Nahum 2:3

3 The shields of his mighty men are red; the valiant warriors are dressed in scarlet. The fittings of the chariots flash like fire on the day they are prepared, and the spears of cypress have been brandished. ^[a]

Nahum 2:3 Meaning and Commentary

Nahum 2:3

The shield of his mighty men is made red
The shields of the soldiers in the armies of the Babylonians and Medes, those dashers in pieces that would come up against Nineveh, should be red; either with the blood of the slain, or thus coloured on purpose to inject terror to their enemies; or this may express the lustre of them, which being gilded, or made of gold or brass, in the rays of the sun glittered, and looked of a fiery red; see the Apocrypha: ``Now when the sun shone upon the shields of gold and brass, the mountains glistered therewith, and shined like lamps of fire.'' (1 Maccabees 6:39) the valiant men [are] in scarlet;
the generals and other officers of the army were clothed in scarlet; partly to show their greatness and nobleness, and partly to strike their enemies with terror, and to hide their blood should they be wounded, and so keep up their own spirits, and not encourage their enemies: the chariots [shall be] with flaming torches in the day of his
preparation;
that is, when the Medes and Chaldeans, under their respective commander or commanders, shall prepare for the siege of the city, and to make their onset and attack upon it, the chariots used by them in war, which was common in those times, would have flaming torches in them; either to guide them in the night, or to set fire to houses or tents they should meet with, or to terrify the enemy: or "the chariots [shall be] as flaming torches" ^F7; they should run with such swiftness, that the wheels, being of iron, or cased with it, should strike fire upon the stones in such quantities, that they should look like torches flaming: and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken;
with the motion of the chariots; or this may be interpreted of spears and lances, and such like instruments of war, made of fir; which should be in such great numbers, and with so much activity used against the Ninevites, that it would look like shaking a forest of fir trees. The Targum interprets these of the great men and generals of their armies glittering in dyed garments; and Kimchi's father, of the princes and great men of the city of Nineveh, who would be seized with terror, and reel about like drunken men; and so all that follows in the next verse ( Nahum 2:4 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 So (b) is sometimes used as (k) . See Nold. Concord. Ebr. Part. p. 162. No. 728. So Piscator, and the Tigurine version.

Nahum 2:3 In-Context

1 One who scatters advances against you, O Nineveh. Guard the fortress! Watch the road! Brace yourselves! Summon all your strength!

2 For the LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel, though destroyers have laid them waste and ruined the branches of their vine.

3 The shields of his mighty men are red; the valiant warriors are dressed in scarlet. The fittings of the chariots flash like fire on the day they are prepared, and the spears of cypress have been brandished.

4 The chariots dash through the streets; they rush around the plazas, appearing like torches, darting about like lightning.

5 He summons his nobles; they stumble as they advance. They race to its wall; the protective shield is set in place.

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew; alternately, the spears may be of pine or juniper or fir; LXX and Syriac they are prepared, and the horsemen rush to and fro.