Nahum's name in the Bible is only mentioned in Nahum 1:1.
The Shortest
Nahum, with its 1,284 words in the King James Bible, is the ninth shortest writing in terms of word count. His work is only slightly smaller than the book written by Jonah (1,320).
[Why Is the Bible Hard to Read?]
Nahum, as well as the other Minor Prophets Jonah, Obadiah (669 words) and Haggai (1,130), comprise four of the ten shortest books in the entire Bible.
The city of No (another name for Thebes in Egypt) is one of the shortest city names in the entire King James Bible (Nahum 3:8). Other two letter city names include Ai (Joshua 7:2), Ar (Numbers 21:15) and the Egyptian cities of On (Numbers 16:11) and So (2Kings 17:4).
New Testament References
Nahum is referenced or alluded to four times in the New Testament. Nahum 1:15 is referenced in Romans 10:15 and 1:17 is referenced in 2Timothy 2:19. Nahum 3:4 is alluded to in Revelation 17:1 and 3:17 is alluded to in Revelation 9:7.
Dating Nahum
Nahum's book offers us hints regarding the time period in which it was written.
Our first date hint is a verse which surprisingly reveals God taunting Nineveh (Assyrian Empire) that they were no better than a certain Egyptian city that fell.
[Assyrian Empire at its Peak Map]
Art thou better than populous No (Thebes), that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea? (Nahum 3:8).
It was the Assyrians in 663 B.C. who, under King Ashurbanipal, conquered and sacked Thebes (now modern day Luxor). The date of this event means Nahum wrote sometime after its demise.
Nahum 1:1 tells us his prophecies were directed at Nineveh and its impending destruction. The city became the capital of the mighty Assyrian Empire in 705 B.C. and lasted until it was sacked in 612. This tells us the prophet had to have written his book before the city fell.
We can further slightly narrow the range of the book by noting that Nahum assumed a strong Assyrian empire which had the Kingdom of Judah firmly in its grip (see Nahum 1:12 - 15).
[Principles in Understanding Prophecy!]
World history reveals that the Assyrian Empire reached its peak of power under King Ashurbanipal. It was only after the king's death in 627 B.C. that the empire began its decline to its ultimate demise (Worldhistory.org article on Ashurbanipal).
Given all of the above, a conservative date range for Nahum would be from 662 to 627 B.C. Varying dates such as around 630 (Halley's Bible Handbook), 650 (Holman Illustrated Study Bible), 606 (1911 Encyclopedia Britannica) and others are usually quoted for the book. All these, however, are admittedly only best guesses.
Behold!
The word behold is used four times in Nahum. Two of these are in the phrase "Behold, I am against thee" to denote God's personal involvement in Nineveh's destruction.
Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard. (Nahum 2:13, see also 3:5).
God also uses behold to draw attention to what he is about to declare.
[What Are God's Annual Feasts?]
Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off. (Nahum 1:15, see also 3:13).
Short Term Peace
Judah's peace, where the wicked would no more pass through them (Nahum 1:15), was likely a prophecy of still future events. The peace Judah experienced at the time, however, was incredibly brief!
Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, was sacked in 612 B.C. It was only then that the Kingdom of Judah was permanently released from the yoke of Assyrian domination. There were other mighty nations, however, who would soon take Assyria's place as a foreign entity dominating God's people.
[Judah's Ruling Dynasty Timeline]
King Jehoahaz assumed Judah's throne after the death of his father King Josiah in 609. He was, however, only able to reign for three months. The Pharaoh Neco, traveling through Judah on his way back to Egypt, deposed Jehoahaz and replaced him with another of Josiah's sons named Jehoiakim (2Kings 23:31 - 35). He also forced those in Judah to pay him tribute of gold and silver.
Judah's peace from the wicked lasted only three years.