The restoration of the Prophet Nahum's tomb in Iraq

In April 2017, two jeeps sped towards the tiny Christian town of Alqosh in Kurdistan, Iraq, with a secret mission—to find the deteriorating tomb of the Biblical prophet Nahum who prophesied about the great destruction to the Assyrian city of Ninevah.

Only 15 miles away, ISIS was battling the Iraqi Army. It was a dangerous mission.

What they found was a crumbling, crooked building. One strong storm could easily level it.

The truth was, they didn't want to just find the tomb; they wanted to restore it. 

Nahum, who lived in 7th Century AD, grew up in this area in a community of what were likely exiled tribes of Israel. For millennia, Jews in this area identified this building as the resting place for the body of Nahum, who was a minor prophet, and later, a synagogue. This common knowledge of this place continued for more than 2,000 years, and the building was saved from being turned into either a mosque or a cathedral. In the 1950s, the Jews of Alqosh fled Iraq for safety, asking local Christian families to care of the building. They did, but when ISIS came through, the building was badly damaged.

Still, the historicity of this place was clear, from the Hebrew inscriptions on the walls to its very architecture. The three men who led this project, Israelis Yaakov Shaffer and Meir Ronen, and American Adam Tiffen, examined the structure. Of his first visit to the tomb in 2016, Tiffen said, "I was amazed at its beauty and the dozens of Hebrew inscriptions on the walls. I was also shocked at its terribe condition, with several parts of the roof having fallen in, and mounts of rubble surrounding the tomb." Now, a year later, its condition had only worsened. But together with the 2 Israeli engineers, the 3 men began to dream.

First, they needed to protect the structure, as one strong wind would blow it all down. Then they could go about the work of restoration. They needed permission from the local authorities, as well as funding, and deeper knowledge of the ancient Jewish community of the area. They also needed rabbinic blessing to undergo such a work.

Four years later (delayed because of covid-19), the project was complete, and the tomb of Nahum and its surrounding synagogue has been restored. It's an incredible story, and I hope you go to read it here from the Times of Israel. It's incredible! They did a beautiful job!