12, with, Bab. Cod., and several mss. of Kenn. and de R.; so OortEm., Fag.. We. on; so Hal..-19. ] interficiam. Gr. adds ; so Now., Marti, Siev., Fag.. Van H. tr. >>] to foll. 'y and reads it .— bɔnn] Gév σol čvekev σoû; hence GASm. מעניך -; simip. larly Du.. GY Eveкev èμoû (so 9 mss. of HP.). Roth. them all humble in the midst of thee.-n nya] ŒBANQY HP. 48, 228, add λéyei Kúpios. Hunder asterisk. Marti om. as dittog. from v. 20; so Siev., Fag..no] GNB om.. No. Götting. gel. Anzeig. 1871, p. 897, del. and makes foll. ' obj..-] 6 pl..—onw)] G KataloxvvŮńσOVTAL. om.; so Schw., We., Dav., Now., GASm., OortEm., Dr. (?), Marti, Siev., Fag., Roth., Du.. Gr. inserts nnn before 'a; so Hal., Dr. (?). As parallel cases for a cstr. with the art., there have been cited Jos. 317 811 1 S. 213 2 K. 713 Je. 25"; but in every one of these instances there is good ground for suspecting corruption of the text.—20. man nunn nya] Rd., with Buhl, a ng? (cf. ( ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ ὅταν καλῶς ὑμῖν ποιήσω); so also van H.. Cf. Schw. (?), ''N N'an nya; so Gr., GASm., OortEm., Du.. ng] Rd. 'p nya, with Buhl. xal èv Tŷ kaipŵ öтav elodéCopal. Schw. rapk ninn nyai; so We., Now., GASm. (?), Marti, Dr., Siev., Fag., Roth.. It is difficult to see how so easy and natural a reading as this latter one could have given way to the rarer idiom suggested by, which bears the stamp of originality. If this be correct, there is a strong presupposition in favour of the similar reading here adopted for the first part of the line.-] Rd. opnay, with GSH and 14 Heb. mss.; so Schw., We., Now., GASm., BDB., Marti, Fag.. INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF NAHUM. § 1. THE BOOK OF NAHUM. Its Contents. The first section of the book of Nahum as it now stands sets forth the avenging wrath of Yahweh (12-10). Though manifested with reluctance, yet its exhibition against the ungodly is inevitable. Its outpouring throws the physical universe into convulsions, but Yahweh furnishes shelter from his wrath to those that trust in him. Those that oppose him are irrevocably destroyed. The second section (1-2) alternates between words of reproach or threatening against some unnamed foe (supposedly Nineveh) and promises of comfort and deliverance to Judah. The remainder of the book deals with one subject, viz. the approaching destruction of Nineveh. The material, however, divides itself into two sections, viz. 24-14 and 31-19. The former of these begins so abruptly as to suggest that the original beginning of the section is either lost or else embodied in 111-23. The section as a whole gives a vivid picture of the attack upon Nineveh, the capture, the weeping of the women, the flight of the defenders and the plunder of the city's treasures and closes with a taunt-song contrasting Nineveh's past tyranny and robbery with the waste and desolate state which awaits her. The closing section (31-9), addressed directly to the doomed city, first of all presents concretely the awful state in store for her. The reason for this is then assigned as lying in her treacherous treatment of other nations. Hence she is to be made the butt of the scorn of these nations. If she flatters herself that she is impregnable, let her recall the overthrow of the invincible Thebes. Panic will seize her defenders and she will fall an easy prey. No matter how zealous she be in |