The Book of Nahum contains prophecies about how God would judge and punish Nineveh, the capital city of the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrians had already conquered the northern kingdom of Israel, and they were threatening the southern kingdom of Judah. The book's purpose was to give hope to Judah that the Assyrians would be defeated.
Translators may decide to translate this traditional title, "The Book of Nahum," in a way that is clearer to the readers. They may decide to call it "The Sayings of Nahum." (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/translate-names]])
It is probable that Nahum wrote this book. He was a prophet from Elkosh, an unknown city which was probably in Judah. The book was written before the fall of Nineveh in about 612 B.C. The prophet also mentioned the destruction of Thebes, a city in Egypt, which occurred about 663 B.C. Therefore, the book was written sometime between these two dates. (See: [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/prophet]])
Locust attacks occurred often in the ancient Near East. Certain kinds of grasshoppers would come in countless numbers, darkening the sky like a black cloud that blotted out the sunlight. They often came after a prolonged period without rain. They came down on whatever crops were surviving in the fields and stripped them bare of their leaves. The locusts were unstoppable and caused terrible damage. For this reason locust attacks served as a very powerful image of military attacks in the Old Testament.
There are various names for locusts in the original language of the Old Testament. It is uncertain whether these refer to different kinds of locusts or to the same kind of locust in different stages of growth. For this reason, versions of the Bible differ in how they translate these terms.
## Part 3: Important Translation Issues ##
#### What emotions were present in the various speakers in the Book of Nahum? ####
In this book Nahum spoke to the people of Israel. When he spoke to the Israelites he wanted to comfort them. Nahum and Yahweh also spoke to the Ninevites. When Nahum and Yahweh spoke against the Ninevites they often mocked them as well. This manner of speech was similar to speech in the ancient Near East when conquerors laughed at their victims. It is important for translators to represent well both the emotions of comfort and of mockery in translation.
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