God... furious. — Better, A jealous and vengeful God is Jehovah, an avenger is Jehovah, aye, wrathful. This verse lays the groundwork for the declaration of God’s sentence against the offending city. There are, of course, several passages in the Law which attribute the same character to Jehovah, e.g., Exodus 20:5; Deuteronomy 4:24. Nahum’s model, however, is a passage of opposite purport, the well-known proclamation of Jehovah’s attribute of mercy (Exodus 34:6-7). To that passage the present is a kind of counterpoise, Êl kannô v’nôkêm here being the pendant to Êl rachoom v’channoon there.
Related Commentaries of Nahum 1:2
Nahum 1:2
2 Goda is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.