Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament, 6.1. Группа авторов
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Journal for the Evangelical Study
of the Old Testament
JESOT is published bi-annually online at www.jesot.org and in print
by Wipf and Stock Publishers.
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ISBN 978-1-7252-6256-0
© 2020 by Wipf and Stock Publishers
JESOT is an international, peer-reviewed journal devoted to the academic and evangelical study of the Old Testament. The journal seeks to publish current academic research in the areas of ancient Near Eastern backgrounds, Dead Sea Scrolls, Rabbinics, Linguistics, Septuagint, Research Methodology, Literary Analysis, Exegesis, Text Criticism, and Theology as they pertain only to the Old Testament. The journal seeks to provide a venue for high-level scholarship on the Old Testament from an evangelical standpoint. The journal is not affiliated with any particular academic institution, and with an international editorial board, online format, and multi-language submissions, JESOT seeks to cultivate Old Testament scholarship in the evangelical global community.
JESOT is indexed in Old Testament Abstracts, Christian Periodical Index, The Ancient World Online (AWOL), and EBSCO databases
Journal for the Evangelical Study
of the Old Testament
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Executive Editor
STEPHEN J. ANDREWS
(Midwestern Baptist Theological
Seminary, USA)
Editor
RUSSELL L. MEEK
(Ohio Theological Institute, USA)
Book Review Editor
Andrew M. KING
(Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, USA)
Ron Haydon
(Wheaton College, USA)
Editorial Board
T. DESMOND ALEXANDER (Union Theological College, Queens University, Ireland)
GEORGE ATHAS (Moore College, Australia)
ELLIS R. BROTZMAN (Emeritus, Tyndale Theological Seminary, The Netherlands)
HÉLÈNE DALLAIRE (Denver Seminary, USA)
Matthew Emerson (Oklahoma Baptist University, USA)
JOHN F. EVANS (Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology, Kenya)
Christopher J. Fresch (Bible College of South Australia, Australia)
KYLE GREENWOOD (Colorado Christian University, USA)
JOHN HOBBINS (University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh, USA)
JENS BRUUN KOFOED (Fjellhaug International University College, Denmark)
KENNETH A. MATHEWS (Beeson Divinity School, Samford University, USA)
Michelle Knight (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, USA)
SUNG JIN PARK (Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, USA)
CRISTIAN RATA (Torch Trinity Graduate University, South Korea)
MAX ROGLAND (Erskine Theological Seminary, USA)
RODRIGO FRANKLIN DE SOUSA (Faculté Jean Calvin, France)
LENA-SOFIA TIEMEYER (University of Aberdeen, Scotland)
DANIEL TIMMER (Faculté de théologie évangélique, Canada)
Colin Toffelmire (Ambrose University, Canada)
[JESOT 6.1 (2020): 1–10]
Covenant Sin in Nahum
Gregory D. Cook
Independent Scholar
Generations of Nahum scholars have accepted the view that the prophecy does not address Judah’s sin. These scholars proceed to debate whether this silence is a defect of the book. This article contends with the consensus. Nahum does not explicitly mention Judah’s sin, but the whole book is set in the context of Judah’s adulterous covenant with Assyria. The second verse uses three poetic devices—allusion, repetition, and wordplay—to establish the events of Nahum as a continuing chapter in YHWH’s restoration of his people. The first two words of Nah 1:2 allude to Joshua’s prophecy (24:19) that YHWH’s wrath would break forth when Israel consorted with foreign gods. Next, Nahum uses a threefold repetition to emphasize YHWH’s vengeful nature. Finally, the Hebrew word בעל uses wordplay to mark YHWH as a jealous husband and Judah as an idolatrous people. Through subtlety, this master poet/prophet linked YHWH’s affliction of Judah (Nah 1:12) and his destruction of Nineveh to Assyria’s seduction of YHWH’s adulterous people.
Keywords: Nahum 1:2, Covenant, Joshua 24:19, Allusion, Hebrew Poetry
Nahum may be the least-studied, least-taught book in the canon.1 While this claim is difficult to quantify, it is also difficult to contradict. If there are books in the Bible that have received less attention, their number is few. The underlying reasons that church, synagogue, and academy have deemphasized this Minor Prophet include the terse poetry, confusing language, and violent imagery in the vision. This article addresses a long-held view that has also contributed to the prophecy’s neglect: the belief that Nahum does not address the sin of YHWH’s covenant people.
The most famous proponent of this view was J. M. P. Smith, who in 1911 used this claim as evidence of Nahum’s inferiority: “The contrast between the message of Nahum and that of Jeremiah, his contemporary, is striking. . . . Instead of grieving over the sin of Judah and striving with might and main to warn her of the error of her ways that she herself, might turn and live, Nahum was apparently content to lead her in a jubilant celebration of the approaching death of Assyria.”2 Many commentators interact with Smith and grant that Nahum does not discuss Judah’s sin.3 Once granted, the discussion usually focuses on whether or not Smith drew the proper conclusion.4 Julia O’Brien, for instance, makes the perceptive point that scholars who share Smith’s opinion do not explain “why the call for the brutal destruction of one’s own people is morally superior to the call for the brutal destruction of the enemy or the call for the brutal destruction of them both. J. M. P. Smith’s preference for Jeremiah over Nahum, for example, focuses only on Jeremiah’s laments while ignoring Jeremiah’s insistence that Judah must be punished.”5 This article challenges that consensus. Nahum does address Judah’s sin. In fact, it begins by doing so.
While Nahum does not emphasize Judah’s sin, Nah 1:2 sets the events of the book in the context of Judah’s adulterous covenant with Assyria. The verse does this by using three poetic devices common in Hebrew poetry and common to Nahum: allusion, repetition, and wordplay.6 The verse begins by alluding to a warning against Israel forsaking YHWH for foreign gods. Then, the phrase נקם יהוה (“YHWH avenges”) occurs three times in the next eight words. Finally, the phrase that interrupts this rare repetition plays on the word בעל (“lord,” “master,” “husband,” or “Baʿal”) to refer to YHWH as a jealous husband. Together, these three aspects of Nah 1:2 introduce the prophecy as a declaration of vengeance against the nation that seduced YHWH’s adulterous people.
Joshua 24:19