thousands of cuneiform tablets from Ashurbanipal’s library and the ruins of the palace of Sennacherib and that of Ashurbanipal. These palaces were impressive structures. Based on his findings, Sir Austen Henry Layard wrote:

“The interior of the Assyrian palace must have been as magnificent as imposing. I have led the reader through its ruins, and he may judge of the impression its halls were calculated to make upon the stranger who in the days of old, entered for the first time the abode of the Assyrian kings. He was ushered in through the portal guarded by the colossal lions or bulls of white alabaster. In the first hall he found himself surrounded by the sculptured records of the empire. Battles, sieges, triumphs, the exploits of the chase, the ceremonies of religion, were portrayed on the walls, sculptured in alabaster, and painted in gorgeous colors. Under each picture were engraved, in characters filled up with bright copper, inscriptions describing the scenes presented. Above the sculptures were painted other events—the king, attended by his eunuchs and warriors, receiving his prisoners, entering into alliances with other monarchs, or performing some sacred duty. These representations were inclosed in colored borders, of elaborate and elegant design. The emblematic tree, winged bulls, and monstrous animals, were conspicuous amongst the ornaments. At the upper end of the hall was the colossal figure of the king in adoration before the supreme deity, or receiving from his eunuch the holy cup. He was attended by warriors bearing his arms, and by the priests or presiding divinities. His robes, and those of his followers, were adorned with groups of figures, animals, and flowers, all painted with brilliant colors.

“The stranger trod upon alabaster slabs, each bearing an inscription, recording the titles, genealogy, and achievements of the great king. Several doorways, formed by gigantic winged lions or bulls, or by the figures of guardian deities, led into other apartments, which again opened into more distant halls. In each were new sculptures. On the walls of some were processions of colossal figures—armed men and eunuchs following the king, warriors laden with spoil, leading prisoners, or bearing presents and offerings to the gods. On the walls of others were portrayed the winged priests, or presiding divinities, standing before the sacred trees.

“The ceilings above him were divided into square compartments, painted with flowers, or with the figures of animals. Some were inlaid with ivory, each compartment being surrounded by elegant borders and mouldings. The beams, as well as the sides of the chambers, may have been gilded, or even plated, with gold and silver; and the rarest woods, in which the cedar was conspicuous, were used for the woodwork. Square openings in the ceilings of the chambers admitted the light of day.”—Nineveh and Its Remains, Part II, pp. 207-209.

IN THE TIME OF JONAH

Jehovah’s prophet Jonah, in the ninth century B.C.E., declared impending doom for Nineveh because of the wickedness of its inhabitants. However, since the people, including the king, repented, Jehovah spared the city. (Jonah 1:1, 2; 3:2, 5-10) At that time Nineveh was a great city, “with a walking distance of three days.” (Jonah 3:3) Its population numbered more than 120,000 men. (Jonah 4:11) This Biblical description is not controverted by archaeological evidence indicating that Nineveh had a circumference of about eight miles (13 kilometers). Observes André Parrot, Curator-in-Chief of the French National Museums:

“Just as today, that part of London which lies within its ancient boundary is very different from what is called ‘greater London’—a term which includes the suburbs and denotes a much larger area—so it may be that people who lived far away from Assyria understood by the word ‘Nineveh’ what is now known as ‘the Assyrian triangle’ . . . , which stretches from Khorsabad in the north to Nimrud in the south, and, with an almost unbroken string of settlements, covers a distance of some twenty-six miles. . . .

“Felix Jones estimated that the population of Nineveh might have numbered 174,000 persons, and quite recently, in his excavations at Nimrud, M. E. L. Mallowan discovered a stele of Ashurnazirpal on which it is recorded that he invited to a banquet the fabulous number of 69,574 guests. Mallowan considers that, allowing for foreigners, the population of Kalakh (Nimrud) might have been 65,000. But Nineveh is twice the area of Nimrud, and thus it may be reckoned that the figure in Jonah 4.11 is indirectly confirmed.”—Nineveh and the Old Testament, pp. 85, 86; see JONAH No. 1; JONAH, BOOK OF.

ITS DESTRUCTION FULFILLS PROPHECY

Although repenting at the preaching of Jonah (Matt. 12:41; Luke 11:30, 32), the Ninevites relapsed and again took to their wicked ways. It was some years after Assyrian King Sennacherib had been murdered at Nineveh in the house of his god Nisroch (2 Ki. 19:36, 37; Isa. 37:37, 38) that Nahum (1:1; 2:8–3:19) and Zephaniah (2:13-15) foretold the destruction of that wicked city. Their prophecies were fulfilled when the combined forces of Nabopolassar the king of Babylon and of Cyaxares the Mede besieged and captured Nineveh. The city was evidently subjected to burning, for many Assyrian reliefs show damage or stain from fire and accompanying smoke. With reference to Nineveh, the Babylonian Chronicles report: “The great spoil of the city and temple they carried off and [turned] the city into a ruin-mound.” To this day Nineveh is a desolate waste and, in the spring, flocks graze near or atop the mound of Quyunjiq.

DATE OF NINEVEH’S FALL

Though effaced from the extant cuneiform tablet that relates the fail of Nineveh, the date for this event, the fourteenth year of Nabopolassar, can be supplied from the context. It is also possible to place the destruction of Nineveh in the framework of Bible chronology. According to the Babylonian Chronicles, the Egyptians were defeated at Carchemish in the twenty-first year of Nabopolassar’s reign. The Bible shows this to have taken place in the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign or in 625 B.C.E. (Jer. 46:2) Therefore, the capture of Nineveh (about seven years earlier) in the fourteenth year of Nabopolassar’s reign would fall in the year 632 B.C.E.—See ASSYRIA.

NISAN

(Niʹsan).

The postexilic name of the first Jewish lunar month of the sacred calendar, corresponding to part of March and part of April. (Neh. 2:1; Esther 3:7) This month, first called “Abib,” was originally considered the seventh month and is evidently the month referred to at Genesis 8:4. At the time of the exodus from Egypt, Jehovah assigned this month to be the “first of the months of the year.” (Ex. 12:2; 13:4; Num. 33:3) From then on, the distinction existed of a sacred calendar instituted by Jehovah as compared to the previous secular calendar. The name “Nisan” is believed to mean “start” or “beginning.”—See CALENDAR; ABIB.

The weather was often quite cool during this spring month and, in Jerusalem, fires were lit at night to provide warmth. (John 18:18) Snow has even fallen in Jerusalem as late as April 6, as it did in 1949. Nisan came at the close of the rainy season, and the latter or spring rains were counted on to bring the grain to fullness prior to the harvest. (Deut. 11:14; Hos. 6:3; Jer. 5:24) At this time of the year the Jordan River was normally at flood stage. (Josh. 3:15; 1 Chron. 12:15) The barley harvest began along the coastal plains, and down in the subtropical Jordan Valley the wheat was reaching maturity. (Ruth 1:22; 2:23) Harvested flax on Rahab’s rooftop in Jericho provided a place for the Israelite spies to hide about this time.—Josh. 2:6; 4:19.

ADJUSTING THE LUNAR CALENDAR

God’s command required that the Israelites offer up a sheaf of the firstfruits of their harvest on the sixteenth day of Nisan (or Abib) and that, fifty days later, they offer up a second grain offering. These offerings corresponded naturally with the barley and wheat harvests, respectively. This precept made essential an adjustment in the calendar of lunar months used by the Israelites. There was need to compensate for the difference of 11¹⁄₄ days between the full solar year and the shorter lunar year. Otherwise, within the space of three years, the month of Nisan would arrive some thirty-three days earlier in the season and far ahead of the barley harvest. The Bible record does not specify what method was originally used by the Israelites to accomplish such coordination, but the evidence indicates that a thirteenth month was added every two or three years to restore the seasons to their proper position in the calendar year. It seems likely that this was determined by simple observation, relating the new moon to the vernal or spring equinox of the sun, which comes about March 21 of each year. If the new moon that would ordinarily mark the start of the month of Nisan (Abib) was too distant from the time of the spring equinox, then the month was counted as a thirteenth or intercalary month, and Nisan began with the following new moon. It was not until the fourth century C.E. that a definitely standardized calendar was adopted by the Jews.

The first of Nisan’s festivals was the Passover, originally celebrated in Egypt, and it came on the fourteenth of the month and included the sacrifice of the paschal lamb. (Ex. 12:2-14; Lev. 23:5; Deut. 16:1) The following day was the beginning of the week-long festival of unfermented cakes, running from the fifteenth to the twenty-first of the month. On the sixteenth of Nisan came the offering of the first-fruits of the barley harvest.—Ex. 12:15-20; 23:15; 34:18; Lev. 23:6-11.

LORD’S EVENING MEAL INSTITUTED

In the second year of the exodus, on the first day of Nisan, the tabernacle was set up in the wilderness. (Ex. 40:2, 17) Over fifteen centuries after the exodus, on Nisan 14 of the year 33 C.E., Jesus gathered with his twelve apostles in Jerusalem to celebrate the last valid Passover, and then, having dismissed the traitorous Judas, he proceeded to institute the memorial of his death by means of the Lord’s supper or evening meal. (Matt. 26:17-30; 1 Cor. 11:23-25) Before Nisan 14 passed, he died as the Lamb of God. On Nisan 16, the day the priest at the temple waved the firstfruits of the barley harvest, Jesus, as the first-fruits of the resurrection, was raised up to life again.—Luke 23:54–24:7; 1 Cor. 15:20.

In obedience to Christ’s instructions, “Keep doing this in remembrance of me,” the fourteenth day of Nisan continues to be observed by his followers till this day as the time for memorializing Christ’s death.—Luke 22:19, 20; see LORD’S EVENING MEAL.

NISROCH

(Nisʹroch).

A deity worshiped by Sennacherib the king of Assyria. It was in the temple of Nisroch that Adrammelech and Sharezer murdered their father Sennacherib. (2 Ki. 19:36, 37; Isa. 37:38) Certain identification of Nisroch with a known Assyrian deity is not possible. A number of authorities suggest identifying Nisroch with the fire-god Nusku, who, it was thought, assisted in bringing defeat to the enemy in warfare and served as messenger of the gods as well as a dispenser of justice.

NO

[from Egyptian niwt, the City], No-amon (No-aʹmon) [city of (the god) Amon].

A prominent city and onetime capital of Egypt, located on both banks of the upper Nile about 330 miles (c. 530 kilometers) S of Cairo. The Greeks knew it as Thebes, the name commonly used today.

Some scholars in the past have held that the Hebrew “No” is an incorrect rendering of the Egyptian name. (Jer. 46:25) However, as Professor T. O. Lambdin points out, “ . . . recent investigations in Egypto-Coptic phonology Indicate that the Hebrew spelling may well be correct and may reflect an earlier Egyptian pronunciation. . . . The problem is further complicated by uncertainty on the part of Egyptologists regarding the precise consonantal reading of the Egyptian word itself.”—The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. 4, pp. 615, 616.

THE GREAT TEMPLE AT KARNAK

In ancient Egyptian texts the city is called by the same name, “the City of Amon” (niwt ʼImn). This was because it became the principal center of the worship of the god Amon, who rose from being a minor deity to the position of chief god of the nation, equated by the Greeks with Zeus (Jupiter). (See AMON No. 4.) Here the pharaohs built enormous monuments and temples, covering an area of sixty acres (24.3 hectares) on the E bank (at Karnak and Luxor) and with other magnificent temples and a huge burial ground on the W bank. The temple of Amon at Karnak is the largest columnar structure ever built, some of its massive columns measuring up to twelve feet (3.7 meters) in diameter.

BECOMES EGYPT’S CAPITAL

Particularly during what is termed the “New Kingdom Period (Dynasties XVIII to XX)” Thebes attained great prominence, becoming the capital of the land. This period followed the so-called “Hyksos Period.” If, as is indicated in the article on EGYPT, EGYPTIAN, this latter period is related to the Israelite sojourn in Egypt, it may well be that the utter devastation caused by the plagues and the subsequent destruction of the cream of Egypt’s military might and war equipment made it advisable for Egypt’s rulers to retire southward to Thebes. Here, the long distance from the sea and from the land bridge to Asia afforded good protection from that direction. Or it may be that, due to a very weak and discredited government in Lower Egypt following the Israelite exodus, the royalty of Upper Egypt took advantage of the situation and gained the ascendancy. At any rate, there is evidence of considerable reorganization at this time.

Center of priesthood

Even when administrative control shifted to other sites, No-amon (Thebes) continued to be a wealthy and prominent city, the center of the powerful priesthood of Amon, whose chief priest ranked next to Pharaoh himself in power and wealth. But in the seventh century B.C.E. Assyrian aggression spread into Egypt during the rule of Assyrian King Esar-haddon. His son and successor Ashurbanipal renewed the conquest, reaching Thebes and thoroughly sacking the city. It is evidently to this devastation that the prophet Nahum referred when warning Nineveh, Assyria’s capital, about a destruction of similar magnitude. (Nah. 3:7-10) No-amon’s “wall,” a series of defenses running from the sea on up the Nile, failed, and the riches from her commercial traffic and religious temples became the prize of the ransacking Assyrians.

BROUGHT TO RUIN

Yet, by the close of the sixth century or the early part of the fifth century, No-amon had regained a position of some prominence. Jeremiah and Ezekiel now foretold a judgment by Jehovah God upon Egypt’s chief god Amon of No, and upon Pharaoh and all the Egyptian gods, which judgment would come by the hand of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. (Jer. 46:25, 26; Ezek. 30:10, 14, 15) Persian ruler Cambyses dealt another severe blow to No-amon in 525 B.C.E. and the city steadily declined, finally being completely ruined by the Romans under Cornelius Gallus due to its share in a revolt against Roman rule (30-29 B.C.E.). Today only small villages are to be found around the massive ruins of the temples of the impotent gods of No.