1° The person and era of the prophet. – His name, Habakkuk, derived from the root hâbaq, The word 'embrasser' means 'embracing,' or, according to others, 'he who embraces' (the form 'Αμβαχούμ, given to it by the Septuagint, is inaccurate. Saint Jerome and Abarbanel translate it as 'wrestler'; but this interpretation is not confirmed by usage). This name seems to have been rare among the Hebrews, since it is found only here and in Daniel 14:32 ff.
We lack almost entirely authentic details about the origin and life of the prophet Habakkuk (those found in a few ancient Jewish and Christian authors concerning his biography, death, tomb, etc., are practically worthless). The title of his book simply informs us of his role as nâbi, prophet (cf. 1:1). Perhaps the last two lines of his beautiful song, as they are read in the Hebrew text (3:19; see the commentary), give us the right to conclude that he was a priest, or at least a Levite, since they seem to suggest that he was involved in sacred songs and temple music. It is hardly likely that he should be confused with his namesake mentioned by Daniel, since the latter belongs to a later period.
Only one point is certain regarding the chronology of Habakkuk's life: he composed his prophetic writing before the Chaldean invasion of Judea (605 BC). Indeed, we will soon see that this invasion forms the very main theme of his prophecy. Furthermore, his ministry cannot have begun much earlier than this date, since he clearly announces that the calamity in question will occur during the lifetime of the generation to which he is addressing himself (1:5). According to some exegetes, he prophesied during the reign of King Manasseh (698-643 BC); according to others, during the reign of Josiah (641-610 BC), or only during the reign of Jehoiakim (610-599 BC). It is difficult to determine this point with certainty, due to a lack of sufficient data (an important point to note: if Habakkuk has serious reproaches to make to his compatriots (cf. 1, 3-4), these reproaches do not imply an extraordinarily bad moral situation and do not indicate idolatry; from which we can conclude that he wrote his book either after the religious reform of King Manasseh (towards the end of his reign), or after that of Josiah, around 630).
2° The subject and division of the book. – Like Nahum's prophecy, Habakkuk's prophecy presents itself, from its very first line, as fraught with threats. Indeed, in highly dramatic terms, it announces the invasion of the kingdom of Judah by the Chaldeans, a powerful, cruel, and irresistible people; and then the future ruin of these enemies of God's people.
It is divided into two very distinct parts, written, one in prose, the other in verse. The first, which corresponds to the first two chapters (1, 2-2, 20), predicts, in a touching dialogue which takes place between the Lord and the prophet, first the punishment which God will inflict through the Chaldeans on his degenerate people (this is the first paragraph of this part (1, 2-17)); then the punishment of the Chaldeans themselves, who have become like idolaters of their own power (this is the second paragraph (2, 1-20)). The second part (3, 1-19) consists of a lyrical psalm of great beauty, in which Habakkuk, after having predicted the terrible arrival of God, who rushes forth from his dwelling in heaven to annihilate the sinners and to save the righteous (3, 1-15), sets forth the feelings produced in the soul of the good by the execution of the heavenly decrees.
There is perfect unity in this composition, and there is no reason to assert, as some exegetes do, that a certain interval must have elapsed between the composition of the first part and that of the second, or even, according to other authors, that the third chapter is not the work of the prophet Habakkuk (the authenticity of 2:9-20 has also been challenged). "The intimate connection of thoughts, the mutual and perpetual relationships that exist between the various groups of verses, the identity of style, leave in reality no room for reasonable doubt" (a Protestant exegete).
3° As a writer, Habakkuk is classical in the style of Joel, Micah, and Nahum. His book is truly a masterpiece; it combines abundance and vigor with a profound sublimity of both content and form. He paints and presents his subject matter in an incomparable manner. He employs a number of rare and distinguished expressions and formulas that are uniquely his own and produce a striking effect. The final hymn is one of the most admired pieces in sacred literature "for the boldness of its conception, the sublimity of its thought, and the majesty of its diction." (Fulcran Vigouroux)
From a doctrinal standpoint, «Habakkuk is the prophet of faith. Distressed by the sight of the suffering his people would soon have to endure at the hands of cruel, sensual, idolatrous enemies, he remains firmly convinced that faith will ultimately triumph and bring about deliverance (compare his famous saying, 2:4: The righteous will live by their faith»"). He depicts two kingdoms in conflict: the kingdom of this world, ruled by the king of Chaldea, and the kingdom of God, ruled by the Lord's anointed (3:13). God will help his anointed to victory; from this it follows that the kingdom of God will not perish. We see from this that, while the beginning of the book is threatening to the Jews, the rest is very comforting to them, since it announces the ruin of those who wanted to destroy them.
The best Catholic commentaries are: in antiquity, Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Narrations in duodecim Prophetas and Saint Jerome, Commentaria in Prophetas minores. In modern times: F. Ribera, In librum duodecim Prophetarum commentarii, Antwerp, 1571; Sanchez, How. In Prophetas minores and Baruch, Lyon, 1621.
Habakkuk 1
1 The prophecy of which Habakkuk the prophet had a vision. 2 How long, Lord, shall I implore you, but you do not hear me? Shall I cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not deliver me? 3 Why do you show me iniquity and contemplate suffering? Devastation and violence are before me. There are quarrels and discord arise. 4 Because of this, the law dies and justice no longer sees the light of day, for the wicked prevail over the righteous, which is why the law emerges distorted. 5 Look upon the nations and be amazed, astonished. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if someone told you. 6 For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, a fierce and impetuous people, who advance into the broad spaces of the earth, to seize dwellings that are not theirs. 7 He is terrible and formidable, and from himself comes his right and his greatness. 8 His horses are lighter than leopards, more ardent than evening wolves. His riders rush forward, his riders come from afar, they fly like eagles eager to devour. 9 All these people come to exercise violence, their greedy eyes look ahead, they heap up captives like sand. 10 He mocks kings and princes are his scorn, he laughs at all fortresses, he piles up dust and takes them. 11 Then the hurricane advances and passes and he makes himself guilty, his strength, that is his God. 12 Are you not from the beginning, Lord, my God, my holy one? We shall not die, Lord, you have established this people for justice, O my Rock, you have established them for discipline. 13 Your eyes are too pure to see evil, and you cannot contemplate suffering. Why would you look on the treacherous and remain silent, when the wicked devour one more righteous than himself? 14 So you would treat men like fish in the sea, like reptiles that have no leader. 15 He takes everything on the hook, he pulls it in with his net, gathers it in his net, and that is why he is in joyHe is jubilant. 16 That is why he sacrifices to his net and offers incense to his fishing nets, for by them his portion is rich and his food succulent. 17 Will he continue to empty his net and will he always slaughter nations without pity?.
Habakkuk 2
1 I want to stand at my post and place myself on the watchtower and I will observe to see what the Lord will tell me and what I will answer to the rebuke that will be made to me. 2 And the Lord answered me and said: Write down the vision and engrave it on tablets so that it may run freely. 3 For there is yet a vision for an appointed time; it hastens toward its end and will not lie; though it tarries, wait for it, for it will certainly come; it will not fail. 4 He whose soul swells within him is not on the right path, but the righteous will live by his faith. 5 And moreover, wine is treacherous. The arrogant man will not stand, he who has craved himself an appetite as vast as Sheol, who, like death, is insatiable; he gathers to himself all nations and collects all peoples. 6 Will not all of them pronounce sayings, fables, and riddles about him? They will say: Woe to him who amasses what is not his, how long will this go on? He takes on an ever-increasing debt. 7 Will not your creditors suddenly rise up, will not your executioners awaken, and will not you become their prey? 8 Because you have plundered many nations, all the peoples who remain will plunder you, because of the human blood shed, the violence done to the land, to the city, and to all its inhabitants. 9 Woe to him who amasses unjust gains for his house, in order to place his nest high, to escape the reach of misfortune. 10 You have plotted the shame of your house, by destroying many peoples; you have sinned against yourself. 11 For the stone will cry out from the wall and the beam will answer it from the framework. 12 Woe to him who builds a city with blood and founds a city on injustice. 13 Is this not the will of the Lord of hosts: that the peoples labor for fire and that the nations weary themselves for nothing? 14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. 15 Woe to him who makes his neighbor drink, to you who pours out your fury on him until he is drunk, to gaze upon his nakedness. 16 You have had your fill of shame, instead of glory; drink, you too, and show your uncircumcision, the cup of the Lord's right hand will turn against you, disgrace will cover your glory. 17 Because the violence done to Lebanon will fall back on you, as well as the destruction of the animals struck with terror, because of the human blood shed, the violence done to the land, to the city and to all its inhabitants. 18 What is the purpose of the carved image, for its author the carving, the cast idol and the oracle of lies, so that the author of this work confides in it, shaping silent divinities? 19 Woe to him who says to the wood, «Arise,» or «Wake up,» to the mute stone. Can it teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is not in it the breath of life. 20 But the Lord is in his holy temple; be silent before him, O all the earth.
Habakkuk 3
1 Prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. In the style of a lament. 2 Lord, I have heard what you have proclaimed; I am filled with awe, Lord. Throughout the ages, make your work known; throughout the ages, make it known. In your anger, remember to have mercy. 3 God comes from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran (Sela). His majesty covers the heavens, and the earth is filled with his glory. 4 It is a radiance like the light of the rising sun, rays emanate from his hands, therein lies his power. 5 Death marches before him, and burning fever is at his heels. 6 He stopped and made the earth tremble, he looked and shook the nations, the eternal mountains crumbled, the ancient hills collapsed, he follows his ways of old. 7 I have seen the tents of Cushan in distress; the pavilions of the land of Moab tremble. 8 Is it against rivers that the Lord is angry? Or is it against rivers that your anger burns, against the sea that your fury is unleashed, when you ride on your horses, on your chariots of deliverance? 9 Your bow is revealed, your arrows are the oaths you have sworn (Sela). You cleave the earth in torrents. 10 The mountains saw you and trembled, a torrent of water passed, the abyss made its voice heard, it stretches its hands upward. 11 The sun and the moon remained in their dwelling place; we walk by the light of your arrows, by the flash of your spear. 12 You roam the earth in fury, you trample the nations in anger. 13 You went out for the deliverance of your people, for the deliverance of your Anointed One, you have cut down the house of the wicked, you have destroyed it from top to bottom (Sela). 14 You pierced with his own arrows the leader of his bands, who rushed to scatter me, shouting with joy, as if they were going to devour the unfortunate man in their lair. 15 You tread the sea beneath your horses' hooves, the mass of the great waters. 16 I heard and my insides were stirred, at that voice my lips trembled, decay entered my bones, my knees shook beneath me, because I must wait in repose for the day of distress, when the enemy will come up against a people to oppress them. 17 For then the fig tree will not blossom, there will be nothing to harvest in the vineyards, the fruit of the olive tree will fail and the fields will not provide food, the sheep will disappear from the sheepfold and there will be no more oxen in the stables. 18 And I will rejoice in the Lord, and exult in the God of my salvation. 19 The Lord God is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer and enables me to tread on the heights. To the chief musician, with my stringed instruments.
Notes on the Book of Habakkuk
1.5 a work you wouldn't believe. Saint Paul makes use of these words (see Acts of the Apostles, 13, 40-41), against the Jews who reject Jesus as Messiah, announcing to them the evils that will befall them, and of which those who came to their ancestors by the arms of the Chaldeans were the figure.
1.7 It is of their own free will that the Chaldeans administer justice and impose burdens.
1.8 The evening wolves, that's to say, who run at nightand are all the more agile and quicker the more they have suffered hunger throughout the day.
1.10 The princes cf. Daniel, 1, 3.
1.14 no leader to defend, to protect.
2.4 See John 3:36; Galatians 3:11. But the righteous, etc.; words that Saint Paul (see Romans, 1, 17; Hebrews, 10, 38) applies to faith in Jesus Christ, in the work of redemption.
2.5 can be understood not only as referring to Nebuchadnezzar, but also to the Chaldean monarchy itself.
2.7 The Prophet here refers to the Medes and Persians, who, under the leadership of Cyrus, attacked the Chaldean empire and destroyed it under Belshazzar, grandson of Nebuchadnezzar.
2.9 Misfortune, etc. This is also commonly explained by the king of Babylon.
2.12 See Ezekiel 24:9; Nahum 3:1. blood. See Ezekiel, 22, 2.
2.13 People work, etc., that is to say, that their works will be consumed by fire. Cf. Jeremiah, 51, 58.
2.15 The chalice, etc.; allusion to the old custom whereby, during meals, the same cup was passed from one guest to another.
2.17 Lebanon ; the name the prophets gave to Jerusalem. ― will fall back on you., cf. Isaiah, 37, 24.
2.20 See Psalms 10:5. His holy temple, An expression which is often used to express the sky itself; it can have this meaning here.
3 Most Church Fathers and many exegetes interpret this prayer solely in relation to the coming of the Messiah; and the Church, in its liturgical office, has borrowed various passages from it, applying them to Jesus Christ. Others believe it can be interpreted literally in relation to the return from captivity.
3.3 God comes, etc.; an allusion to what Moses said. See Deuteronomy, 33, 2. ― Pharan here refer to Arabia Petraea, where God displayed his glory on Mount Sinai, when he proclaimed his law there (see Exodus 19, v.16 and following). Habakkuk recalls this event as a pledge of the future deliverance of Israel by the omnipotence of God.
3.8 allusion to the crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus ch. 14), and of the Jordan (Joshua ch. 3).
3.10 His hands ; that is to say, its waves.
3.11 The sun, etc.; allusion to the miracle in question Joshua, 10, 12-13.
3.13 Christ, Or anointed, That is to say, consecrated, established; which is fitting for Moses, whom God appointed to save his people. Isaiah calls (45:1) Cyrus the Christ of God. But Moses, like Cyrus, was only the figure of Christ par excellence, of Jesus Christ.
3.15 An allusion to the Israelites' crossing of the Red Sea and the Jordan River.
3.19 THE Heights, mountains and hills.
