George Herbert Box

“ Some of these afterwards became followers of Christ (John i. 37) . John’s activity indeed had far-reaching effects. It profoundly influenced the Messianic movement depicted in the Gospels. The preaching of Jesus shows traces of this, and the Fourth Gospel (as well as the Synoptists) displays a marked interest in connecting the Johannine movement with the beginnings of Christianity. The fact that after the lapse of a quarter of a century there were Christians in Ephesus who accepted John’s baptism (Acts xviii. 25, xix. 3) is highly significant. ”

“ Here (a) describes in language of considerable descriptive power the assault on Nineveh — the city is mentioned by name in ii. 8 (9 Heb. text) —its capture and sack; (b) contains an oracle of Yahweh directed against the king of Assyria (“ Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of Hosts,” v. 13) ; (c) again gives a vivid picture of war and desolation which are to overtake and humiliate Nineveh, as they have already overtaken No-Amon (i.e. Egyptian Thebes, iv. 8-10) ; the defence is pictured as futile and the ruin complete. ”

“ That this method of divination was not in actual use after the Exile is shown by Neh. vii. 65 (Ezra ii. 63; r Esdras v. 40) where an important point affecting the priestly families is reserved “ till there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim.” Later references (Ecclus. xlv. ro; in Josephus and the Talmud) prove that no real tradition survived on the subject. The identification of them with the jewels of the breastplate and on the shoulders of the high priest (which apparently has the authority of Josephus) is unwarranted; other ancient guesses are equally baseless. ”

“ Among modern Jews it has survived in two forms: (1) the fringed praying shawl called talith worn by every male orthodox Jew at the synagogue morning service; and (2) an under-garment, shaped like a chest-protector, one part covering the chest, the other the back, which is worn continuously by male orthodox Jews. ”

“ It is generally held by critical scholars that i. 1-8, 13, 15, and ii. 2 certainly do not proceed from Nahum; i. 9-12 may, however, belong to the prophet. The phenomena are conflicting and a completely satisfactory solution seems to be impossible.
Date of Nahum's Oracle.—The date of the composition of Nahum's prophecy must lie between 607–606, when Nineveh was captured and destroyed by the Babylonians and Medes, and the capture of Thebes (No-Amon) which is alluded to in iii. 8-10. ”

“ A further inference (0) from a comparison of 1 Sam. xiv. 41 f. with ver. 36 (Greek text) is that this method of casting the sacred lot was closely connected with divination by the ephod (q.v.) , and was the prerogative of the priests. ”

“ According to tradition he was buried at Samaria (Theodoret, H. E. iii. 3) . (G. H. Bo.)
↑ There is no reason to suppose that Jutta is intended by the πόλις Ἰούδα of Luke i. 39: the tradition which makes ʽAin Karim, near Jerusalem, the birthplace of the Baptist only dates from the crusading period. ”