Editing Book of Nahum (section)

== Overview ==
[[File:CodexGigas 114 MinorProphets.jpg|250px|thumb|The whole Book of Nahum in [[Latin]] as a part of [[Codex Gigas]], made around the 13th century.]]
Beyond its superscription, Nahum 1:1, the Book of Nahum consists of two parts:<ref name="Clark 1994">{{cite book | last1=Clark | first1=David J. | last2=Hatton | first2=Howard A. | year=1994 | title=The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah | location=New York | publisher=United Bible Societies | isbn=0-8267-0130-2 | page=1 }}</ref> a prelude in chapter one,<ref>[[Jerusalem Bible]] (1966), Nahum 1</ref> followed by chapters two and three, which describe the fall of Nineveh, which later took place in 612&nbsp;BC. [[Andrew B. Davidson|Davidson]] notes that there are two parts to the superscription:
*''The burden of Nineveh'', or "an oracle against Nineveh", probably an editorial addition, and 
*''The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite'', which "may ... have come from the hand of the prophet himself".<ref>Davidson, A. B. (1896), [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/nahum/1.htm Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges] on Nahum 1, accessed on 16 September 2024</ref>

Nineveh is compared to [[Thebes (Egypt)|Thebes]],<ref>{{bibleverse||Nahum|3:8|NKJV}}: [[New King James Version]]</ref> the Egyptian city that Assyria itself [[Sack of Thebes|had destroyed]] in 663&nbsp;BC.<ref name="Kent H. Richards 2006" /> Nahum describes the siege and frenzied activity of Nineveh's troops as they try in vain to halt the invaders. Poetically, he becomes a participant in the battle, and with subtle irony, barks battle commands to the defenders. Nahum uses numerous similes and [[metaphor]] that Nineveh will become weak "like the lion hiding in its den". It concludes with a taunt song and funeral dirge of the impending destruction of Nineveh and the "sleep" or death of the Assyrian people and demise of the once great Assyrian conqueror-rulers.