48 The term “pool” (בְּרֵכָה, bérekhah) usually refers to a man-made artificial water reservoir fed by water aqueducts rather than to a natural pond ( ). For example, it is used in reference to man-made water reservoirs for the royal gardens (Eccl 2:6; Neh 2:14); man-made water reservoirs in Jerusalem, some of which were fed by aqueducts (2 Kgs 18:17; 20:20; Isa 7:3; 22:9, 11; 36:2; Neh 3:15, 16); the pool of Gibeon (2 Sam 2:13); the pool of Hebron (2 Sam 4:12); the pool of Samaria (1 Kgs 22:38); and the pools of Heshbon (Song 7:5). The pool of Siloam, built by Hezekiah and fed by the underground aqueduct known as Hezekiah’s Tunnel, is designated by the term בְּרֵכָה in 2 Kgs 20:20 and the Siloam Inscription (line 5). Nineveh was like a pool of water. This is an appropriate simile because Nineveh was famous for its artificial pools, many of which serviced the royal gardens. Two rivers also flowed through the city: the Tebiltu and the Khoser.
49 Or “Nineveh [is] like a pool of water.” Either a present tense or a past tense verb may be supplied.
50 The reads מִימֵי הִיא (mime hi’, “from her days”). The form מִימֵי is composed of the assimilated preposition מִן (min, “from”) prefixed to the plural construct of יוֹם (yom, “day”; see יוֹם). The preposition מִן is used temporally, marking the beginning of a continuous period (“since, from”; see מִן 2; 581 מִן 4.a). Several scholars suggest that the third-person independent pronoun הִיא (hi’) functions as a possessive genitive (“her”), a usage attested in Ugaritic, Akkadian, and elsewhere in Hebrew (2 Kgs 9:18; Isa 18:2; Nah 2:12). See K. J. Cathcart, Nahum in the Light of Northwest Semitic (), 100–101; §16.2 n. 9; T. Longman, “Nahum,” The Minor Prophets, 2:807. The plural of יוֹם (“day”) here denotes “lifetime” ( יוֹם 6.c). The phrase מִימֵי הִיא probably means “from the beginning of her days” or “throughout her days” or “during her lifetime.” This is similar to “from the beginning of your days” or “since your days began” or “as long as you live” (1 Sam 25:28; Job 38:12; see יוֹם 6.c; 597 מִן 2.a; 581 מִן 4.a). Several English versions adopt this: “throughout her days” (), “from earliest times” (), and “[Nineveh] of old” (). In contrast to the Masoretic vocalization, the consonantal text מִימֵי הִיא is rendered “her waters” by the and critical scholars. The reading of the (τὰ ὕδατα αὐτῆς, ta hudata autēs, “her waters”) reflects the alternate vocalization מֵימֶיהָ (memeha, “her waters”). The editors suggest emending the to מֵימֶיהָ (“her waters”). Saggs suggests that the original form was מֵימֶיהָא (memeha’, “her waters”) which he explains thus: מִימֶי is the plural construct of מָיִם (mayim, “waters”); הָא is the 3rd person feminine singular suffix on the plural noun, as in Ezek 41:15 ( §32.l); the yod (י) of Masoretic הִיא (hi’) is a secondary matres lectionis inserted into wrongly-divided and misunderstood ־הָא (W. H. F. Saggs, “Nahum and the Fall of Nineveh,” 20 [1969]: 220–25). These alternative approaches are followed by several English versions: “its water is draining away” (); “whose waters run away” (); and “its waters are fleeing” (). Heb “from days of her” or “from her days.”
51 The translation takes the vav on וְהֵמָּה (véhemmah) in a temporal sense. This approach is also adopted by : “Now they flee.”
52 Heb “they”; the referent (the people of Nineveh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
53 Or “fleeing away”; or (maintaining the imagery of the pool of water) “draining away.”
54 The introductory phrase “she cries out” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
55 Or “can turn [them] back.” The Hebrew verb פּנַהָ (panah, “to turn”) often describes the fearful flight from an attacking enemy army (Josh 7:12; Judg 20:42, 45, 47; Jer 46:5, 21; 47:3; 48:39; 49:8, 24). Nahum pictures the people of Nineveh fleeing from their attackers; nothing can be done to stop their fearful flight. The Hiphil participle מַפְנֶה (mafneh) may be taken in an intransitive (Jer 46:5, 21; 47:3; 49:24) or transitive sense (Judg 15:4; 1 Sam 10:9; Jer 48:39), i.e., “no one turns back” or “no one can turn [them] back,” respectively (see §27.2).