Chapter Three

1. Superscription. 2. Introduction to the “prayer” with an indication of its principal content – the wrath and mercy of God, revealed to the prophet in the theophany that follows. 3–7. The terrible coming of God to earth from the south. 8. Transition to the following discourse on the meaning of the terrible theophany. 9–15. Further depiction of the theophany with clarification of its significance. 16–19. The prophecy communicated in the revelation, the prophet receives with trembling faith and firm confidence in salvation.

Habakkuk 3:1. Prayer of the prophet Habakkuk, for singing. The designation “prayer,” Hebrew tephillah, Greek προσευχή, Latin oratio, here, as in the superscriptions of several Psalms, Ps 16:1), has a general meaning: a song, used for singing in divine service (in this sense in the place just mentioned Ps 71:20 all Psalms of David are called “prayers,” tephillot). Designated by the prophet upon its writing for liturgical use, this song, undoubtedly, soon received such use, – thanks to the authority of the prophet, and his name remained forever in the superscription of his song (as in the LXX Ps 137:1 are inscribed with the names of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, and Ps 71:1 – with the name of the prophet Zechariah alone) for distinction from other liturgical hymns, as an echo of the liturgical use of chapter III of the book of the prophet Habakkuk, appears also the aforementioned influence of this chapter on Orthodox Christian worship, namely on the formation and structure of the fourth canticle of the canon, in the stanzas and troparia of which very often resound literal expressions from Habakkuk chapter III in the Greek-Slavonic translation. The significance of the last word of verse 1, shiggionot, can only be determined provisionally, as generally musical-liturgical terms in the superscriptions of Psalms are very obscure in their meaning, and remained enigmas even for the ancient translators. The LXX render the word under consideration by the general designation of a song: μετα ωδης, which according to the supposition of blessed Jerome, may mean that “the prophet prays for the coming of Christ and prophesies about Him with gladness, with psalm and song, so that, on one hand, in prayer he earnestly entreats the Father, and on the other hand, in song he praises the Father, Who will send the Son, and the Son, Who is to come” (p. 187). Blessed Jerome himself understands the word under consideration differently – derives it from the verb shaga, to err, and in his translation the Vulgate renders it pro ignorantiis, clarifying in his commentary: “now the prophet brings repentance and laments that he spoke rashly; he asks forgiveness for what he did in ignorance, so as later to receive mercy” (p. 186). Thus, according to the testimony of the same Jerome (p. 135), did also Aquila, Symmachus and the Fifth rendition render this word. To such a derivation of this word, as well as of the word shiggaion in Ps 7:1, also incline some modern commentators (Ewald, Delitzsch, Hitzig, Kleinert), attributing, however, a different meaning to it – cantio erratica, a passionate song, a dithyramb, and affirming that this designation has no connection with the content of the prophecy. Accepting this latter position as entirely uncontroversial, also agreeing with the philological analysis of the word under consideration in modern scholars, as well as in blessed Jerome and in some other ancient translations, nonetheless one should prefer all of them the rendering of the LXX: a song. It is possible, however, as some researchers suppose, that the LXX read not shiggionot, but neginot, as stands in the Hebrew text of verse 19 of this chapter.

Habakkuk 3:2. Lord! I have heard of Your fame and I am afraid. Lord! accomplish Your work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy. The difficulty in understanding verse 2 lies in the instability of the Hebrew Masoretic text at this place and in the very marked difference of it from the LXX text; the text of the Vulgate here is closer to the Hebrew text than to the Greek. The opening words of the verse: “Jehovah! I have heard the report of You, and I was afraid” are read in all texts identically. The sense of the words in application to the future judgment upon the Chaldeans is conveyed by blessed Theodoret: “I was filled with fear, Master, hearing Your words; but having seen the justice of Your determination, seeing how You govern all things righteously, I remain in extreme wonder” (p. 32). Then in the Greek text and Slavonic translation follow words not read in other texts: κατενόησα τὰ ἔργα Σου καὶ ἐξέστην ἐν μέσῳ δύο ζώων γνωσθήση. Slavonic: “Understanding Your deeds and being amazed, in the midst of two creatures you will be known.” The first half of the expression constitutes a variation of the opening words of the verse; as a pleonasm, it probably did not stand in the original text, and these words are omitted also in many Greek codices (for instance 22, 36, 42, 49, 51, 62, 86, 91, 95, 97, 130, 147, 165, 228, 238, 240, 310, 311 in Holmes). But the second part of the expression mentioned represents a peculiar rendering of the Hebrew: pooleḥa beqerev shanim ḥayeṿu “revive Your work in the middle of years,” cf. Vulg.: opus tuum, in medio annorum vivifica illud. But what animals are spoken of here, opinions differ greatly. Blessed Theodoret says: “Some understood by two animals the Angels and men; others – those of the incorporeal powers who are brought near to God’s glory, – the Cherubim and Seraphim; and some – the Judeans and Babylonians. But it seems to me that the prophet speaks not of two animals but of two lives, the present and the future, in the midst of which appears the righteous Judge” (p. 32). According to the testimony of blessed Jerome, “the simple interpretation and usual understanding refers this place to the Savior, because He was recognized at the time of the crucifixion in the midst of two robbers (Mark 15; John 19)” or better – “that in the primitive church, which was composed of the circumcised and uncircumcised, the Savior was called and became the object of faith for the two peoples surrounding Him from all sides. And there are also those who understand by animals the two Covenants, Old and New, which are truly spiritual and have life, which breathe and through which the Lord will be known” (p. 189). The corresponding expressions of the Hebrew text and the Vulgate express the general thought – the prayer of the prophet for the revival (as in Ps 79:15) or restoration in Israel of the work of God’s grace, that is – in the historical sense for the restoration of the Old Testament theocracy after the Babylonian captivity, but in the foreshadowing sense – for the work of redemption of mankind by the coming Messiah. The concluding part of the verse expresses that, running through all biblical teaching about God, the thought that in His relations with the world and mankind God is guided above all by His goodness and mercy, and that He “remains kind and merciful even when He punishes men: “When You disturb men in punishments, and then, being led by mercy, You change their sorrowful condition again” (blessed Theodoret, p. 32). Thus, despite all the differences in reading verse 2 in various texts, the general Messianic thought of the verse is preserved, which in any case contains a prophetic presentiment of the coming Messiah. The theophany that follows, verse 3 and onward, depicts His very coming in the future.

Habakkuk 3:3. God comes from Teman, and the Holy One – from the mount of Paran. His majesty covers the heavens, and His praise fills the earth. The prophet depicts the future manifestation of God in the images and scenes that took place at the manifestation of God at the time of the Sinai legislation (Exod 19:18; Deut 4:11), which event, by virtue of its extraordinary importance for the entire religious-national life of Israel and all humanity, is repeatedly recalled by the sacred biblical writers (Deut 33:2; Judg 5:4; Ps 67:8-9). According to the prophetic depiction “God comes from Teman and the Holy One – from the mount of Paran. His majesty covers the heavens, and His praise fills the earth” (verse 3). Teman, Hebrew teman, – a region or locality in Idumea (Amos 1:12; Jer 49:7 and others), namely in its northwestern part (Ezek 25:13), but at the same time this word has in the Hebrew language a common meaning: south, and in such sense it is rendered in the translation of Theodotion and in some codices (LXX ἀπὸ λιβὸς ἥξει, codices 62, 86, 147 in Holmes), as well as in the Vulgate (ab austro). “Paran” – Hebrew paran, – the proper name of a desert locality to the south of Palestine, between the wilderness of Shur on the west and the Egyptian Gulf on the east (Gen 21:21; Num 10:12 and others); here, as in Deut 33:2, the discourse concerns not the whole desert of Paran, but only the mountain of this name. In the accepted text of the LXX, besides the name Paran, stand also two words that have no correspondence in the Hebrew text, – κατασκιοῦ δάσεως, although in many codices of the Greek text (for instance 23, 42, 49, 51, 68, 91, 97, 158, 228, 238, 239, 240 in Holmes) the name P. is entirely omitted, as also in the Slavonic: “from the mountain of a shaded forest.” Blessed Jerome noted by one Hebrew: “Bethlehem, in which the Savior was born, is located to the south; that is what the words mean: the Lord will come from the south, that is, will be born in Bethlehem and from there will rise. And since the One born in Bethlehem once gave the law on Mount Sinai, He is the Holy One who comes from Mount Paran, because Paran is a place adjacent to Mount Sinai” (p. 193). Similarly, blessed Theodoret says: “The prophet predicts and foretells the incarnation of God and our Savior, which took place in Bethlehem, which lies to the south; or to the left, from Jerusalem. And he calls the mountain a shaded one because Jerusalem itself, which once abounded in manifold gifts, was overshadowed by clouds and remained under the shelter of God in heaven” (p. 33). – The word standing in the Hebrew text in the middle of the verse, sela (also below in verses 9 and 13, as well as used 71 times in the Psalms), Greek διάψαλμα, – is in its etymology and meaning unclear; it is usually considered to be a musical term denoting a pause in singing and the like (see Sommer – Biblische Abhandlungen. B d. I, Explanation of Sela, p. 1–84). The second part of the verse depicts the glory and majesty of the appearing Lord; His glory and glorification must fill the whole earth (cf. Ps 8:1-2; Isa 6:3). “For the only-begotten Word of God, having become incarnate, was dispelling the darkness of ignorance and illuminating mankind with the rays of the knowledge of God, and taught all that God is the Creator of heaven, earth and all things” (blessed Theodoret, p. 33).

Habakkuk 3:4. His brightness is like the sunlight; rays issue from His hand, and there is the hiding place of His power! Verse 4 depicts the external, extraordinarily brilliant setting of the future manifestation of God: and in all the material nature only the bright light of the sun can approximate an understanding of the celestial magnificence of the theophany; at this time the rays of the sun, as if adorning the manifestation of God (cf. Ps 103:2), are compared – as this is usual also in Arabic poetry – to horns (cf. Exod 34:29; Ps 21:1). There is no need to say how fitting this image is in reference to Christ – the Sun of righteousness. The last words of verse 4 – instead of the Hebrew vesham ḥivyon uzzo, Vulg ibi abscondita est fortitudo ejus, Russian synod: “and there is the hiding place of His power,” – the LXX have: καὶ ἔθετο ἀγάπησιν κραταιανίαχυος αὐτοῦ, Slavonic: “and placed love strong in His mighty power,” from which it is evident, remarks blessed Jerome, that according to the LXX reading “even these words should be understood in reference to Christ, (namely) that God the Father covered the heavens with His power, and filled the earth with praises, and made His shining like light, and placed the kingdom in the hand of His Son, so as to move men to love the Beloved One and to love not with weak love, but strongly and mightily” (blessed Jerome, p. 196–197).

Habakkuk 3:5–7. Before His face goes pestilence, and plague follows in His steps. He stood and shook the earth; He looked, and made the nations tremble; the eternal mountains were scattered, the primordial hills sank; the ways of eternity are His. I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; the curtains of the land of Midian trembled. Verses 5–7 point to various terrible phenomena accompanying the manifestation of God in the world, whereby the images of these phenomena are very common in other sacred writings. Thus, for verse 5, speaking of pestilence, Hebrew deber, and deadly heat, Hebrew reshaf, parallels are Exod 9:3 and Deut 32:24. In the LXX text the word deber, evidently read as dabar, a word (which was always possible in the absence of vocalization) is rendered as λόγος, word; differently is it rendered in the Greek-Slavonic text and the second half of verse 5. Blessed Jerome remarked: “if according to the LXX we read: Before His face goes the word, and in His steps goes forth the word into the fields, then this means that the word of God preceding His coming, which figuratively is called the face, will precede Him and prepare the hearts of believers, so as to straighten what is crooked and make even what is uneven, and so that the soul of the listener, as it were like a tilled field, could receive spiritual seed” (p. 198). But Jerome himself regarding reshef accepts the opinion of the Jews of his time, who thought of Reshef as the name of the prince of demons (like Beelzebul Matt 12:24), who in the form of a serpent seduced Eve in paradise and received the name itself from the curse pronounced by God (as creeping on the belly), and in his translation the Vulgate renders the second half of verse 5 thus: et egredietur diabolus ante pedes ejus, seeing here a prediction of the forty-day temptation of the Lord by the devil in the wilderness (p. 197–198). But it seems better to remain with the direct, literal meaning of the Hebrew Masoretic text. “By all that has been said (in verses 3–7), the Prophet showed us the inexpressible power of God; because what is determined by God is followed by the deed itself; merely by wishing (the prophet expressed this by the words: He stood and looked) He shakes the earth, destroys the human race, tears asunder the mountains, makes the hills melt like wax. And God does such things for the benefit of men. For by his journeys the prophet calls the deeds; and signifies by them all that He poured out for all men salvation through the cross. Upon it stood the Master Christ, and shook the earth, moved and tore asunder the mountains, struck terror into the demons, destroyed the temples on the mountains and hills, having determined this from the beginning to the end of the world, and accomplished it in the last days” (blessed Theodoret, p. 34). The remark of verse 7 about Midian and Cushan (probably a near and kindred tribe to the Midianites) has its historical basis in the facts of the defeat of the Midianites under Moses (Num 31:7) and Gideon (Judg 7:21).

Habakkuk 3:8. Did Your wrath blaze against the rivers, O Lord? Was Your anger against the rivers, or was Your fury against the sea, that You rode upon Your horses, upon Your chariots of salvation? The question contained here in the sense of the terrible phenomena described earlier has the significance not of an actual question requiring a corresponding answer, but rather is a poetic device – a usual pause in biblical-poetic works (cf. Gen 49:14; Judg 5:12; Ps 67:20), serving as a transition to the depiction of a new theophany. The general sense of the verse and especially the second half of it is that, according to the biblical view, the natural elements and all individual phenomena of it serve the purposes of God’s world-governance (cf. Ps 103:4), and the very image of chariots and horses the prophet borrowed from the history of the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea by the Hebrews (Exod 14:25-26). “As You dried up the Jordan and the Red Sea, fighting for us, not because You were angry at the rivers and sea, and not because inanimate objects could incur Your wrath; so now, mounting Your chariots, grasping the bow, You will grant salvation to Your people, and forever fulfill the oaths by which You swore to our fathers and to peoples” (blessed Jerome, p. 202). By contrast (contrary to the opinion of rationalist biblical scholars, such as: Gunkel, Marti), there is no trace in the prophet’s words of any allusion to mythological struggle with the elements, for instance to the Assyriology myth of Tiamat (the abyss, chaos).

Habakkuk 3:9–15. You drew Your bow bare, according to the oaths sworn to the tribes. You cleft the earth with rivers.: The mountains saw You and trembled; a torrent of water swept by; the deep gave its voice, lifting its hands on high; the sun and moon stood in their place, at the light of Your flying arrows, at the brightness of Your gleaming spear.: In wrath You went through the earth and in anger You trampled upon the peoples.: You went forth for the salvation of Your people, for the salvation of Your anointed. You crushed the head of the wicked house, laying it bare from foundation to top. You pierced with his own spears the heads of his warriors, when they storm forth like a whirlwind to scatter me, exulting as though to devour the poor in secret.: You have made a path through the sea with Your horses, through the surge of the great waters. The general sense of this section is clear: as is evident from verse 12, here an answer is given to the question (Hab 3:8) about the sense and basis of the elemental phenomena, magnificent and destructive, which accompany the manifestation of God in the world: God’s wrath is turned not against the sea and rivers, but against men, namely against the Chaldeans and similar peoples angered at God by their wickedness. But understanding of particulars encounters difficulty in the difference of the Hebrew and Greek texts. Not entering into detailed comparison and reconciliation of both texts, we will limit ourselves to a brief analysis and clarification of the content of the prophet’s discourse in this section. Verses 9–11, judging by the images contained here, recall the history of the miraculous crossing of the Hebrews through the Red Sea under Moses (Exod 14:21) and across the Jordan before the occupation of Palestine under Joshua (Josh 3:16), as well as the miraculous standing still of the sun under him as well (see Josh 10:13). This recollection is intended to revive in the listeners or readers of the prophet the consciousness of the boundless omnipotence of God, the irresistible power of Jehovah in the struggle with peoples hostile to the chosen people of God (Hab 3:12), and with individual heralds of the divine truth from among it at different times. “And when the prophets sent by You to the peoples rise in revolt, You, says the prophet, having inexpressible power, abounding in all punitive weapons, though You are able by one baptism to destroy all the earth with its inhabitants, will nonetheless remain long-suffering” (blessed Theodoret, p. 36–37). In verse 18 at last, clearly and definitively, the purpose of the whole theophany is indicated: the salvation of the anointed one or the anointed ones of God. Under the name anointed, Hebrew mashiaḥ, according to biblical usage, here, as in very many other places, one can understand the king of Judah, since the kings of Judah, as appointed by God, were usually called by this designation (1 Sam 2:10; Ps 2:2; Lam 4:20 and others). But since the later Judean kings were people unworthy of their theocratic calling, it is more natural under this honorable and sacred name to understand the whole people of God, especially in its idea rather than in its concrete actuality. Such a broad sense of the term under consideration was generally known to the Old Testament, where, besides kings, the anointed were also the patriarchs – the founders of the Hebrew people (Ps 104:15), later the high priests (Lev 4:3), and later, in only one place, the Persian king Cyrus (Isa 45:1). Of the whole Hebrew people this name was used, it appears, in Ps 88:39 (cf. Ps 83:10), as well as, probably, in the place under consideration. Finally, in the perspective of prophetic vision the name Mashiaḥ, Messiah, Christ, is not infrequently applied to the coming Christ the Savior (see Ps 2:2; see John 1:41), as well as to all His followers, as participants in His anointing. In this sense blessed Theodoret remarks to verse 13: “the prophet calls anointed those deemed worthy of the calling, who in faith have received the preaching, and have been deemed worthy of the grace of the divine Spirit” (p. 37). The second half of verse 13 expresses the thought of the protection of God’s Providence over His chosen ones through the punishment of their wicked enemies, – more closely the Chaldeans. The thought of the inevitability of God’s punishment for the enemies and enslavers of the people of God prevails also in the following, verses 14 and 15. The sense of verse 14 blessed Theodoret paraphrases in the following manner: “When Your power becomes manifest to all peoples; then those clothed with high authority will come into such fear that they will not openly but in secrecy and secretly express their resistance, so that justly another would compare them to a poor man, who does not dare to eat food openly, but chews it without opening his mouth” (p. 37). The content of verse 15 is closely reminiscent of the second half of verse 8.

Habakkuk 3:16–19. I heard, and my inward parts trembled; at the sound of it my lips quivered, and decay entered into my bones, and my steps tottered beneath me; yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble, when he comes up against the people who invade us.: Though the fig tree should not blossom and there should be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields should yield no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there should be no cattle in the stalls, –: yet I will rejoice in the Lord and exult in the God of my salvation.: God the Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer, and makes me walk on the heights! In the conclusion of his “prayer,” and at the same time of his entire book, the prophet depicts his impressions of the theophany, as well as the feelings and thoughts evoked by it and by the entire content of the prophecy. The first impression of the vision and revelation received by the prophet, – an impression of all-encompassing fear and trembling (Hab 3:16), similar to what was precisely the impression of visions on the prophet Daniel (Dan 8:18). At this the fear that seized the prophet, and which he had already mentioned at the beginning of his prayer (Hab 3:2), was caused not only by the supernaturalness and heavenly nature of the theophany, but also by the terrible character of the events foretold by it, closely and fatefully affecting the destiny of his native people: “moved by compassion for foreigners, he came into trembling and fear from the predictions uttered in prayer” (blessed Theodoret, p. 38). But as a true messenger of the will and judgments of God, the prophet knows and announces to men, that alongside the horror of afflictions there must also be calm confidence and hope in God and His never-ceasing and even amid wrath mercy (Hab 3:16, cf. Isa 14:13). This is not enough: in the following verses, 17–19, the prophet, as a true teacher of faith and morality, of holiness and good, expresses the exalted thought that God should be glorified even in the midst of the greatest afflictions. In verse 17 the prophet draws a picture of the greatest and most painful life deprivations and difficulties: the prophet foresees the approach of such a time, when the inhabitants of Palestine, this land flowing with honey and milk, will experience – due to the invasion of enemies – extreme lack of the necessities of life satisfying biblical Hebrews: there will be neither the products of garden cultivation – the fruits of the fig tree, the grape vine and the olive, nor the fruits of agriculture and the field, nor the products of cattle raising – a vivid picture of the desolation of the holy land, reminiscent of a similar depiction of it by the prophet Joel during a time of national calamity, the invasion of locusts (Joel 1:17-20). But even under such heavy conditions of existence, regardless of all the weight of national afflictions, the prophet Habakkuk, like the prophet Micah in similar circumstances (Mic 7:7), expresses firm faith in God Jehovah, perfect confidence in Him and complete devotion to Him, and therefore expresses and complete readiness to praise Him (Hab 3:18-19). Here, as in many other biblical places (for instance in Ps 72:25-26), is given a vivid and evident testimony to the absolute value of religious good, the good of communion with God, of true religion in general: no matter what misfortunes a person may suffer, the duty remains in full force “to serve the Lord with fear and rejoice in Him with trembling” (Ps 2:11). And whoever, like the prophet, is penetrated by this conviction, will find, like him as well, a gracious power for his religious struggle, and will exclaim with the prophet: “God the Lord is my strength: He will make my feet like those of a gazelle, and will set me upon the heights” (Hab 3:19), that is, “God will strengthen the weakness of my nature, and will make it so that like a gazelle I will tread upon serpents and scorpions and spirits of wickedness, until I ascend to the height of virtue and sing the victory song to my Savior and Creator” (blessed Theodoret, p. 39–40). Concerning the general sense of the “prayer” of the prophet Habakkuk, blessed Theodoret remarks: “I know that some, understanding all the prayer of Habakkuk historically, asserted that the prophet predicted this concerning the return from Babylon. I will not contradict, if someone wishes to suppose that what was prophesied in figure was about those who returned from captivity; because such an understanding is also in accord with my interpretation; for if the Old Testament is indeed a true foreshadowing of the New Testament, then... I would consider it in no way incongruous, when reality prevails, and the body covers the shadow, to understand prophecy not entirely corresponding to it...” (p. 40). From this remark of the church teacher, an authoritative interpreter of Holy Scripture, it follows that both elements – the historical and the typological in the explanation of the content of the “prayer,” as well as in the explanation of the entire book of the prophet Habakkuk in general – should find their equal, harmoniously unified application. The same rule should be observed also in the interpretation of other prophecies of the Old Testament.