This is the twenty-eighth in a series of biblical summaries from David Dorsey's book: The Literary Structure of the Old Testament. This is the seventh in the sub-series of minor prophets, covering Nahum.
a Yahweh, like a terrible force of nature, avenges his enemies (1:2-10)
b Yahweh will destroy Nineveh (1:11-15)
c vivid description of the attack upon Nineveh (2:1-10)
d CENTER: lament over fall of Nineveh (2:11-13)
c' vivid description of the looting of Nineveh (3:1-7)
b' Nineveh will be destroyed (3:8-13)
a' Nineveh, likened to a destructive force of nature, will be destroyed (3:14-19)
The 'a' pattern links the first section's description of Yahweh's judgment to the second section's particular judgment upon the Ninevites. In the first section, Yahweh's anger is poured out like fire. In the second section, the Ninevites are consumed with fire. In the first section, mountains quake before him. In the second section, Assyria's people will be scattered upon the mountains. In the first section, he pursues his enemies into darkness and he makes an end of his enemies' place. In the second section, Assyria's place will not even be known and the locust plague is described as being dispersed by the rising of the sun. All of this suggests the particularity of God's judgment on Nineveh.
The 'b' pattern describes Nineveh's destruction. In both sections, we are told that the Assyrians will become drunk. In the first section, they will be consumed. In the second, we are told that their fortresses are ready to be eaten, and that fire has consumed the bars of their gates. In the first section, Yahweh will break Assyria's bonds that bind Judah. In the second section, Assyria's dignitaries will be bound in chains. All this suggests that Yahweh will bring the Assyrians' destruction of Judah back upon their own head.
The 'c' pattern describes an attack upon Nineveh. Both are written in a staccato, eyewitness-type account. Both describe chariots rushing about. The first section describes wounded, dying soldiers. The second section describes dead soldiers, corpses everywhere. The first section describes chariots like lightning. The second section describes spears flashing like lightning. The first section describes the city's defenders stumbling as they race to the walls. The second section describes enemies stumbling over corpses. All this conveys the certainty of Nineveh's fall.
The 'd' section is a central lament over the fall of Nineveh. Dorsey writes: "The central unit of the book functions as a quiet interlude. The frantic pace of the previous unit now gives way to a relaxed, almost wistful tone. The unit is introduced by "where?", a word often used to introduce a lament. This unit is a dirge over the fall of Nineveh. The city is likened to a lion's den, and the motif of a lion and its young persists throughout these verses, tying them together into a literary unit."
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