the seventh of 12 Old Testament books that bear the names of the Minor Prophets (grouped together as The Twelve in the Jewish canon). The title identifies the book as an “oracle concerning Nineveh” and attributes it to the “vision of Nahum of Elkosh.”

The fall of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, provided the occasion for this prophetic oracle. The mighty Assyrian Empire, which had long been a threat to the smaller nations of the ancient Middle East, was a particular menace to the Israelite people. Its decline, therefore, in the face of the Neo-Babylonian power of the Medes and the Chaldeans and its final collapse in the destruction of Nineveh (612 BC) gave the prophet Nahum cause for extolling these events, which, he announced, occurred because Assyria's policies were not in accord with God's will. The book contains many types of material, among which are an acrostic hymn, oracles of judgment, satire, a curse, and funeral laments, all of which were brought together and related to the fall of Nineveh.