Rashi on Nahum

‫רש"י על נחום‬
The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg
https://www.nli.org.il/en/items/NNL_ALEPH990019164710205171/NLI

Rashi on Nahum

Chapter 1

Verse 1

The harsh prophecy concerning Nineveh Heb. ‫ַמָׂשא‬. The burden of the cup of the curse
[which was] to be given Nineveh to drink.
The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite —‫ חזון‬is vowelized with a “kamatz” (
‫ )ָחזֹון‬since it is not in the construct state, and it is unlike “‫ֲחזֹון ִיַׁשְעָיהּו‬,” the
vision of Isaiah, which is vowelized with a “hataf pattah.” This is its meaning: A
book of vision has already been written concerning it [Nineveh], the prophecy of
Jonah son of Amittai; and now, again, Nahum the Elkoshite prophesied this harsh
prophecy over it. Elkosh is the name of his [Nahum’s] city. And so did Jonathan
paraphrase: In early times, Jonah son of Amittai prophesied concerning it, and they
repented of their sins, and when they continued to sin, Nahum of the house of
Elkosh prophesied further concerning them. the Elkoshite —That city is in the
province of Ballynia, which is in the state of Eretz Israel, although it is outside
the Holy Land. Proof of the matter is that there is gold, silver, and salt dust
near it because the Dead Sea, which is near Eretz Israel, goes there under the
earth. In this state they do not crown a king the son of a king [i.e., the throne
is not hereditary]; and they are of the seed of Judah. [ Sod Mesharim ]

Verse 2

The Lord is a jealous and vengeful God —Nahum prophesied concerning Sennacherib’s
descendants, and in the time of Manasseh, as we find in Seder Olalm (ch.20).
The Lord is a jealous and vengeful God —from the time He avenged Israel upon their
enemies, and now too, He is still vengeful and full of wrath. He is destined to
wreak vengeance upon His adversaries who destroyed their land and exiled His
people. and he bears a grudge Heb. ‫ְונֹוֵטר‬, lit. watches. He lays up His hatred for
His enemies. Rabbi Simon says: These three expressions of vengeance correspond to
the three exiles to which Sennacherib exiled Israel, as we find in Seder Olam (ch.
23).

Verse 3

The Lord is slow to anger and great in power —He is great in power, and He has the
ability to wreak vengeance. The reason He did not hasten His revenge is that He is
slow to anger, but, in any case, He will not acquit.
the Lord - His way is with a tempest and with a storm —They [the tempest and storm]
are His messengers for wreaking retribution upon His enemies, as it is stated
concerning Egypt (Exod. 14:21): “with a mighty east wind”; and concerning the
generation of the Flood (Job 4:9): “From the breath of God they perish.” Concerning
Tyre, it is stated (Ezek. 27:26): “The east wind has broken you.”
and cloud is the dust of His feet —That, too, is the way of His vengeance. (Exod.
14:24) “And the Lord looked over the camp of the Egyptians with a pillar of fire
and cloud”; also, (Ezek. 30:18) “As for her, a cloud shall cover her.”

Verse 4
He rebukes the sea —To be understood [both] according to its apparent meaning, and
as a figure describing the nations, who are compared to water, as the matter is
stated (Isa. 17:12): “Like the rushing of mighty waters they rush.”
and He has dried up all the rivers —Here he prophesies that the Holy One, blessed
be He, is destined to crown Nebuchadnezzar in the days of Jehoiakim, and He will
deliver Assyria and all the lands to the sword.
Bashan and Carmel —The good dwelling places.
and the blossoms of the Lebanon are cut off —The Sages of Israel explained this as
an allusion to the various types of sweet fruit that Solomon planted in the Temple,
which were gold; and as soon as the gentiles entered the Temple, they withered.
[from Yoma 21b, 39b]

Verse 5

Mountains quaked because of Him —The kings and the princes (of the heathens) shall
fear His decree.
raised up Heb. ‫ ; ַוִּתָׂשא‬i.e., raised up a pillar of smoke.

Verse 6

has reached Heb. ‫ִנְּתָכה‬, has reached the earth, as in (Exod. 9:33) “And rain did not
reach (‫ )ְנַּתְך‬the earth.”
have been broken up by Him —by His fear.

Verse 7

The Lord is good yea, a stronghold —Even when he inflicts retribution upon His
enemies, His mercies do not cease to do good to those who fear Him. [This ability
is] unlike the trait of [a man of] flesh and blood, who, when he is busy with one
thing, is not free to [simultaneously] do another thing, as the matter is stated
(Exod. 15:3): “The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is His Name.” [This is] as it is
stated in Mechilta (ad loc.)
and is cognizant of —the necessities of those who trust in Him.

Verse 8

But, with an overrunning flood —with flooding wrath.

He shall make a full end of its place —the place of the land. This refers back to
“and the land raised up from before Him,” as is stated above.

Verse 9

He will make a full end —of Nineveh and the kings of Assyria. He will not repeat
this to you again.

Verse 10

For, while the thorns are entangled —I.e., their destruction will come upon them
suddenly, and they will not descend from their honor gradually, but while the
thorns and the briers are [yet] entangled; i.e., strongly rooted.
and the drunkards are drinking —While they are at their feasts and in their joy.
Some interpret ‫ ִּכי ַעד ִסיִר ים‬as an expression of ‫ֲהָסָר ה‬, removal.
they are consumed like dry stubble, fully ripe —Whose ripening has become full and
complete, and it has dried out.
fully ripe Heb. ‫ ; ָמֵלא‬asovir, to be filled, in O.F And so (Exod. 22:28): “Your ripe
fruits (‫( ;”)ְמֵלָאְתָך‬Deut. 22:9) “The ripe fruit (‫ )ַהְמֵלָאה‬of the seed.”

Verse 11
From you —you, Nineveh.
emanated —Sennacherib, who plots evil, who thought to destroy the earthly abode and
the heavenly abode. One passage reads (II Kings 19:23): “And I will come to its
remotest lodge”; and one passage reads (Isa. 37:24): “Its remotest height.” “First
I will destroy His earthly abode, and then I will destroy His heavenly abode” - as
found in the chapter “ Chelek “ ( Sanh. 94b).

Verse 12

Though they be at peace and likewise many Jonathan’s Targum is very appropriate to
the verse: If they [the people of Nineveh] are at peace in their counsel, that they
will all be of one accord; and likewise, if the people of Nineveh, your enemies,
are many, O Jerusalem; and likewise, even if they have crossed the Tigris and
passed over the Euphrates to besiege it, they will not succeed, for I have
afflicted you; I will no longer afflict you. I have heard further (this rendering):
If they are perfect —the people of Nineveh, in their greatness. and likewise —if
they will be still greater and more honored. and so they shall be cut down and pass
away —And so I will cut them down and take them away. This is like (Exod 1:12) “And
the more they would afflict them, the more they would multiply.”
and I will no longer afflict you —I will afflict you this time with destruction and
annihilation, and I will no longer be involved with you. Our Sages expounded upon
this concerning the practice of charity in Tractate Gittin (7a), but it does not
fit in with the context.

Verse 13

And now I will break off his yoke from you —The Shechinah says this to the prophet,
who is of Israel: I will break off the yoke of Assyria from you and from My people.

Verse 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.

Chapter 2

Verse 1

pay your vows —that you vowed to the Holy One, blessed be He, if He would save you
from the hand of Sennacherib, king of Assyria - for now you are saved.
for... shall no longer continue to pass through you —that wicked one.
he has been completely cut off —he and his descendants.

Verse 2

The scatterer who came up before you is besieged by a siege —The scatterer, who
came up upon the land of Judah before you during the time of Hezekiah, is now
besieged by the siege of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who has besieged him.
Watch the way —You men of Judah, watch the crossroads and see those going to
besiege him [Sennacherib] and strengthen your loins and fortify your power
mightily.
Verse 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 ‫ ְּבִק יָק ה‬is appropriate for a vine.

Verse 4

The shields of his mighty men —The mighty of Nebuchadnezzar, who lay siege to
Assyria.
are dyed red —They are dyed red, and the men of their army are in crimson, dressed
in crimson.
the chariots are in the fire of torches on the day of his preparation Heb. ‫ְּפָלֹדת‬. On
the day that he [Nebuchadnezzar] is prepared to go out in the army, he polishes his
iron chariots, but I do not know what ‫ ְּפָלֹדת‬means. I say that it is a material that
polishes iron well. And some interpret ‫ ְּפָלֹדת‬as an expression of a fiery torch (
‫)ַלִּפיד‬, by transposing the letters.
and the cypresses are enwrapped — Jonathan renders: And the heads of the
[Babylonian] camps are enwrapped in colored garments.
are enwrapped Heb. ‫ַהְר ָעלּו‬, enwrapped. Similar is (Isa. 3:19) “The necklaces and the
bracelets and the shawls (‫)ָהְר ָעלֹות‬.” In the language of the Mishnah we learned
“shawled (‫ )ְר עּולֹות‬Arabian women” in tractate Shabbath (65a).

Verse 5

shall dash about madly —They shall behave madly.

they shall clatter Heb. ‫ִיְׁשַּתְק ְׁשקּון‬. Jonathan renders: The sound of the clattering of
their weapons is heard. And that is from the expression (Joel 2:24) “And the vats
shall roar (‫)ְוֵהִׁשיקּו‬,” and (Isa. 33:4) “Like the roaring (‫ )ְּכַמַשק‬of the cisterns.” It
is an expression of making a sound heard.
they shatter —They shatter their listeners like these lightnings, which agitate the
creatures. So did Jonathan render it.

Verse 6

He shall remember —The king of Assyria shall remember his mighty men and his
heroes, and he shall contemplate going forth and waging war, but [he and his men]
shall stumble in their walk.
they shall hasten to its wall —to flee to run to the wall of the city. Any word
requiring a “lammed” in its beginning has a “hey” at its end.
and the protector is armed Heb. ‫ַהֹּסֵכְך‬. Jonathan renders: They shall build towers. We
can also explain ‫ְוֻהַכן ַהֹּסֵכְך‬: and the king shall be armed with his weapons, as in
(Ezek.28:14) “who shelters over a great distance (‫)ִמְמַׁשח ַהֹּסֵכְך‬,” an expression of
ruling.

Verse 7

The gates of the river —The gates of the cities, which are on the sides of the
rivers.
and the palace has dissolved —It has quaked and trembled because of the stones of
the catapult hurled against its walls, called bombe.

Verse 8

And the queen Heb. ‫ְוֻהַּצב‬. She is the queen who stands to the right of the king, as
is stated (Ps. 45:10): “The queen stands to your right.”
has been exposed and taken away —In the open, she has gone into captivity and has
been taken away from the city.
moan like the voice of doves —They moan with a lamentation like the voice of
lamenting doves. moan Heb. ‫ְמַנֲהגֹות‬, gemissant in French.
beating their breasts Striking their hand on their heart like the beating of a
drum.

Verse 9

And Nineveh is like a pool of water - it is since days of yore —Since the day it
was founded, it has been sitting tranquilly with no one disturbing it, like a pool
of gathered water that does not move from its place.
and they —Now, out of their stress, they have learned to flee and are fleeing.
Halt! Halt! —They say to them, but no one turns his heart to listen and halt.

Verse 10

Plunder silver! Plunder gold! —You who come upon Nineveh.

And there is no end —There is no count.
to the treasures Heb. ‫ְלְּתכּוָנה‬, to their treasures. [It is called ‫ ]ְּתכּוָנה‬because the
silver and gold placed in the treasury is placed there with a count, as you say (II
Kings 12:12): “The counted (‫ )ַהְמֻתּכן‬money.” [following Jonathan ]
to sweep out [Nineveh] of all precious vessels Heb. ‫ָּכֹבד‬, an expression of sweeping,
as in (below, 3:15) “You shall be swept out (‫ )ִהְתַּכְבִד י‬like the nibbling locust,” an
expression of sweeping the house; escovant, to sweep them out of all their precious
vessels. And so did Jonathan render it: All precious vessels have ended. ‫ ָּכֹבד‬is
like ‫ָזכֹור‬, to remember, and ‫ָשמֹור‬, to observe.

Verse 11

Empty Heb. ‫ּבּוָק ה‬.

yea, emptied out Heb. ‫ּוְמבּוָק ה‬, and emptied out through emptiers.
and breached Heb. ‫ּוְמֻבָּלָק ה‬, breached in its walls: espartide in O.F.
the knees stumble Heb. ‫ּוִפק‬, the stumbling of the knees, as, in (I Sam. 25:31) “As a
stumbling block and a remorse.”
have gathered blackness Heb. ‫ָפארּור‬, blackness like a pot.

Verse 12

Where is the lions’ den? —This is a lamentation over Nineveh, which was the
dwellings of kings, hard and strong as lions.
where the grown lion and the old lion went —The place where the kings would go and
leave their children there, like a lion that dwelt securely.

Verse 13

The grown lion tore enough for his whelps —As Jonathan renders it: The kings would
bring much plunder, until there was enough for the members of their households.
and strangled —beasts, for the necessity of his lionesses; i.e., he would increase
his treasures for his children (sic). for his lionesses —for his wives.
and he filled his caves with prey —And they filled their treasuries with plunder.

Verse 14

her chariots —The multiplicity of the chariots therein; caraijedic in O.F. -army of
chariots. The additional “hey” converts the language to mean many chariots.
Simliarly, there is (Ezek 24:6) “The pot in which there is filth (‫)ֶחְלָאָתה‬,” much
filth.
the voice of your ambassadors Heb. ‫ַמְלָאֵכֵכה‬. The voice of your ambassadors, as
Rabshakeh and his colleagues, the ambassadors of Assyria, had already done, “And
called in a loud voice in Judean” (Isa. 36:13).
Chapter 3

Verse 1

robbery Heb. ‫ֶּפֶר ק‬, robbery, that one breaks it away from the hand of its owner.
the prey departs not —from its [i.e., the city’s] midst, it will never depart.

Verse 2

The sound of the scourge —The sound of striking the horses was always heard
therein.
and the sound of the noise —of the wheels of the chariots.
and galloping horses Heb. ‫ֹּדֵהר‬, skipping and jumping. And so it is in (Jud. 5:22)
“By reason of the prancings, the prancings of their mighty ones.”

Verse 3

and the blade of the sword Heb. ‫ ; ְוַלַהב‬lame in French; for a knife and a sword are
called ‫ַלַהב‬. [Some mss. have: The blade of every sword is called: ‫ַלַהב‬, as in (Jud.
3:22) “And the haft also went in after the blade (‫)ַהַלַהב‬.”
and the burnished spear —A burnished spear, with the light glittering from it.
Splendor in O.F, a shine.
yea, the heaps of corpses —They would make many corpses, and there was no count of
the bodies of the dead cast therein, to the extent that the passersby would stumble
on the bodies of the dead.

Verse 4

Because of the many harlotries of the harlot —Because of the extensive flattery of
the city, for they knew how to seduce the kings of the earth to join them, and they
would eventually subordinate [these kings] to them.

Verse 5

your skirts Heb. ‫ׁשּוַלִיְך‬. They are the hems of a woman’s garments.
your nakedness Heb. ‫ַמֲעֵר ְך‬, your exposure, as in (Micah 1:11) “With your private
parts exposed (‫)ֶעְר ָיה‬.”

Verse 6

detestable things —Filthy garments, which make you detestable. Scripture speaks
according to the topic, for he [Nahum] compared her [Nineveh] to a harlot.
like dung Heb. ‫ְּכֹרִאי‬. Like dung, an expression like (Lev. 1:16) “And he shall remove
its crop (‫ )ֻמְר ָאתֹו‬with its intestines.”

Verse 7

shall wander away from you —Shall distance himself from you.

Verse 8

Are you better than No-amon —Why should you rely on your wealth and your might? Are
you greater than No-amon? That is, Alexandria of Egypt. Amon is an expression of a
pedagogue. [Are you greater] than the great No, which trained the kings of Egypt,
for they would anoint the kings there?
whose wall was the sea to whom the sea was their rampart and their wall. [This mode
of construction is known in Aramaic as] ‫שורה ובר שורה‬, a wall and the son of a wall
[referring to a large wall on the outside, opposite an inside of which is built a
small wall].

Verse 9

Cush was [its] strength —The Cushites were its strength.

Put and the Lubim —The Putim and the Lubim, who were your helpers, were also in her
[Assyria’s] army.

Verse 10

She, too, went into exile —She, too, went into exile. Nevertheless, their greatness
did not stand up before Nebuchadnezzar.
were bound Heb. ‫ֻר ְּתקּו‬, were fettered; an expression similar to (Isa. 40:19) “And
chains (‫ )ּוְר ֻּתקֹות‬of silver” and (Ezek. 7:23) “Make the chain (‫)ָהַר ּתֹוק‬,” meaning a
chain.
in chains Heb. ‫ַבִּזִּק ים‬, chains.

Verse 11

You, too —(Even) according to your greatness, [you] shall become drunk like her
with the cup of weakness (Cf. Isa. 51:17), and you shall disappear.

Verse 12

All your fortresses —It shall be easy to conquer all your fortified cities and to
ravage all that is in their midst, like the fig trees when they are with their
first ripe fruits; when the tree is shaken, the first ripe fruits fall into the
mouth of the eaters.
fig trees Heb. ‫ְּתֵאִנים‬, fig trees.
they be shaken —which, if they be shaken hard by a man.

Verse 13

Verse 14

Draw siege water for yourself —When a city is about to be besieged, the people of
the city gather much water into its midst in barrels, [so that they will have
water] to drink during the days of the siege, when there are no cisterns within it
[the city].
come into the clay and tread —it, to make bricks therefrom, in order to strengthen
the cracks in the wall.
grasp the brickmold —Hold the brickmold, which is made for a mold of the bricks in
your hand, to make bricks in it.

Verse 15

You shall be swept away Heb. ‫ִהְתַּכֵּבד‬, with a broom of destruction.

like the nibbling locust —which finishes and destroys completely all the vegetation
of the field. Some interpret: -Heb. ‫ַּכָּיֶלק‬ ‫ִהְתַּכֵּבד‬. You shall be covered heavily with
troops like the nibbling locust, wherein ‫ ִהְתַּכֵּבד‬is an expression of a heavy people (
‫)ַעם ֶּכֶבד‬.

Verse 16

the nibbling locust spreads out and flies away —They will swiftly go out for
commerce like the locust that spreads out [its wings] and flies.

Verse 17

Your princes Heb. ‫ִמְּנָזַר ִיְך‬, your princes. The “mem” is a radical and a root of the
word, like the “mem” of ‫ִמְׁשַמְר ְּתָך‬, your watch (Num. 18:3); of ‫ִמְׁשַמְעֶּתָך‬, your service (I
Sam. 22:14); and of ‫ִמְנָעֶלָך‬, your lock (Deut. 33:25). But sometimes the “mem” is
defective; e.g., ‫ְנִזיר ֶאָחיו‬, the prince of his brothers (Gen. 49:26); and,
similarly, ‫ִלְנָזִר ים‬, princes (Amos 2:11).
and your marshal Heb. ‫ְיַטְפְסַר ִיְך‬. Your appointees.
like armies of locust Heb. ‫ְּכגֹוב ּגֹוָבי‬, like armies of locusts. ‫ ּגֹוָבי‬is comme
langouste in French, like locusts.
which alight on the walls on a cold day —So is the habit of the numerous locust,
the fly, the finishing locust, and the nibbling locust; during the cold times they
adhere to the walls, and when warmth comes they fly away from there and go away. So
will all your people be exiled.
and it flies away Heb. ‫ְונֹוַד ד‬, and it moves.
and its place is not known where they are —Where they are and where they went.

Verse 18

Your leaders slumber Heb. ‫ָנמּו‬, an expression of slumber

are at rest —They cannot stand up.
are scattered Heb. ‫ָנָפׁשּו‬, like ‫ָנֹפצּו‬, as all letters emanating from one source are
interchangeable. “Zayin,” “shin,” “sammech,” and “tzaddi” all emanate from the tip
of the tongue and the bottom of the teeth.

Verse 19

No one is pained over your destruction —No one is troubled over your destruction,
for everyone rejoices. ‫ ֵּכָהה‬is an expression of a darkened thing.
clap hands —to rejoice.