3:7 Nineveh is laid waste. The once-great city of Nineveh has been desolate for 2600 years, now covered with a great mound of accumulated dirt and debris. It has been almost continually under excavation by archaeologists since the mid-nineteenth century, but may never be completely excavated because of its huge size. It has yielded great historical information. For a long time, it was considered by critics to have been merely a Bible myth, so completely hidden by sand as it was. As usual, however, the Biblical history was right after all.

3:8 populous No. “Populous No,” possibly better translated “No-Amon” (Amon being its chief deity), was the magnificent city of Thebes, in upper Egypt. It was invaded and cruelly destroyed by the Assyrians in about 666 B.C., as mentioned in Nahum 3:10. Thus, chapter 3 of Nahum’s prophecy must have been written after this.