Nahum 2:3 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Nahum 2:3
The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.
a cypress (?) tree · conjunction + definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
shaken
הָרְעָֽלוּha.re.'A.lu
H7477
to reel · verb, hophal perfect, 3rd person common plural
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
Ezekiel 23:14-15 And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with vermilion,
Isaiah 63:1-3 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his…
Isaiah 14:8 Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.
Zechariah 1:8 I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were t…
Zechariah 6:2 In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses;
Zechariah 11:2 Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come do…
Revelation 6:4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they shoul…
Revelation 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his head…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Nahum 2:1-10
Here is, I. An alarm of war sent to Nineveh, Nah 2:1. The prophet speaks of it as just at hand, for it is neither doubtful nor far distant: "Look about thee, and see, he that dashes in pieces has come up before thy face. Nebuchadnezzar, who is noted, and will be yet more so, for dashing nations in pieces, begins with thee, and will dissipate and disperse thee;" so some render the word. Babylon is called the hammer of the whole earth, Jer. 1:23. The attempt of Nebuchadnezzar upon Nineveh is public, bold, and daring: "He has come up before thy face, avowing his design to ruin thee; and therefore stand to thy arms, O Nineveh! keep the munition; secure thy towers and magazines: watch the way; se…
his mighty men--the Medo-Babylonian generals mighty men attacking Nineveh.
made red--The ancients dyed their bull's-hide shields red, partly to strike terror into the enemy, chiefly lest the blood from wounds which they might receive should be perceived and give confidence to the foe [CALVIN]. G. V. SMITH conjectures that the reference is to the red reflection of the sun's rays from shields of bronze or copper, such as are found among the Assyrian remains.
in scarlet--or crimson military tunics (compare Mat 27:28). XENOPHON mentions that the Medes were fond of this color. The Lydians and Tyrians extracted the dye from a particular worm.
chariots . . . with flaming torches--that is, the…
The shield of his mighty men is made red - These things may refer to the war-like preparations made by the Ninevites: they had red shields, and scarlet or purple clothing; their chariots were finely decorated, and proceeded with amazing rapidity.
The fir trees shall be terribly shaken - This may refer to the darts, arrows, and javelins, flung with destructive power.
John Gill on Nahum 2:3
The shield of his mighty men is made red,.... The shields of the soldiers in the armies of the Babylonians and Medes, those dashers in pieces that would come up against Nineveh, should be red; either with the blood of the slain, or thus coloured on purpose to inject terror to their enemies; or this may express the lustre of them, which being gilded, or made of gold or brass, in the rays of the sun glittered, and looked of a fiery red; see the Apocrypha:
"Now when the sun shone upon the shields of gold and brass, the mountains glistered therewith, and shined like lamps of fire.'' (1 Maccabees 6:39)
the valiant men are in scarlet; the generals and other officers of the army were clothed in s…
The Church Fathers
(Verse 3 and following) The shield of the strong is ablaze, the men of the army in scarlet; the fiery chariots are on the day of its preparation; and the drivers are asleep, they are disturbed on the journey, the chariots collide in the streets. Their appearance is like torches, like lightning running to and fro. They will remember their mighty men, they will rush on their way, they will quickly climb its walls, and the shelter will be prepared. The gates of the rivers are opened, and the temple is laid waste to the ground, and the captive soldier is taken away, and her maidservants threatened, moaning like doves, murmuring in their hearts. LXX: The arms of his power are from men, strong men mocking in fire, the reins of their chariots on the day of his preparation, and the horsemen will fear in the exits: and the chariots will be confounded, and they will collide in the streets. Their appearance is like lamps of fire, and like running lightning, and their nobles will be remembered, and they will flee in the days, and they will be weakened on their journey, and they will hasten to the walls, and they will prepare their defenses: the gates of the cities are open, and the royal palaces have fallen, and the wealth has been revealed; and she herself ascended, and her maids were led like doves speaking in their hearts. According to the history, the order follows against Nineveh, and the army of the Babylonians coming against it is described. Moreover, what it says: fiery reins of chariots, in burning cords, signifies the preparedness of speed, and is narrated as the parade of those preparing for battle. And now the Scripture weaves together things that Israel once suffered, things that Assyria did, and things that the Babylonians practice against the Assyrians. Therefore, he says, it is not surprising that they come so quickly to devastate, since the charioteers and strong men, either before or after, have been put to sleep, either in Israel or in Assyria. And returning to the order of description: The multitude of those coming is so great, that the marching column is mixed together on the path, and cannot be distinguished. The chariots themselves, while not finding the way, collide with each other in the streets due to the multitude. The appearance of the Babylonians is like lamps, like lightning running around, so that they terrify their enemies before they…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Apparel — In Old Testament times the distinction between male and female attire was not very marked. The statute forbidding men to wear female apparel (Deut. 22:5) referred especially to ornaments and…
Colour — The subject of colours holds an important place in the Scriptures. White occurs as the translation of various Hebrew words. It is applied to milk (Gen. 49:12), manna (Ex. 16:31), snow (Isa. 1:18),…
Fir — The uniform rendering in the Authorized Version (marg. R.V., “cypress”) of berosh (2 Sam. 6:5; 1 Kings 5:8, 10; 6:15, 34; 9:11, etc.), a lofty tree (Isa. 55:13) growing on Lebanon (37:24). Its wood…
Scarlet — This dye was obtained by the Egyptians from the shell-fish Carthamus tinctorius; and by the Hebrews from the Coccus ilicis, an insect which infests oak trees, called kermes by the Arabians. This…
Shield — Used in defensive warfare, varying at different times and under different circumstances in size, form, and material (1 Sam. 17:7; 2 Sam. 1:21; 1 Kings 10:17; 1 Chr. 12:8, 24, 34; Isa. 22:6; Ezek.…
Steel — The “bow of steel” in (A.V.) 2 Sam. 22:35; Job 20:24; Ps. 18:34 is in the Revised Version “bow of brass” (Heb. kesheth-nehushah). In Jer. 15:12 the same word is used, and is also rendered in the…
Torches — On the night of his betrayal, when our Lord was in the garden of Gethsemane, Judas, “having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and…
Chariot · For war — For war
Chariots · For war: Lighted by night with torches — For war: Lighted by night with torches
Colors · .Conquest — .Conquest
Lamps · Used for lighting: Chariots of war by night — Used for lighting: Chariots of war by night
Nahum 2:3
3. The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.
3. Clypeus fortium ejus rubefactus est, viri potentiae ejus vermiculati (hoc est, rubro etiam colore;) in igne lampadum (vel, taedarum) currus in die expeditionis ejus, et abietes tremefactae sunt.
The Prophet describes here how dreadful the Chaldeans would be when prepared against the Assyrians. He says, The shield of his brave men [225] is made red Some think that their shields were painted red, that blood might not appear; and that the soldiers had on red garments, that they might not…
After assigning this reason for the divine purpose concerning Asshur, the prophet proceeds in Nah 2:3. to depict the army advancing towards Nineveh, viz., in Nah 2:3 its appearance, and in Nah 2:4 the manner in which it sets itself in motion for battle. Nah 2:3. "The shield of His heroes is made red, the valiant men are clothed in crimson: in the fire of the steel-bosses are the chariots, on the day of His equipment; and the cypresses are swung about. Nah 2:4. The chariots rave in the streets, they run over one another on the roads; their appearance is like the torches, they run about like lightning." The suffix attached to gibbōrēhū (His heroes) might be taken as referring to mēphı̄ts i…
The vine symbolizes God’s blessing his people (Isa 27:2-6), while the stripped vine reflects God’s previous chastisement of them (Isa 5:1-7). The children of Israel were in a sad state compared to the days of the great kings David and Solomon, but God promised to restore the splendor of his people.
Rashi on Nahum 2:3
as the pride of Israel—As it was already.
the emptiers have emptied them out—They have plundered them and emptied them. The expression of בְּקִיקָה is appropriate for a vine.
Nineveh · Predictions respecting: Coming up of the Babylonish armies against — Predictions respecting: Coming up of the Babylonish armies against
Shield · Painted red — Painted red
Shields · Before war: Often made red — Before war: Often made red
Soldiers · Dressed in s — Dressed in s
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).
