The New John Gill Exposition of the Entire Bible Nahum 1:4
He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry…
As he did the Red
sea, when the children of Israel passed through it as on dry land;
which shows his power and sovereignty over it; that it is at his
command, as a servant at his master's; and since the wind and sea obey
him, what is it he cannot do? see (Isaiah 50:2) (51:10) ;
and drieth up all the rivers;
that is, he can do it if he will; he
divided the waters of Jordan, through the midst of which the Israelites
passed on dry ground; and will dry up the river Euphrates, to make way
for the kings of the east; and as for Tigris, on the banks of which the
city of Nineveh stood, of which the inhabitants boasted, and in which
they trusted for their security, he could dry up, and make way for the
enemy to enter in; or make that their enemy, and overflow them with it,
as he did; see (Nahum 1:8) (2:8) . By the "sea" and "rivers" may be meant
the whole Assyrian empire, and many nations and people, as Jarchi and
Abarbinel interpret it, of whom it consisted; see (Jeremiah 51:36) (Revelation 17:15) ;
Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth;
when the Lord restrains the heavens from giving rain, then Bashan,
famous for its fat pastures and fruitful meadows, and Carmel for its
rich grain fields, and Lebanon for its tall shadowy cedars, these, and
the glory of all, wither and fade away, being parched and dried up for
want of moisture. These were places in the land of Israel, but may be
put for like flourishing and fruitful hills and countries in the land
of Assyria, which should become desolate; see (Psalms 107:33,34) .
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