Reformation Orthodox Presbyterian Church

Nahum wrote at the end of the reign of the wicked king, Manasseh. Manasseh's reign began in 687 B.C. and ended around 682 B.C.. For nearly a half-century Manasseh brought sin and shame upon the nation of Israel, and through his idolatry and moral compromise Israel endured years of social, political, and moral decline. He failed to honor the Lord as his father Hezekiah had, and did much wickedness until his repentance and reform later in life. During his reign there was a period of prophetic silence either due to God's judgment or the persecution of the prophets, either way, Nahum's prophecies represent an end to that silence, writing sometime around 682 B.C. Nahum is not writing it Israel, his audience was Nineveh, though what he wrote was important to Yahweh's people even then.