ISIS just 10 miles from Nahum tomb!

Assyrian Christian family stands guard

By Craig C. White

ISIS has destroyed many historical sites in their conquest of northern Iraq and Syria. ISIS is now only 10 miles away from Nahum the prophet’s tomb in the town of Alqosh near Mosul in northern Iraq. The family of an Assyrian Christian named Asir Salaam Shajaa have protected the Nahum tomb for generations.

I am certain that Nahum is buried in his home town of Alqosh in northern Iraq. He was part of the Israeli captives of the Assyrian Empire. Nahum foretold the destruction of the Assyrian Empire capital city of Nineveh by a flood. Today the northern Iraqi city of Mosul is built around the ruins of Nineveh. Nahum may also predict the flooding of Mosul. It may seem like a small thing to most of the world but now is the right time to remember Nahum. His prophecies may be completed very soon. The town of Alqosh overlooks the Mosul dam and is slightly elevated. It is as close to the dam as you can get without being drown in the case of a bust dam. Perhaps God will open the Mosul dam before ISIS destroys Nahum”s grave.

Elkosh O’gosh!

God the ensnarer

By Craig C. White

When Hebrew prophets talk about the burden of a city or nation they are describing the portion of God’s judgment that it must endure. The book of Nahum is describing Nineveh’s plight. In 612 BC God sent a flood of water to destroy Nineveh. I think that Nahum is also describing the plight of ISIS in Mosul today!

Nahum 1:1 The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

The name Nahum means comfort. He didn’t comfort the city of Nineveh but he did comfort the nation of Israel by telling them that one of their enemies would be vanquished by God. Nahum was one of the Israeli captives that were taken away by the Assyrian Empire around 740 BC. So during the time that Nahum wrote his book he lived in Assyria or what we call northern Iraq today. Nahum lived in a town called Elkosh. Today the small town of Elkosh is known as Alqosh. Alqosh is located about twenty miles to the north of the city of Mosul. As a matter of fact Alqosh overlooks the Mosul dam. If the Mosul dam was ever to burst, Alqosh is as close as you could get to the dam without drowning. What does the name Elkosh mean? Elkosh means God the ensnarer.

To ensnare means to catch something in a trap. God set a trap for Nineveh. God ensnared the city of Nineveh by planting it by the Tigris River. In 612 BC God sent a torrential rain which overflowed the banks of the Tigris River flooding the city. The city of Mosul is sitting in an even worse trap. In 1985 construction of the Mosul dam was completed. Ever since the dam was put into service there have been concerns about its stability and safety. It seems that the ground it was built on is dissolving! The dam requires constant upkeep to prevent it from failing. The Mosul dam is located just north of the city. If the dam burst it would send a sixty foot high wave of water over the city of Mosul. So Nahum the comforter represents God the ensnarer; otherwise known as Elkosh!