R. A. Orekhov

Ob odnoi netochnosti v Knige proroka Nauma: istoricheskii kontekst [About one inaccuracy in the Book of the prophet Nahum: historical context]

In this article, the author attempts to study a verse from the Book of the prophet Nahum (Nahum 3:8), which is dedicated to destruction of Egyptian Thebes by an army of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (667 BC). In the course of studying material, the author comes to a conclusion that Nahum’s description of Thebes does not correspond to reality. In fact, the prophet describes another city — Memphis and an assault of its citadel. The fact is that during the era of Ashurbanipal, Memphis was loyal to Assyria and did not pose a serious threat to it, since it was actually destroyed during a previous military campaign of Esarhaddon (671 BC). In Nahum’s mind, all the events of the Assyrian expansion into Egypt merged into one whole. But due to this fact we have at our disposal the most important historical source that tells us not only about the fall of Thebes (during the period when Nahum himself lived), but also at the same time about the assault of the citadel of Memphis and its consequences.

Keywords:
Nahum, Thebes, Memphis, Ashurbanipal, Esarhaddon.

Original language — Russian.

DOI: 10.24412/2686-9276-2025-00007.

Referring: Orekhov R. A. About one inaccuracy in the Book of the prophet Nahum: historical context [in Russian] // Egypt and Neighbouring Countries 2 (2025): 48–65. DOI: 10.24412/2686-9276-2025-00007.

Read full article