Nahum 2:7 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

And Huzzab shall be led away, &c.— Houbigant renders this, And the queen ascends into her upper chamber; [or the place where to see and lament the ruins of the city;] and like the voice of doves, so do her maidens lament, beating their breasts. Others suppose that Huzzab signifies a fortress, and denotes Nineveh, which is described as a great princess carried away captive, with her maids of honour attending her, and bewailing both her and their own condition, by beating their breasts, and other expressions of lamentation. According to these commentators, the maids denote the lesser cities of the Assyrian kingdom, which should share with the capital in the same calamities. See Grotius and Calmet. But the author of the Observations gives us the fullest and clearest explanation of this text. When D'Arvieux was in the camp of the great emir, his princess was visited by other Arab princesses. The last who came, and whose visit alone he describes, was mounted on a camel covered with carpet, and decked with flowers; a dozen of women marched in a row before her, holding the camel's halter with one hand, while they sung the praises of their mistress, in compositions expressive of joy, and the happiness of being in the service of so beautiful and amiable a lady. Those who went first, and were more distant from her person, came in their turn to the head of the camel, and took hold of the halter; which place, as being the post of honour, they quitted to others, when the princess had gone a few paces. The emir's lady sent her women to meet her, to whom the halter was entirely quitted out of respect, her own women placing themselves behind the camel: in this order they marched to the tent, where she alighted. They then all sung together the beauty, birth, and good qualities of this princess. Now, does not this account illustrate the passage before us? Nahum is speaking of the presenting of the queen of Nineveh, or Nineveh itself under the figure of a queen, to her conqueror. He describes her as led by her maids, with the voice of doves; with the voice of mourning; that is, their wonted songs of joy, with which they used to lead her along, as the Arab women dis their princess, being turned into lamentation. That the prophet is here speaking of a presentation to a conqueror, is evident from the term brought up; which is the same, in the original as well as in our version, with that used for the conducting of Zedekiah to the place where his conqueror held his court. Compare 2 Kings 25:6. Jeremiah 39:5. Nor were former distinctions altogether lost in captivity, as appears from Jeremiah 34:3-5. Though Zedekiah was to die a captive, yet some distinctions of royalty were to be paid him even in captivity: thus Huzzab was to be led by her maids into the presence of her conqueror, as princesses were usually led, but with the voice of lamentation, instead of the voice of joy. Thus we enter naturally into the force of the expression, her maids shall lead her, as well as of the term brought up. See Observations, p. 228.