“He has gone up from Rimmon.
He has come to Aiath.
He has passed through Migron.
At Michmash he stores his baggage.
They have crossed over the pass.
They lodge for the night at Geba.
Ramah trembles.
Gibeah of Saul has fled.
Cry aloud!
O daughter of Gallim!
Listen!
O Laishah!
Answer her!
O Anathoth!
Madmenah is in flight.
The inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety.
This very day,
He will halt at Nob.
He will shake his fist
At the mount of daughter Zion,
The hill of Jerusalem.”
The invaders of Assyria come from the north, as these are all northern towns in the territory of Benjamin, which is just north of Judah. Nob was near the Mount of Olives, so that it was the closest town to Jerusalem. Apparently there he was going to shake his fist at Mount Zion. This seems like a movement of troops knocking off small towns along the way to Jerusalem. This is probably a reference to the unsuccessful attack of King Sennacherib (705-681 BCE), of Assyria, around 701 BCE on Jerusalem. Indications about this story can be found in 2 Kings, chapters 18-19, and 2 Chronicles, chapter 32, as well as an Assyrian cuneiform prism dating from the 7th century BCE.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 