THE AGES DIGITAL LIBRARY REFERENCE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPEDIA VOL. 5 H-IZZIAH Books For The Ages AGES Software • Albany, OR USA Version 1.0 © 1997 2 H HA <ha> ([ja;h,, he’-ah]): In Job 39:25, the Revised Version (British and American) “Aha,” of the battle-horse. See AH, AHA. HAAHASHTARI <ha-a-hash’-ta-ri> ([yriT;v]j”a}h;, ha’-achashtari], possibly a corruption of [yriWjv]a”h;, ha’-ashchuri]): A descendant of Judah (1 Ch 4:6). The name is probably corrupt. If the emendation suggested above is accepted, it means the Ashurites, and is a description of the preceding names. HABAIAH; HOBAIAH <ha-ba’-ya>, ([hy;b;j}, cha-bhayah], [hy;b;jÜ, chobhayah]): A post-exilic priestly family which was unable to establish its pedigree. “Habaiah” is the form in Ezr 2:61; in the parallel passage (Neh 7:63), the King James Version has “Habaiah,” and the Revised Version (British and American) “Hobaiah”; in the parallel passage in 1 Esdras 5:38, the form is [ jObdia>, Obdia], Codex Vaticanus, Obbeia. HABAKKUK <ha-bak’-uk>, <hab’-a-kuk>: I. THE AUTHOR. 1. Name: Habakkuk ([qWQb”j}, chabhaqquq]) means “embrace,” or “ardent embrace.” Some of the ancient rabbis, connecting the name with 2 Ki 4:16, “Thou shalt embrace a son,” imagined that the prophet was the son of the Shunammite woman. The Septuagint form of the name, Hambakoum; 3 Theodotion Hambakouk, presupposes the Hebrew chabbaquq. A similar word occurs in Assyrian as the name of a garden plant. 2. Life: Practically nothing is known of Habakkuk. The book bearing his name throws little light upon his life, and the rest of the Old Testament is silent concerning him; but numerous legends have grown up around his name. The identification of the prophet with the son of the Shunammite woman is one. Another, connecting Isa 21:6 with Hab 2:1, makes Habakkuk the watchman set by Isaiah to watch for the fall of Babylon. One of the recensions of the Septuagint text of Bel and the Dragon declares that the story was taken “from the prophecy of Habakkuk, the son of Jesus of the tribe of Levi.” This must refer to an unknown apocryphal book ascribed to our prophet. What authority there may be for calling his father Jesus we do not know. The claim that he was of the tribe of Levi may be based upon the presence of the musical note at the end of the third chapter. According to the Lives of the Prophets, ascribed, though perhaps erroneously, to Epiphanius, bishop of Salamis in Cyprus during the latter part of the 4th century AD, he belonged to [Bethtsohar], of the tribe of Simeon. A very interesting story is found in Bel and the Dragon (33-39), according to which Habakkuk, while on his way to the field with a bowl of pottage, was taken by an angel, carried to Babylon and placed in the lions den, where Daniel ate the pottage, when Habakkuk was returned to his own place. According to the Lives, Habakkuk died two years before the return of the exiles from Babylon. All these legends have little or no historical value. II. THE BOOK. 1. Interpretation of Habakkuk 1 and 2: It is necessary to consider the interpretation of Hab 1 and 2 before giving the contents of the book, as a statement of the contents of these chapters will be determined by their interpretation. The different interpretations advocated may be grouped under three heads: (1) According to the first view: Hab 1:2-4: The corruption of Judah; the oppression of the righteous Jews by the wicked Jews, which calls for the Divine manifestation in judgment against the oppressors. 1:5-11: Yahweh announces that He is about to send the Chaldeans to execute judgment. 1:12-17: The prophet is perplexed. He cannot understand how a righteous 4 God can use these barbarians to execute judgment upon a people more righteous than they. He considers even the wicked among the Jews better than the Chaldeans. 2:1-4: Yahweh solves the perplexing problem by announcing that the exaltation of the Chaldeans will be but temporary; in the end they will meet their doom, while the righteous will live. 2:5-20: Woes against the Chaldeans. (2) The second view finds it necessary to change the present arrangement of Hab 1:5-11; in their present position, they will not fit into the interpretation. For this reason Wellhausen and others omit these verses as a later addition; on the other hand, Giesebrecht would place them before 1:2, as the opening verses of the prophecy. The transposition would require a few other minor changes, so as to make the verses a suitable beginning and establish a smooth transition from 1:11 to 1:2. Omitting the troublesome verses, the following outline of the two chapters may be given: 1:2-4: The oppression of the righteous Jews by the wicked Chaldeans. 1:12-17: Appeal to Yahweh on behalf of the Jews against their oppressors. 2:1-4: Yahweh promises deliverance (see above). 2:5-20: Woes against the Chaldeans. (3) The third view also finds it necessary to alter the present order of verses. Again Hab 1:5-11, in the present position, interferes with theory; therefore, these verses are given a more suitable place after 2:4. According to this interpretation the outline is as follows: 1:2-4: Oppression of the righteous Jews by the wicked Assyrians (Budde) or Egyptians (G. A. Smith). 1:12-17: Appeal to Yahweh on behalf of the oppressed against the oppressor. 2:1-4: Yahweh promises deliverance (see above). 1:5-11: The Chaldeans will be the instrument to execute judgment upon the oppressors and to bring deliverance to the Jews. 2:5-20: Woes against the Assyrians or Egyptians. A full discussion of these views is not possible in this article (see Eiselen, Minor Prophets, 466-68). It may be sufficient to say that on the whole the first interpretation, which requires no omission or transposition, seems to satisfy most completely the facts in the case. 2. Contents: The contents of Hab 1 and 2 are indicated in the preceding paragraph. Hab 3 contains a lyrical passage called in the title “Prayer.” The petitioner speaks for himself and the community. He remembers the mighty works of 5 Yahweh for His people; the thought of them causes him to tremble; nevertheless, he calls for a repetition of the ancient manifestations (3:2). In majestic pictures the poet describes the wonderful appearances of Yahweh in the past (3:3-11) for His chosen people (3:12-15). The remembrance of these manifestations fills the Psalmist with fear and trembling, but also with joy and confidence in the God of his salvation (3:16-19). 3. Style: Only the Hebrew student can get an adequate idea of the literary excellence of the Book of Habakkuk. “The literary power of Habakkuk,” says Driver, “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; he is still a master of the old classical style, terse, parallelistic, pregnant; there is no trace of the often prosaic diffusiveness which manifests itself in the writings of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. And if Hab 3 be his, he is, moreover, a lyric poet of high order; the grand imagery and the rhythmic flow of this ode will bear comparison with some of the finest productions of the Hebrew muse.” 4. Integrity: More than half of the book, including Hab 1:5-11; 2:9-20, and chapter 3 entire, has been denied to the prophet Habakkuk. If the prophecy is rightly interpreted (see above), no valid reason for rejecting 1:5-11 can be found. Hab 2:9-20 are denied to Habakkuk chiefly on two grounds: (1) The “woes” are said to be in part, at least, unsuitable, if supposed to be addressed to the Chaldean king. This difficulty vanishes when it is borne in mind that the king is not addressed as an individual, but as representing the policy of the nation, as a personification of the nation. (2) Some parts, especially 2:12-14, “consist largely of citations and reminiscences of other passages, including some late ones” (compare 2:12 with Mic 3:10; Hab 2:13 with Jer 51:58; Hab 2:14 with Isa 11:9; Hav 2:16b with Jer 25:15,16; Hab 2:18-20 with Isa 44:9 ff; 46:6,7; Jer 10:1-16). Aside from the fact that the argument from literary parallels is always precarious, in this case the resemblances are few in number and of such general character that they do not necessarily presuppose literary dependence. Habakkuk 3 is denied to the prophet even more persistently, but the arguments are by no means conclusive. The fact 6 that the chapter belongs to the psalm literature does not prove a late date unless it is assumed, without good reasons, that no psalms originated in the preexilic period. Nor do the historical allusions, which are altogether vague, the style, the relation to other writers, and the character of the religious ideas expressed, point necessarily to a late date. The only doubtful verses are 2:16 ff, which seem to allude to a calamity other than the invasion of the Chaldeans; and Driver says, not without reason, “Had the poet been writing under the pressure of a hostile invasion, the invasion itself would naturally have been expected to form a prominent feature in this picture.” Hence, while it may be impossible to prove that Habakkuk is the author of the prayer, it is equally impossible to prove the contrary; and while there are a few indications which seem to point to a situation different from that of Habakkuk, they are by no means definite enough to exclude the possibility of Habakkuk’s authorship.