Habakkuk Study
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Please do NOT visit this site on שַׁבָּת - Shabbat or on the ‘מוֹעֲדִים - Mo’a’dim - Feasts!
Tanakh versions:
Throughout this site I may use
any of the following three versions of the TaNaKh: 1. “Jewish Publication Society” (JPS-1917), 2. “Sefaria.org” (SEF), 3. “Mechon-Mamre.org” (MEC).
Colour coded
details of the - TaNaKh:
1. Torah = History
& Law, 2. Nevi’im = The Prophets. 3. *Ketuvim = all
other Writings).
*The Ketuvim - Includes, Poetical
books - Psalms, Proverbs, Job, the Megillot, or Scrolls - Song
of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Ecclesiastes, and
Esther, prophecy of Daniel, and history of Ezra, Nehemiah, and
Chronicles I & II.
Some minor alterations have been made relating to Names and Attributes having been corrected.
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Remember the following three truth’s from our beloved Scriptures!
“Ye shall NOT ADD TO THE WORD which I
command you, neither shall ye diminish from it,
that ye may keep the commandments of יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם (the LORD your Elohei’chem)
which I command you”. Davarim - Deuteronomy 4:2.
“This is My Name FOREVER, and this is My Memorial to ALL Generations”. Shemot - Exodus 3:15. (JPS).
“I am יְהוָה, that is My Name; and My glory will I not give to another”.
Yeshayahu - Isaiah 42:8. (JPS).
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“The
Righteous shall live by his Faith”
With Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
“Be strong and courageous. Be careful to obey the entire Torah My servant Moshe has given you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Torah depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
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Let me first provide the first five verses in Chapter 1. “Jewish Publication Society” (JPS-1917 version):
Below; the first five verses are in Hebrew, followed by an accurate English translation:
הַמַּשָּׂא אֲשֶׁר חָזָה, חֲבַקּוּק הַנָּבִיא
עַד-אָנָה יְהוָה שִׁוַּעְתִּי, וְלֹא תִשְׁמָע: אֶזְעַק אֵלֶיךָ חָמָס, וְלֹא תוֹשִׁיעַ
לָמָּה תַרְאֵנִי אָוֶן וְעָמָל תַּבִּיט, וְשֹׁד וְחָמָס לְנֶגְדִּי; וַיְהִי רִיב וּמָדוֹן, יִשָּׂא
עַל-כֵּן תָּפוּג תּוֹרָה, וְלֹא-יֵצֵא לָנֶצַח מִשְׁפָּט: כִּי רָשָׁע מַכְתִּיר אֶת-הַצַּדִּיק, עַל-כֵּן יֵצֵא מִשְׁפָּט מְעֻקָּל
רְאוּ בַגּוֹיִם וְהַבִּיטוּ, וְהִתַּמְּהוּ תְּמָהוּ: כִּי-פֹעַל פֹּעֵל בִּימֵיכֶם, לֹא תַאֲמִינוּ כִּי יְסֻפָּר
1 The burden
which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
2 How long, יְהוָה - O LORD, shall I cry, and Thou wilt not
hear? I cry out unto Thee of violence, and Thou wilt not save.
3 Why dost
Thou show me iniquity, and beholdest mischief? And
why are spoiling and violence before me? so that there
is strife, and contention ariseth.
4 Therefore the
law is slacked, and right doth never go forth; for the wicked doth beset the
righteous; therefore right goeth forth perverted.
5 Look ye among the nations, and behold, and wonder marvellously; for, behold, a work shall be wrought in your days, which Ye will not believe though it be told you.
Introduction to
the Book of Habakkuk:
Habakkuk presents as a prophet who is candid, juridical and what seems like he is wrestling with אֱלֹהִים - Elohim - (God), blessed be He! Thus Habakkuk recorded a short, intense dialogue that moves from complaint to covenantal trust. The book places the prophet before a paradox: rampant injustice at home and the announcement that אֱלֹהִים will employ an even more violent power to execute judgment. That paradox forces Habakkuk to test the justice and faithfulness of the אֱלֹהִים of Israel rather than to retreat into pious platitudes.
Literary shape and tone:
The book is very much like a courtroom conversation, a sequence of ‘complaint’, ‘divine reply’, ‘renewed complaint’, and a final ‘prayer in song’.
Its language shifts from prophetic accusation to oracular reply and closes in a liturgical, hymn like tone that looks to creation for proof of אֱלֹהִים - God’s sovereign ordering of history.
The form preserves the prophet’s struggle rather than smoothing it into doctrinal neatness, making Habakkuk a model of honest faith under severe pressure.
Historical and theological context:
Habakkuk most likely spoke during the late time of the First ... הַמִּקְדָּשׁ – Ha’Mika’dash - the Temple setting when the old powers had declined and Babylon rose up; Habakkuk’s audience faces internal corruption alongside the looming threat of foreign domination.
Theologically the book grapples with ‘theodicy’: how a righteous אֱלֹהִים can permit injustice and use instruments of evil to execute justice. אֱלֹהִים - God’s reply reframes the problem by asserting Divine sovereignty and eventual retribution, yet it does not erase the moral puzzlement that provoked the prophet.
Central theological claim:
The book’s hinge is the pronouncement that the righteous shall live by their faith. This statement reframes the faithful response: not smug certitude about present outcomes but a covenantal perseverance rooted in trust. Faith here is ethical endurance in the face of contradictory signs, a way of living that calls the community to return to their covenantal fidelity an faith, while awaiting Divine vindication.
Practical implications:
Habakkuk legitimizes forthright speech to אֱלֹהִים; lament and question belong inside the covenant.
It warns communities against equating success with Divine approval and insists on internal moral correction even when external threats are so pressing.
Its closing is a hymn that supplies a liturgical posture for crisis, and remembrance of אֱלֹהִים - God’s creative and saving acts, refusal to capitulate to despair, and the resolve to rejoice in יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים - the Lord Elohim, despite loss.
But let us look further.
1. Immediate portrait:
Habakkuk presents a prophetic dialogue of raw questioning and covenantal argument. The prophet opens with a judicial complaint about violence and injustice, presses יְהוָה - YaHVaH for an answer, and receives a startling reply: אֱלֹהִים - God will raise the Chaldeans as an instrument of judgment. Habakkuk refuses facile resignation and presses for moral and theological clarity.
2. Structure and movement:
Complaint and appeal (chap. 1): prophetic cry about lawlessness.
Divine reply and prophetic astonishment (chap. 1): announcement of the Chaldeans.
Second complaint and demand for explanation (chap. 2): why use a more wicked nation to punish a less wicked one.
Oracle of retribution and vindication (chap. 2): “the just shall live by his faith” as the ethical centre.
Theodicy transformed into praise (chap. 3): a liturgical, creation-cantered psalm that ends in resolute trust.
3. Key themes in a Hebraic register:
Covenant lawsuit: Habakkuk speaks and hears within the court-imagery of the prophetic tradition, calling אֱלֹהִים to vindicate covenantal justice.
Divine pedagogy through history: אֱלֹהִים - God’s methods are mysterious yet purposeful; judgment is both corrective for Israel and accusatory against the oppressor.
Faith as life’s stance: the famous line “the righteous shall live by his faith” functions as the book’s interpretive key: ethical perseverance grounded in trust, not in sight.
4. Literary and theological notes:
The dialogic form preserves prophetic immediacy; Habakkuk is not a polished oracle but a recorded struggle, fitting the Hebrew prophetic idiom of complaint and answer.
The climactic prayer-song (ch. 3) re-frames national catastrophe as the theatre of divine sovereignty: images of creation and divine warrior-activity remind the reader that history is אֱלֹהִים - God’s realm.
5. Practical import for Israel’s faith:
Honest petitioning of אֱלֹהִים is legitimized; spiritual maturity includes demanding answers while remaining in covenantal relationship.
The community is warned against complacency: apparent prosperity does not equal divine favour; ethical accountability is primary.
Worship and trust remain the faithful response when providence seems inscrutable; the liturgical close models praise that refuses despair.
Use chapter 3 as a contemplative hymn in times of communal crisis to shape trust without simplistic explanations.
Centre teaching on “the righteous shall live by his faith” as a Hebrew ethical summons to steadfast covenantal fidelity.
Habakkuk's
three-chapter book ends with a triumphant statement of faith that we can also
embrace:
“Even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even
though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will
rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the אֱלֹהִים of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord
is my strength!” Habakkuk 3:17-19.
In the past I have been asked, “what did
Habakkuk really achieve?”
The truth is that Habakkuk achieved a sustained, theologically honest witness that transformed private protest into public faith. He gave his generation a way to speak candidly to יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים – the LORD Elohim to insist on covenantal justice, and to respond to Divine mystery with worshipful trust!
What Habakkuk managed to do, was that he reframed theodicy by refusing both naïve optimism and cynical resignation. He forced אֱלֹהִים - God’s justice into the court-room language of the prophets and received an answer that cantered divine sovereignty without dissolving moral obligation. The book’s pivotal claim that “the righteous shall live by his faith” locates righteousness not in present vindication but in covenantal fidelity grounded in trust.
וַאֲנִי,
בַּיהוָה
אֶעְלוֹזָה:
אָגִילָה, בֵּאלֹהֵי
יִשְׁעִי
יְהוִה
אֲדֹנָי,
חֵילִי,
וַיָּשֶׂם
רַגְלַי כָּאַיָּלוֹת,
וְעַל
בָּמוֹתַי
יַדְרִכֵנִי;
לַמְנַצֵּחַ,
בִּנְגִינוֹתָי
“Yet I will rejoice in יְהוִה - the LORD, I will exult in the אֱלֹהִים of my salvation. יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים - the LORD, is my strength, and He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and He maketh me to walk upon my high places. For the Leader. With my string-music”.
Meaning of the final rubric in Habakkuk 3:19:
The closing rubric rendered translations as “For the leader. With my string-music.” functions as a short musical direction rather than part of the theological argument. It signals that the prayer-song of chapter 3 is to be understood and used as a liturgy: it is a hymn intended for public performance under the oversight of a choirmaster and accompanied by stringed instruments.
Theologically and literarily this rubric matters because it moves the book’s final movement from private meditation into public worship: the prophet’s wrestling and the poem’s resolution become a resource for the community’s praise and trust. The “my” in “my string-music” subtly keeps the prophetic voice present even as the people sing: the prophet’s personal testimony is handed over to the congregation and shaped into liturgical memory!
I highly suggest that you read three chapters of Habakkuk, as there is so much more to be discovered!
Please Note: ‘Habakkuk Study 2’ is no also online at - Habakkuk-Study-2.
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In Conclusion, a
Question to Deepen the Conversation:
Which part of the Tanakh study, or possibly a particular line or
statement within it has touched you the most? And how do you feel
about spending more time studying our beloved Tanakh? I pray that you are doing
well as a faithful Hebrew, and אֱלֹהִים - Elohim willing you are upholding as many of our
blessed Mitzvoth’s?
I am well aware that the modern world sadly contains far too many
deviations as well as problems that seem to get in the way of
our Hebrew lifestyle. Yet worse than that, these days there are far too many
enticements, which can so easily throw many off track,
and I know that has happened far too much. Thus, if there are struggles
that are taking place in your life, be it at this or at any time, I am well
aware that sadly it can often have a terrible and a cruel effect upon your
life?
Dear reader, please remember this, pray for peace and solitude in
your life, and then work on keeping as calm as possible and learn to improve
your life, for אֱלֹהִים - בָּרוּךְ
אֱלֹהִים - Bless Elohim, He is always there
and ready to help and guide you!
PLEASE NOTE: If you need assistance in some way, just ask, I can email you special items to help you with whatever you may need, etc! Just email me (using the link further below) and I will send it to your email, without any follow up whatsoever, or any requests from me! My email is just down this page.
This site was originally set up for those who needed to return to our
blessed and wonderful faith, thus be wise and work on your faith and pray at
least two or of possible three times a day and always seek אֱלֹהִים - Elohim’s guidance!
Remember what אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, blessed be He, said the following, via a
number of our prophets...
“Return unto Me,
and I will return unto you, saith צְבָאוֹת- יְהוָה- the LORD of hosts”. Mal’a’chi - Malachi 3:7. MEC).
And Remember ...
Enjoy your Sabbath Rest, Shabbat
Shalom!
אֲנִי
יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, בְּחֻקּוֹתַי
לֵכוּ; וְאֶת-מִשְׁפָּטַי
שִׁמְרוּ, וַעֲשׂוּ
אוֹתָם
וְאֶת-שַׁבְּתוֹתַי, קַדֵּשׁוּ; וְהָיוּ
לְאוֹת, בֵּינִי
וּבֵינֵיכֶם-לָדַעַת, כִּי
אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם
“I am אֱלֹהֵיכֶם יְהוָה (the LORD your
Elo’hei’chem); walk in My statutes,
and keep Mine ordinances, and do them; and hallow My Sabbaths, and they shall
be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am אֱלֹהֵיכֶם יְהוָה - YaHVaH your Elo’hei’chem”. Yechezkel - Ezekiel 20:19-20. (JPS).
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“Hebraic Studies” motto is as follows;
“The More Torah, the More Life”.
For our Elohim is the One who gave us our ... Life!
May the שָׁלוֹם - Shalom = Peace of צְבָאוֹת- יְהוָה= the LORD of hosts. be with
you, and please always uphold our blessed שַׁבָּת - Shabbat, as well as the ‘מוֹעֲדִים - Mo’a’dim - Feasts, and continue saying your
daily תְּפִלָּה - Te’fee’lah’s (Prayers) and
regular בְּרָכָה - Be’ra’chah’s (blessings) before food and
drinks, etc!
שָׁלוֹם
עֲלֵיכֶם - Shalom Aleichem -
Peace be with you!
Rabbi,
Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
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