Habakkuk
VIEW:38 DATA:01-04-2020
he that embraces; a wrestler
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
HABAKKUK.The eighth of the Minor Prophets. Except for legends, e.g. in Bel and the Dragon (3342), nothing is known of him outside the book that bears his name.
1. The Book of Habakkuk, read as it now stands, must be dated shortly after the appearance of the Chaldæans on the stage of world-history, seeing that their descent on the nations is imminent. It is probably later than the battle of Carchemish, where Nebuchadrezzar defeated the Egyptians in b.c. 605, and earlier than the first Judæan captivity in 597. If dated about the year 600, it falls in the reign of Jehoiakim, in the period of reaction that followed the defeat and death of Josiah at Megiddo (608). That event, apparently falsifying the promises of the recently discovered lawbook, had led to a general neglect of its ethical claims, and to a recrudescence of the religious abuses of the time of Manasseh (cf. 2Ki_23:37, Jer_19:4 ff., 19:25 etc.). The one immovable article of faith held by the Judæan nation seems to have been the inviolability of Jerusalem (cf. Jer_7:1-15 etc.). The book appears to be the work of a prophet living in Jerusalem. It may be divided into six sections, the first four containing two dialogues between Jahweh and the prophet, while the last two contain confident declarations springing from and expanding the Divine reply.
(1) Hab_1:1-4. Habakkuk, compelled to live in the midst of violent wrong-doing, contempt of religion manifesting itself in the oppression of the righteous by the wicked, complains strongly of the silence and indifference of God.
(2) Hab_1:5-11. He receives an answer that a new and startling display of the Divine justice is about to be made. The Chaldæans, swift, bitter, and terrible, are to sweep down and overwhelm the whole world. No fortress can resist their onslaught. The incredibility of this must be, not in the fact that the Chaldæans are the aggressors, but rather that Jerusalem, spared so long, is now to share the fate of so many other cities.
(3) Hab_1:12-17. Some time may now be supposed to elapse before the next prophecy is spoken. During this period the prophet watches the progress of the Chaldæans, who have now (Hab_2:17) penetrated into Palestine. His observation raises a new and insoluble problem. This reckless, insolent, cruel, insatiable conqueror is worse than those he has been appointed to chastise. How can a holy God, so ready to punish the wicked in Israel, permit one who deserves far more the name of wicked to rage unchecked? Are wrong and violence to possess the earth for ever?
(4) Hab_2:1-4. The prophet, retiring to his watch-tower, whence he looks out over the world, to see it in ruins, receives an oracle which he is bidden to write down on tablets for all to read. He is told that the purpose of God is hastening to its fulfilment, and is encouraged to wait for it. Then follows the famous sentence, Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright in him: but the just shall live in his faithfulness. The meaning of this is plain. Tyranny is self-destructive, and carries within itself the seeds of doom. But while the evil-doer passes away, the just man, steadfast in the face of all contradiction, shall live, and last out the storm of judgment.
(5) Hab_2:5-20. Content with this message, the prophet utters, triumphantly, a five-fold series of woes against the pride, the greed, the cruel building enterprises, the sensuality, the idolatry, of the heathen power.
(6) Ch. 3. Finally, in a magnificent lyric, which, as its heading and close prove, has been adapted for use in the Temple worship, the prophet sings the glorious redeeming acts of God in the past history of the people, and in the certainty of His immediate appearance, bringing hopeless ruin on the enemy, declares his unwavering trust.
So read, this short book is seen to be a human document of unique value. It marks the beginnings of Hebrew reflective thought as to the workings of Providence in history, afterwards so powerfully expressed in Job and in the later prophets.
2. Many modern scholars are unable to accept this explanation of these three chapters. It is argued that the use of the word wicked in different senses in Hab_1:4 and Hab_1:13 is unnatural, and awkward. Further, it is urged that the descriptions of the conqueror in chs. 1 and 2 do not suit the Chaldæans well at any time, and are almost impossible at so early a stage of their history as the one named. Accordingly, some have treated Hab_1:5-11 as a fragment of an older prophecy, and place the hulk of chs. 1 and 2 towards the close of the Exile, near the end of the Chaldæan period. Others place Hab_1:5-11 between Hab_2:4 and Hab_2:5, considering that the whole section has been misplaced. The rest of the chapters are then referred to another oppressor, either Assyria or Egypt, whom the Chaldæans are raised up to punish; and ch. 3 is ascribed to another author. Others again would alter the word Chaldæans, and treat it as an error for either Persians or Chittim. In the second case the reference is to the Greeks, and the destroyer is Alexander the Great. Without attempting to discuss these views, it may be said that none of them supplies any satisfactory explanation of Hab_1:1-4, in referring Habakkuks complaint to wrongs committed by some heathen power. The mention of law and judgment, Hab_1:4, seems to point decisively to internal disorders among the prophets own countrymen. The double use of the word wicked may well be a powerful dramatic contrast. The speed with which the enemy moves, said by some to be altogether inapplicable to the Chaldæans, may be illustrated by the marvellously rapid ride of Nebuchadrezzar himself, from Pelusium to Babylon, to take the kingdom on the death of his father. Troops of Scythian cavalry, at the service of the highest bidder after the disbanding of their own army, were probably found with the Chaldæans. The question cannot he regarded as settled, a fuller knowledge of Chaldæan history at the opening of the 7th cent. being much to be desired.
Most scholars regard ch. 3 as a separate composition. It is urged that this poem contains no allusions to the circumstances of Habakkuks age, that the enemy in v. 14, rejoicing to devour the poor secretly, cannot he a great all-conquering army, that the disasters to flocks and herds (Hab_1:17-17) are quite different from anything in chs. 1 and 2. It is conjectured that the poem, under Habakkuks name, had a place in a song-book, and was afterwards transferred, with the marks of its origin not effaced, to the close of this prophetic book. These considerations are of great weight, though it may be recalled that the poetical part of the Book of Job ends somewhat similarly, with a theophany little related to the bulk of the book. Whether the chapter belongs to Habakkuk or not, its picture of the intervention of God Himself, in His own all-powerful strength bringing to nought all the counsels of His enemies, is a fitting close to the book.
Wilfrid J. Moulton.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909
"The cordially embraced one (favorite of God), or the cordial embracer." "A man of heart, hearty toward another, taking him into his arms. This Habakkuk does in his prophecy; he comforts and lifts up his people, as one would do with a weeping child, bidding him be quiet, because, please God, it would yet be better with him" (Luther). The psalm (Habakkuk 3) and title "Habakkuk the prophet" favor the opinion that Habakkuk was a Levite. The closing words, "to the chief singer on my stringed instruments," imply that Habakkuk with his own instruments would accompany the song he wrote under the Spirit; like the Levite seers and singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun (1Ch_25:1-5). A lyrical tone pervades his prophecies, so that he most approaches David in his psalms.
The opening phrase (Hab_1:1) describes his prophecy as "the burden which," etc., i.e. the weighty, solemn announcement. Habakkuk "saw" it with the inner eye opened by the Spirit. He probably prophesied in the 12th or 13th year of Josiah (630 or 629 B.C.), for the words "in your days" (Hab_1:5) imply that the prophecy would come to pass in the lifetime of the persons addressed. In Jer_16:9 the same phrase comprises 20 years, in Eze_12:25 six years.
Zep_1:7 is an imitation of Hab_2:20; now Zephaniah (Zep_1:1) lived under Josiah, and prophesied (compare Zep_3:5; Zep_3:15) after the restoration of Jehovah's worship, i.e. after the 12th year of Josiah's reign, about 624 B.C. So Habakkuk must have been before this. Jeremiah moreover began prophesying in Josiah's 13th year; now Jeremiah borrows from Habakkuk (compare Hab_2:13 with Jer_51:58); thus, it follows that 630 or 629 B.C. is Habakkuk's date of prophesying (Delitzsch).
Contents. - Habakkuk complains of the moral disorganization around, and cries to Jehovah for help (Hab_1:2-4); Jehovah in reply denounces swift vengeance (Hab_1:5-11) by the Chaldeans. Habakkuk complains that the Chaldees are worse than the Jews whom they are to be the instruments of chastising; they deal treacherously, sweep all into their net, and then "they sacrifice unto their net and burn incense unto their drag," i.e. idolize their own might and military skill, instead of giving the glory to God (Deu_8:17; Isa_10:13; Isa_37:24-25). Habakkuk therefore, confident that God is of purer eyes than to behold evil (Hab_1:13), sets himself in an attitude of waiting for the Lord's own solution of this perplexing apparent anomaly (Hab_2:1); Jehovah desires him accordingly, "write the vision" of God's retributive justice plainly, so "that he may run that readeth it," namely, "run" to tell to all the good news of the foe's doom and Judah's deliverance, or, as Grotius, run through it, i.e. run through the reading without difficulty.
The issue must be awaited with patience, for it shall not disappoint; the lifted up soul, as that of the Chaldean foe and the unbelieving apostatizing Jew, is not accounted upright before God and therefore shall perish; but the just shall be accounted just by his faith and so shall live. The Chaldeans' doom is announced on the ground of this eternal principle of God's moral government. The oppressed nations "shall take up a parable," i.e. a derisive song (compare Isa_14:4; Mic_2:4), whom Habakkuk copies, against their oppressor. It is a symmetrical whole, five stanzas; three of three verses each, the fourth of four, and the last of two verses. Each stanza, except the last, begins with "woe." All have a closing verse introduced with "for," "but," or "because." Each strophe begins with the character of the sin, then states the woe, lastly confirms the woe (Hab_2:2-20).
The prayer-song (Habakkuk 3) is the spiritual echo, resuming the previous parts of the prophecy, for the enlightenment of God's people. Prayer, thanksgiving, and trust, are the spiritual key to unlock the mysteries of God's present government of the earth. The spirit appears tumultuously to waver (from whence the title "Shigionoth" from shagah, "to wander") between fear and hope; but faith at the end triumphs joyfully over present trials (Hab_3:17-19). Upon God's past manifestations for His people, at Paran, Teman, and the Red Sea, Habakkuk grounds the anticipated deliverance of his people from the foe, through Jehovah's interposition in sublime majesty; so that the believer can always rejoice in the God of his salvation and his strength.
The interests of God's righteous character, seemingly compromised in the Chaldees' successful violence, are what Habakkuk has most at heart throughout; to solve this problem is his one grand theme. Paul quotes Hab_1:5 in his warning to the unbelieving Jews at Antioch in Pisidia. Thrice Paul quotes Hab_2:4, "the just shall live by his faith" (one fundamental truth throughout the Bible, beginning with Abram in Gen_15:6); first in Rom_1:17, where the emphasis rests on "just," God's righteousness and the nature of justification being the prominent thought; secondly in Gal_3:11, where the emphasis is on "faith," the instrument of justification being prominent; thirdly in Heb_10:38, where the emphasis is on "live," the continued life that flows from justification being prominent.
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.
Hab'akkuk or Habakkuk. (embrace). The eighth, in order, of the minor prophets. Of the facts of the prophet's life, we have no certain information. He probably lived about the twelfth or thirteenth year of Josiah, B.C. 630 or 629.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863
the author of the prophecy bearing his name, Hab_1:1, &c. Nothing is certainly known concerning the tribe or birth place of Habakkuk. He is said to have prophesied about B.C. 605, and to have been alive at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. It is generally believed that he remained and died in Judea. The principal predictions contained in this book are, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the captivity of the Jews by the Chaldeans or Babylonians; their deliverance from the oppressor at the appointed time; and the total ruin of the Babylonian empire. The promise of the Messiah is confirmed; the overruling providence of God is asserted; and the concluding prayer, or rather hymn, recounts the wonders which God had wrought for his people, when he led them from Egypt into Canaan, and expresses the most perfect confidence in the fulfilment of his promises. The style of Habakkuk is highly poetical, and the hymn in the third chapter is perhaps unrivalled for sublimity, simplicity, and power.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.
Unlike most of the prophets, Habakkuk gives no specific statement to indicate the era during which he prophesied. Nevertheless, the contents of the book make it clear that he delivered his message during that period of the Judean kingdom, when Babylon had risen to power and was threatening to conquer Judah.
Background to the book
With its conquest of Assyria in 612 BC, Babylon had become the chief power in the region. It emphasized this by defeating Egypt in the battle of Carchemish in 605 BC (2Ki_24:7; Jer_46:2). This victory gave it control over Judah, but it did not destroy Jerusalem until 587 BC, after it had lost patience because of Judahs repeated rebellions.
Babylons conquest of Judah was part of Gods will for his unfaithful and rebellious people. This raised a problem for Habakkuk, and his book shows how God dealt with his problem and answered his objections.
Summary of the book
Habakkuk begins by complaining to God that in spite of his preaching, Judah shows no signs of improving. He asks how long God will allow Judah to go unpunished (1:1-4). God replies that he is preparing the Babylonians (Chaldeans) to punish Judah (1:5-11). Habakkuk objects to this strongly. He asks: if God is holy, and if Judah is his people, how can he use Babylon to punish Judah when the Babylonians are worse sinners than the Judeans (1:12-17)? He awaits Gods answer (2:1).
In due course God replies. His answer is that wickedness, whether of the Babylonians or the Judeans, will always bring defeat in the end, but the person who remains morally upright has nothing to fear. In the end God will give such a person victory (2:2-5).
The prophet has had his question answered, but he goes on to announce Gods judgment on evil, particularly the evil of the Babylonians (2:6-20). The book concludes with a psalm that pictures, by a series of dramatic illustrations, the work of God in judgment upon evil (3:1-15). Its relevance to Habakkuks question is seen in the final words, where Habakkuk learns to trust in the wisdom and justice of God. Habakkuk knows that the people of Judah deserve Gods punishment. As for the Babylonians, the ones whom God uses to carry out that punishment, Habakkuk will leave God to deal with them according to his wisdom and justice (3:16-19).
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming
PRINTER 1990.
ha-bak?uk, hab?a-kuk:
I. The Author
1. Name
2. Life
II. The Book
1. Interpretation of Habakkuk 1 and 2
2. Contents
3. Style
4. Integrity
III. The Time
1. Date
2. Occasion
IV. Its Teaching
1. The Universal Supremacy of Yahweh
2. Faithfulness the Guarantee of Permanency
Literature
I. The Author
1. Name
Habakkuk (חבקּוּק, ḥăbhaḳḳūḳ) means ?embrace,? or ?ardent embrace.? Some of the ancient rabbis, connecting the name with 2Ki_4:16, ?Thou shalt embrace a son,? imagined that the prophet was the son of the Shunammite woman. The Septuagint form of the name, Hambakoúm; Theodotion Hambakouk, presupposes the Hebrew ḥabbaḳūḳ̌. A similar word occurs in Assyrian as the name of a garden plant.
2. Life
Practically nothing is known of Habakkuk. The book bearing his name throws little light upon his life, and the rest of the Old Testament is silent concerning him; but numerous legends have grown up around his name. The identification of the prophet with the son of the Shunammite woman is one. Another, connecting Isa_21:6 with Hab_2:1, makes Habakkuk the watchman set by Isaiah to watch for the fall of Babylon. One of the recensions of the Septuagint text of Bel and the Dragon declares that the story was taken ?from the prophecy of Habakkuk, the son of Jesus of the tribe of Levi.? This must refer to an unknown apocryphal book ascribed to our prophet. What authority there may be for calling his father Jesus we do not know. The claim that he was of the tribe of Levi may be based upon the presence of the musical note at the end of the third chapter. According to the Lives of the Prophets, ascribed, though perhaps erroneously, to Epiphanius, bishop of Salamis in Cyprus during the latter part of the 4th century ad, he belonged to Bēthcōhar, of the tribe of Simeon. A very interesting story is found in Bel and the Dragon (33-39), according to which Habakkuk, while on his way to the field with a bowl of pottage, was taken by an angel, carried to Babylon and placed in the lions den, where Daniel ate the pottage, when Habakkuk was returned to his own place. According to the Lives, Habakkuk died two years before the return of the exiles from Babylon. All these legends have little or no historical value.
II. The Book
1. Interpretation of Habakkuk 1 and 2
It is necessary to consider the interpretation of Hab 1 and 2 before giving the contents of the book, as a statement of the contents of these chapters will be determined by their interpretation. The different interpretations advocated may be grouped under three heads: (1) According to the first view: Hab_1:2-4 : The corruption of Judah; the oppression of the righteous Jews by the wicked Jews, which calls for the Divine manifestation in judgment against the oppressors. Hab_1:5-11 : Yahweh announces that He is about to send the Chaldeans to execute judgment. Hab_1:12-17 : The prophet is perplexed. He cannot understand how a righteous God can use these barbarians to execute judgment upon a people more righteous than they. He considers even the wicked among the Jews better than the Chaldeans. Hab_2:1-4 : Yahweh solves the perplexing problem by announcing that the exaltation of the Chaldeans will be but temporary; in the end they will meet their doom, while the righteous will live. 2:5-20: Woes against the Chaldeans.
(2) The second view finds it necessary to change the present arrangement of Hab_1:5-11; in their present position, they will not fit into the interpretation. For this reason Wellhausen and others omit these verses as a later addition; on the other hand, Giesebrext would place them before Hab_1:2, as the opening verses of the prophecy. The transposition would require a few other minor changes, so as to make the verses a suitable beginning and establish a smooth transition from Hab_1:11 to Hab_1:2. Omitting the troublesome verses, the following outline of the two chapters may be given: Hab_1:2-4 : The oppression of the righteous Jews by the wicked Chaldeans. Hab_1:12-17 : Appeal to Yahweh on behalf of the Jews against their oppressors. Hab_2:1-4 : Yahweh promises deliverance (see above). 2:5-20: Woes against the Chaldeans.
(3) The third view also finds it necessary to alter the present order of verses. Again Hab_1:5-11, in the present position, interferes with theory; therefore, these verses are given a more suitable place after Hab_2:4. According to this interpretation the outline is as follows: Hab_1:2-4 : Oppression of the righteous Jews by the wicked Assyrians (Budde) or Egyptians (G. A. Smith). Hab_1:12-17 : Appeal to Yahweh on behalf of the oppressed against the oppressor. Hab_2:1-4 : Yahweh promises deliverance (see above). Hab_1:5-11 : The Chaldeans will be the instrument to execute judgment upon the oppressors and to bring deliverance to the Jews. 2:5-20: Woes against the Assyrians or Egyptians.
A full discussion of these views is not possible in this article (see Eiselen, Minor Prophets, 466-68). It may be sufficient to say that on the whole the first interpretation, which requires no omission or transposition, seems to satisfy most completely the facts in the case.
2. Contents
The contents of Hab 1 and 2 are indicated in the preceding paragraph. Hab 3 contains a lyrical passage called in the title ?Prayer.? The petitioner speaks for himself and the community. He remembers the mighty works of Yahweh for His people; the thought of them causes him to tremble; nevertheless, he calls for a repetition of the ancient manifestations (Hab_3:2). In majestic pictures the poet describes the wonderful appearances of Yahweh in the past (Hab_3:3-11) for His chosen people (Hab_3:12-15). The remembrance of these manifestations fills the Psalmist with fear and trembling, but also with joy and confidence in the God of his salvation (Hab_3:16-19).
3. Style
Only the Hebrew student can get an adequate idea of the literary excellence of the Book of Habakkuk. ?The literary power of Habakkuk,? says Driver, ?is considerable. Though his book is a brief one, it is full of force; his descriptions are graphic and powerful; thought and expression are alike poetic; he is still a master of the old classical style, terse, parallelistic, pregnant; there is no trace of the often prosaic diffusiveness which manifests itself in the writings of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. And if Hab 3 be his, he is, moreover, a lyric poet of high order; the grand imagery and the rhythmic flow of this ode will bear comparison with some of the finest productions of the Hebrew muse.?
4. Integrity
More than half of the book, including Hab_1:5-11; Hab_2:9-20, and chapter 3 entire, has been denied to the prophet Habakkuk. If the prophecy is rightly interpreted (see above), no valid reason for rejecting Hab_1:5-11 can be found. Hab_2:9-20 are denied to Habakkuk chiefly on two grounds: (1) The ?woes? are said to be in part, at least, unsuitable, if supposed to be addressed to the Chaldean king. This difficulty vanishes when it is borne in mind that the king is not addressed as an individual, but as representing the policy of the nation, as a personification of the nation. (2) Some parts, especially Hab_2:12-14, ?consist largely of citations and reminiscences of other passages, including some late ones? (compare Hab_2:12 with Mic_3:10; Hab_2:13 with Jer_51:58; Hab_2:14 with Isa_11:9; Hab_2:16 with Jer_25:15, Jer_25:16; Hab_2:18-20 with Isa_44:9; Isa_46:6, Isa_46:7; Jer 10:1-16). Aside from the fact that the argument from literary parallels is always precarious, in this case the resemblances are few in number and of such general character that they do not necessarily presuppose literary dependence. Habakkuk 3 is denied to the prophet even more persistently, but the arguments are by no means conclusive. The fact that the chapter belongs to the psalm literature does not prove a late date unless it is assumed, without good reasons, that no psalms originated in the pre?xilic period. Nor do the historical allusions, which are altogether vague, the style, the relation to other writers, and the character of the religious ideas expressed, point necessarily to a late date. The only doubtful verses are Hab_2:16, which seem to allude to a calamity other than the invasion of the Chaldeans; and Driver says, not without reason, ?Had the poet been writing under the pressure of a hostile invasion, the invasion itself would naturally have been expected to form a prominent feature in this picture.? Hence, while it may be impossible to prove that Habakkuk is the author of the prayer, it is equally impossible to prove the contrary; and while there are a few indications which seem to point to a situation different from that of Habakkuk, they are by no means definite enough to exclude the possibility of Habakkuk's authorship.
III. The Time
1. Date
The question of date is closely bound up with that of interpretation. Budde, on theory that the oppressors, threatened with destruction, are the Assyrians (see above, 3), dates the prophecy 621 to 615 bc. Granting that the Assyrians are in the mind of the prophet, the date suggested by Betteridge (AJT, 1903, 674ff), circa 701 bc, is to be preferred; but if the Assyrians are not the oppressors, then with the Assyrians fall the dates proposed by Budde and Betteridge. If the prophecy is directed against Egypt, we are shut up to a very definite period, between 608 and 604 bc, for the Egyptian supremacy in Judah continued during these years only. If the Egyptians are not the oppressors, another date will have to be sought. If the Chaldeans are the oppressors of Judah, the prophecy must be assigned to a date subsequent to the battle of Carchemish in 605-604, for only after the defeat of the Egyptians could the Chaldeans carry out a policy of world conquest; and it was some years after that event that the Chaldeans first came into direct contact with Judah. But on this theory, Hab_1:2-4, Hab_1:12; Hab_2:8, presupposes the lapse of a considerable period of conquest, the subduing of many nations, the cruel oppression of Judah for some length of time; therefore, Nowack is undoubtedly correct, on this theory, in bringing the prophecy down to a period subsequent to the first exile in 597, or, as he says, ?in round numbers about 590 bc.?
A different date must be sought if Hab_1:2-4 is interpreted as referring to the oppression of Jews by Jews, and Hab_1:5, as a threat that Yahweh will raise up the Chaldeans, already known as a nation thirsting for blood, to punish the wickedness of Judah. These verses would seem to indicate (1) that the Chaldeans had not yet come into direct contact with Judah, and (2) that they had already given exhibitions of the cruel character of their warfare. Nebuchadnezzar advanced against Judah about 600 bc; but the years since the fall of Nineveh, in 607-606, and the battle of Carchemish, in 605-604, had given abundant opportunity to the Chaldeans to reveal their true character, and to the prophet and his contemporaries to become acquainted with this cruel successor of Nineveh. On this theory, therefore, the prophetic activity of Habakkuk must be assigned to shortly before 600 bc.
2. Occasion
If Habakkuk prophesied about 600 bc, he lived under King Jehoiakim. The pious and well-meaning Josiah had been slain in an attempt to stop the advance of Egypt against Assyria. With his death the brief era of reform came to an end. After a reign of three months Jehoahaz was deposed by Pharaoh-necoh, who placed Jehoiakim on the throne. The latter was selfish, tyrannical and godless. In a short time the deplorable conditions of Manasseh's reign returned. It was this situation that caused the prophet's first perplexity: ?O Yahweh, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear? I cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save? (Hab_1:2).
IV. Its Teaching
In the Book of Hab a new type of prophecy appears. The prophets were primarily preachers and teachers of religion and ethics. They addressed themselves to their fellow-countrymen in an attempt to win them back to Yahweh and a righteous life. Not so Habakkuk. He addresses himself to Yahweh, questioning the justice or even the reality of the Divine Providence. He makes complaint to God and expostulates with Him. The prophet Habakkuk, therefore, is a forerunner of the author of the Book of Job. ?As a whole, his book is the fruit of religious reflection. It exhibits the communings and questionings of his soul - representative, no doubt, of many other pious spirits of the time - with God; and records the answers which the Spirit of God taught him for his own sake and for the sake of tried souls in every age.?
Habakkuk has been called the prophet of faith. He possessed a strong, living faith in Yahweh; but he, like many other pious souls, was troubled and perplexed by the apparent inequalities of life. He found it difficult to reconcile these with his lofty conception of Yahweh. Nevertheless, he does not sulk. Boldly he presents his perplexities to Yahweh, who points the way to a solution, and the prophet comes forth from his trouble with a faith stronger and more intense than ever. It is in connection with his attempts to solve the perplexing problems raised by the unpunished sins of his countrymen and the unlimited success of the Chaldeans that Habakkuk gives utterance to two sublime truths:
1. The Universal Supremacy of Yahweh
Yahweh is interested not only in Israel. Though Habakkuk, like the other prophets, believes in a special Divine Providence over Israel, he is equally convinced that Yahweh's rule embraces the whole earth; the destinies of all the nations are in His hand. The Chaldeans are punished not merely for their sins against Judah, but for the oppression of other nations as well. Being the only God, He cannot permit the worship of other deities. Temporarily the Chaldeans may worship idols, or make might their god, they may ?sacrifice unto their net,? and burn incense ?unto their drag,? because by them ?their portion is fat and their food plenteous?; but Yahweh is from everlasting, the Holy One, and He will attest His supremacy by utterly destroying the boastful conqueror with his idols.
2. Faithfulness the Guarantee of Permanency
The second important truth is expressed in Hab_2:4 : ?The righteous shall live by his faith? (the American Revised Version, margin ?faithfulness?). Faithfulness assures permanency. The thought expressed by the prophet is not identical with that expressed by the apostle who quotes the words (Gal_3:11); nevertheless, the former also gives expression to a truth of profound significance. ?Faithfulness? is with the prophet an external thing; it signifies integrity, fidelity, steadfastness under all provocations; but this implies, in a real sense, the New Testament conception of faith as an active principle of right conduct. A living faith determines conduct; religion and ethics go hand in hand, and especially in the hour of adversity a belief in Yahweh and unflinching reliance upon Him are the strongest preservers of fidelity and integrity. Faith without works is dead; faith expresses itself in life. Habakkuk places chief emphasis upon the expressions of faith, and he does so rightly; but in doing this he also calls attention, by implication at least, to the motive power behind the external manifestations. As an expression of living faith, Hab_3:17-19 is not surpassed in the Old Testament.
Literature
Commentaries on the Minor Prophets by Ewald, Pusey, Keil, Orelli, G. A. Smith (Expositor's Bible), Driver (New Century Bible), Eiselen; A. B. Davidson, Commentary on ?Nah,? ?Hab,? ?Zeph? (Cambridge Bible); A. F. Kirkpatrick, Doctrine of the Prophets; F. C. Eiselen, Prophecy and the Prophets; F. W. Farrar, Minor Prophets (?Men of the Bible?); Driver, LOT; HDB, article ?Habakkuk?; EB, article ?Habakkuk.?
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.
Hab?akkuk (embrace), one of the most distinguished Jewish prophets, who flourished about 610 B.C., the name denoting as well a 'favorite' as a 'struggler.' Of this prophet's birth-place, parentage, and life we have only apocryphal and conflicting accounts. The Pseudo-Epiphanius states that he was of the tribe of Simeon, and born in a place called Bedzoker; that he fled to Ostrarine when Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem, but afterwards returned home, and died two years before the return of his countrymen. But Rabbinical writers assert that he was of the tribe of Levi, and name different birth-places. Eusebius notices that in his time the tomb of Habakkuk was shown in the town of Ceila, in Palestine; still there are other writers who name different places where, according to common opinion, he had been buried.
A full and trustworthy account of the life of Habakkuk would explain his imagery, and many of the events to which he alludes; but since we have no information on which we can depend, nothing remains but to determine from the book itself its historical basis and its age. Now, we find that in Habakkuk 1 the prophet sets forth a vision, in which he discerned the injustice, violence, and oppression committed in his country by the rapacious and terrible Chaldeans, whose oppressions he announces as a divine retribution for sins committed; consequently he wrote in the Chaldean period, shortly before the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar which rendered Jehoiakim tributary to the king of Babylon (2Ki_24:1). When he wrote the first chapter of his prophecies, the Chaldeans could not yet have invaded Palestine, otherwise he would not have introduced Jehovah saying (Hab_1:5), 'I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you;' (Hab_1:6) 'for I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land to possess the dwelling-places that are not theirs.' From Hab_1:12 it is also evident that the ruin of the Jews had not then been effected; it says, 'the Lord ordained them for judgment, established them for correction.' Agreeably to the general style of the prophets, who to lamentations and announcements of divine punishment add consolations and cheering hopes for the future, Habakkuk then proceeds in the second chapter to foretell the future humiliation of the conquerors who plundered so many nations. He also there promulgates a vision of events shortly to be expected; (Hab_2:3) 'the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie; though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come; it will not tarry.' This is succeeded in the third chapter by an ode, in which the prophet celebrates the deliverances wrought by the Almighty for his people in times past, and prays for a similar interference now to mitigate the coming distresses of the nation; which he goes on to describe, representing the land as already waste and desolate, and yet giving encouragement to hope for a return of better times. Some interpreters are of opinion that Habakkuk 2 was written in the reign of Jehoiachin, the son of Jehoiakim (2Ki_24:6), after Jerusalem had been besieged and conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, the king made a prisoner, and, with many thousands of his subjects, carried away to Babylon; none remaining in Jerusalem, save the poorest class of the people (2Ki_24:14). But of all this nothing is said in the book of Habakkuk, nor even so much as hinted at; and what is stated of the violence and injustice of the Chaldeans does not imply that the Jews had already experienced it. The prophet distinctly mentions that he sets forth what he had discerned in a vision, and he, therefore, speaks of events to be expected and coming. It is also a supposition equally gratuitous, according to which some interpreters refer Habakkuk 3 to the period of the last siege of Jerusalem, when Zedekiah was taken, his sons slain, his eyes put out, the walls of the city broken down, and the temple burnt (2Ki_25:1-10). There is not the slightest allusion to any of these incidents in Habakkuk 3; and from Hab_3:16 it appears, that the destroyer is only coming, and that the prophet expresses fears, not of the entire destruction of the city, much less of the downfall of the state, but only of the desolation of the country. It thus appears beyond dispute, that Habakkuk prophesied in the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, about the year stated above. Carpzov and Jahn refer our prophet to the reign of Manasseh, thus placing him thirty odd years earlier; but at that time the Chaldeans had not as yet given just ground for apprehension, and it would have been injudicious in Habakkuk prematurely to fill the minds of the people with fear of them. Some additional support to our statement of the age of this book is derived from the tradition, reported in the apocryphal appendix to Daniel and by the Pseudo-Epiphanius, that Habakkuk lived to see the Babylonian exile; for if he prophesied under Manasseh he could not have reached the exile at an age under 90 years; but if he held forth early in the reign of Jehoiakim he would have been only 50 odd years old at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem and of the exile. He was, then, a contemporary of Jeremiah, but much younger, as the latter made his first appearance in public as early as B.C. 29, in the thirteenth year of Josiah.
The style of this prophet has been always much admired. He equals the most eminent prophets of the Old Testament?Joel, Amos, Nahum, Isaiah; and the ode in Habakkuk 3 may be placed in competition with Psalms 18, 68 for originality and sublimity. His figures are all great, happily chosen, and properly drawn out. His denunciations are terrible, his derision bitter, his consolation cheering. Instances occur of borrowed ideas (Hab_3:19, comp. Psa_18:34; Hab_2:6, comp. Isa_14:7; Hab_2:14, comp. Isa_11:9); but he makes them his own in drawing them out in his peculiar manner. With all the boldness and fervor of his imagination, his language is pure and his verse melodious. The ancient catalogues of canonical books of the Old Testament do not mention Habakkuk by name; but they must have counted him in the twelve Minor Prophets, whose number would otherwise not be full. In the New Testament some expressions of his are introduced, but his name is not added (Rom_1:17; Gal_3:11; Heb_10:38, comp. Hab_2:4; Act_13:40-41, comp. Hab_1:5).
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.
Habakkuk
[many Habak'kuk] (Heb. Chabakkuk', חֲבִקּוּק, embrace; Sept. Α᾿μβακούμ, Vulg. Habacuc; Jerome, Praef. in Habakkuk translates περίληψις, and Suidas πατὴρ ἐγέρσεως; other Graecized and Latinized forms are Α᾿ββακούμ, Α᾿μβακούκ, Ambacnum, Abacuc, etc.), the eighth in order of the twelve minor prophets (q.v.) of the Old Testament.
1. As to the name, besides the above forms, the Greeks, not only the Sept. translators, but the fathers of the Church, probably to make it more sonorous, corrupt it into Α᾿ραβακούκ, Α᾿ραβακούρω, or, as Jerome writes, Α᾿βακούρω, and only one Greek copy, found in the library of Alcala, in Spain, has Α᾿ββακούκ, which seems to be a recent correction made to suit the Hebrew text. The Heb. word may denote, as observed by Jerome, as well a favorite as a struggler. Abarbanel thinks that in the latter sense it has allusion to the patriotic zeal of the prophet fervently contending for the welfare of his country: but other prophets did the same; and in the former and less distant signification, the name would be one like Theophilus, a friend of God, which his parents may have given him for a good omen. Luther took the name in the active sense, and applied it to the labors and writings of the man, thus: Habakkuk had a proper name for his office; for it signifies a man of heart, one who is hearty towards another and takes him into his arms. This is what he does in his prophecy; he comforts his people and lifts them up, as one would do with a weeping child or man, bidding him be quiet and content, because, please God, it would yet be better with him. But all this is speculation. See Keil and Delitzsch, Comment. ad cap. 1, 1.
2. Of the facts of this prophet's birth-place, parentage, and life we have only apocryphal and conflicting accounts (see Delitzsch, De Habacuci vita et cetate, Lips. 1842, 1844). The Rabbinical tradition that Habakkuk was the son of the Shunammite woman whom Elisha restored to life is repeated by Abarbanel in his commentary, and has no other foundation than a fanciful etymology of the prophet's name, based on the expression in 2Ki_4:16. Equally unfounded is the tradition that he was the sentinel set by Isaiah to watch for the destruction of Babylon (comp. Isa_21:16 with Hab_2:1). In the title of the history of Bel and the Dragon, as found in the Sept. version in Origen's Tetrapla, the author is called Habakkuk, the son of Joshua, of the tribe of Levi. Some have supposed this apocryphal writer to be identical with the prophet (Jerome, Promen. in Dan.). The psalm in ch. 3 and its title are thought to favor the opinion that Habakkuk w-as a Levite (Delitzsch, Habakkuk, p. 3). Pseudo-Epiphanius (2, 240, De Vitis Prophetamum) and Dorotheus (Chronicles Pasch. p. 150) say that he was of Βηθζοκήρ or Βηθιτουχάρ (v.r. Βηδζοκήρ, Βιδζεχάρ) (Bethacat, Isid. Hispal. c. 47), of the tribe of Simeon. This may have been the same as Bethzacharias, where Judas Maccabaus was defeated by Antiochus Eupator (1Ma_6:32-33). The same authors relate that when Jerusalem was sacked by Nebuchadnezzar, Habakkuk fled to Ostracine, and remained there till after the Chaldeans had left the city, when he returned to his own country, and died at his farm two years before the return from Babylon, B.C. 538. It was (during his residence in Judea that he is said to have carried food to Daniel in the den of lions at Babylon. This legend is given in the history of Bel and the Dragon, and is repeated by Eusebins, Bar Hebraeus, and Eutychius. It is quoted from Joseph ben- Gorion (B. J. 11, 3) by Abarbanel (Comm. on Hab.), and seriously refuted by him on chronological grounds. The scene of the event was shown to mediaeval travelers on the road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem (Early Travels in Palestine, p. 29). Habakkuk is said to have been buried at Ceila, in the tribe of Judah, eight miles east of Eleutheropolis (Eusebius, Onomasficon, s.v.); where, in the days of Zebenus, bishop of Eleutheropolis, according to Nicephorus (H. k. 12, 48) and Sozomen (H. E. 7, 28), the remains of the prophets Habakkuk and Micah were both discovered. SEE KEILAH. Iabbinical tradition, however, places his tomb at Chukkok, of the tribe of Naphthali, now called Jakuk. SEE HUKKOK.
CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
HABAKKUK.The eighth of the Minor Prophets. Except for legends, e.g. in Bel and the Dragon (3342), nothing is known of him outside the book that bears his name.
1. The Book of Habakkuk, read as it now stands, must be dated shortly after the appearance of the Chaldæans on the stage of world-history, seeing that their descent on the nations is imminent. It is probably later than the battle of Carchemish, where Nebuchadrezzar defeated the Egyptians in b.c. 605, and earlier than the first Judæan captivity in 597. If dated about the year 600, it falls in the reign of Jehoiakim, in the period of reaction that followed the defeat and death of Josiah at Megiddo (608). That event, apparently falsifying the promises of the recently discovered lawbook, had led to a general neglect of its ethical claims, and to a recrudescence of the religious abuses of the time of Manasseh (cf. 2Ki_23:37, Jer_19:4 ff., 19:25 etc.). The one immovable article of faith held by the Judæan nation seems to have been the inviolability of Jerusalem (cf. Jer_7:1-15 etc.). The book appears to be the work of a prophet living in Jerusalem. It may be divided into six sections, the first four containing two dialogues between Jahweh and the prophet, while the last two contain confident declarations springing from and expanding the Divine reply.
(1) Hab_1:1-4. Habakkuk, compelled to live in the midst of violent wrong-doing, contempt of religion manifesting itself in the oppression of the righteous by the wicked, complains strongly of the silence and indifference of God.
(2) Hab_1:5-11. He receives an answer that a new and startling display of the Divine justice is about to be made. The Chaldæans, swift, bitter, and terrible, are to sweep down and overwhelm the whole world. No fortress can resist their onslaught. The incredibility of this must be, not in the fact that the Chaldæans are the aggressors, but rather that Jerusalem, spared so long, is now to share the fate of so many other cities.
(3) Hab_1:12-17. Some time may now be supposed to elapse before the next prophecy is spoken. During this period the prophet watches the progress of the Chaldæans, who have now (Hab_2:17) penetrated into Palestine. His observation raises a new and insoluble problem. This reckless, insolent, cruel, insatiable conqueror is worse than those he has been appointed to chastise. How can a holy God, so ready to punish the wicked in Israel, permit one who deserves far more the name of wicked to rage unchecked? Are wrong and violence to possess the earth for ever?
(4) Hab_2:1-4. The prophet, retiring to his watch-tower, whence he looks out over the world, to see it in ruins, receives an oracle which he is bidden to write down on tablets for all to read. He is told that the purpose of God is hastening to its fulfilment, and is encouraged to wait for it. Then follows the famous sentence, Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright in him: but the just shall live in his faithfulness. The meaning of this is plain. Tyranny is self-destructive, and carries within itself the seeds of doom. But while the evil-doer passes away, the just man, steadfast in the face of all contradiction, shall live, and last out the storm of judgment.
(5) Hab_2:5-20. Content with this message, the prophet utters, triumphantly, a five-fold series of woes against the pride, the greed, the cruel building enterprises, the sensuality, the idolatry, of the heathen power.
(6) Ch. 3. Finally, in a magnificent lyric, which, as its heading and close prove, has been adapted for use in the Temple worship, the prophet sings the glorious redeeming acts of God in the past history of the people, and in the certainty of His immediate appearance, bringing hopeless ruin on the enemy, declares his unwavering trust.
So read, this short book is seen to be a human document of unique value. It marks the beginnings of Hebrew reflective thought as to the workings of Providence in history, afterwards so powerfully expressed in Job and in the later prophets.
2. Many modern scholars are unable to accept this explanation of these three chapters. It is argued that the use of the word wicked in different senses in Hab_1:4 and Hab_1:13 is unnatural, and awkward. Further, it is urged that the descriptions of the conqueror in chs. 1 and 2 do not suit the Chaldæans well at any time, and are almost impossible at so early a stage of their history as the one named. Accordingly, some have treated Hab_1:5-11 as a fragment of an older prophecy, and place the hulk of chs. 1 and 2 towards the close of the Exile, near the end of the Chaldæan period. Others place Hab_1:5-11 between Hab_2:4 and Hab_2:5, considering that the whole section has been misplaced. The rest of the chapters are then referred to another oppressor, either Assyria or Egypt, whom the Chaldæans are raised up to punish; and ch. 3 is ascribed to another author. Others again would alter the word Chaldæans, and treat it as an error for either Persians or Chittim. In the second case the reference is to the Greeks, and the destroyer is Alexander the Great. Without attempting to discuss these views, it may be said that none of them supplies any satisfactory explanation of Hab_1:1-4, in referring Habakkuks complaint to wrongs committed by some heathen power. The mention of law and judgment, Hab_1:4, seems to point decisively to internal disorders among the prophets own countrymen. The double use of the word wicked may well be a powerful dramatic contrast. The speed with which the enemy moves, said by some to be altogether inapplicable to the Chaldæans, may be illustrated by the marvellously rapid ride of Nebuchadrezzar himself, from Pelusium to Babylon, to take the kingdom on the death of his father. Troops of Scythian cavalry, at the service of the highest bidder after the disbanding of their own army, were probably found with the Chaldæans. The question cannot he regarded as settled, a fuller knowledge of Chaldæan history at the opening of the 7th cent. being much to be desired.
Most scholars regard ch. 3 as a separate composition. It is urged that this poem contains no allusions to the circumstances of Habakkuks age, that the enemy in v. 14, rejoicing to devour the poor secretly, cannot he a great all-conquering army, that the disasters to flocks and herds (Hab_1:17-17) are quite different from anything in chs. 1 and 2. It is conjectured that the poem, under Habakkuks name, had a place in a song-book, and was afterwards transferred, with the marks of its origin not effaced, to the close of this prophetic book. These considerations are of great weight, though it may be recalled that the poetical part of the Book of Job ends somewhat similarly, with a theophany little related to the bulk of the book. Whether the chapter belongs to Habakkuk or not, its picture of the intervention of God Himself, in His own all-powerful strength bringing to nought all the counsels of His enemies, is a fitting close to the book.
Wilfrid J. Moulton.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909
"The cordially embraced one (favorite of God), or the cordial embracer." "A man of heart, hearty toward another, taking him into his arms. This Habakkuk does in his prophecy; he comforts and lifts up his people, as one would do with a weeping child, bidding him be quiet, because, please God, it would yet be better with him" (Luther). The psalm (Habakkuk 3) and title "Habakkuk the prophet" favor the opinion that Habakkuk was a Levite. The closing words, "to the chief singer on my stringed instruments," imply that Habakkuk with his own instruments would accompany the song he wrote under the Spirit; like the Levite seers and singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun (1Ch_25:1-5). A lyrical tone pervades his prophecies, so that he most approaches David in his psalms.
The opening phrase (Hab_1:1) describes his prophecy as "the burden which," etc., i.e. the weighty, solemn announcement. Habakkuk "saw" it with the inner eye opened by the Spirit. He probably prophesied in the 12th or 13th year of Josiah (630 or 629 B.C.), for the words "in your days" (Hab_1:5) imply that the prophecy would come to pass in the lifetime of the persons addressed. In Jer_16:9 the same phrase comprises 20 years, in Eze_12:25 six years.
Zep_1:7 is an imitation of Hab_2:20; now Zephaniah (Zep_1:1) lived under Josiah, and prophesied (compare Zep_3:5; Zep_3:15) after the restoration of Jehovah's worship, i.e. after the 12th year of Josiah's reign, about 624 B.C. So Habakkuk must have been before this. Jeremiah moreover began prophesying in Josiah's 13th year; now Jeremiah borrows from Habakkuk (compare Hab_2:13 with Jer_51:58); thus, it follows that 630 or 629 B.C. is Habakkuk's date of prophesying (Delitzsch).
Contents. - Habakkuk complains of the moral disorganization around, and cries to Jehovah for help (Hab_1:2-4); Jehovah in reply denounces swift vengeance (Hab_1:5-11) by the Chaldeans. Habakkuk complains that the Chaldees are worse than the Jews whom they are to be the instruments of chastising; they deal treacherously, sweep all into their net, and then "they sacrifice unto their net and burn incense unto their drag," i.e. idolize their own might and military skill, instead of giving the glory to God (Deu_8:17; Isa_10:13; Isa_37:24-25). Habakkuk therefore, confident that God is of purer eyes than to behold evil (Hab_1:13), sets himself in an attitude of waiting for the Lord's own solution of this perplexing apparent anomaly (Hab_2:1); Jehovah desires him accordingly, "write the vision" of God's retributive justice plainly, so "that he may run that readeth it," namely, "run" to tell to all the good news of the foe's doom and Judah's deliverance, or, as Grotius, run through it, i.e. run through the reading without difficulty.
The issue must be awaited with patience, for it shall not disappoint; the lifted up soul, as that of the Chaldean foe and the unbelieving apostatizing Jew, is not accounted upright before God and therefore shall perish; but the just shall be accounted just by his faith and so shall live. The Chaldeans' doom is announced on the ground of this eternal principle of God's moral government. The oppressed nations "shall take up a parable," i.e. a derisive song (compare Isa_14:4; Mic_2:4), whom Habakkuk copies, against their oppressor. It is a symmetrical whole, five stanzas; three of three verses each, the fourth of four, and the last of two verses. Each stanza, except the last, begins with "woe." All have a closing verse introduced with "for," "but," or "because." Each strophe begins with the character of the sin, then states the woe, lastly confirms the woe (Hab_2:2-20).
The prayer-song (Habakkuk 3) is the spiritual echo, resuming the previous parts of the prophecy, for the enlightenment of God's people. Prayer, thanksgiving, and trust, are the spiritual key to unlock the mysteries of God's present government of the earth. The spirit appears tumultuously to waver (from whence the title "Shigionoth" from shagah, "to wander") between fear and hope; but faith at the end triumphs joyfully over present trials (Hab_3:17-19). Upon God's past manifestations for His people, at Paran, Teman, and the Red Sea, Habakkuk grounds the anticipated deliverance of his people from the foe, through Jehovah's interposition in sublime majesty; so that the believer can always rejoice in the God of his salvation and his strength.
The interests of God's righteous character, seemingly compromised in the Chaldees' successful violence, are what Habakkuk has most at heart throughout; to solve this problem is his one grand theme. Paul quotes Hab_1:5 in his warning to the unbelieving Jews at Antioch in Pisidia. Thrice Paul quotes Hab_2:4, "the just shall live by his faith" (one fundamental truth throughout the Bible, beginning with Abram in Gen_15:6); first in Rom_1:17, where the emphasis rests on "just," God's righteousness and the nature of justification being the prominent thought; secondly in Gal_3:11, where the emphasis is on "faith," the instrument of justification being prominent; thirdly in Heb_10:38, where the emphasis is on "live," the continued life that flows from justification being prominent.
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.
Hab'akkuk or Habakkuk. (embrace). The eighth, in order, of the minor prophets. Of the facts of the prophet's life, we have no certain information. He probably lived about the twelfth or thirteenth year of Josiah, B.C. 630 or 629.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863
the author of the prophecy bearing his name, Hab_1:1, &c. Nothing is certainly known concerning the tribe or birth place of Habakkuk. He is said to have prophesied about B.C. 605, and to have been alive at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. It is generally believed that he remained and died in Judea. The principal predictions contained in this book are, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the captivity of the Jews by the Chaldeans or Babylonians; their deliverance from the oppressor at the appointed time; and the total ruin of the Babylonian empire. The promise of the Messiah is confirmed; the overruling providence of God is asserted; and the concluding prayer, or rather hymn, recounts the wonders which God had wrought for his people, when he led them from Egypt into Canaan, and expresses the most perfect confidence in the fulfilment of his promises. The style of Habakkuk is highly poetical, and the hymn in the third chapter is perhaps unrivalled for sublimity, simplicity, and power.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.
Unlike most of the prophets, Habakkuk gives no specific statement to indicate the era during which he prophesied. Nevertheless, the contents of the book make it clear that he delivered his message during that period of the Judean kingdom, when Babylon had risen to power and was threatening to conquer Judah.
Background to the book
With its conquest of Assyria in 612 BC, Babylon had become the chief power in the region. It emphasized this by defeating Egypt in the battle of Carchemish in 605 BC (2Ki_24:7; Jer_46:2). This victory gave it control over Judah, but it did not destroy Jerusalem until 587 BC, after it had lost patience because of Judahs repeated rebellions.
Babylons conquest of Judah was part of Gods will for his unfaithful and rebellious people. This raised a problem for Habakkuk, and his book shows how God dealt with his problem and answered his objections.
Summary of the book
Habakkuk begins by complaining to God that in spite of his preaching, Judah shows no signs of improving. He asks how long God will allow Judah to go unpunished (1:1-4). God replies that he is preparing the Babylonians (Chaldeans) to punish Judah (1:5-11). Habakkuk objects to this strongly. He asks: if God is holy, and if Judah is his people, how can he use Babylon to punish Judah when the Babylonians are worse sinners than the Judeans (1:12-17)? He awaits Gods answer (2:1).
In due course God replies. His answer is that wickedness, whether of the Babylonians or the Judeans, will always bring defeat in the end, but the person who remains morally upright has nothing to fear. In the end God will give such a person victory (2:2-5).
The prophet has had his question answered, but he goes on to announce Gods judgment on evil, particularly the evil of the Babylonians (2:6-20). The book concludes with a psalm that pictures, by a series of dramatic illustrations, the work of God in judgment upon evil (3:1-15). Its relevance to Habakkuks question is seen in the final words, where Habakkuk learns to trust in the wisdom and justice of God. Habakkuk knows that the people of Judah deserve Gods punishment. As for the Babylonians, the ones whom God uses to carry out that punishment, Habakkuk will leave God to deal with them according to his wisdom and justice (3:16-19).
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming
PRINTER 1990.
ha-bak?uk, hab?a-kuk:
I. The Author
1. Name
2. Life
II. The Book
1. Interpretation of Habakkuk 1 and 2
2. Contents
3. Style
4. Integrity
III. The Time
1. Date
2. Occasion
IV. Its Teaching
1. The Universal Supremacy of Yahweh
2. Faithfulness the Guarantee of Permanency
Literature
I. The Author
1. Name
Habakkuk (חבקּוּק, ḥăbhaḳḳūḳ) means ?embrace,? or ?ardent embrace.? Some of the ancient rabbis, connecting the name with 2Ki_4:16, ?Thou shalt embrace a son,? imagined that the prophet was the son of the Shunammite woman. The Septuagint form of the name, Hambakoúm; Theodotion Hambakouk, presupposes the Hebrew ḥabbaḳūḳ̌. A similar word occurs in Assyrian as the name of a garden plant.
2. Life
Practically nothing is known of Habakkuk. The book bearing his name throws little light upon his life, and the rest of the Old Testament is silent concerning him; but numerous legends have grown up around his name. The identification of the prophet with the son of the Shunammite woman is one. Another, connecting Isa_21:6 with Hab_2:1, makes Habakkuk the watchman set by Isaiah to watch for the fall of Babylon. One of the recensions of the Septuagint text of Bel and the Dragon declares that the story was taken ?from the prophecy of Habakkuk, the son of Jesus of the tribe of Levi.? This must refer to an unknown apocryphal book ascribed to our prophet. What authority there may be for calling his father Jesus we do not know. The claim that he was of the tribe of Levi may be based upon the presence of the musical note at the end of the third chapter. According to the Lives of the Prophets, ascribed, though perhaps erroneously, to Epiphanius, bishop of Salamis in Cyprus during the latter part of the 4th century ad, he belonged to Bēthcōhar, of the tribe of Simeon. A very interesting story is found in Bel and the Dragon (33-39), according to which Habakkuk, while on his way to the field with a bowl of pottage, was taken by an angel, carried to Babylon and placed in the lions den, where Daniel ate the pottage, when Habakkuk was returned to his own place. According to the Lives, Habakkuk died two years before the return of the exiles from Babylon. All these legends have little or no historical value.
II. The Book
1. Interpretation of Habakkuk 1 and 2
It is necessary to consider the interpretation of Hab 1 and 2 before giving the contents of the book, as a statement of the contents of these chapters will be determined by their interpretation. The different interpretations advocated may be grouped under three heads: (1) According to the first view: Hab_1:2-4 : The corruption of Judah; the oppression of the righteous Jews by the wicked Jews, which calls for the Divine manifestation in judgment against the oppressors. Hab_1:5-11 : Yahweh announces that He is about to send the Chaldeans to execute judgment. Hab_1:12-17 : The prophet is perplexed. He cannot understand how a righteous God can use these barbarians to execute judgment upon a people more righteous than they. He considers even the wicked among the Jews better than the Chaldeans. Hab_2:1-4 : Yahweh solves the perplexing problem by announcing that the exaltation of the Chaldeans will be but temporary; in the end they will meet their doom, while the righteous will live. 2:5-20: Woes against the Chaldeans.
(2) The second view finds it necessary to change the present arrangement of Hab_1:5-11; in their present position, they will not fit into the interpretation. For this reason Wellhausen and others omit these verses as a later addition; on the other hand, Giesebrext would place them before Hab_1:2, as the opening verses of the prophecy. The transposition would require a few other minor changes, so as to make the verses a suitable beginning and establish a smooth transition from Hab_1:11 to Hab_1:2. Omitting the troublesome verses, the following outline of the two chapters may be given: Hab_1:2-4 : The oppression of the righteous Jews by the wicked Chaldeans. Hab_1:12-17 : Appeal to Yahweh on behalf of the Jews against their oppressors. Hab_2:1-4 : Yahweh promises deliverance (see above). 2:5-20: Woes against the Chaldeans.
(3) The third view also finds it necessary to alter the present order of verses. Again Hab_1:5-11, in the present position, interferes with theory; therefore, these verses are given a more suitable place after Hab_2:4. According to this interpretation the outline is as follows: Hab_1:2-4 : Oppression of the righteous Jews by the wicked Assyrians (Budde) or Egyptians (G. A. Smith). Hab_1:12-17 : Appeal to Yahweh on behalf of the oppressed against the oppressor. Hab_2:1-4 : Yahweh promises deliverance (see above). Hab_1:5-11 : The Chaldeans will be the instrument to execute judgment upon the oppressors and to bring deliverance to the Jews. 2:5-20: Woes against the Assyrians or Egyptians.
A full discussion of these views is not possible in this article (see Eiselen, Minor Prophets, 466-68). It may be sufficient to say that on the whole the first interpretation, which requires no omission or transposition, seems to satisfy most completely the facts in the case.
2. Contents
The contents of Hab 1 and 2 are indicated in the preceding paragraph. Hab 3 contains a lyrical passage called in the title ?Prayer.? The petitioner speaks for himself and the community. He remembers the mighty works of Yahweh for His people; the thought of them causes him to tremble; nevertheless, he calls for a repetition of the ancient manifestations (Hab_3:2). In majestic pictures the poet describes the wonderful appearances of Yahweh in the past (Hab_3:3-11) for His chosen people (Hab_3:12-15). The remembrance of these manifestations fills the Psalmist with fear and trembling, but also with joy and confidence in the God of his salvation (Hab_3:16-19).
3. Style
Only the Hebrew student can get an adequate idea of the literary excellence of the Book of Habakkuk. ?The literary power of Habakkuk,? says Driver, ?is considerable. Though his book is a brief one, it is full of force; his descriptions are graphic and powerful; thought and expression are alike poetic; he is still a master of the old classical style, terse, parallelistic, pregnant; there is no trace of the often prosaic diffusiveness which manifests itself in the writings of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. And if Hab 3 be his, he is, moreover, a lyric poet of high order; the grand imagery and the rhythmic flow of this ode will bear comparison with some of the finest productions of the Hebrew muse.?
4. Integrity
More than half of the book, including Hab_1:5-11; Hab_2:9-20, and chapter 3 entire, has been denied to the prophet Habakkuk. If the prophecy is rightly interpreted (see above), no valid reason for rejecting Hab_1:5-11 can be found. Hab_2:9-20 are denied to Habakkuk chiefly on two grounds: (1) The ?woes? are said to be in part, at least, unsuitable, if supposed to be addressed to the Chaldean king. This difficulty vanishes when it is borne in mind that the king is not addressed as an individual, but as representing the policy of the nation, as a personification of the nation. (2) Some parts, especially Hab_2:12-14, ?consist largely of citations and reminiscences of other passages, including some late ones? (compare Hab_2:12 with Mic_3:10; Hab_2:13 with Jer_51:58; Hab_2:14 with Isa_11:9; Hab_2:16 with Jer_25:15, Jer_25:16; Hab_2:18-20 with Isa_44:9; Isa_46:6, Isa_46:7; Jer 10:1-16). Aside from the fact that the argument from literary parallels is always precarious, in this case the resemblances are few in number and of such general character that they do not necessarily presuppose literary dependence. Habakkuk 3 is denied to the prophet even more persistently, but the arguments are by no means conclusive. The fact that the chapter belongs to the psalm literature does not prove a late date unless it is assumed, without good reasons, that no psalms originated in the pre?xilic period. Nor do the historical allusions, which are altogether vague, the style, the relation to other writers, and the character of the religious ideas expressed, point necessarily to a late date. The only doubtful verses are Hab_2:16, which seem to allude to a calamity other than the invasion of the Chaldeans; and Driver says, not without reason, ?Had the poet been writing under the pressure of a hostile invasion, the invasion itself would naturally have been expected to form a prominent feature in this picture.? Hence, while it may be impossible to prove that Habakkuk is the author of the prayer, it is equally impossible to prove the contrary; and while there are a few indications which seem to point to a situation different from that of Habakkuk, they are by no means definite enough to exclude the possibility of Habakkuk's authorship.
III. The Time
1. Date
The question of date is closely bound up with that of interpretation. Budde, on theory that the oppressors, threatened with destruction, are the Assyrians (see above, 3), dates the prophecy 621 to 615 bc. Granting that the Assyrians are in the mind of the prophet, the date suggested by Betteridge (AJT, 1903, 674ff), circa 701 bc, is to be preferred; but if the Assyrians are not the oppressors, then with the Assyrians fall the dates proposed by Budde and Betteridge. If the prophecy is directed against Egypt, we are shut up to a very definite period, between 608 and 604 bc, for the Egyptian supremacy in Judah continued during these years only. If the Egyptians are not the oppressors, another date will have to be sought. If the Chaldeans are the oppressors of Judah, the prophecy must be assigned to a date subsequent to the battle of Carchemish in 605-604, for only after the defeat of the Egyptians could the Chaldeans carry out a policy of world conquest; and it was some years after that event that the Chaldeans first came into direct contact with Judah. But on this theory, Hab_1:2-4, Hab_1:12; Hab_2:8, presupposes the lapse of a considerable period of conquest, the subduing of many nations, the cruel oppression of Judah for some length of time; therefore, Nowack is undoubtedly correct, on this theory, in bringing the prophecy down to a period subsequent to the first exile in 597, or, as he says, ?in round numbers about 590 bc.?
A different date must be sought if Hab_1:2-4 is interpreted as referring to the oppression of Jews by Jews, and Hab_1:5, as a threat that Yahweh will raise up the Chaldeans, already known as a nation thirsting for blood, to punish the wickedness of Judah. These verses would seem to indicate (1) that the Chaldeans had not yet come into direct contact with Judah, and (2) that they had already given exhibitions of the cruel character of their warfare. Nebuchadnezzar advanced against Judah about 600 bc; but the years since the fall of Nineveh, in 607-606, and the battle of Carchemish, in 605-604, had given abundant opportunity to the Chaldeans to reveal their true character, and to the prophet and his contemporaries to become acquainted with this cruel successor of Nineveh. On this theory, therefore, the prophetic activity of Habakkuk must be assigned to shortly before 600 bc.
2. Occasion
If Habakkuk prophesied about 600 bc, he lived under King Jehoiakim. The pious and well-meaning Josiah had been slain in an attempt to stop the advance of Egypt against Assyria. With his death the brief era of reform came to an end. After a reign of three months Jehoahaz was deposed by Pharaoh-necoh, who placed Jehoiakim on the throne. The latter was selfish, tyrannical and godless. In a short time the deplorable conditions of Manasseh's reign returned. It was this situation that caused the prophet's first perplexity: ?O Yahweh, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear? I cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save? (Hab_1:2).
IV. Its Teaching
In the Book of Hab a new type of prophecy appears. The prophets were primarily preachers and teachers of religion and ethics. They addressed themselves to their fellow-countrymen in an attempt to win them back to Yahweh and a righteous life. Not so Habakkuk. He addresses himself to Yahweh, questioning the justice or even the reality of the Divine Providence. He makes complaint to God and expostulates with Him. The prophet Habakkuk, therefore, is a forerunner of the author of the Book of Job. ?As a whole, his book is the fruit of religious reflection. It exhibits the communings and questionings of his soul - representative, no doubt, of many other pious spirits of the time - with God; and records the answers which the Spirit of God taught him for his own sake and for the sake of tried souls in every age.?
Habakkuk has been called the prophet of faith. He possessed a strong, living faith in Yahweh; but he, like many other pious souls, was troubled and perplexed by the apparent inequalities of life. He found it difficult to reconcile these with his lofty conception of Yahweh. Nevertheless, he does not sulk. Boldly he presents his perplexities to Yahweh, who points the way to a solution, and the prophet comes forth from his trouble with a faith stronger and more intense than ever. It is in connection with his attempts to solve the perplexing problems raised by the unpunished sins of his countrymen and the unlimited success of the Chaldeans that Habakkuk gives utterance to two sublime truths:
1. The Universal Supremacy of Yahweh
Yahweh is interested not only in Israel. Though Habakkuk, like the other prophets, believes in a special Divine Providence over Israel, he is equally convinced that Yahweh's rule embraces the whole earth; the destinies of all the nations are in His hand. The Chaldeans are punished not merely for their sins against Judah, but for the oppression of other nations as well. Being the only God, He cannot permit the worship of other deities. Temporarily the Chaldeans may worship idols, or make might their god, they may ?sacrifice unto their net,? and burn incense ?unto their drag,? because by them ?their portion is fat and their food plenteous?; but Yahweh is from everlasting, the Holy One, and He will attest His supremacy by utterly destroying the boastful conqueror with his idols.
2. Faithfulness the Guarantee of Permanency
The second important truth is expressed in Hab_2:4 : ?The righteous shall live by his faith? (the American Revised Version, margin ?faithfulness?). Faithfulness assures permanency. The thought expressed by the prophet is not identical with that expressed by the apostle who quotes the words (Gal_3:11); nevertheless, the former also gives expression to a truth of profound significance. ?Faithfulness? is with the prophet an external thing; it signifies integrity, fidelity, steadfastness under all provocations; but this implies, in a real sense, the New Testament conception of faith as an active principle of right conduct. A living faith determines conduct; religion and ethics go hand in hand, and especially in the hour of adversity a belief in Yahweh and unflinching reliance upon Him are the strongest preservers of fidelity and integrity. Faith without works is dead; faith expresses itself in life. Habakkuk places chief emphasis upon the expressions of faith, and he does so rightly; but in doing this he also calls attention, by implication at least, to the motive power behind the external manifestations. As an expression of living faith, Hab_3:17-19 is not surpassed in the Old Testament.
Literature
Commentaries on the Minor Prophets by Ewald, Pusey, Keil, Orelli, G. A. Smith (Expositor's Bible), Driver (New Century Bible), Eiselen; A. B. Davidson, Commentary on ?Nah,? ?Hab,? ?Zeph? (Cambridge Bible); A. F. Kirkpatrick, Doctrine of the Prophets; F. C. Eiselen, Prophecy and the Prophets; F. W. Farrar, Minor Prophets (?Men of the Bible?); Driver, LOT; HDB, article ?Habakkuk?; EB, article ?Habakkuk.?
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.
Hab?akkuk (embrace), one of the most distinguished Jewish prophets, who flourished about 610 B.C., the name denoting as well a 'favorite' as a 'struggler.' Of this prophet's birth-place, parentage, and life we have only apocryphal and conflicting accounts. The Pseudo-Epiphanius states that he was of the tribe of Simeon, and born in a place called Bedzoker; that he fled to Ostrarine when Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem, but afterwards returned home, and died two years before the return of his countrymen. But Rabbinical writers assert that he was of the tribe of Levi, and name different birth-places. Eusebius notices that in his time the tomb of Habakkuk was shown in the town of Ceila, in Palestine; still there are other writers who name different places where, according to common opinion, he had been buried.
A full and trustworthy account of the life of Habakkuk would explain his imagery, and many of the events to which he alludes; but since we have no information on which we can depend, nothing remains but to determine from the book itself its historical basis and its age. Now, we find that in Habakkuk 1 the prophet sets forth a vision, in which he discerned the injustice, violence, and oppression committed in his country by the rapacious and terrible Chaldeans, whose oppressions he announces as a divine retribution for sins committed; consequently he wrote in the Chaldean period, shortly before the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar which rendered Jehoiakim tributary to the king of Babylon (2Ki_24:1). When he wrote the first chapter of his prophecies, the Chaldeans could not yet have invaded Palestine, otherwise he would not have introduced Jehovah saying (Hab_1:5), 'I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you;' (Hab_1:6) 'for I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land to possess the dwelling-places that are not theirs.' From Hab_1:12 it is also evident that the ruin of the Jews had not then been effected; it says, 'the Lord ordained them for judgment, established them for correction.' Agreeably to the general style of the prophets, who to lamentations and announcements of divine punishment add consolations and cheering hopes for the future, Habakkuk then proceeds in the second chapter to foretell the future humiliation of the conquerors who plundered so many nations. He also there promulgates a vision of events shortly to be expected; (Hab_2:3) 'the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie; though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come; it will not tarry.' This is succeeded in the third chapter by an ode, in which the prophet celebrates the deliverances wrought by the Almighty for his people in times past, and prays for a similar interference now to mitigate the coming distresses of the nation; which he goes on to describe, representing the land as already waste and desolate, and yet giving encouragement to hope for a return of better times. Some interpreters are of opinion that Habakkuk 2 was written in the reign of Jehoiachin, the son of Jehoiakim (2Ki_24:6), after Jerusalem had been besieged and conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, the king made a prisoner, and, with many thousands of his subjects, carried away to Babylon; none remaining in Jerusalem, save the poorest class of the people (2Ki_24:14). But of all this nothing is said in the book of Habakkuk, nor even so much as hinted at; and what is stated of the violence and injustice of the Chaldeans does not imply that the Jews had already experienced it. The prophet distinctly mentions that he sets forth what he had discerned in a vision, and he, therefore, speaks of events to be expected and coming. It is also a supposition equally gratuitous, according to which some interpreters refer Habakkuk 3 to the period of the last siege of Jerusalem, when Zedekiah was taken, his sons slain, his eyes put out, the walls of the city broken down, and the temple burnt (2Ki_25:1-10). There is not the slightest allusion to any of these incidents in Habakkuk 3; and from Hab_3:16 it appears, that the destroyer is only coming, and that the prophet expresses fears, not of the entire destruction of the city, much less of the downfall of the state, but only of the desolation of the country. It thus appears beyond dispute, that Habakkuk prophesied in the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, about the year stated above. Carpzov and Jahn refer our prophet to the reign of Manasseh, thus placing him thirty odd years earlier; but at that time the Chaldeans had not as yet given just ground for apprehension, and it would have been injudicious in Habakkuk prematurely to fill the minds of the people with fear of them. Some additional support to our statement of the age of this book is derived from the tradition, reported in the apocryphal appendix to Daniel and by the Pseudo-Epiphanius, that Habakkuk lived to see the Babylonian exile; for if he prophesied under Manasseh he could not have reached the exile at an age under 90 years; but if he held forth early in the reign of Jehoiakim he would have been only 50 odd years old at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem and of the exile. He was, then, a contemporary of Jeremiah, but much younger, as the latter made his first appearance in public as early as B.C. 29, in the thirteenth year of Josiah.
The style of this prophet has been always much admired. He equals the most eminent prophets of the Old Testament?Joel, Amos, Nahum, Isaiah; and the ode in Habakkuk 3 may be placed in competition with Psalms 18, 68 for originality and sublimity. His figures are all great, happily chosen, and properly drawn out. His denunciations are terrible, his derision bitter, his consolation cheering. Instances occur of borrowed ideas (Hab_3:19, comp. Psa_18:34; Hab_2:6, comp. Isa_14:7; Hab_2:14, comp. Isa_11:9); but he makes them his own in drawing them out in his peculiar manner. With all the boldness and fervor of his imagination, his language is pure and his verse melodious. The ancient catalogues of canonical books of the Old Testament do not mention Habakkuk by name; but they must have counted him in the twelve Minor Prophets, whose number would otherwise not be full. In the New Testament some expressions of his are introduced, but his name is not added (Rom_1:17; Gal_3:11; Heb_10:38, comp. Hab_2:4; Act_13:40-41, comp. Hab_1:5).
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.
Habakkuk
[many Habak'kuk] (Heb. Chabakkuk', חֲבִקּוּק, embrace; Sept. Α᾿μβακούμ, Vulg. Habacuc; Jerome, Praef. in Habakkuk translates περίληψις, and Suidas πατὴρ ἐγέρσεως; other Graecized and Latinized forms are Α᾿ββακούμ, Α᾿μβακούκ, Ambacnum, Abacuc, etc.), the eighth in order of the twelve minor prophets (q.v.) of the Old Testament.
1. As to the name, besides the above forms, the Greeks, not only the Sept. translators, but the fathers of the Church, probably to make it more sonorous, corrupt it into Α᾿ραβακούκ, Α᾿ραβακούρω, or, as Jerome writes, Α᾿βακούρω, and only one Greek copy, found in the library of Alcala, in Spain, has Α᾿ββακούκ, which seems to be a recent correction made to suit the Hebrew text. The Heb. word may denote, as observed by Jerome, as well a favorite as a struggler. Abarbanel thinks that in the latter sense it has allusion to the patriotic zeal of the prophet fervently contending for the welfare of his country: but other prophets did the same; and in the former and less distant signification, the name would be one like Theophilus, a friend of God, which his parents may have given him for a good omen. Luther took the name in the active sense, and applied it to the labors and writings of the man, thus: Habakkuk had a proper name for his office; for it signifies a man of heart, one who is hearty towards another and takes him into his arms. This is what he does in his prophecy; he comforts his people and lifts them up, as one would do with a weeping child or man, bidding him be quiet and content, because, please God, it would yet be better with him. But all this is speculation. See Keil and Delitzsch, Comment. ad cap. 1, 1.
2. Of the facts of this prophet's birth-place, parentage, and life we have only apocryphal and conflicting accounts (see Delitzsch, De Habacuci vita et cetate, Lips. 1842, 1844). The Rabbinical tradition that Habakkuk was the son of the Shunammite woman whom Elisha restored to life is repeated by Abarbanel in his commentary, and has no other foundation than a fanciful etymology of the prophet's name, based on the expression in 2Ki_4:16. Equally unfounded is the tradition that he was the sentinel set by Isaiah to watch for the destruction of Babylon (comp. Isa_21:16 with Hab_2:1). In the title of the history of Bel and the Dragon, as found in the Sept. version in Origen's Tetrapla, the author is called Habakkuk, the son of Joshua, of the tribe of Levi. Some have supposed this apocryphal writer to be identical with the prophet (Jerome, Promen. in Dan.). The psalm in ch. 3 and its title are thought to favor the opinion that Habakkuk w-as a Levite (Delitzsch, Habakkuk, p. 3). Pseudo-Epiphanius (2, 240, De Vitis Prophetamum) and Dorotheus (Chronicles Pasch. p. 150) say that he was of Βηθζοκήρ or Βηθιτουχάρ (v.r. Βηδζοκήρ, Βιδζεχάρ) (Bethacat, Isid. Hispal. c. 47), of the tribe of Simeon. This may have been the same as Bethzacharias, where Judas Maccabaus was defeated by Antiochus Eupator (1Ma_6:32-33). The same authors relate that when Jerusalem was sacked by Nebuchadnezzar, Habakkuk fled to Ostracine, and remained there till after the Chaldeans had left the city, when he returned to his own country, and died at his farm two years before the return from Babylon, B.C. 538. It was (during his residence in Judea that he is said to have carried food to Daniel in the den of lions at Babylon. This legend is given in the history of Bel and the Dragon, and is repeated by Eusebins, Bar Hebraeus, and Eutychius. It is quoted from Joseph ben- Gorion (B. J. 11, 3) by Abarbanel (Comm. on Hab.), and seriously refuted by him on chronological grounds. The scene of the event was shown to mediaeval travelers on the road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem (Early Travels in Palestine, p. 29). Habakkuk is said to have been buried at Ceila, in the tribe of Judah, eight miles east of Eleutheropolis (Eusebius, Onomasficon, s.v.); where, in the days of Zebenus, bishop of Eleutheropolis, according to Nicephorus (H. k. 12, 48) and Sozomen (H. E. 7, 28), the remains of the prophets Habakkuk and Micah were both discovered. SEE KEILAH. Iabbinical tradition, however, places his tomb at Chukkok, of the tribe of Naphthali, now called Jakuk. SEE HUKKOK.
CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.
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