In this essay Professor Haupt presents an original translation with introduction and commentary as well as an edited Hebrew text along with critical notes. Thus the reader gains access to the text in both English and Hebrew under the careful direction of the author’s critical apparatus. Throughout, Haupt’s command of the textual traditions and the relevant languages along with his historical-critical insights demonstrate the great depth of his knowledge of this book and its history. It is his main argument that the book is not composed of prophecy but rather of a liturgical collection of four poems celebrating the Maccabean victory over the Syrian Nicanor in 161 BCE. This essay is an excellent resource for the study of the book of Nahum, both for the layperson and the scholar.

Paul Haupt (1858-1926) was a renowned biblical scholar and Assyriologist. He wrote works on many of the books of the Jewish Scriptures and matters of Semitic linguistic import. Also notable is his work on the epic of Gilgamesh (Das Babylonische Nimrodepos). He received his doctorate degree in Semitic Languages from the University of Leipzig. He taught at the University of Göttingen and Johns Hopkins University and was a founder of Beiträge zur Assyriologie and also became coeditor with Friedrich Delitzsch of the Beiträge zur Assyriologie und semitischen Sprachwissenschaft. Professionally active, he served as President of both the Society of Biblical Literature and the American Oriental Society.