CHAPTER VII
THE ALPHABETIC POEM IN NAHUM
[The following discussion first appeared in the
Expositor for September 1898. It was written to estab-
lish a position which has since been generally conceded,
viz. that Nahum i. contains at least part of an alphabetic
poem, or acrostich. But once this position is conceded
it is reasonable enough to endeavour to rediscover the
whole acrostich ; and since 1898 fresh attempts have
been made in this direction. But it still remains true
that the argument that the whole acrostich and not
merely part of it lies latent in Nahum i., ii. is much less
cogent than the argument that chapter i. contains the
first half of such a poem ; it is also true that the emenda-
tions necessary to restore the last half of the poem are
altogether more speculative and uncertain than those
required to restore the first half. For this reason, and
because the recognition' of the fact that at least part
of an alphabetic poem is present in Nahum i. has a
very important bearing on the criticism of the Book
of Nahum, I here reproduce what I wrote, without
substantial alterations beyond additions which are
inserted in square brackets, and the omission of a
paragraph on Psalms ix. and x., which is rendered super-
fluous by the fuller discussion of those Psalms in the
next chapter.
To have discussed all that has been written on this
poem since 1898 would have been alien to the purpose
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