tenor show that the Chaldeans (or Babylonians) had not yet desolated Jerusalem. But Habakkuk 1:17 may suggest that they had already begun to overthrow some nations. The Chaldeans and Medes took Nineveh in 632 B.C.E., and Babylon was then on its way toward becoming a world power. (Nah. 3:7) This was during the reign of Judah’s good king Josiah (659-629 B.C.E.).

There are some who hold, in agreement with rabbinical tradition, that Habakkuk prophesied earlier, during the reign of King Manasseh of Judah. They believe that he was one of the prophets mentioned or alluded to at 2 Kings 21:10 and 2 Chronicles 33:10. They hold that the Babylonians were not yet a menace, which fact made Habakkuk’s prophecy more unbelievable to the Judeans.—See Habakkuk 1:5, 6.

On the other hand, in the early part of Jehoiakim’s reign, Judah was within the Egyptian sphere of influence (2 Ki. 23:34, 35), and this could also be a time when God’s raising up of the Chaldeans to punish the wayward inhabitants of Judah would be to them ‘an activity they would not believe, though it was related.’ (Hab. 1:5, 6) Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar defeated Pharaoh Nechoh at Carchemish in 625 B.C.E., in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim’s reign. (Jer. 46:2) So, Habakkuk may have prophesied and recorded the prophecy before that event, possibly completing the writing thereof about 628 B.C.E. in Judah. The use of the future tense regarding the Chaldean threat may indicate a date earlier than Jehoiakim’s vassalship to Babylon (620-618 B.C.E.).—2 Ki. 24:1.

STYLE

The style of writing is both forceful and moving. Vivid illustrations and comparisons are employed. (Hab. 1:8, 11, 14, 15; 2:5, 11, 14, 16, 17; 3:6, 8-11) Commenting on Habakkuk’s style, the scholar Driver said: “The literary power of Habakkuk is considerable. Though his book is a brief one, it is full of force; his descriptions are graphic and powerful; thought and expression are alike poetic.” Such qualities are, of course, primarily due to divine inspiration.

The book of Habakkuk emphasizes Jehovah’s supremacy over all nations (Hab. 2:20; 3:6, 12), highlighting his universal sovereignty. It also places emphasis on the fact that the righteous live by faith. (2:4) It engenders reliance upon Jehovah, showing that he does not die (1:12), that he justly threshes the nations, and that he goes forth for the salvation of his people. (3:12, 13) For those exulting in him, Jehovah is shown to be the God of salvation and the Source of vital energy.—3:18, 19.

OUTLINE OF CONTENTS

I. Plea for aid; Jehovah announces coming judgment (1:1-17)

A. Habakkuk cries for aid due to violence, wickedness in Judah (1:1-4)

B. Jehovah identifies Chaldeans as his instrument of judgment against the nations (1:5-11)

1. This frightful nation will swiftly gather captives like sand (1:5-9)

2. It will jeer kings, move onward like wind and become guilty (1:10, 11)

C. Habakkuk wonders why God allows the wicked to swallow up the righteous (1:12-17)

1. He asks why Jehovah, the Rock, looks on those dealing treacherously (1:12, 13)

2. God has made all Judah as fishes and creeping things without a ruler (1:14-16)

3. Will the enemy be allowed to keep killing nations constantly? (1:17)

II. Righteous live by faithfulness, but Chaldeans will be destroyed (2:1-20)

A. Prophet is to record vision, which will eventually come true (2:1-3)

B. By faithfulness, the righteous one will keep living (2:4)

C. The Chaldean’s end due, as shown by five woes (2:5-19)

1. For “multiplying what is not his own”; will be despoiled by others for his bloodshed and violence (2:5-8)

2. For “making evil gain for his house”; a stone of the wall will cry out (2:9-11)

3. Due to “building a city by bloodshed”; it is from Jehovah that peoples will toil on only for the fire (2:12-14)

4. For making companions drunk ‘to look upon their parts of shame’; will drink cup of Jehovah’s right hand and be disgraced (2:15-18)

5. Due to trusting in idols; there is no breath in them (2:19)

D. Jehovah is in his holy temple and all earth to keep silent (2:20)

III. Habakkuk prays for mercy amid judgment (3:1-19)

A. Makes plea for divine mercy and represents God as a mighty warrior (3:1-15)

1. God marches through earth with denunciation, threshing the nations (3:1-12)

2. He has gone forth for the salvation of His people (3:13-15)

B. Agitated, Habakkuk awaits “the day of distress,” expressing determination to exult in Jehovah, the God of salvation (3:16-19)

See the book “All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial,” pp. 161-163.

HABAZZINIAH

(Hab·az·zi·niʹah).

A descendant of Jonadab the son of Rechab. “Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah the son of Habazziniah” was one of the Rechabites tested by the prophet Jeremiah in the days of King Jehoiakim.—Jer. 35:1-6.

HABOR

(Haʹbor).

This proper name has been understood as applying either to a place or to a river. At 1 Chronicles 5:26, though, the reference is definitely to a city or district to which the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III exiled numerous Israelites of the ten-tribe kingdom. Some scholars have linked this Habor with Abhar, a town located on the Qizil Uzun River of NW Iran about 130 miles (209 kilometers) W of Tehran. At 2 Kings 17:6 and 18:11 some favor the reading “Habor, the river of Gozan” (AS, RS), and suggest identifying the Habor with a tributary of the Euphrates, the Khabur River of SE Turkey and NE Syria. However, in agreement with 1 Chronicles 5:26, this phrase may instead be translated “Habor at [or, by] the river Gozan.”—NW, Yg; see GOZAN.

HACALIAH

(Hac·a·liʹah) [possibly, wait for Jehovah].

Governor Nehemiah’s father.—Neh. 1:1; 10:1.

HACHILAH

(Hach·iʹlah) [dark].

A hill in the wilderness of Ziph, where David and his men concealed themselves from King Saul. (1 Sam. 23:19; 26:1-3) Today its exact location is unknown. While some would identify Hachilah with Dahr el-Kola (a long ridge about ten miles [16 kilometers] W of En-gedi), this has been questioned on the basis that the Hebrew word for “hill” does not apply to a long ridge.

HACHMONI

(Hachʹmo·ni) [wise].

1. Ancestor of Zabdiel and his son Jashobeam. Jashobeam was the head one of David’s top three mighty men and is called “the son of a Hachmonite.” (1 Chron. 11:11; 27:2) “Hachmonite” is spelled “Tahchemonite” at 2 Samuel 23:8. If 1 Chronicles 12:6 refers to the same Jashobeam, the Hachmonites were descendants of the Levite Korah.—See JOSHEB-BASSHEBETH.

2. Father or ancestor of Jehiel. Jehiel was with King David’s sons, presumably as a tutor. (1 Chron. 27:32) Possibly the same as No. 1 above.