Nahum 1:15 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Nahum 1:15
Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figurative… · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
feet
רַגְלֵ֤יrag.Lei
H7272
a foot (as used in walking) · noun, common feminine dual construct
tidings
מְבַשֵּׂר֙me.va.Ser
H1319
properly · verb, piel active participle, masculine singular absolute
publisheth
מַשְׁמִ֣יעַmash.Mi.a'
H8085
to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · verb, hiphil active participle, masculine singular absolute
peace
שָׁל֔וֹםsha.Lom
H7965
safe · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Judah
יְהוּדָ֛הye.hu.Dah
H3063
Jehudah (or Judah) · proper noun, a place name
keep
חָגִּ֧יcha.Gi
H2287
properly · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person feminine singular
feasts
חַגַּ֖יִךְcha.Ga.yikh
H2282
a festival · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
perform
שַׁלְּמִ֣יsha.le.Mi
H7999
to be safe (in mind · verb, piel imperative, 2nd person feminine singular
vows
נְדָרָ֑יִךְne.da.Ra.yikh
H5088
a promise (to God) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
wicked
בְּלִיַּ֖עַלbe.li.Ya.'al
H1100
without profit · noun, common masculine singular absolute
more
יוֹסִ֥יףyo.Sif
H3254
to add or augment (often adverbial · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
through
לַֽעֲבָרla.'a.Vor-
H5674
to cross over · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
off
נִכְרָֽתnikh.Rat
H3772
to cut (off · verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good,…
Romans 10:15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and br…
Isaiah 40:9-10 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with stre…
Acts 10:36 The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)
Isaiah 29:7-8 And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shal…
Nahum 1:11-12 There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counsellor.
Luke 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
Luke 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Nahum 1:9–end
These verses seem to point at the destruction of the army of the Assyrians under Sennacherib, which may well be reckoned a part of the burden of Nineveh, the head city of the Assyrian empire, and a pledge of the destruction of Nineveh itself about 100 years after; and this was an event which Isaiah, with whom probably this prophet was contemporary, spoke much of. Now observe here,
I. The great provocation which the Assyrians gave to God, the just and jealous God, for which, though slow to anger, he would take vengeance (Nah 1:11): There is one come out of thee, that imagines evil against the Lord - Sennacherib, and his spokesman Rabshakeh. They framed an evil letter and an evil speech, not o…
This verse is joined in the Hebrew text to the second chapter. It is nearly the same as Isa 52:7, referring to the similar deliverance from Babylon.
him that bringeth good tidings--announcing the overthrow of Sennacherib and deliverance of Jerusalem. The "mountains" are those round Jerusalem, on which Sennacherib's host had so lately encamped, preventing Judah from keeping her "feasts," but on which messengers now speed to Jerusalem, publishing his overthrow with a loud voice where lately they durst not have opened their mouths. A type of the far more glorious spiritual deliverance of God's people from Satan by Messiah, heralded by ministers of the Gospel (Rom 10:15).
perform thy vows--w…
Behold upon the mountains - Borrowed probably from Isa 52:7, but applied here to the messengers who brought the good tidings of the destruction of Nineveh. Judah might then keep her solemn feasts, for the wicked Assyrian should pass through the land no more; being entirely cut off, and the imperial city razed to its foundations.
John Gill on Nahum 1:15
Behold upon the mountains,.... Of the land of Israel, as the Targum; or those about Jerusalem:
the feet of him that bringeth good tidings; see how they come one after another with the news of the havoc and slaughter made in the army of Sennacherib by an angel in one night; of his flight, and of the dealt, of him by the hands of his two sons; and, after that, of the destruction of Nineveh, and of the whole Assyrian empire; all which were good tidings to the Jews, to whom the Assyrians were implacable enemies, and whose power the Jews dreaded; and therefore it must be good news to them to hear of their defeat and ruin, and the messengers that brought it must be welcome to them:
that publishe…
The Church Fathers
This is Nahum the eighth in order who was also privileged to prophesy concerning the resurrection of the Lord Christ, and he says: Feast, O Judah, keep thy feasts, perform thy vows, for they shall add to pass through thee no more. It has been consummated, it has been taken away. He went up breathing upon thy face, delivering thee from affliction.
(Verse 15.) Behold, upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good news and of the announcer of peace. Celebrate, O Judah, your festivals, and fulfill your vows, for Belial will no longer pass through you; everything has perished. I will postpone the discussion of the Septuagint translators for a little while, because even the chapters themselves have been confused by the variety of interpretations. And when I briefly explain the history, I will adapt their edition to my own style. In the book of Paralipomenon, it is written that when Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem, they were unable to celebrate the Passover in the first month (2 Chronicles 32). However, after Sennacherib was defeated by the angel and news of his death spread, they celebrated the day of Passover with great joy in the second month. Therefore, do not be anxious, O Judah, who reigns in Jerusalem, for your enemy has been slain in the temple of his God. Behold, a messenger comes to you, running through the mountains and hills, and from a high tower far away, proclaiming the death of Sennacherib; his city has been delivered from his rule. Celebrate the feast, fulfill the vows for the death of the enemy, which you promised to God: the transgressor and apostate will no longer pass through you, for this is Belial, as it is interpreted. All has perished, that is, the army, the king, and the empire of the Assyrians have completely fallen. And this is indeed according to the literal meaning. Furthermore, according to the interpretation, it is said to the Church, it is said to the souls confessing the Lord, because the devil who used to plunder you and oppress you with a heavy yoke, perished in the idols and with the idols he had made: celebrate your festivities, and render your vows to God, singing with the angels incessantly: for Belial will no longer pass through you, of whom the Apostle also says, What partnership does Christ have with Belial (2 Corinthians VI, 15)? Because, with the destruction of Nineveh, everything was lost. If ever there is a severe persecution, like under Valerian, Decius, Maximian (or Maximus), and the Lord's vengeance appears against his adversaries, let us say to the Church: Celebrate, O Judah, your festivals, and fulfill your vows, etc. LXX: Celebrate, O Judah, your festivities, fulfill your vows, for they will no longer oppose you to pass into old age: it is…
Dictionary and topics
Nahum — Consolation, the seventh of the so-called minor prophets, an Elkoshite. All we know of him is recorded in the book of his prophecies. He was probably a native of Galilee, and after the deportation of…
Christ, The Prophet · Foretold — Foretold
Joy · 2:11;4:7;5:11;9:2,14;13:5;14:7;16:5,6,8,9,11;17:15;19:8;20:5;21:1,6;28:7;30:5,11,12;32:1,2,11;33:21;35:9;36:8;40:16;42:4;43:4;45:15;46:4;51:8,12;53:6;63:5-7,11;64:10;68:3;69:32;70:4;71:23;85:6;89:15,16;97:11,12;100:1,2;104:34;105:3,43;119:1,2,14,16,55,111,162,165;126:5,6;132:16;138:5;149:2,5; — 2:11;4:7;5:11;9:2,14;13:5;14:7;16:5,6,8,9,11;17:15;19:8;20:5;21:1,6;28:7;30:5,11,12;32:1,2,11;33:21;35:9;36:8;40:16;42:4;43:4;45:15;46:4;51:8,12;53:6;63:5-7,11;64:10;68:3;69:32;70:4;71:23;85:6;89:15,16;97:11,12;100:1,2;104:34;105:3,43;119:1,2,14,16,55,111,162,165;126:5,6;132:16;138:5;149:2,5;
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Nahum 1:15
15. [221] Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
15. Ecce super montes pedes annunciantis, promulgantis pacem: celebra Jehudah solennitates tuas, redde vota tua; quia non adjiciet posthac ad transeundum in te, impius (Beliiaal) in totum excisus est.
The Prophet again teaches us, that whatever he prophesied respecting the destruction of the city Nineveh, was for this end, -- that God, by this remarkable evidence, might show that he had a care for his people, and that he was not unmindful of the covenant he…
Judah hears the glad tidings, that its oppressor is utterly destroyed. A warlike army marches against Nineveh, which that city cannot resist, because the Lord will put an end to the oppression of His people. Nah 1:15. "Behold, upon the mountains the feet of the messengers of joy, proclaiming salvation! Keep thy feasts, O Judah; pay thy vows: for the worthless one will no more go through thee; he is utterly cut off." The destruction of the Assyrian, announced in Nah 1:14, is so certain, that Nahum commences the description of its realization with an appeal to Judah, to keep joyful feasts, as the miscreant is utterly cut off. The form in which he utters this appeal is to point to messengers up…
Nahum supplements his prophecy of Judah’s release from bondage (1:13) with a prediction of the arrival of a messenger bringing the good news of restored peace (see also Isa 52:7). The message of peace was that Assyria’s hold on Judah would be broken and God’s people would be free of its burden. This took place during the reign of Josiah (640–609 BC), after the death of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal in 626 BC. This political message is a foretaste of God’s final triumph over evil, when his people will be released from bondage to sin through the saving work of the Messiah and be given eternal peace (Zeph 3:13; Luke 2:10-14; Acts 10:34-43; Rom 10:15; Eph 2:14-18).
Rashi on Nahum 1:14
And the Lord shall command concerning you—Now the king of Assyria is being addressed.
No more [offspring] Of your name shall be sown—No king shall arise from you.
I will make your grave—I will make the house of your god your grave, for you shall flee there to escape, and there you shall be slain, as your father was slain in the temple of Nisroch, his god.
for you have become worthless—in My eyes.
