The book of Nahum records the messages of the prophet Nahum. As with most prophets, Nahum’s message focuses on current events, but in this case for the people of Assyria.
The capital of Assyria was Nineveh, so we can read the prelude to this book in the book of Jonah.
Nahum, like Amos, addresses the faults of a foreign nation, Assyria. Assyria was long an oppressor of Israel and Nahum predicts its destruction. There is no call to repentance — as is often seen with other prophets —just judgment.
From a literary standpoint, the book concludes with a masterful ode to the fall of Assyria (Nineveh).
Nahum is sometimes called a minor prophet. This doesn’t mean he wasn’t important, but merely that the book named after him is shorter. (Compare this to the major prophets, whose books are much longer.)
Dig into the intriguing lives and ministries of the Bible’s twelve minor prophets in Peter DeHaan’s book Dear Theophilus, Minor Prophets: 40 Prophetic Teachings about Unfaithfulness, Punishment, and Hope.
A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.
