Who was the man Habakkuk? We are introduced to Habakkuk in chapter one, the first verse. “The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw” (Habakkuk 1:1, NASB).[1] We know nothing about his family or heritage. We don’t get his hometown, nor are we told about the kings in power when he spoke (often called a “superscription” in prophetic books).
The name “Habakkuk”[2] (חֲבַקּ֖וּק) only shows up two times in the Bible (Hab 1:1; 3:1). But the book of Habakkuk is quoted several times in the New Testament. Paul quotes Habakkuk 2:4 in Romans 1:17 as well as Galatians 3:11. The author of Hebrews quotes Habakkuk 2:4 in Heb 10:38. Paul quotes Habakkuk 1:5 in a sermon that Luke records in Acts 13:41.
While nothing in Scripture describes Habakkuk, we can make some conclusions about him from what we read. Habakkuk likely was an officially ordained prophet who was part of the temple liturgical singing. He appears well educated, deeply sensitive, and based on his literary style he was as much of a poet as a prophet.[3] He also was probably a composer of music or led worship in the temple based on the musical notations of Hab 3:19. Habakkuk likely wrote this book in 607-604 BC under king Jehoiakim (Jer 22:15-17; 2 Kings 23:34-24:5). This means Habakkuk lived in the final dark days of the southern nation of Judah.[4]
The word, “oracle” (מַשָּׂא)[5] literally means “burden” and is “a pronouncement or message from God to people.”[6] In the Old Testament there are three types of oracles:Judgement, blessing, and salvation.[7] The book of Habakkuk is an oracle of judgement against the evil of the nation of Judah, its kings, its people, and its rulers.
The book of Habakkuk is unique among the prophets in the Old Testament. Most Old Testament prophets brought God’s messages to the people, Habakkuk brings the people’s questions to God. While most prophets in the Old Testament preached about divine judgment, Habakkuk pleaded for divine judgment. While most prophets of the Old Testament shared God’s concerns with Judah, Habakkuk shares Judah’s concerns with God. And that starts in verses two and three which we will examine next week.
[1] Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.
[2] Some believe his name means “embracer” or “embraced.” Others believe his name is from an Akkadian term for a garden plant (Tremper Longman III and Raymond Dillard, An Introduction to the Old Testament, 2nd ed.[Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006], 463).
[3] J. Ron Blue, “Habakkuk” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, edited by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 1985), 1508.
[4] Sin was ruling in the land. The rulers were not administering justice to those that needed it. Corruption and lawlessness were part of the situation they were living under. But how bad was it? Habakkuk lived under King Jehoiakim of Judah. Jehoiakim ruled in Judah 609-605 BC under Egypt’s oversight and 605-601 under Babylon’s oversight. During his rule Jehoiakim killed innocent people who opposed him, refused to pay poor laborers (2 Kings 23:35-37; Jer 22:13-19), he killed Uriah the prophet for prophesying that Jerusalem would fall (Jer 26:20-23), and he burned the prophet Jeremiah’s hand-written prophecy (Jer 36). Furthermore, prophets and priests were known to commit adultery and abuse their authority under his rulership (Jer 23:1-2, 9-11). This material on the kings during Habakkuk is adapted from J.K. Bruckner, “Habakkuk, Book of” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Prophets, edited by Mark Boda and J. Gordon McConville (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2012), 294-301, specifically p. 296.
[5] The NLT translates it as “message” and the NIV as “prophecy.”
[6] Leland Ryken, Symbols and Reality (Wooster, OH: Weaver Book Company, 2016), 31.
[7] Ryken, Symbols and Reality, 32-43.