Nahum

(comfort) (Nah. 1:1)—one of the twelve minor prophets. We have no information about him except what is said in the first chapter of his book, namely, that he was by origin an Elkoshite. The place Elkosh, from which he was surnamed the Elkoshite, is, in the opinion of some, located in Galilee, and in the opinion of others, at Alqosh, near Mosul. According to the testimony of Benjamin of Tudela, the tomb of Nahum was located at Ain Sifta; according to the opinion of more recent writers, it is located at Alqosh, where the Jews annually celebrate his memory for a period of fourteen days.

But wherever he lived, and wherever he died, one thing is certain: that he prophesied before the fall of Nineveh, and after the destruction of the Egyptian city of No, or No-amon (Nah. 3:8). It appears that he also prophesied after the captivity of the tribes of Israel and before the captivity of the tribes of Judah. Everything in the book indicates that Nahum lived about the time of the prophets Isaiah and Micah. The memory of the prophet Nahum is celebrated on December 1.