Nahum, Book of

The Book of Nahum consists of three chapters prophesying the imminent destruction of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire, which fell to the Babylonians and Medes in 612 B.C. The book is dated between 663 B.C. (the fall of Thebes mentioned in 3:8 as past) and 612 B.C. Its theology balances divine justice — "The LORD is a jealous God and avenging" (1:2) — with divine mercy toward his own: "The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him" (1:7). The vivid battle poetry of chapters 2–3 describes Nineveh's siege and fall in remarkable detail, depicting charging cavalry, flashing swords, and heaps of slain that would have been recognized by contemporary readers as depicting the Assyrian military machine turned against its own capital. The book balances Jonah's message of repentance and mercy toward Nineveh with the certainty of judgment when repentance does not endure.