Purpose of Writing: Nahum did not write this book as a warning or “call to repentance” for the people of Nineveh. God had already sent them the prophet Jonah 150 years earlier with His promise of what would happen if they continued in their evil ways. The people at that time had repented but now lived just as bad if not worse than they did before. The Assyrians had become absolutely brutal in their conquests (hanging the bodies of their victims on poles and putting their skin on the walls of their tents among other atrocities).
Kusudi la Kuandika: Nahumu hakuandika kitabu hiki kama onyo au "kuwaita watubu" kwa ajili ya watu wa Ninawi. Mungu alikuwa tayari amewatumia nabii Yona miaka 150 iliyopita na ahadi yake ya kitakachotokea ikiwa waliendelea katika njia zao mbaya. watu wakati huo walikuwa wametubu lakini sasa waliishi tu vibaya kama si vibaya zaidi kuliko walivyokuwa awali. Waashuri walikuwa wamekuwa katili kabisa katika utawala wao (kuning’inisha miili ya mateka wao juu ya miti na kuweka ngozi zao juu ya kuta za hema zao miongoni mwa maovu mengine).