a warning to empires.

Nahum — manuscript, icon, or classical biblical art from Wikimedia Commons.
Nahum-prophet.jpg — Anonymous Russian icon painter (before 1917)Public domain image (according to PD-Russia-expired)

Why Nahum Matters

Nahum announces the fall of Nineveh, the violent empire that once repented under Jonah but returned to cruelty. The book is a comfort to the oppressed and a warning to empires.

The book's central themes include the fall of Nineveh and the Lord's justice. Read inside the whole canon, those themes are not isolated topics but part of Scripture's unified witness to God's covenant work and to Christ.

Canonical Reception

Nahum is received across the Christian traditions and belongs to the Hebrew Scriptures. Its place in the canon anchors how the Church reads its witness to Christ. In this entry it is marked as recognized in the Protestant canon, the Roman Catholic canon, Eastern Orthodox canons, Oriental Orthodox canons, the Hebrew Bible.

Reading With The Church

A faithful reading of Nahum asks first what the text says in its own setting, then how its words are received in the full scriptural economy. The goal is not to flatten historical context into later theology, but to hear the book as part of the one biblical canon read by the Church.

Key Passages
  • Nahum 1:2-8
  • Nahum 1:15