Habakkuk 1:1-4
(1-4) Habakkuk complains of the apparent triumph of wickedness among his countrymen.... [ Continue Reading ]
(1-4) Habakkuk complains of the apparent triumph of wickedness among his countrymen.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PROPHET. — This title (_han-nâbî_) is applied only to Habakkuk, Haggai, and Zechariah. In the later historical books it is used to designate the members of those prophetical colleges which were founded by Samuel, and kept up, at all events, till the time of Elisha. It is uncertain whether in the... [ Continue Reading ]
EVEN CRY OUT. — The latter half of the verse is best rendered “_Even cry unto thee_ ‘_Violence!_’_ and thou wilt not save._” The single word “violence!” (_châmâs_) occurs elsewhere, as an appeal for assistance, used as we use the cry “murder!” “fire!” &c., among ourselves. (See Jeremiah 20:8; Job 19... [ Continue Reading ]
WHY DOST THOU SHEW ME INIQUITY?... — Better, _Why dost thou show me distress and look upon grievance; oppression and violence are before me; and there is strife, and contention exalts itself._” The question, “Why dost thou... _look upon_ grievance?” is illustrated by Habakkuk 1:13, “Thou art of pure... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LAW — the Mosaic _tôrâh_ — which ought to be a bond of security and social welfare is “slacked” or “_paralyzed;_” and is, therefore, unable to do its work. “Judgment” (_mishpât, i.e._, “redress of evils “) “doth never go forth,” for the wicked have hemmed the righteous in; and, therefore, there... [ Continue Reading ]
AMONG THE HEATHEN. — These words are emphatic. They imply — Jehovah will no longer manifest Himself among His chosen people, but among the Gentiles. Let them look abroad, and they shall see Him using the Chaldæans as His instrument for their own chastisement. They are to “wonder,” not at God’s choic... [ Continue Reading ]
(5-11) Jehovah’s answer to Habakkuk’s complaint. These disorders are to be punished by an invasion of Chaldæaus. The appearance, character, and operations of these invaders are described.... [ Continue Reading ]
I RAISE UP THE CHALDEANS — _i.e._, I am bringing up the Chaldæan or Babylonian armies into Judæa. The phrase implies that the Chaldæans were not yet in Judæa, but there is no occasion to find an allusion to the recent rise of the Chaldæan nation. We notice this point because an ethnological theory ... [ Continue Reading ]
THEIR JUDGMENT... — Their “judgment” means their claim to adjudge the affairs of mankind. It proceeds from “themselves,” as irresponsible, recognising no Supreme Being as the source of justice. Their dignity, in like manner, proceeds from “themselves,” because self-sustained, unsanctioned by the Ki... [ Continue Reading ]
ARE MORE FIERCE. — Better, _are sharper._ This is the literal meaning of the verb. The ideas intended are those of activity and ferocity, both prompted by hunger. The evening wolf coming out of his lair to find prey is elsewhere an illustration of ravenous greediness. (See Zephaniah 3:3 and Psalms 5... [ Continue Reading ]
THEIR FACES SHALL SUP UP AS THE EAST WIND. — Literally, if we could accept this interpretation, _the eagerness of their faces is eastward._ The passage, however, is beset with philological difficulties. If the word _kâdîmâh_ could be translated “east wind,” the invading Chaldæan host would be compar... [ Continue Reading ]
Kings and princes are deposed or enthroned at the invader’s pleasure. Thus Nebuchadnezzar set Jehoiakim as a tributary sovereign on the throne of Jerusalem and three years later deposed his son and successor Jehciaohin and made Zedekiah king. FOR THEY SHALL HEAP DUST, AND TAKE IT. — This means that... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN SHALL HIS MIND CHANGE.... — Better, _Then he sweeps by like a wind and passes. But he is guilty, making this his strength his god._ By an abrupt transition the latter half of the verse diverts our attention from the human view of the world-conqueror to his appearance in God’s sight. Men only se... [ Continue Reading ]
WE SHALL NOT DIE — _i.e._, God’s people may suffer, but shall not be obliterated, shall not be “given over unto death.” The rest of the verse runs literally, _Jehovah, for judgment hast Thou appointed him, and O Rock, for chastisement hast Thou founded him._ “Him,” means, of course, the Chaldæan inv... [ Continue Reading ]
(12-17) Though sore perplexed, Habakkuk feels sure that the God whom this swaggering conqueror has insulted will at last vindicate Himself.... [ Continue Reading ]
The prophet’s confidence is tempered, however, with anxious fear. Why does not God show plainly that He authorises this visitation? The triumph of this godless invader appears to impugn God’s majesty.... [ Continue Reading ]
The prophet has already stated that the Chaldæan deifies his own military prowess. Of this statement the present verse is an expansion. Weapons of war may have been literally worshipped by the Babylonians. Similarly, the Sarmatians offered yearly sacrifices to a sword, as the emblem of their god of... [ Continue Reading ]
SHALL THEY THEREFORE EMPTY THEIR NET.... — Literally, _Shall he therefore empty his net? i.e.,_ Shall this voracious Chaldæan plunderer be allowed to consume his prey, and cast in his emptied net again and again?... [ Continue Reading ]