Nahum 2:12

The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
lion	אַרְיֵ֤ה 'ar.Yeh	H738	a lion · noun, common masculine singular absolute
pieces	טֹרֵף֙ to.Ref	H2963	to pluck off or pull to pieces · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
enough	בְּדֵ֣י be.Dei	H1767	enough (as noun or adverb) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
whelps	גֹֽרוֹתָ֔יו go.ro.Tav	H1484	a cub (as still abiding in the lair) · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
strangled	וּמְחַנֵּ֖ק u.me.cha.Nek	H2614	to be narrow · conjunction + verb, piel active participle, masculine singular absolute
lionesses	לְלִבְאֹתָ֑יו le.liv.'o.Tav	H3833	to roar · preposition + noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
filled	וַיְמַלֵּא vay.ma.le'-	H4390	to fill or (intransitively) be full of · conjunction + verb, piel sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
holes	חֹרָ֔יו cho.Rav	H2356	a cavity · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
prey	טֶ֣רֶף Te.ref	H2964	something torn · noun, common masculine singular absolute
dens	וּמְעֹֽנֹתָ֖יו u.me.'o.no.Tav	H4585	an abode · conjunction + noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
ravin	טְרֵפָֽה te.re.Fah	H2966	prey · noun, common feminine singular absolute

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

Jeremiah 51:34 Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dra…
Psalms 17:12 Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
Isaiah 10:6-14 I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Nahum 2:11–end

Here we have Nineveh's ruin, 1. Triumphed in by its neighbours, who now remember against it all the oppressions and abuse of power it had been guilty of in its pomp and prosperity (Nah 2:11, Nah 2:12): Where is the dwelling of the lions? It is gone; there appear no remnants, no footsteps, of it. Where is the feeding place of the young lions, where they glutted themselves with prey? The princes of Nineveh had been as lions, as beasts of prey; cruel tyrants are no better, nay, in this respect much worse - that, being men, humanity is expected from them; nay, if they were indeed lions, they would not prey upon those of their own kind. Savis inter se convenit ursae - Fierce bears agree together.…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nahum 2:12

prey . . . ravin--different kinds of prey. Compare Isa 3:1, "the stay and the staff."

Adam Clarke on Nahum 2:12

The lion did tear - This verse gives us a striking picture of the manner in which the Assyrian conquests and depredations were carried on. How many people were spoiled to enrich his whelps - his sons, princes, and nobles! How many women were stripped and slain, whose spoils went to decorate his lionesses - his queen, concubines, and mistresses. And they had even more than they could assume; their holes and dens - treasure-houses, palaces, and wardrobes - were filled with ravin, the riches which they got by the plunder of towns, families, and individuals. This is a very fine allegory, and admirably well supported.

John Gill on Nahum 2:12

The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps,.... The metaphor is still continued; and the kings of Assyria are compared to lions that hunt for their prey, and, having found it, tear it in pieces, and carry home a sufficiency for their whelps. It is a notion that is advanced by some writers, as Herodotus (p), that the lioness, the strongest and boldest creature, brings forth but once in its life, and then but one; which Gellius (q) confutes by the testimonies of Homer and Aristotle; and it appears from the prophet here to be a false one, as well as from Ezekiel 19:2 thus the Assyrians made war on other nations, and pillaged and plundered them, to enlarge their dominions, provide for the…

Dictionary and topics

Lions — The most powerful of all carnivorous animals. Although not now found in Palestine, they must have been in ancient times very numerous there. They had their lairs in the forests (Jer. 5:6; 12:8; Amos…
Prophecy — Or prediction, was one of the functions of the prophet. It has been defined as a “miracle of knowledge, a declaration or description or representation of something future, beyond the power of human…
Caves · Were used as: Hiding placed of wild beasts — Were used as: Hiding placed of wild beasts
Lion · Instincts of, in taking prey — Instincts of, in taking prey
Lion, The · Often carries its prey to its den — Often carries its prey to its den

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 2:12

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Nahum 2:11–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nahum 2:12

Adam Clarke on Nahum 2:12

John Gill on Nahum 2:12

Dictionary and topics

Nahum 2:12

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Nahum 2:11–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nahum 2:12

Adam Clarke on Nahum 2:12

John Gill on Nahum 2:12

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Nahum 2:11-12

Keil & Delitzsch on Nahum 2:11–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Nahum 2:11-13

Rashi on Nahum 2:12