and of a Greek (Old-United) bishopric. Among its principal buildings are the St Ladislaus parish church, built in 1723, which contains the remains of the king St Ladislaus (d. 1095), the Roman Catholic cathedral, built in 1752–1779, the Greek cathedral, the large palace of the Roman Catholic bishop, built in 1778 in the rococo style, the archaeological and historical museum, with an interesting collection of ecclesiastical art, and the county and town hall. Among the educational establishments are a law academy, a seminary for priests, a modern school, a Roman Catholic and a Calvinistic gymnasium, a commercial academy, a training school for teachers and a secondary school for girls. Nagy-Varad is an important railway junction; it possesses extensive manufactures of pottery and large distilleries, and carries on a brisk trade in agricultural produce, cattle, horses, fruit and wine. About 6 m. S. of the town is the village of Hajé, which contains the Püspök Fürdö or Bishop’s Baths, with warm saline and sulphurous waters (92° to 103° F.), used both for drinking and bathing in cases of anaemia and scrofula.
Nagy-Varad is one of the oldest towns in Hungary. Its bishopric was founded by St Ladislaus in 1080. The town was destroyed by the Tatars in 1241. Peace was concluded here on the 24th of February 1538 between Ferdinand I. of Austria and his rival John Zápolya, voivode of Transylvania. In 1556 it passed into the possession of Transylvania, but afterwards reverted to Austria. In 1598 the fortress was unsuccessfully besieged by the Turks, but it fell into their hands in 1660 and was recovered by the Austrians in 1692. The Greek Old-United or Catholic bishopric was founded in 1776.
NAHE, a river of Germany, a left-bank tributary of the Rhine,
rises near Selbach in the Oldenburg principality of Birkenfeld.
For some distance it forms the boundary between the Bavarian
Palatinate and the Prussian Rhine Province, and it falls into the
Rhine at Bingen. Its length is 78 m., but it is too shallow and
rocky to be navigable. Its picturesque valley, through which
runs the railway from Bingerbrück to Neunkirchen, is largely visited
by tourists.
See Schneegans, Geschichte des Nahetals (Kreuznach, 1890).
NAHUATLAN STOCK, a North and Central American Indian stock. Nahuas or Nahuatlecas was the collective name for the dominant Indian peoples of Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest, and the Nahuatlan stock consisted of the Nahuas (or Aztecs) and a few scattered tribes in Central America.
NAHUM (Hebrew for “rich in comfort [is God]”), an Old
Testament prophet. The name occurs only in the book of Nahum;
in Nehemiah vii. 7 it is a scribal error for “Rehum.” Of the
prophet himself all that is known is the statement of the title
that he was an Elkoshite. But the locality denoted by the
designation is quite uncertain. Later tradition associated
Nahum with the region of Nineveh, against which he prophesied,
and hence his tomb has been located at a place bearing the name
of Alkush near Mosul (anc. Nineveh) and is still shown.[1] According
to Jerome, the prophet was a native of a village in Galilee,
which bore the name of Elkesi in the 4th century A.D. (the Galilean
town of Capernaum, which probably means “village of Nahum,”
may also point in the same direction; but cf. John vii. 29,
which seems to imply that in the time of Christ no prophet
was supposed to have come out of Galilee). E. Nestle has
proposed to locate Elkesi “beyond Betogabra ” (i.e. Eleutheropolis,
mod. Beit Jibrin) in the tribe of Simeon (cf. Pal. Expl.
Fund Quart. Statement, 1879, pp. 136-138).
Book of Nahum.—The original heading of Nahum's prophecy is contained in the second part of the superscription: “[The book of] the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite” (cf. the similar headings in Isaiah, Obadiah and Habakkuk). The first part (“Oracle concerning Nineveh”) is a late editorial insertion, but correctly describes the main contents of the little book.
Contents of the Book. (1) Chapters i. and ii.—The prophecy against Nineveh in its present form really begins with chap. ii. 1, followed immediately by v. 3, and readily falls into three parts, viz. (a) ii. 1, 3-10; (b) ii. 11-13; and (c) iii. Here (a) describes in language of considerable descriptive power the assault on Nineveh—the city is mentioned by name in ii. 8 (9 Heb. text)—its capture and sack; (b) contains an oracle of Yahweh directed against the king of Assyria (“ Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of Hosts,” v. 13); (c) again gives a vivid picture of war and desolation which are to overtake and humiliate Nineveh, as they have already overtaken No-Amon (i.e. Egyptian Thebes, iv. 8-10); the defence is pictured as futile and the ruin complete. The absence of distinctly religious motive from these chapters is remarkable; the divine name occurs only in the repeated refrain, “Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of Hosts,” ii. 13, iii. 5. They express little more than merely human indignation at the oppression of the world-power, and picture with undisguised satisfaction the storm of war which overwhelms the imperial city.
(2) Chapter i. forms the exordium to the prophecy of doom against Nineveh in the book as it lies before us. Its tone is exalted, and a fine picture is given of Yahweh appearing in judgment: “The Lord (Yahweh) is a jealous God and avengeth; the Lord avengeth and is full of wrath.” The effects of the divine anger on the physical universe are forcibly described (vv. 3-6); on the other hand, God cares for those “that put their trust in Him” (v. 7), but overwhelms His enemies (vv. 8-12a); in the following verses (12b-15) the joyful news is conveyed to Judah of the fall of the oppressor:—“ Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! Keep thy feasts, O Judah, perform thy vows; for the wicked one shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off ” (v .15).
Regarding chap. i. and ii. 2(＝i. and ii. 1, 3, Heb. text) there has been much discussion in recent years. It was long ago noticed that traces of an alphabetic acrostic survive in this section of the book; throughout the whole of chap. i. there is no reference to Nineveh, though in some of the verses (8-12a, 14) the enemies of Yahweh are addressed, who have usually been identified with the people or city of Nineveh; in vv. 12b, 13 and (certainly) v. 15 (＝ii. 1 Heb.) Judah appears to be addressed. The text of i. 1-15, ii. 1-2 has been reconstructed by H. Gunkel and G. Bickell so as to form a complete alphabetic psalm with contents of an eschatological character, and is regarded by them as a later addition to the book. It may be a “generalizing supplement” prefixed by the editor, possibly because the original introduction to the oracle had been mutilated. It is generally held by critical scholars that i. 1-8, 13, 15, and ii. 2 certainly do not proceed from Nahum; i. 9-12 may, however, belong to the prophet. The phenomena are conflicting and a completely satisfactory solution seems to be impossible.
Date of Nahum’s Oracle.—The date of the composition of Nahum’s prophecy must lie between 607–606, when Nineveh was captured and destroyed by the Babylonians and Medes, and the capture of Thebes (No-Amon) which is alluded to in iii. 8–10. This was effected for the second time and most completely by Assur-bani-pal in 663 or 662 B.C. The tone of the prophecy suggests, on the one hand, that the fall of Nineveh is imminent, while, on the other, the reference to Thebes suggests that the disaster that had befallen it was still freshly remembered. On the whole a date somewhat near 606 is more probable. It is noteworthy that no reference is made to the restoration of the northern kingdom of Israel, or the return of its exiles. The poetry of the book is of a high order.
Bibliography.—The Commentaries on the Minor Prophets, especially those of J. Wellhausen, D. W. Nowack and K. Marti (all German); G. A. Smith, The Book of the Twelve Prophets (2 vols.); A. B. Davidson, Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah (Camb. Bible, 1896). (G. H. Bo.)
NAIK, or Nayak, from a Sanskrit word meaning a leader, a
title used in India in various senses. In the army it denotes a
rank corresponding to that of corporal; and Hyder Ali of Mysore
was proud of being called Haidar Naik, analogous to “le petit
caporal” for Napoleon. It was also the title of the petty
dynasties that arose in S. India on the downfall of the Hindu
empire of Vijayanagar in the 16th century.
NAIL (O. Eng. naegal, cf. Dutch, Ger., Swed. nagel; the word is also related to Lat. unguis, Gr. ὄνυξ;, Sans. nakhās) a word applied both to the horny covering to the upper surface of the extremities of the fingers and toes of man and the Quadrumana (see Skin and Dermal Skeleton), and also to a headed pin or spike of metal, commonly of iron. The principal use of nails is in woodwork (joinery and carpentry), but they are also employed in numerous other trades. Size, form of head, nature of point, and special uses all give names to different classes of nails. Thus we have tacks, sprigs and brads for very small nails; rose, clasp and clout, according to the form of head; and flat points or sharp points according to the taper of the spike. According to
- ↑ Jonah's grave has been located similarly in Nineveh itself.
