Unlike prophets such as Isaiah and Jeremiah, Nahum’s oracle is not preached but rather written as a carefully composed book. So it will be read by those for whom it was intended. It is also described as a vision that is given to Nahum. This oracle comes from the Lord. Nahum is writing of things that are still to happen and that he would not otherwise have known. By calling his writing a vision, Nahum places himself amongst God’s prophets.1. The events that are revealed to Nahum and that he writes about, take place in 612 BC, when Nineveh was invaded by the Medes and Babylonians. It is therefore a prophetic announcement against Nineveh from the Lord. Nahum probably received the vision and wrote his oracle sometime during 660–630 BC.
1 An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.