Q: In Hab, how do you pronounce Habakkuk?
A: People disagree as to whether the accent is on the first or second syllable. Cruden’s Concordance says it has no long vowels and the accent is on the first syllable. The Wycliffe Bible Dictionary and Harper’s Bible Dictionary says it has no long vowels and the accent is on the second syllable.
Q: In Hab 1:1, who was Habakkuk?
A: Habakkuk is simply a servant of God. We do not know anything about him, except what is written in the book of Habakkuk.
Q: In Hab 1:1, when was Habakkuk written?
A: Scholars are not sure. It probably was between 697-598 B.C., when the Chaldeans were dominant. Since the Temple was still standing until 597 B.C., it was written before then.
Q: In Hab 1:1, as we do not know who Habakkuk was, for certain when it was written, why should it be in our Bible?
A: Among other reasons, because Jesus authenticated the entire Old Testament. He accepted without question the Old Testament of the Jews in Palestine as shown by Matthew 5:17; 7:12; 11:13; 22:40; Luke 16:16,29,31; 18:31; 24:27.
Q: In Hab 1:2 and Ps 10:1, why does God not always seem to hear the prayers of righteous people?
A: God does tell Habakkuk the answer in Habakkuk 1:5-11, and God eventually fulfilled the answer around 610 B.C. In general, we sometimes have to wait for God’s answer, as He does things in the timing He prefers, not our timing. However, our needing to "wait upon the Lord" does not make His answer less spectacular when it comes. 2 Peter 3:9 shows that God is not slow, but He seems slow because He does not want any to perish.
Q: In Hab 1:5 (KJV), does God call Habakkuk a heathen?
A: Not at all. The real meaning of this King James Version expression is to tell Habakkuk to look among the nations.
Q: In Hab 1:6-10, how can God use the unholy Chaldeans, since God is too pure to look upon evil as Hab 1:13 says?
A: See the discussion on Habakkuk 2:8 for the answer.
Q: In Hab 1:8, should we take this literally, that those horses were as fast a leopards?
A: This is poetry, and was intended by Habakkuk to be understood as such. When people say they take the Bible "literally", they do not mean hyper-literally, but rather we take the Bible as the authors intended it to be taken.
Q: In Hab 1:8 (NIV), why did "vultures" swoop down? Vultures eat dead animals, usually not live ones.
A: The Hebrew word means any large flesh-eating bird. What is more probably intended is an eagle, as the NKJV, KJV, and NASB translate.
Q: In Hab 1:13, what exactly is moral evil?
A: Scripture does not give a concise definition, but gives many descriptions. Here are some analogies.
Evil is like a deceitful weight
Weights were important in the ancient world for measuring out grain, salt, and other items of trade. Deuteronomy 25:15 and Leviticus 19:36 allude to this when they mention a perfect and just weight. Proverbs 11:1 and Proverbs 16:11 say a just weight is the Lord’s delight. Proverbs 20:10,23 and Micah 6:11 condemn people who use diverse and deceitful weights.
So to understand evil, we have to understand that God is good, in the sense that He, as a Holy Creator, has set the standard for measuring goodness.
Evil is like a hole in the field of goodness
People can have illusions about evil, but evil is not illusion. People can have illusions about anything, but illusion does not remove the reality. Evil is like a hole in a farmer’s field of goodness. A hole is not a "thing" but an absence of a thing. It is not an illusion though, for people can step in hole they do not see and twist their ankles. If all goodness comes from God, a "hole of evil" is a "thing" that does not.
So to understand evil, we have to understand that God is good, in the sense that nothing is totally good except God alone. God provides goodness, and evil is a deficiency of goodness.
Evil is like a shadow
God created everything, right? If so, then did God create the shadows, too? If a shadow is where light is blocked or reduced by an object, did the light or the object create the shadow? ¾ No object, no shadow. Yet, no light no shadow, either. You might confuse a shadow with an illusion, but illusions do not affect you, except by your believing in them. Plants that need the sun die in the shadows ¾ regardless of what a person believes.
Shadows really exist, but shadows do not have an existence independent of the light source and the object blocking the light. Evil really exists, but evil does not have an existence independent of God who is light and the source of all goodness, and beings who have the free agency to shadow God’s goodness.
Nobody, including God, directly created evil, just as on earth nobody directly creates shadows. God did indirectly create evil, just as on earth a light indirectly creates shadows.
So to understand evil, we have to understand that God is good, in the sense that He is the source of all goodness.
Q: In Hab 1:13, why are various modern definitions of moral evil inadequate?
A: Here are some of them.
1. "whatever I do not like." If all described by this was evil, then what about the dentist’s drill, the surgeon’s knife, or the kid who is screaming because she has to take bad-tasting medicine? What about the contradictory situation that arises when a parent disciplines a child?
Bad things can serve good purposes to:
Refine our faith. 1 Peter 1:6-7
Help us die to sin. 1 Peter 4:1
Test our faith and develop perseverance. James 1:2-4
Be used not for our sake, but for others. Colossians 1:24
Be a sign to help unbelievers. Philippians 1:28
Just comes with being a Christian. 2 Timothy 3:12; Philippians 1:29
Sometimes we can see no reason, except that our persevering glorifies God. See Job 1:8-12; 2:2-6.
2. "whatever is not good for me." If so, what about the things a child judges are not good for him, like vegetables. What about the criminal who is jailed for the good of society, not his own good.
Even with this view there is a problem of perspective. In 1 Corinthians 15:12-19, Paul says that what he is suffering for and preaching about is useless, and we would be the most pitiful of men, if Christi did not really rise from the dead. Paul clearly saw that what was best for both his hearers and himself would be very different if Jesus was not resurrected. In Matthew 10:39 and Mark 8:35 Jesus said, "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." In other words, whoever is willing to lose his earthly life will find genuine life in eternity, and whoever lives only for this life will have lost for all eternity. So what is best for a person’s life depends on if you focus exclusively on the short-term earthly life or on the long-term eternal life.
3. "whatever does not bring about the greatest good for society." In John 11:49-52, Caiphas the high priest said about the plot to kill Jesus "…it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish." In a strange, unintended sort of way, he was exactly right. That did not make crucifying Jesus good, though. Judas’ betrayal of Jesus was a necessary part of Christ’s death which brought about our salvation. Does that mean Judas should be our hero for being good? -Of course not. Acts 2:23 says Jesus was handed over through God’s set purpose and foreknowledge. Yet Mark 14:21 says it would have been better for Judas if he had not been born. Judas’ crime was heinous, but God used Judas’ evil choice to bring about the greatest good.
Q: In Hab 1:13, why does God let people sin?
A: God answers this question in two parts, with a picture of the future.
1. Hab 1:5-11 shows that their happiness is short-lived, for an even more ruthless people will soon conquer them. God’s toleration of sin on earth is only temporary. If we could only take to heart Psalm 39:4-5, and ask how lengthy earthly life will seem, millions of years from now, this answer would be so clear to us.
2. Hab 2:1-3:16 paints a picture in words. The first part of the answer, Habakkuk 2:2-20, details the sins of the oppressors, and their fate, in this life. Aptly, Habakkuk writes that they enlarge their desires as Hell in Habakkuk 2:5. Not only will they come to ruin, but as they weary themselves in vain to feed the fire in Habakkuk 2:13, their hopes and labors will come to nothing.
The second part of the answer, in Habakkuk 3:1-16, shifts the focus to "an appointed time" in Habakkuk 2:3, the end times and the last judgment. Many wicked do appear to live well all their life on earth, and life does not seem fair to us, if our focus is only on this life.
David prayed to God about his own bitter feelings toward the violent and wealthy in Psalm 73. Once David entered the sanctuary in Psalm 73:17, he saw clearly the same answer Habakkuk saw. It is a certainty that God will severely punish their sin, but it is God’s discretion to punish their sins in the timing He chooses. As 1 Timothy 5:24-25 implies, some consequences of sin come sooner, and other consequences are delayed until judgment day.
When Corrie ten Boom was in a Nazi concentration camp, a Jewish former Violin player, whose fingers were gnarled by Nazi torture, asked how Corrie’s God could let this happen. The lady was in no mood for a theological discussion. Corrie answered that she did not know. But she did know that her Savior came to earth, and He too was tortured unjustly, and that he as experienced what she experienced and understands her pain. Amen!
Q: In Hab 2:5 (KJV), how does one "transgress by wine"?
A: This King James Version expression is better translated "wine indeed betrays a proud man".
Q: In Hab 2:5, what is the relationship between pride and alcohol?
A: This is not saying that proud people are more or less likely to drink. Rather,
1. As the first part of the verse shows, when a person drinks alcohol, the tongue is less restrained, and others can other hear more clearly what is on their heart.
2. As the last part of the verse shows, pride functions somewhat like a drug, and the acquiring of things that feed pride is intoxicating. Like a drug, pride can make people do very foolish things.
Q: In Hab 2:6 (KJV), how do you "take up a parable and a mocking riddle against some one"?
A: The King James Version literally translated a Hebrew idiom that means people will "taunt him with ridicule and scorn" (NIV).
Q: In Hab 2:6-19, what is a summary of the evils people did here?
1. They built up their wealth by extortion, crime, and bloodshed (2:6,9,12)
2. The took pleasure in dishonoring others (2:15)
3. Violence (2:16)
4. Trusted in idols and their own creations (2:18-19)
Q: In Hab 2:6-19, what is the pattern of this poetry?
Each section of the main body has three parts:
1. The evil the people did. (Habakkuk 2:6,9,12,15)
2. Diagnosis: (Habakkuk 2:7,10,13,16)
3. Judgment (Habakkuk 2:8,11,14,16-17)
Verses 18-20 get to the heart of the matter
1. On a material level, the people were trusting in idols that teach lies.
2. On a more general level, they were trusting in their own creation and lifeless things.
3. They were looking for guidance and other things to trust in, rather than being silent before the Lord.
Q: In Hab 2:8, why did God let such a cruel people be successful?
A: Ezekiel 7:24 says the Babylonians were among the worst of the heathen. Having the Babylonians be "successful" was not necessarily a good thing for them. In fact, one could say the Babylonians were raised up for their judgment. In contrast to them, the Arameans, Arabs, Sabaeans, and others never achieved the degree of success the Babylonians did, and they never suffered the destruction the Babylonians did.
See 735 Baffling Bible Questions Answered p.213-214 for more info.
Q: In Hab 2:8, why does God punish the Chaldeans for being instruments of His will and doing what He told them to do?
A: God never told the Chaldeans to invade Judah, and they did not conquer because of a desire to obey God’s commands. Instead, God, in what is called concurrency, used their evil desire to conquer for His good plan. God can work everything together for good for those who love Him in Romans 8:28. God uses all as a part of His plan in Ephesians 1:11 and Proverbs 16:4.
Q: In Hab 2:11, how did the stones and wood cry out?
A: Habakkuk 2, while speaking in general to all evildoers, is speaking primarily against the Babylonians. While the stones and wood cried out as a poetic metaphor, they literally spoke to the Babylonians in Daniel 5:5-6. The night before the Medes and Persians and their allies sacked Babylon, King Belshazzar gave a great banquet, using the gold and silver goblets taken from the Temple in Jerusalem. The fingers of a human hand appeared, and they wrote on the wall the words, "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin". Daniel interpreted these words, as you can read for yourself in Daniel 5:25-28.
Q: In Hab 2:14, does the knowledge of the glory of the Lord differ from the knowledge of the Lord in Isa 11:9?
A: Yes. Isaiah 11:9 refers to a future time in the Millennium when all the earth will know of the Lord. The Bible Knowledge Commentary : Old Testament p.1515 says that the phrase is Habakkuk is perhaps based on Isaiah 11:9. The difference between the two is that Isaiah focused on the essence of God’s kingdom, while Habakkuk was asking questions and receiving answers on the establishment of God’s kingdom. As a side note, Psalm 72:19, Numbers 14:21, and Isaiah 6:3 refer to the glory of the Lord filling the earth.
1001 Bible Questions Answered p.300 points out that while more and more people are hearing the knowledge of the Lord, our truly knowing the knowledge of the glory of the Lord awaits the Millennium. Many places in the New Testament tells us to pray and yearn for Christ’s return, and His coming Kingdom should be so important in our prayers today, that in the Lord’s prayer Jesus taught all his disciples to say, "your kingdom come.…"
Q: In Hab 2:19, what exactly is idolatry?
A: There are different kinds of idolatry, but they all have in common either a believing, trusting, or devotion to something or some one in place of God.
Believing: When you want more advice on life, where are you prone to turn? If the latest fad psychology book contradicts what the Bible says, which are you likely to believe?
Trust: When you feel concerned about your future, do you turn to the Bible and pray, or look to horoscopes and fortune-tellers?
Love and devotion: When you have idle time, where do your thoughts turn? Do they turn to worshipping and adoring God?
While, money, romance, and others things can become implicit modern idols to people, it is much worse to explicitly worship another god.
Q: In Hab 2:20, since all the earth should be silent before God, why do Christians sing to Him?
A: This refers to a time in the future. It might be the same as the short silence mentioned in Revelation 8:1. The Wycliffe Bible Dictionary p.1590 says there are five different Hebrew words for silence. The one used here also means to "hush".
Q: In Hab 3, is there any evidence of the opinion that this was written by a later author than the first two chapters?
A: None, except that a commentary among the Dead Sea scrolls on Habakkuk has only chapters 1 and 2. However, it is a badly mutilated copy, so it is understandable that part of it is missing. All known copies of Habakkuk have the third chapter.
Q: In Hab 3:1, what is a shigionoth?
A: It is either a musical instrument, or possibly a style of music. We do not have any more details of the instrument today. It appears to be the plural form of Shiggaion, which Psalm 7 mentions.
Q: In Hab 3:2, how do wrath and mercy relate?
A: While they seem to be opposites, one cannot fully understand God’s mercy without knowing of God’s wrath. One needs to understand that God is so Holy, that sin is destroyed in His presence. God is angry at sin, yet His anger does not cloud His judgment. Even in the midst of Him seeing a depraved and sinful human race, His great love for us is still overwhelming. God delights to extend mercy, for God desires that none perish, according to Ezekiel 18:23,32 and 2 Peter 3:9.
Q: In Hab 3:3, how did the omnipresent God come from Teman?
A: Even though God is everywhere, God can still have a localized presence. After all, Jesus was in one place at one time. God also appeared to Moses in a burning bush, which was in one place. God’s coming from Teman likely refers to a part of the Second Coming of Christ. See also When Critics Ask p.315,36 and the Wycliffe Bible Dictionary p.1247 for more info.
Q: In Hab 3:3, where is Teman?
A: In Edom, just across the Dead Sea and a little south of Judah. Ezekiel 25:13, Amos 1:12, and Obadiah 8-9 mention Teman as a part of Edom. Jeremiah 49:7,20 poetically uses Teman as a synonym for Edom. Teman was named after a chief of Edom and a grandson of Esau named Teman (Genesis 36:11,15,42 and 1 Chronicles 1:36,53). Eliphaz, in Job was a Temanite, and 1 Chronicles 1:45 says the Temanites were descendants of Esau. See also the next question.
Q: In Hab 3:3, could this be a prediction of Mohammed, as some Muslims claim?
A: This verse talks of "God", not "Mohammed". Some Muslim sects do believe Mohammed is God, though that is heresy to Sunni Muslim ears. However, if any Sunni Muslims themselves really took this question seriously, they would have to believe Mohammed is God too , since "God came from Teman".
Other reasons this cannot refer to Mohammed, is that "His praise" does not refer to Mohammed, since the praise is for God." Mount Paran is where the Israelites camped, and far from Mecca. When Cultists Ask p.89 gives essentially the same answer. See the next question and When Critics Ask p.315 for more info.
Q: In Hab 3:3 and Dt 1:1, is Mount Paran really Mecca, as some Muslims claim?
A: No, for Paran was directly east of the Sinai Peninsula. Ishmael originally lived in the wilderness of Paran in Genesis 21:21, but his descendants were apparently not there anymore when the Israelites came. Deuteronomy 1:1-2 says the Israelites camped on the plain near Paran. It was eleven days journey for them from Mount Horeb. They spent a lot of time in Paran, as Numbers 10:12, 12:16; 13:3, and Deuteronomy 33:2 show. Numbers 13:26 shows that Kadesh, which is in the far south of Israel, is in the wilderness of Paran. David went to Paran in 1 Samuel 25:1. Hadad the Edomite fled from Edom to Egypt by way of Paran in 1 Kings 11:18.
In summary, Paran was eleven days from Mount Horeb, Kadesh was in Paran, and Paran was the place where the Israelites camped and sent spies into Canaan.
Q: In Hab 3:3-15, what time period is this talking about?
A: Most interpret this to refer to the triumphal return of Christ in Revelation 19:11-21 or possibly Revelation 20:7-9.
Q: In Hab 3:4 (KJV), how do "horns" come out of God’s hand?
A: This was difficult for the King James version translators to translate. Modern translations say "rays flashing/flashed from His hands" (NKJV, NIV). Exodus 34:29-30,35 also mention rays coming from Moses after he talked with God.
Q: In Hab 3:5, how does "pestilence" go before the God of love?
A: God has wrath as well as love. Pestilence means plague. It can be sickness, as Deuteronomy 32:24 says, or it can be "plagues" as in the plagues of Egypt in Exodus 7-11.
Q: In Hab 3:6, how can hills or mountains be eternal?
A: The Hebrew word "’ad" can mean ancient or old, as well as eternal.
Q: In Hab 3:8, why is Habakkuk referring to rivers?
A: The Hebrew is not clear, but the meaning might ocean streams, and not freshwater rivers.
Q: In Hab 3:16-19, how could Habakkuk rejoice, knowing this great destruction will occur?
A: Just as those in Heaven in rejoice over Babylon’s destruction in Revelation 19:1-8. Habakkuk had no joy in the destruction itself, but could rejoice in these final signs of God’s kingdom, as well as the breaking of the power of evil on the earth. See also Hard Sayings of the Bible p.340.
Q: In Hab 3:19, what are hinds feet?
A: A hind is a male deer, and hind’s feet can run fast, jump high, and be surefooted upon the mountains. There is an excellent book, which is an allegory on this, called Hind’s Feet on High Places, by Hannah Hurnard.
Q: In Hab, what are some of the earliest manuscripts that still exist today?
A: Dead Sea scroll (c.1 A.D.) 4Q238 contains Habakkuk 3.
Dead Sea scroll commentary on Habakkuk, from the first century B.C., is called 1QpHab (The Dead Sea Scrolls in English 4th ed. p.xxxvii, The Dead Sea Scrolls Today p.46-50). It was found in the ‘Ain Fashka cave. It is a rather badly mutilated commentary containing all of Habakkuk 1:2 through the end of chapter 2. Chapter 3 is apparently lost. The author attempted to relate all the prophecies of Habakkuk to his day. You can see a photograph of part of this in the New International Dictionary of the Bible p.261 and the Wycliffe Bible Dictionary p.440. It has 160 variants from the Massoretic text, most of which are minor grammatical, spelling, or Aramaic expressions.
The wadi Murabb'at scroll of the Minor Prophets (Mur 88) is from the second century A.D. It contains Habakkuk 1:3-2:11 and 2:18-3:19.
The Nahal Hever Greek Scroll of the Minor Prophets (8 Hev XIIgr) contains Habakkuk 1:5-11; 1:14-2:8; 2:13-20; 3:9-15. It was hidden during the Bar Kokhba revolt against Rome. It was hidden during the Bar Kokhba revolt against Rome. It is a revision of the Septuagint, made in Judea, and almost identical to the Massoretic text.
Christian Bible manuscripts, from about 350 A.D., contain the Old Testament, including Habakkuk. Two of these are Vaticanus (325-250 A.D.) and Alexandrinus (c450 A.D.), where the books of the twelve minor prophets were placed before Isaiah. Habakkuk is complete in both Vaticanus and Alexandrinus.
Sinaiticus (340-350 A.D.) also has the entire book.
The Berberini Greek version of Habakkuk 3 is in six Middle Aged manuscripts from the 8th to 13th centuries. It is a paraphrase most similar to Coptic versions.
The early church accepted Habakkuk as scripture. One example is Cyprian was a bishop of Carthage from 248 to his martyrdom in 258 A.D.. He quotes Habakkuk 2:4 from "Habakkuk" in Treatise 12 The Third Book 42.
The liberal Anchor Bible Dictionary volume 3 p.2-3 has more info.
Q: In Hab, what are some of the translation differences between the Hebrew and Greek Septuagint?
A: The book of Habakkuk has 56 verses and about 638 words in Hebrew. The Septuagint Greek translation of the book of Habakkuk has about 1,082 words in Greek. The Septuagint translation of Habakkuk is not as high quality of translation as the Septuagint of the Torah. Here are a few of the translation differences. The first phrase is the Hebrew, and the second is the Greek.
Hab 1:3 "show me evil and you look upon toil" vs. "show me troubles and griefs to look upon"
Hab 1:4 "justice does not continually go forth." vs. "judgment proceeds not effectually"
Hab 1:5 "Look among the nations and see, and be amazed, be amazed." vs. "Behold ye despisers, and look, and wonder marvelously, and vanish."
Hab 2:16 "be exposed" (Massoretic text) vs. "stagger" (Dead Sea scrolls, Septuagint, Aquila (126 A.D.), and Syriac.)
Hab 3:1 "concerning the erring ones", on the Shigionoth [probably a musical term]. vs. "and a song" in the Septuagint.
Bibliography for this question: the Hebrew translation is from Jay P. Green’s Literal Translation and the Septuagint rendering is from Sir Lancelot C.L. Brenton’s translation of The Septuagint : Greek and English. The Expositor's Bible Commentary and the footnotes in the NASB, NIV, NKJV, and NRSV Bibles also were used.
