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Minor Prophets, Part 2: Babylonian Crisis

  1. Lesson One
    Nahum
    23 Activities
    |
    3 Assessments
  2. Lesson Two
    Zephaniah
    22 Activities
    |
    3 Assessments
  3. Lesson Three
    Habakkuk
    19 Activities
    |
    4 Assessments
  4. Lesson Four
    Joel and Josiah
    24 Activities
    |
    2 Assessments
  5. Lesson Five
    Interpreting Prophecy
    34 Activities
    |
    7 Assessments
  6. Course Wrap-up
    Course Completion
    1 Activity
    |
    1 Assessment
Minor Prophets, Part 2: Babylonian Crisis Nahum In | Preparing for the Siege, Part 2
Lesson 1, Activity 7

In | Preparing for the Siege, Part 2

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Are you better than No-amon,
Which was situated by the waters of the Nile,
With water surrounding her,
Whose rampart was the sea,
Whose wall consisted of the sea?
. . . Draw for yourself water for the siege!
Strengthen your fortifications! 
Nahum 3:8, 14 NASB

The city of “No-amon” is the ancient name of Thebes in Egypt. No-amon was known as a nearly siege-proof city in the ancient world. Its position on the Nile gave it easy access to water and also allowed its inhabitants to fish for food under siege. As the verse suggests, the Assyrians eventually found a way to cut off No-amon’s water supply, and once this happened, No-amon surrendered quickly.  

Nahum predicts that the same strategy will be used against Nineveh, Assyria’s own “siege-proof” city. This is a prophetic taunt against an arrogant empire. The theological rationale is that YHWH regularly brings justice in the form of taste-your-own-medicine retribution.