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General Information:
Nahum speaks to the people of Nineveh as though they were the city itself. (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metonymy)
are you better than Thebes ... wall?
Nahum asks this rhetorical question to emphasize the negative answer that it anticipates. Alternate translation: "you are not better than Thebes ... wall." (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-rquestion)
Thebes
This was the former capital of Egypt, which the Assyrians had conquered. (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-names)
which was located on the Nile River
"which was built by the Nile River"
whose rampart was the sea, and the sea was its wall
These two phrases share similar meanings. The word "sea" refers to the Nile River, which ran near the city. Nahum speaks of the Nile as if it were the wall that protected the city. Alternate translation: "which had the Nile river as its defense, as some cities have a wall for their defense" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metaphor and rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-parallelism)
rampart
A rampart is a wall built around a city to keep enemy armies from getting into the city.