Nahum

• DatesBetween 663 and 612 BC (debated)
• GenreMinor Prophets
• AuthorshipNahum the Elkoshite
• TimelineDivided Kingdom
• Key textsNahum 1; Nahum 3
• Read the textNahum in the World English Bible
• Covered in classSession 3

What the sources say, and how sure we are

• The text says

  The book is an oracle against Nineveh. It mentions the fall of Thebes (No-amon), which Assyria captured in 663 BC, as already past.Nah 1:1; Nah 3:8

• Outside evidence

  The Babylonian Chronicle of the fall of Nineveh records the city’s capture by Babylonians and Medes in 612 BC.Fall of Nineveh Chronicle (ABC 3)

• Debated

  Nahum’s place of origin, Elkosh, is uncertain. Scholars place the book between 663 and 612 BC, and debate whether it was written before or after Assyria began to weaken.