Commentary on Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah and Nahum John Calvin
MINOR PROPHETS
son. Then Beliol, is properly a vain thing, which is wholly unsubstantial; and so it designates a man in whom there is no integrity. It is also applied to all the wicked, and to their crimes: hence a thing or work of Belial is said to be any heinous sin or a detestable crime; and the man who acts perversely and wickedly is called Belial.
And Paul takes Belial simply for the very gravity of Satan, and of all the wicked; for he opposes Belial to Christ, (2 Corinthians 6:15.) We now then understand the meaning of the Prophet to be this, --- that God denounces war on the Assyrians, because they made war unjustly on his people, and consulted not only against the Jews, but also against God, who had taken them, as it has been stated, under his own keeping and protection. It follows ---
Nahum 1:12
12. Thus saith the Lord; Though they be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afÒicted thee, I will afÒict thee no more.
12. Sic dixit Jehovah, Si tranquilli fuerint, utcunque fuerint multi (vel, potentes;) sic etiam tollentur et transibit: et si afÒixerim te, non afÒigam te amplius.
The Prophet pursues here the same subject; but expresses more clearly what might have been doubtful, --- that whatever strength there might be in the Assyrians, it could not resist the coming of God's vengeance. For thus saith Jehovah, Though they be quiet and also strong, etc. I cannot now finish this subject, but will only say this, --- The Prophet intimates that though Nineveh promised to itself a tranquil state, because it was well fortified, and had a wide and large extent of empire, yet this thy peace, he says, or this thy confidence and security, shall not be an impediment, that the hand of God should not be extended to thee. Though, then, they be many or strong etc.; for we can render {,}רביםrebim, strong as well as many; but either would suit this place; for we understand the Prophet's meaning to be, that all God's enemies would be cut off, however secure they might be, while depending on their own strength and fortresses. The rest to-morrow.
Prayer.
Grant, Almighty God, that inasmuch as thou sees thy enemies at this day raging with cruel, yea, with diabolic fury against thy Church, we may find thee to be the same as the faithful in all former ages had found thee, even a defender of the safety of those who truly, and with a sincere heart, called on thee, and sought thee in extreme necessity; and do thou, at this day, stretch forth thine hand, and so restrain the fury which thou sees is against all thy servants and thy children, that the wicked may at length really find, even to their ruin, that they fight not with miserable mortals, disheartened and without defense, but with thine ineffable power, that they may be confounded, though not ashamed, and that, however they may glamour against thee and thine invincible hand, they may yet become an example and a manifest evidence, that thou art not only faithful in thy promises, but also armed with power, by which thou canst execute whatsoever thou hast promised respecting idol, they applied this name to the devil, 2 Corinthians 6:15; which word is derived either from a root that signifieth not to profit, or not to mount upward, because he seeks the fall of mankind, and to keep those that are fallen into his snares, 2 Timothy 2:26
Jerome fetcheth it from a root, which, with another word, signifieth without a yoke, or, lawless; therefore the Septuagint commonly translate it, {παρανομος}.'' --- Leigh.
JOHN CALVIN
the preservation of thy Church, until thou at length gatherest us into that blessed rest, which has been provided for us by the blood of thy Son. Amen.
Lecture One Hundred and First
We stated yesterday what the Prophet meant by these words, that though the Assyrians were quiet and many, they would yet be suddenly cut off by the Lord. He clearly intimates, that the wicked are never so fortified by their own forces or by the help of others, but that the Lord can, without any difÏculty, destroy them.
As to the words, some connect the particle {,}כןcan with what he had said, ``Though they be quiet,'' and give this version, ``Though they be quiet and in like manner many, that is, though they be secure, thinking themselves safe from all danger, and so also trust in their own number, yet they shall be removed.'' But the repetition of {}כןin Hebrew is common; and the sentence may be thus explained, Though they be quiet, and how many soever they may be, yet thus shall they be removed. {,}וכן{ }וכןucan ucan, that is, ``As they are many, so also the many shall be destroyed.'' With regard to the verb {}גוזguz, (but some, though not correctly, derive it from {,}גזזgezaz,) I take it in the sense of removing from the middle, of destroying: it properly means in Hebrew to remove to a distance, though almost all interpreters render it, ``They are shorn,'' which ought rather to be, ``They shall be shorn:'' and both the verbs, {,}גוזguz as well as {,}גזזgizaz, mean to clip or shear: but as the other sense suits the form of the Prophet's discourse better, I hesitate not thus to render it, ``They shall be taken away,'' or destroyed. What the Prophet next adds, {,}ועברuober, and he shall pass, is applied by some to the angel, by whom the army of Sennacherib was destroyed. Others think that a temporary pestilence is meant; as though he had said, that it would only pass through. But the Prophet seems to refer to a former clause, where he said, that God would suddenly destroy the Assyrians as it were with a sudden and unexpected deluge. This, then, is the most suitable meaning, that however much the Assyrians excelled in number of men and in strength, they would yet be suddenly destroyed; for the Lord would pass through, that is, the Lord would by one onset reduce them to nothing. 295
Then it follows, Though (and, literally) I have afÒicted thee, yet afÒict thee will I no more. But this sentence must be thus rendered, `Though thee have I afÒicted, I will not afÒict thee any more.' The Prophet meets a doubt, which might have laid hold on the perplexed minds of the faithful; for they saw that God had been hitherto angry with them. They might then have succumbed under their griefs had it not been added, that they had indeed been afÒicted for a time, but that God would now put an end to his severity, for he would no longer afÒict them. It is indeed certain, that they were often afÒicted afterwards; but this ought to be confined to what the Assyrians had done; for we know that our Prophet directed his predictions chiefly
295The best and the most literal version of these two lines, with the exception of the last word, is that of Dr. Wheeler, as given by Newcome, — Though they are at peace, and also mighty, Still shall they be cut off and pass away. The last verb is in the singular number, {,{`` ועבדand he shall pass through'' or away, that is, the wicked counselor mentioned in the preceding verse. Newcome's own version is that of new text, which he has himself formed, from a mere hint derived from the Septuagint. Henderson's version is the following, --- Though they are complete and so very numerous, Yet in this state they shall be cut off, And he shall pass away.
The word {}שלמיםmeans, no doubt, entire, complete, perfect, as well as to be at peace, secure, quiet; and may be referred, as the author says, to the complete condition of the Assyrian army: but what seems to be intended is the character of the nation.