Nahum · Chapter 1

"The burden of Nineveh." And the Targum [Yonatan renders]: "The burden of the cup of cursing, to give Nineveh to drink." The Book of the Vision of Nahum. "Chazon" [vision] is vocalized with a kamatz, because it is not in construct state, and it does not resemble the "chazon" of Isaiah, which is vocalized with a chataf-patach. And likewise the meaning of "Sefer Chazon" [Book of the Vision] is: it was already written concerning it, and it is the prophecy of Jonah son of Amittai; and now Nahum the Elkoshite has again prophesied concerning it, this burden. Elkosh was the name of his city. And so Targum Yonatan [renders]: "Formerly Jonah son of Amittai prophesied concerning her [Nineveh], and she repented from her sin; and now that she has continued to sin, Nahum, who is from the house of Elkosh, has again prophesied concerning her."

Sefer Chazon: For it is considered "attached" even though it is a tevir. “Burden” – a prophecy concerning what the Lord “bore” against Nineveh. We do not know the generation of this prophet, and it is possible that [his being called] “the Elkoshite” is related to the name of the city, or to the name of one of his ancestors. His prophecy concerns the downfall of Nineveh at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.

The burden concerning Nineveh: the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. This prophecy was spoken concerning Nineveh, and Nineveh was the capital of the king of Assyria, as it is written, "From that land came forth Asshur, and he built Nineveh." And the king of Assyria did evil to Israel and exiled them from their land, and the Holy One, blessed be He, took vengeance for them through Nebuchadnezzar, who destroyed the kingdom of Assyria. And our Sages of blessed memory said: In the first year that Nebuchadnezzar reigned, he conquered Nineveh; in the second year, he conquered Jehoiakim. And the Scripture does not state in which generation this prophet Nahum prophesied. And he is called "Elkoshite" because he is identified with his city or with his ancestors. And in Seder Olam, it is stated that Joel, Nahum, and Habakkuk prophesied in the days of Manasseh, and since Manasseh was not righteous, they were not named after him. The letter het in the word chazon is vocalized with a shva and a patach, because it is a construct form, like "chazon Yeshayahu" (the vision of Isaiah). And Targum Yonatan rendered it: "מְטוֹל כַּס דְּלוּט" [because of the cup of cursing], etc.

The burden of Nineveh. That prophecy was spoken concerning Nineveh, which was the capital of the kingdom of Assyria. "The book..." – This is the book of prophecy of Nahum the Elkoshite; he was the one who prophesied concerning Nineveh.

"Ha-alqushi" – the name of the city of Alqosh.

The Burden of Nineveh: This book is divided into two parts. One is called "The Burden of Nineveh," and these are the prophecies of chapters 1 and 2. The second is "The Book of the Vision of Nahum," which is the prophecy in chapter 3. For Nineveh was destroyed twice. The burden recounts the first destruction of Nineveh, which occurred either before the prophet’s days or during his time. The vision, however, concerns a distant future time, in which he foresaw the second destruction of Nineveh, which took place in the first year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, when it was completely destroyed. Now, regarding the second destruction of Nineveh, which was carried out by Nebuchadnezzar, we find it mentioned in the words of our Sages of blessed memory. But the first destruction is not found in the books of our Sages; rather, it is an accepted matter reported in all the ancient historical chronicles. These are their words: Sardanapalus, king of Assyria, was a wicked man, a glutton and a drunkard, a pursuer of lust, foolish and exceedingly corrupt. The commander of the army of Babylon (whose name was Belaezias), who was under his rule, conspired against him, together with the commander of the army of Media (whose name was Arbaces) and with the other army commanders. They assembled with their forces, about four hundred thousand men, to wage war against Nineveh. The king went out to meet them and struck them down with many casualties, pursuing them to the border of the land of the Chaldeans. There the rebels halted, and it became known to them that a large force had come from Bakkerien to aid the king. They sent messengers to meet them to deceive them into joining the conspiracy. The king knew nothing of this and trusted in his mighty men who were coming to help him. They drank and became drunk. Then the conspirators rose against them at night and struck down all the king’s army. Also, the king’s army that had gone out to meet them, along with their commander, Shalman, the brother of his wife, fell in battle. All the commanders who were under him rebelled against him and removed his yoke. Then the king and his remaining forces retreated into the city of Nineveh, which was a fortified city with the River Tigris encircling it. The rebels besieged the city for three years but could not take it. The sorcerers told the king that as long as the river did not turn into an enemy against him, the city would not be captured. On this he relied and did not fear evil. After three years, the river overflowed its banks and breached the city wall for half a parasang. The king saw that the river had turned into an enemy against him, and he was greatly terrified and despaired. He ordered a pyre of wood and fire to be built in his palace, and he placed upon it all his wealth, as well as the queen and his concubines, and he himself; they all went up on the pyre and were burned in the fire. The enemies captured the city but did not extend their hands to plunder, nor did they wish to harm the inhabitants of the city, for they said they had come only to destroy the king’s house. However, fear fell upon the men of the city, and they all fled, leaving the city like a desolate wilderness. The enemy erected a monument of contempt and disgrace to King Sardanapalus as a sign of his evil deeds. All the monuments of honor that indicated the king were broken and shattered, and they made it a sign and a proverb. This is the content of the story found in unison in all the chronicle books. But when did this event occur, and in what time? We cannot derive from them any precise and clear statement. Those who explain it say that King Sardanapalus is Assur-haddon mentioned in the Scripture, who reigned after Sennacherib, whom his sons struck with the sword. They say that it is a compound name: Ser (Assur) Nafal (Haddon, Pul) mentioned in Chronicles. According to this, this event occurred at the end of the days of Hezekiah or in the days of Manasseh, and it agrees with the opinion of our Sages of blessed memory that Nahum prophesied in the days of Manasseh. However, one who examines the books of history implies that it was much earlier. We have no means to decide. If it was earlier, the burden was uttered about a destruction that occurred before his days. If it was in his time, the burden was uttered about a destruction that occurred in his days. Regarding this, it says "The Burden of Nineveh." Furthermore, he saw a vision of the second destruction of Nineveh, which would occur in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. Regarding this, it says "Book of the Vision," for the vision is for the future. We will explain the verses in agreement with all these interpretations:

"The Lord is a jealous and avenging God." Nahum prophesied against the descendants of Sennacherib, during the days of Manasseh, as we find recorded in Seder Olam. "The Lord is a jealous and avenging God." From the time He took vengeance for Israel against their enemies, and even now He is avenging and wrathful, and He will yet take vengeance on His adversaries who destroyed His land and exiled His people. He bears a grudge against the Babylonians. And Rabbi Shimon says: These three acts of vengeance correspond to the three exiles that Sennacherib brought upon Israel, as we find in Seder Olam.

"El" – He mentioned "El" so that His strength would be seen. And the meaning of "qana" is like: "And the Lord was jealous for His people," because the king of Assyria had devastated Israel. Kanno – an adjective, like: “He is jealous and avenges, taking vengeance,” and its meaning is that He avenges against His enemies, not against others. And the meaning of: "The Lord is a God of vengeance and wrath" is that He should be known throughout the world.

"The Lord is a jealous and avenging God." He is jealous on behalf of His people, as it is stated: "And the Lord was jealous for His people." For He sees that they are in great distress in their exile. "And avenging." That He will take vengeance from the king of Assyria and his descendants, for even though it was by the will of God, blessed be He, that they were exiled, as it says, "Assyria is the rod of My anger" (Isaiah 10:5), he added to do more evil than was proper, as it says, "I was angry but a little, and they helped for evil" (Zechariah 1:15). "The Lord will take vengeance..." The repetition of the matter is to strengthen [the idea], and some say that it recalls three acts of vengeance corresponding to the three exiles: the King of Assyria exiled Israel, and their oppressors and enemies are the Kings of Assyria in this context. And likewise He did to all the enemies of Israel, as He did to the King of Egypt and to the King of Babylon, and to the rest of those who acted maliciously toward Israel. And the enemies of Israel are the enemies of God, and their oppressors are His oppressors. "And He bears a grudge." Like "a guardian," meaning: even though He does not exact vengeance from His enemies immediately, He keeps their sin in reserve until the time when He will take vengeance from them or from their children. "Jealous" [קַנּוֹא] is a descriptive term, like "for the LORD's name is Jealous" (Exodus 34:14), except that they are two different [grammatical] patterns.

“Jealous God, etc.” – The Lord is a God who is angry and avenges; and He repeated it, saying, “The Lord is an avenger, etc.” "The Lord takes vengeance on His enemies." This means that He takes vengeance only on His enemies, and bears a grudge against His foes, namely the gentiles; but not so with Israel, His people.

Kanno: The meaning is anger, as it is said, "They made Me jealous with what is no god" (Deuteronomy 32:21). "And He guards." The matter of guarding enmity is like [the commandment]: "You shall not take vengeance, nor bear a grudge" (Leviticus 19:18).

"אל" — First, he introduces and prefaces his book with the words, "The Lord is a jealous God and avenging," meaning that He possesses two attributes: a] jealousy over His desecrated Name, and b] vengeance for the evil done against Him. There is a distinction between them: insofar as He takes vengeance for the evil that the wicked have actually committed, He does not prolong His anger; rather, the Lord is avenging—He takes vengeance immediately, so that they do not persist in their evil and destroy the world. But insofar as He is jealous for the honor of His Name, He does not take vengeance immediately; rather, He is one who bears wrath. For the definition of "wrath" is that He keeps the anger in His heart and does not bring it to action to punish for it, which is termed "anger." He explains these two matters: "He is avenging to His adversaries and He retains [wrath] to His enemies," for there is a difference between an "adversary" and an "enemy." An adversary is one who oppresses in actual deed, whereas an enemy is one who desires his harm in his heart but does not oppress in actual deed. It is conceivable to have an adversary who is not an enemy, if he oppresses him for his own benefit, not out of enmity; and an enemy who is not an adversary, if he does not do him actual harm. As for the Lord, those who commit evils in actual deed between man and his fellow are called the adversaries of the Lord, and it is conceivable that they are not enemies, but merely act for their own benefit. Those who deny Him willfully and dispute the faith in the Lord are called His enemies, and it is conceivable that they do not commit actual evil between man and his fellow. There is also a difference between vengeance and retention: retention is the keeping of hatred in the heart, whereas vengeance is taking vengeance in actual deed. Therefore, the verse states: "To His adversaries," who commit evils in actual deed, the Lord takes vengeance immediately and does not wait for them; but "to His enemies," who deny His divinity and do not commit actual harm, He retains wrath in His heart and does not punish immediately.

"The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in strength." "Abundant in strength" means that He possesses the power, and the ability is in His hand, to take vengeance; and the reason He did not hasten His vengeance is because He is slow to anger. Nevertheless, He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. "The Lord in His storm and tempest, His way"—these are His agents to take vengeance upon His enemies, as it is stated regarding Egypt (Exodus 14:21), "with a strong east wind," and regarding the generation of the Flood (Job 4:9), "they perish by the breath of God." Regarding Tyre, it is stated (Ezekiel 26), "An east wind has broken you." "And a cloud of dust from His feet." This too is a manner of His vengeance, as it is said, "And He looked upon the camp of Egypt in the pillar of fire and cloud" (Exodus 14:24), and as it is said, "It is the cloud that covers her" (Ezekiel 30:18).

The reason is true, that He is slow to anger and great in power. The reason is twofold: by way of a parable, like a person who has great power; then he will rule over his anger. And so it is written in the Torah: “Now let the power of the Lord be great,” and it is written after it: “The Lord is slow to anger.” And even though He will be long-suffering with the wicked, He will not clear them. And the meaning of “in the storm” is: it is like a parable of swiftness in a stormy wind. "And a cloud of dust under His feet" – this is a metaphor for the swift movement of the clouds. The meaning is: regarding the decrees that come from Heaven swiftly, which are above the clouds.

"The Lord is slow to anger." This is His attribute: He delays His anger against the wicked. "And great in strength." It is a great strength to endure His anger, so that He does not take vengeance immediately. And so Moses our teacher, peace be upon him, said, "Let the strength of the LORD, I pray, be great" (Numbers 14:17), and after this it says, "the LORD is slow to anger..." [Numbers 14:18]. [The word] "great" is written with a vav, but read without a vav, with a chataf-qamats under the dalet, because of its being joined to a word accented on the penultimate syllable. "Yet He does not remit all punishment." Even though He is long-suffering toward the wicked, as He was long-suffering toward the kings of Assyria, in the end He took vengeance upon them. "The Lord is in His storm and tempest; His way is in the whirlwind and the storm." When He comes upon His enemies to destroy them, He comes quickly, swiftly, in an instant, like the coming of the storm and the tempest. "And the cloud is the dust of His feet." Its meaning is the meaning of darkness, as it is said, "And there was the cloud and the darkness" (Exodus 14:20). "The dust of His feet": the decrees that come, by His causing, upon the enemies are for them darkness and gloom, and He likens them to the dust that falls from beneath the feet.

"The Lord is slow to anger." This means: Indeed, the Lord is long-suffering and does not hasten to exact retribution for the wicked, even though His power is great and it is in His hand to take vengeance at any time. "And he shall not cleanse him" – meaning, he does not cleanse him completely, so as to entirely absolve the wicked person. "In whirlwind and storm is His way." His course is in a wind of tempest and storm; this means that when He comes to punish the nations, He brings a wind of tempest and storm to stir them up and to destroy them quickly. "And a cloud of dust from his feet." This means that the decrees which come upon the gentiles as a result of his actions are to him like darkness and gloom, like a cloud; and he compares them to the dust that falls beneath the feet.

"Basufah" [storm]. This is what a mighty wind is called. "U'vis'arah" [and in the storm]. Like "b'se'arah," with a samekh; and this too [refers to] a strong wind. "Avak" [dust] – fine dust.

“The Lord is slow to anger.” This explains the matter of forbearance, whereby He prolongs His anger and does not punish immediately. This is because He is great in power, as it is stated, “Now let the strength of the Lord be great, as You have spoken, saying, ‘The Lord is slow to anger.’” The slowness of anger indicates the greatness of His power to endure now and to punish always at the time He wills, for flesh and blood cannot prolong their anger due to their limited power to endure. And because they fear that tomorrow they will not have the strength to punish, for their strength is not enduring, but the Lord, because He is abundant in power, is slow to anger. Nevertheless, “He will by no means clear the guilty,” for in the end He will punish and destroy His enemies when their measure is full. He intended by this that although the Lord prolonged His patience toward Nineveh from the time Jonah prophesied against her, even though at that time they only repented of the violence that was in their hands, and did not repent of the service of other gods, as stated there. For concerning idolatry, heresy, and denial of the faith, He waits until their measure is full, and their iniquity was not yet complete until now. Only regarding the violence, for which they are called by the name of oppressors, did He desire to destroy them immediately within forty days. Therefore, He presented the attribute of the Lord and His conduct in punishing the wicked, and how He prolonged His anger toward them until their end came. Now He will begin to present the nature of His punishment and vengeance, and He depicts the coming of the Lord and His revelation to destroy the wicked in three degrees, one after the other. Each degree He depicts with a different terrifying, shaking, and very frightening image. And this is because He clothed His speech in frightening visions, as if the four pillars, the foundations of the earth, which are the four elements, go out with Him to devastate and destroy all the face of the earth. (The first degree) He depicts the arousal of the Lord to descend from the heights of the heavens to the earth to devastate it. And he depicts [the verse] “the goings of my God, my King, into the holy place,” together with the two elements by which the poets depict His way and His going — the element of wind and the element of water. And of this it says, “The Lord, in the whirlwind and the storm, is His way.” The way He will go to the earth is in the whirlwind and the storm, and He rides on a light cloud that carries the element of water, which is the cloud. And it is the dust of His feet, as if in His running He raises dust, and it is the cloud. That is to say, then the two elements that sometimes devastate settlements will be aroused, such as a storm arising, uprooting mountains and breaking rocks, or a flow of clouds and a flood and deluge of waters.

"He rebukes the sea." According to its plain meaning, it serves as an analogy regarding the gentiles, who are likened to waters, as it is stated (Isaiah 17:12): "The nations are like a roaring of waters that are mighty, they roar." "And all the rivers He destroyed." Here it prophesies that the Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to establish Nebuchadnezzar as king (Jeremiah 25) in the days of Jehoiakim, and He will deliver Assyria and all the lands to the sword. "Wretched are Bashan and Carmel." The dwellings of the good. "And the blossoms of Lebanon wither." The Sages of Israel interpreted this as referring to the various types of dainties [choice fruit trees] that Solomon planted in the Temple, which were made of gold; and when the nations entered the Sanctuary, they withered.

“Goeir vayavshehu” – it is spelled without a yod, in order to avoid the joining of two yods, and it is from the heavy, dagesh-containing binyan. “Tivash” means “it dried up,” for when one says “ya’aved” and “ya’avedem,” so too it would have been proper to say “vayavshehu”; only it would not be fitting to join two yods. And now it recounts the power of God in the sea and on the dry land, that there is none who can stand before Him. And the meaning of “Bashan languishes” is: because of “and He dried up all the rivers” — and this thing, that He dried up the rivers due to the withholding of rain from the land, this very thing caused Bashan and Carmel to languish, of all the fruit of the crops.

He rebukes the sea and dries it up. And how could He not do with the kings of Assyria as He wills? Behold, He rebukes the sea, which is a mighty creation among the creations of the earth, and when He wills, He makes it dry land, as He did with the Sea of Reeds, and He uses the language of rebuke regarding it, like a master rebuking his servant. And it is said, "And He rebuked the Sea of Reeds, and it was dried up." And behold, He overturns nature and custom. All the more so can He cause one nation to rule over another to destroy it, for this does not involve an overturning of nature and custom. And all the rivers He laid waste. And if His power and might were sufficient to overturn the nature of the sea, all the more so regarding rivers, which are not as mighty as the sea, that He would lay them waste and turn them into dry land whenever He desired, by overturning nature, as He did with the Jordan; and also without overturning nature, as when He would withhold the heavens so that there would be no rain, and the rivers would dry up. "Bashan and Carmel languish, and the blossom of Lebanon languishes." And then, when the rain is withheld, the pastureland languishes, and there will be no grass or herbage or any greenery; and likewise the blossoms of the trees of Lebanon will dry up. And although the verse's meaning is according to its plain sense, it is also an allegory for the kings of the nations and the multitude of peoples. [As for] "vayyavshehu" [He dried it up, from earlier in the verse] — it is from the doubled [intensive] form, whose rule would be "vayyibbeshu," with the vocalizing of the two yods; but because of the heaviness of that vocalization, they dropped the root's yod and placed its vowel upon the enduring [preformative] yod. And my master and father, of blessed memory, wrote that it is from the hif'il binyan, whose rule would be "vayyavshehu."

“He rebukes the sea” etc. This is an allegory for the cutting off of the princes from Nineveh. “Bashan languishes,” etc. These are places of rich pasture, and it is an allegory for the destruction of the wealthy. "And the blossom," etc. This means that their success will be exhausted.

"Rebukes." The matter of a cry of reproof: "He desolated" [dried up]. The meaning is dryness, as in "the waters were dried up" (Genesis 8). "Amlal." The meaning is cutting off, as in "for I languish" (Psalms 6:3). Lebanon. A name for a forest:

“Rebuking” – He depicts that He will bring desolation both in the sea and on dry land; that is, He rebukes the sea and dries it up, and He lays waste the rivers. Even though at the time of the flood and the breaking of the clouds the rivers will fill with water and pour into the sea, He will do the opposite: although the flow of the sea has passed and flooded the land, the rivers will be laid waste, and their waters will not descend into the sea, and the sea will dry up. And similarly, He will bring desolation on dry land, for then Bashan and Carmel will languish, for through the storm, and the flow of hail, and the tempest of destruction, all the fields of grain and the blossoms of the trees will be cut down, as it is stated: “The voice of the LORD is upon the waters ... the voice of the LORD breaks the cedars,” etc. (Psalms 29:3, 5).

The mountains quaked at Him. The kings and princes of the Chaldeans will tremble at His decree. "And the land lifted up." [This refers to] a rising column of smoke.

"Mountains" – Rabbi Marinus said: "the earth bore dread before Him" – like: "I have borne your terror, I fear [it]." And the correct interpretation in my view is: "[the earth] bore a conflagration," meaning that the earth was burned; and so too: "David and his men carried them away," meaning: "and they burned them." And the reason is because it stated at first "and possessor of wrath" [i.e., fierce in wrath] — the One who burns the earth with His wrath, in the manner of: "and his wrath burned within him," and the proof [is]...

Mountains. Even the mountains, which are the pillars in the foundation of the earth, trembled at Him; if He wills, they will tremble and fall. This is what is meant by “when the earth quakes,” and all is according to His will. They melted. They liquefied: "And the earth lifted up." [This means] "and it was consumed by fire," similar to "And David and his men carried them away," except that this verb [ותשא] is intransitive; and the matter is the destruction of the land, as it is stated, "brimstone and salt, a burning of all its land," etc., as if it were burned, so that no vegetation would grow in it, or that it would be literally like Sodom and Gomorrah.

"The mountains trembled." From His fear, the mountains tremble, and the hills melt away. This is also an allusion to the princes of Nineveh, and the matter is repeated in what is stated: "And the earth quaked before Him." The earth will be burned up because of the fire of His wrath; and this is an allegory for the magnitude of the trembling and destruction. "And the world." This is the portion of the earth inhabited by human beings.

They melted away. The term is from the language of "melting" and "dissolving": "Vatisa." The meaning is burning, as in "Raise a signal" (Jeremiah 6).

"Mountains" (the second stage): when He arrived on His way upon the tops of the lofty mountains, at which time He was near to the earth. By this, the third destroyer is depicted, which went forth into action, and it is the element of earth. When He stood upon the tops of the mountains, they would quake from Him; and also the hills, which are lower than the mountains, would melt away. This means that at that time the element of earth would quake, and the earthquake of the earth would be formed. It would begin in the mountains, where earthquakes are most prevalent, and afterward it would spread to the hills. He adds, "The earth would lift itself up before Him," as if the entire earth would raise itself from its place to rise before Him, like one who rises respectfully before a great king. And with it, the whole world and its inhabitants would rise. This indicates that at that time the earth would quake in its entirety, and its pillars would tremble. This is a depiction of a general destruction caused by an earthquake of the element of earth.

Natakha [poured out]. It reached the ground, as it is written (Exodus 9:33): "and the rain did not pour upon the land." They were shattered from him. From his fear:

"Before His wrath, who can stand?" – and all of this describes the Lord’s fierce anger against Nineveh.

Before His anger. It is clear that it is [to be read] as if it said "before Him": "His anger was melted like fire." Now, fire itself is not melted, but rather it melts [other things]. Therefore, the explanation is that His anger was melted upon His enemies, like something that is melted by fire. And so did Jonathan [Targum Yonatan] render it. Furthermore, we can interpret "was melted like fire" without any word missing, meaning the fire of lightning, which pours and runs from above to below in an instant. And similarly, it says elsewhere, "They shall run like lightning." And it speaks metaphorically of the anger of God, which was melted upon His enemies: "and He shall send out arrows and scatter them, and lightning, and confound them." Or its meaning is as if the words were inverted, [reading] "His anger, like fire, was melted" — that is, His anger, which is like fire, was melted upon His enemies, and "the rocks were shattered from Him" according to its plain sense. Or it is a metaphor, as we have explained.

"Who will stand?"—Who will be able to endure before His wrath? "And who shall stand..." The matter is repeated in what is stated: "Poured out like fire." It is poured out to consume and destroy, like fire that goes on burning. “And the rocks.” The rocks were shattered and broken by Me; that is to say, those who possess strength will be weakened and destroyed.

"Nitkha." The meaning is melting and pouring, as in "My wrath was poured out" (ibid. 44). And the crags. The term is derived from "tzur" (rock) and "sela" (cliff). They were shattered. The verb is from the root meaning shattering and breaking:

"Before." (The third degree), for the Judge has already come to the land and judged them according to their deeds, pouring upon them wrath, fury, and distress. And through this, the fourth destroyer is depicted, who goes forth to devastate and destroy; he is the element of fire. There is a distinction between "af" (wrath), "chamah" (fury), and "ze'am" (anger). "Chamah" is the internal anger restrained within the heart. When this anger is revealed outwardly, it is called "af," at which point punishment is decreed. The curse itself and the punishment are called "ze'am." This is what is meant by: "Who can stand before His anger?"—referring to the punishment itself. It adds, "Who can endure in the heat of His wrath?"—even though He has not yet poured out His "ze'am." It further adds that even His internal "chamah," although it has not yet emerged outwardly, is nevertheless melted like fire. It depicts the "chamah" as a burning fire restrained within the ancient mountains, consuming down to the great abyss. For when the fire is melted by means of sulfur and other fiery substances found in the depths of the earth and the land, it will vomit forth the entities within its womb. Then His "chamah" will be melted like fire cast from mountains that spew forth fire, whereby solid things are melted until even the strong rocks are shattered by it and rise up as flying dust to devastate and annihilate all their surroundings.

"The Lord is good to a stronghold." Even when He exacts retribution from His enemies, His mercy does not cease from doing good to those who fear Him. This is unlike the manner of flesh and blood, for when a human being is occupied with one matter, he is not free to attend to another. This is as it is stated (Exodus 15:3): "The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is His name," as it is expounded in the Mekhilta. "And He knows." The needs of those who take refuge in Him:

"Good" – The meaning is that all His enemies He will destroy in the fury of His anger, when His wrath is poured out, when He becomes indignant with them and brings distress upon them, and the fearful ones will be delivered. And this is what is meant by "a stronghold," as it is written: "tower of strength." "And those who take refuge in Him" – [this phrase] is connected to "stronghold," and the verse adds the word "and He knows," for He alone knows the secrets of the heart and recognizes those who take refuge in Him.

"The Lord is good." The sense of the verse extends to its end, meaning: Israel, who take refuge in Him, shall find the Lord good to them, and He shall be their stronghold in the day of distress from the kings of Assyria. For even though the kingdom of Assyria will be destroyed, Israel, who are in exile in the land of Assyria, will escape the sword of Nebuchadnezzar. "And He is mindful of those who take refuge in Him." He knows them and recognizes them for good, and He watches over them. Similarly, "For the LORD knows the way of the righteous." [The construct form] "chosei bo" [those-who-take-refuge-of Him] is attached to a servile letter. Likewise [the construct forms in] "all who take refuge in You," "O mountains of Gilboa," "those weaned from milk," and words similar to them.

"The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble..." This means that even on a day of distress, when He is engaged in bringing judgment, nevertheless He is good at that time to serve as a stronghold and strength, and He gives heed to know those who take refuge in Him, to prepare for them salvation and help. This is not like flesh and blood, before whom no one can stand in the time of his anger, and who does not then give heed to do good to anyone.

To the stronghold. The matter is of strength: Chosei. The matter of trust:

Good. After this terrible picture that was painted, that the general place, which is the earth, rose into chaos and was lost, and there is no place or standing for all the universe that is on the face of the earth, one asks: On what will the inhabitants of the world now stand? Has the earth not crumbled and collapsed? He answers: In the day of distress, the Lord is good as a stronghold; it is good to stand upon the Lord, for He is now the place of the world, and upon Him the created beings will stand and find a stronghold and refuge. And "He knows those who take refuge in Him" means that this stronghold in which they will now find strength, which is the Lord, is superior to the stronghold that a person finds in a natural thing, for that stronghold does not know who takes refuge in it. But the Lord is a stronghold that knows who takes refuge in Him and watches over him with particular providence. That is to say, in this general destruction, He will watch with an eye of compassion to save those who trust in Him and to rescue them from every enemy.

"And in the flood that passes by." And with a sweeping fury: "He will make a complete end of her place." [Referring] to the land; and this refers back to "and the earth heaved before Him," as stated above.

And concerning "in the flood" – it refers to a rushing stream. "All at once it shall be done" – not little by little. And his enemies—darkness shall pursue them, along with them and after them; or it shall drive them into a place of darkness, so that they shall not be seen when the calamity comes upon them.

And “in a flood it shall pass over.” The site of Nineveh, which is mentioned, He will wash away in one go with a flood, until He makes its site desolate, so that its location will not be recognizable as the place where the city once stood. "Yirdef" [He shall chase]. The verb is transitive to a third [party]: God is the one who causes the pursuit, the darkness is the pursuer, and the enemies are the pursued. And "choshekh" [darkness] is a metaphor for great distress.

And with a flood passing over. Behold, with a flood of many waters, he will make desolate the place of Nineveh, which was mentioned at the beginning of the prophecy; that is, the enemy who is coming, and he is Nebuchadnezzar—he will destroy everything, just as a passing flood sweeps away all, leaving nothing remaining. “And his enemies.” The darkness will pursue his enemies, namely the people of Assyria.

"And in the flood." The matter of causing the waters to flow, like "a rushing stream" (ibid. 47):

In the context of a flood passing by, with the image that depicted the Lord as a stronghold from distress, it also depicts Him as passing through the flood to destroy the distress. That is to say, at the time that the Lord passes through the flood and torrent of waters, until He makes its place (that of the distress) desolate, meaning that by means of the flood He destroys the place from which the distress came upon the entire world, which is the land of Assyria. And He will pursue His enemies in darkness, and this is an image of the torrent of the waters of the Tigris that then flooded Nineveh by the decree of the Lord, and all the inhabitants of the city fled as if their path was dark and slippery, and the angel of the Lord pursued them, as has been explained in verse 1.

He makes it a complete end. For Nineveh and the kings of Assyria will not experience another such occurrence again.

What? He says to the men of Nineveh: "You do not know God's thoughts, for He brings destruction all at once, and there is no need for Him to bring calamity upon you twice, for in a single act you will be cut off."

"What do you think?" He [the prophet] spoke against His enemies, who are the men of Nineveh: "What do you think — concerning the LORD who decrees this evil upon you — do you think that He will not be able to do this?" — just as the king of Assyria said, "Will the LORD save Jerusalem from my hand?" "An utter end He is making." Know that He is bringing utter destruction upon you. It shall not be the case that distress comes upon you repeatedly. For in a single instance it will consume you.

What will you reckon? This means: You, the men of Nineveh, what will you reckon against the Lord who has decreed this destruction upon you? If you plan to save yourselves from His hand, know that He is bringing complete ruin upon you, and the calamity will not arise twice; for in one single instance He will utterly destroy you.

What do you calculate against the Lord? Why do you calculate this thought? See, regarding the Lord, as if He went forth to do evil, to devour, and to destroy. This is not His attribute, for truly His intention is not to do evil. Rather, He is doing this so that the distress will not rise up twice. In this manner, He exhausts the distress, which is the kingdom of Assyria, which was the distress of the world. And through this flood, He exhausts the distress so that it will not rise up twice. Although after this defeat it rose up once more, behold, it will return and be destroyed a second time by Nebuchadnezzar, and the second time it will not rise up again. For the distress will rise up only once, not twice.

"For [like] tangled thorns." That is to say, a plague will come upon them suddenly, and they will not descend from their glory little by little; for as long as the thorns and thistles are entangled, they are firmly rooted. "And with their drink they are drunk." And they are still at their feasts and their rejoicing. And there are those who explain that the word "סירים" (in "until סירים") is an expression of removal. "They are consumed like dry straw." [Referring to grain] which became full [ripened] and completed its ripening, and dried out. "Full." In Old French, "ashuvir." And likewise, "your fullness" (Exodus 22:28) refers to the ripening of the seed.

"Ki" – this is like a parable of dry, full straw. Just as dryness is akin to completion, when drunkards are present, fire will come and consume everything in a single moment. And behold, "sirim" means tangled thorns, from the root of being caught in a thicket. And the word *sevu'im* is an adjective, like: "who dwell in tents," and likewise *atzum* and *arukh*. "And like their drink." [Meaning:] as they are drinking. "They were consumed" – together they were burned by fire when they were entangled with one another, like tangled thorns, and they would be entangled in their drunkenness; then it would be easy for them to be burned by fire together, like completely dry straw due to the excessive dryness of the thorns and the heat of their intoxication. And behold, He gave a parable from water and from fire, and all this was on account of the King of Nineveh, who exiled Israel and planned to destroy the remnant of Judah, and this is it.

"For until tangled thorns." They will come to be likened to tangled thorns, meaning thorns that are intertwined together, so that a person cannot remove them from their place, as it is stated: "For they shall not be taken by hand." And what will a person do with them? He will burn them with fire in their place, as it is stated, "they shall be utterly burned in their place." So too will the Assyrians be, who used to afflict the inhabitants of the world like one who touches thorns: when the time of their destruction comes, they will be utterly consumed, so that nothing will remain of them, just like thorns or like dry straw whose time for reaping has arrived, which will be burned quickly and very easily, and neither from the thorns nor from the straw will anything remain—neither charcoal nor ashes. For they will not produce charcoal due to their fineness, and even the little ash they do produce will be carried off by the wind, quickly and easily. So too will the Assyrians be. And regarding what it says, "And their drunkards shall be drunk," it means that they will be like drunkards falling to the ground, lacking the strength to fight against their enemies who come upon them, and they will be consumed quickly, like thorns or like dry straw ready for harvest.

"For until the thorns are entangled." While the thorns are entangled and clinging to one another, meaning: while people are at the height of their strength, gathered together in one united group. "And as their drink, they are drunk." Just as those who are engaged in drunkenness from wine suddenly become consumed like dry straw that has become full and complete in its dryness, making it easy to burn:

Sirim. A type of thorns, as it says, “like the voice of the sirim” (Ecclesiastes 7): Tangled. The matter refers to grasping and binding, as well as the tangles of the forest (Isaiah 10): "And like their drink, they are sodden." The matter concerns the drinking of intoxicating beverages, as it is written: "and let us drink strong drink" (ibid. 26). "Ukklu." "Ne'echalu" means: they were burned. "Complete." The concept of completeness; that is to say, it is completed by its cooking/boiling.

For until the tangled thorns, for through this flood Sardanapalus was terrified and despaired, and he arranged a pile of thorns, cut down, kindled in fire, and he and all his household ascended onto the pyre and were burned there. And with this it depicted that the king and all his household were then drinking and became intoxicated, as was their custom, for they were always among wine-drinkers. And from their intoxication they came until the tangled thorns, which are the pile of thorns and the bonfire of fire. And although the drinkers were like their drink, meaning drunkards, nevertheless, when they approached the tangled thorns, they were consumed like dry, full straw, meaning like straw that has completed its days of growth and dried out, which then burns immediately upon smelling the fire, and the moisture from the wine became like dryness.

From you. You, Nineveh: "[He] went forth." Sennacherib, who plotted evil, intended to destroy the dwelling below and above. One verse states (II Kings 19:23), "And I will come to the end of his lodging place," and another verse states (Isaiah 37:24), "And I will come to the end of his height": first I will destroy the dwelling below, and afterward the dwelling above, as stated in [the chapter] Chelek (Sanhedrin, page 94).

"Mimach" – It is well known that the words of Rabshakeh were spoken on behalf of his master, as stated in the Book of Kings, where the King of Assyria sent him to blaspheme the Name of the Lord.

“From you it came forth.” This refers to Nineveh: “All this recompense shall be yours for your evil that you have done to Israel.” And “from you it came forth” refers to the king who conceived evil against the Lord, who came upon the Land of Israel and devastated it, and who plotted to capture Jerusalem. And the phrase “against the Lord” means both against the people of the Lord and against the Lord Himself. Initially, he conceived evil against the Lord, saying that He would not be able to save Jerusalem from his hand. He was scheming and plotting evil against the Blessed Lord, uttering worthless and wicked words.

“From you, etc.” You are Nineveh. From you emerged Sennacherib, who plotted evil against the Lord to destroy the Holy Temple, and devised wicked counsel to send [messengers] to blaspheme against the Above, as it is stated (in Kings II and in Isaiah):

Belial: "Without the yoke of Heaven," meaning: a wicked person.

“From you,” He turns His face toward the city of Nineveh and says to it: “Behold, from you has come forth this wicked man, who is devising evil against the Lord, to deny the existence of the Lord and His providence, and he is counseling counsel of Belial to cast off the yoke and to commit all abominations.”

"If they are at peace, and so many." The Targum of Jonathan sits well with the verse: "If they are at peace in counsel, that they are all equal in one accord; and likewise if the men of Nineveh, your enemies, are very many, O Jerusalem; and likewise even if they cut through the Tigris and cross the Euphrates to besiege it, they will not succeed, for I have afflicted you and I will not afflict you again." And I have further heard: "If the men of Nineveh are at peace in their greatness, and likewise if they are yet more numerous and more honored"; and likewise "they are cut off and pass away," and likewise "I will cut them off and cause them to pass away" — this is like (Exodus 1:12), "And the more they afflicted it, the more it increased." "And I will afflict you no more." I will afflict you this one time, completely and decisively, and I will have no further need of you. Our Sages interpreted this in relation to the act of charity, in tractate Gittin, but it is not in the order of the rest of the prophecy.

"Thus." If the men of Nineveh had been at peace until this day and were likewise many — these are the words of Hashem to the congregation of Israel: so shall they be cut off, being one of the geminate [doubled-root] verbs, like "they were rolled up like a scroll." And it passed – like an incident that has passed and will not return. "And I afflicted you; I will not afflict you anymore" — through him.

"Thus said the Lord." [This is] said in reference to Jerusalem: [the meaning of] "if whole" is — if the camp of Assyria coming upon you is whole/intact, just as they are now at ease, they will not fear any man, for they have conquered all the lands. And so too, many. And likewise, they are numerous in number; and just as they were cut down and passed away, so shall they be cut down swiftly, and all their might and strength shall pass away. And thus it is stated: “And the angel of the Lord went out and smote in the camp of the Assyrians…” "And I have afflicted you." And if I have afflicted you through him, since he conquered all the land of Israel except for Jerusalem, "I will not afflict you again" — I will not afflict you again through him, for he and all his army have perished.

"If they are wholehearted." If the people of Nineveh are united in one mind and in a common, agreed-upon counsel, and moreover if they are numerous in number, for all of these factors are causes of victory. "And likewise they shall be cut off." This means: Nevertheless, they shall be cut off and severed, as I have stated, and the people shall pass from the world. "And I will afflict you." This means: I will answer you with ultimate affliction and destruction, so that I will no longer need to afflict you, for at that time you will be utterly and completely destroyed. This is analogous to his statement, "Trouble shall not arise twice" [Nahum 1:9].

Shelamim. From the root of shalom: And likewise, "they were cut down." The vav is used in place of "nevertheless," as it is written regarding the ants: "Though they have no strength, yet they prepare their bread in the summer" (Proverbs 30:25). "Negazu." The word is derived from the root "gazaza" (to shear) and denotes cutting off. And your affliction. The word is derived from the root meaning oppression and suffering.

Thus says the Lord: Therefore it was decreed upon Nineveh that it should become a desolation, and therefore the terror of the Lord came upon them and they all fled. Even though they were at peace and they were numerous, for they were a great people and none of them were diminished in war, since they did not fight at all, nevertheless they were destroyed and fled from the city, just as the king who plotted evil against the Lord passed by. And according to the opinion of those who say that Sardanapalus, in whose time this incident occurred, was Esarhaddon, son of Sennacherib, we may explain that the speaker addresses Sennacherib directly, in the second person, saying to him: "You, who plot evil against the Lord! From you came forth an evil counselor," meaning Esarhaddon, who counseled evil to cast off the yoke; he came from you. You, Sennacherib, who plotted evil against the Lord and sent messengers to blaspheme the living God, therefore thus says the Lord: If even the peaceful and the numerous were destroyed, therefore so too shall the evil counselor pass by. Meaning: Surely in this death, which is a death by burning, the peaceful and the numerous from Sennacherib's camp were destroyed from the world, for the angel who went out and struck the camp of Assyria burned them all, according to the tradition of our Sages of blessed memory. Therefore, "and he too shall pass over the fire." (The language of "passing over the fire" is used because it was their practice to pass children through the fire to Molech, and Sennacherib himself intended to do so with his sons, which is why they struck him with a sword, as it is stated (Isaiah 30:33) in what it says, "For long ago the fire is prepared, and it is also made ready for the King." And this means that this death, to be burned on the pyre, was prepared for him from the days of his father.) "And I afflicted you": He turns His face to Israel, saying that what I afflicted you with through Assyria, I will afflict you no more. And this is very fitting if we say that this incident occurred in the time of Esarhaddon, for then Assyria ceased to afflict Israel. And even if we say that it occurred earlier, in any case they ceased to afflict them at that time, when his intention was to fight against Israel and afflict them, and through the destruction of Nineveh his plan was nullified at that time.

“And now I will break his yoke from off you.” The Divine Presence says this to the prophet who is an Israelite: “I will break the staff of Assyria from off you and from My people.”

"And now" – it is written in the days of Hezekiah: "that which remains of Assyria and Egypt."

"And now I will break his yoke." The bar and the yoke that he was placing upon your neck, now I will break it. The matter is doubled in what is stated, saying, "And I will snap your cords," and it says "his yoke" and it says "your cords," because the pronominal suffixes attach to nouns, [referring] both to the agent and to the object. Similarly, "And I will make them rejoice in My house of prayer," [and] "I have heard your prayer."

"And now" – this means in the near future I will break his yoke from upon you, Israel. This means that your distress and your bonds – the bonds by which you were bound – I will remove from you; that is to say, you will no longer be subjugated to Assyria.

“His staff.” Its meaning is the poles of the yoke, like the “bonds” and “bars” (Jeremiah 27): "And your bonds" – they are the bindings of the straps of the yoke. Antek. The matter of the removal from its place:

"And now I will break his yoke" — the yoke of Assyria, which is the burden of taxes and servitude; "and I will burst your bonds asunder" — I will remove the fetters with which you were bound because of fear of his bands and soldiers. (And if this event occurred in the days of Manasseh, as stated above, the yoke was broken completely, for from then on the rule of Assyria over Israel ceased; and if it was before that, it means that in any case now I will break it, for what came afterward, when Sennacherib came against them, was in the future time.)

"And the Lord has commanded you." Now the discourse is directed to the king of Assyria: None shall be sown from your name any more. A king shall not arise from you: "From your God's house I will cut off idol and image. And I will make your God's house your grave; there you will flee to escape, and there you will be killed, as it is written regarding your father, who was killed in the house of Nisroch, his god." "For they are light": In My eyes.

"And He commanded" – Now He spoke to the king of Nineveh, and the meaning of "and He commanded" is that He decreed. "It shall not be sown" – meaning that his seed, which is called by his name, shall not stand. "I will place your grave" – in the house of your god, as it says in the Book of Kings: "And it came to pass, as he was bowing down in the house of Nisroch his god, that he struck him with the sword."

"And He commanded concerning you." This is said [addressed] to the king of Assyria. "No seed shall be sown from your name anymore." For no seed of yours will remain to be called by the name of kingship, for the king of Assyria was struck down by his sons with the sword, and they fled and escaped to the land of Ararat. "From the house of your God I will cut off idol and graven image." For he was put to death in the house of Nisroch his god, and once he was put to death there, that house ceased to be a place where idol and graven image would remain. And since he was put to death there by the will of God, blessed be He, who stirred the spirit of his sons to kill him there, it is as if God, blessed be He, had cut off from there idol and graven image. And likewise, "I will place your grave" — and the meaning of "there" is: in the house of your god I will place your grave. "For you have become worthless." You were made light and despised, for your children will kill you; moreover, [that this happened] in your God's house is an even greater disgrace and humiliation. This is the punishment, for you treated Me lightly in your words, saying, 'I cannot save Jerusalem from your hand,' and you set Me as one of the gods of the nations of the lands.

"And the Lord commanded you." Opposite the king of Assyria, it says: "No posterity shall continue your name." This means: No one from your seed shall reign. I will cut off idol and image. For it shall become a desolation: "I will set your grave." This means: I will provide for you a grave that is unique to you, for I will fight against you. "For you are worthless." You were light in your mind, to send forth to curse upward; therefore I will take vengeance from you.

Lightness. From the root קל:

"And the Lord has commanded concerning you" – He turned His face toward Sardanapalus, saying: "The Lord has commanded and decreed concerning you that none of your name shall be sown again," meaning that no king from your descendants shall arise who will be called by your name, for he is blotted out, along with his seed, and his name shall not be mentioned anymore. "From the house of your gods I will cut off idols and images," which was the custom of kings to set up statues of themselves in the house of their gods, and they would honor their statue and attribute divinity to it. Then they removed every statue that served as a sign of his honor; on the contrary, they placed a defamatory statue on his grave to indicate his contemptibility and disgrace, as mentioned in the chronicles of historical accounts. And this is what it says: "I will set up an idol and an image (a memorial) for your grave," meaning that it will serve as a memorial, for it is extremely contemptible and despised.