Explanatory BibleInterpretation of the book of the prophet Habakkuk

It would be a mistake to consider that the books of the so-called “minor prophets” are somehow insignificant... It is not uncommon that what may seem insignificant and unnoticeable (details, elements, phrases) can do a lot (1 Corinthians 12:22 ,25.). And the book of the prophet Habakkuk is one such example.

So: What do the prophecies of Habakkuk say?.. We hope that after carefully reading them, you will agree that they are indeed important for us; especially for those who will live during the last days of the wicked world... You may ask, why is it necessary to know this? Isn't just being a good Christian enough? - Yes, it is important. However, a correct understanding of the prophecies about the last days will help us become more adequate Christians. Understanding events during the tribulation (Jeremiah 30:6,7,23,24. Dan.7:24-26.) will help us have greater comfort and hope (Rom.15:4.). Also, by reading, understanding and seeing the true picture of God's Word, we realize how beautiful and perfect this spiritual world is. Welcome to this world friends!..

Habakkuk chapter 1 interpretation

Habakkuk 1:3-6

Why do you let me see villainy and look at disasters? Robbery and violence are before me, and enmity arises and discord arises. 4 As a result, the law has lost its force, and there is no correct judgment: since the wicked overcomes the righteous, then a perverse judgment occurs.

• 5 Look among the nations and look closely, and you will be greatly amazed; For I will do such a thing in your days that you would not believe if it were told to you. 6 For behold, I will raise up the Chaldeans, a cruel and unruly people, who walk throughout the breadth of the earth to take possession of villages that do not belong to them.

• 1) literally; about the punishment of the harlot Israel in the 7th century BC. Babylonian Empire. The prophet Jeremiah wrote: “The kings of the earth and all those living in the universe did not believe that the enemy and the enemy would enter the gates of Jerusalem. [All this] is for the sins of his false prophets, for the iniquities of his priests, who shed the blood of the righteous in his midst” (Lam. 4:12,13).
• 2) It was like an image of punishment in the 70th year AD. The Roman Empire - the Apostle Paul warned: “Beware, then, that what was said in the prophets does not come to you: look, you despisers, marvel and disappear; for I am doing a work in your days, a work which you would not believe if anyone told you” (Acts 13:40,41. Hab.1:5. Also: Dan.9:26.).

• 3) as a prophetic image of the punishment of the harlot, Babylon the Great, at the end of the wicked world (see Rev. 17: 1, 3, 6, 16, 17). In this place it is written about Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Chaldeans; which is the prophetic image of the King of kings, the image of Christ Jesus (Dan. 2:37,38).
• See: Jeremiah 23:13,14,15,17,18. Jerem. 29:16-19. Matt. 23:1,2,27,28. Acts 7:51-53. Acts 13:40,41. Onion. 21:24.1 Cor.10:11. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3. Open 18;4,7,8,24. Jerem. 21:1,8-10.Jerem. 27:8.6(g). Ear. 2:17. Open 17:12,16,17. Rom. 13:4. (see Joel 2:11).

Habakkuk 1:6-11

For behold, I will raise up the Chaldeans, a cruel and unbridled people, who walk across the breadths of the earth to take possession of villages that do not belong to them. 7 He is terrible and formidable; from himself comes his judgment and his power. 8 His horses are swifter than leopards and swifter than the wolves of the evening; his cavalry gallops in different directions; His horsemen come from afar, flying like an eagle rushing at its prey. 9 All he goes for robbery; with his face directed forward, he takes captives like sand. 10 And he mocks kings, and princes serve as a laughing stock to him; He laughs at every fortress: he builds a siege rampart and takes it. 11 Then his spirit is lifted up, and he walks and rages; his strength is his god.

• About the Chaldean king, Nebuchadnezzar, who was given authority by God (see Dan. 2:37,38).
• Look: Jerem. 27:1-8. (2 Kings 24:7).

Habakkuk 1:12-17

But were you not of old, Lord my God, my Holy One? we won't die! You, Lord, only allowed him for the sake of judgment. My rock! You appointed him for punishment. 13 It is not natural for Your pure eyes to look at evil deeds, and You cannot look at oppression; Why do you look at the wicked and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the one who is more righteous than him, 14 and leaves people like fish in the sea, like reptiles that have no ruler? 15 He drags them all with his fish, catches them in his net and takes them into his nets, and because of this he rejoices and triumphs. 16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns cense to his net, because from them his part is fat and his food is luxurious. 17 Is it really necessary for this to empty his net and continually slaughter the nations without mercy?

• Next, a topic begins, which will be continued in the second chapter. This passage of Scripture speaks of the aggression of the Assyrian kingdom, the time of the Judah king Hezekiah (see Isaiah. 10ch. 36ch. 37ch.) ... The punishment of Israel for sins was a prophetic example of the fact that Christians (as spiritual Israel), at the end of the wicked world, so but they will have to be cleansed through punishment and correction, through spiritual Assyria - “the king of the north.”
• See: Crying. 3:39-42. Isaiah. 10:5-11,13,14,32. Avvak. 2:3-5. Dan. 8:24,25. Dan. 11:31,35,36,38. *** From this we can conclude that the prophet Habakkuk wrote this prophecy during the reign of King Hezekiah - 2 Kings 18-20.

Book of the Prophet Habakkuk, Chapter 1

1 The book of the prophet Habakkuk, like the book of the prophet Nahum, begins in the Hebrew original with the word massb, one of the main meanings of which is: burden, burden. Blessed Jerome here, as in the book of the prophet Nahum, transfers this word to the Latin onus, burden. But in relation to the book of the prophet Habakkuk, massb has a more neutral meaning (prophecy in general) than a special one (announcement of threats, disasters) - since in this book the formidable and comforting elements penetrate each other especially closely. Therefore, here the translation of LXX is more consistent with the content: λη̃μμα, which Blessed Theodoret explains as follows: “Vision (λη̃μμα) calls the admiration of the mind and the passage from human affairs to divine revelation. Therefore, if the prophet said this through the action of the Spirit, then, obviously, he himself did not suffer from bewilderment, but exposes the scab of those who are sick with it, and applies medicine” (p. 23). The blessed one, apparently, is partly inclined towards this general or neutral understanding here. Jerome, when he notes: “It should also be noted that the vision of the prophet is a lifting or burden, which, as we have already said, signifies grave (disasters) and that he clearly understands his vision” (p. 131). We must also keep in mind that the capital massb 1:1 can and does only refer to the contents of the first two chapters of the book of the prophet Habakkuk, since the third chapter has its own special title or inscription: tefallah, prayer. This further confirms the neutral meaning of the masses. Both in the first inscription (1:1) and in the second ( 3:1

) the name nbbi, προφήτης, prophet, is added to Habakkuk’s own name, which is also found in the inscriptions of two prophetic books: Haggai (
Hagg 1:1
) and Zechariah (
Zechariah 1:1
).
But this circumstance in itself cannot at all indicate the later origin of the inscription of the book of the prophet Habakkuk (as Marti thinks, s. 331), but simply aims to indicate the title of Habakkuk among the members of the Old Testament church - he was a prophet and in ministry (munus propheticum), and not only by gift (donum propheticum), - but together to provide a guarantee of the fidelity of the entire revelation, to give evidence of its origin from above, - that “he does not speak from the heart, but communicates the word of God, as a prophet and filled with God’s grace for this purpose.” (St. Cyril of Alexandria. See Prof. Golubev, p. 706), This latter corresponds to the main meaning of the word nabi, according to which “a prophet is a person who does not speak from himself, but proclaims the will of God and His revelation to people, moreover, chosen by God and receiving divine authority from Him; the prophet is an explainer and interpreter not of anything at all, but only of the will and words of the divine, he is a mediator between God and people, a trusted representative of God ( Ex 7:1,2
;
4:15-16
;
Gen 20:7
;
Jer. 26:9
)". M. Verzhbolovich. Prophetic ministry in the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel. Kyiv. 1891, p. 5-6. See RE Laur for more details. Die Prophetennamen des Alten Testamentes. Ein Beitrag zur Theologie des Alten Testamentes. Sreiburg (Schweiz) 1903, s. 2, especially ss. 11-42).

2-4 The complaints of the prophet depicted here in his appeal to the God of the covenant - Jehovah, were caused, in the opinion of some Jewish interpreters, as well as Blessed Jerome, and some new commentators Philipson, Maurer, Rosenmuller, Ewald, etc.), expected or already actually the violence committed by the Babylonians or Chaldeans in Judea. “Prophet,” says the blessed one. Jerome, - cries out against God regarding why Nebuchadnezzar will destroy the temple and Judah, why Jerusalem will be destroyed, although it is the city of God. Why does the prophet cry out, but God does not listen to him? he cries out to the Lord, oppressed by the Chaldeans, but does not receive salvation? (p. 133) “The wicked king Nebuchadnezzar prevailed against the righteous Judah ( 2 Kings 24

)… and the righteous king Josiah will be killed by the king of Egypt (
2 Kings 23
), and Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah will be in slavery (
Dan 3
), and the ruler of Babylon will be ruler” (p. 135).
In favor of this understanding, its new supporters point out that the words found in Art. 2 and 3: Hamas, violence, and Amal, oppression, also found below in vv.
9 and 13 , where they undoubtedly signify the tyrannical actions of the Chaldeans.
But besides these words, in the section under consideration in Art. 3 the prophet also used the words riv, litigation, quarrel, and madon, abuse, discord; In addition, in Art. 4 says that the law, the Torah - obviously the Mosaic Law, has lost its force, that the truth does not prevail, that the judgment is happening perversely: all these features, without any doubt, are applicable only to the internal life of the Jewish people, as a people of the positive law, the Torah, moreover, who sinned with frequent deviations from the latter - and, on the contrary, are completely inapplicable to the Chaldeans - a people who did not recognize any other law except their own will ( v. 7
) and the power deified by them (
v. 11
,
cf. v. 16
) .
Moreover, if we agreed with the interpretation of Art. 2-4, then the following, art.
5-10 , the announcement of the invasion of the Chaldeans as a completely new and incredible event, and a detailed description of them would not make sense, remaining completely incomprehensible.
On the contrary, when explaining Art. 2-4 regarding the internal decomposition of the religious, moral and legal side of life of the Jews themselves, contemporary with the prophet, it is quite clear, first of all, the general attitude of this section to the subsequent art.
5-11 : this is the relationship of cause to effect, crime and punishment;
then, in particular, the mentioned similarity of the names (Hamas, Amal) of the crimes of the Jews and the way of action of the Chaldeans is deeply based on the idea of ​​​​the correspondence between divine retribution and the sin that caused it, according to the word of the Wise One: “Whoever sins by these is tormented” ( Wisdom 11:17
) - the sin of the Jews consisted of oppression, various types of trampling on the law (vv. 2-4), the same was the punishment of God in the form of invasion and violence of the Chaldeans (
vv. 5-11
), just like these latter, for their godless oppression of the people of God (
v. 12 ff.
), according to the judgment of God, awaited a similar disastrous fate (
chap. 2
).
See prof. Golubev, s. 699-701, approx. Thus, the prophet Habakkuk in v. 2-4, like the prophet Micah ( Micah ch. 7
), expresses his deep sorrow over the wickedness prevailing in his people in public life.
As a deeply believing member of a theocratic society, moreover, as a God-appointed guardian of the theocracy (cf. 2:1
), the prophet is in holy zeal for the “numb” (Hebrew pug) as if the law, for the trampled truth of God (v. 4), with with prayerful boldness (like the psalmists, for example,
Isa 21:2
,
ch. 86
,
87:15 et seq.
) he calls on God for the long-awaited divine intervention in the lives of his fellow citizens, which do not correspond to the divine law. Of course, the prophet complains about the general direction of life, and not about individual wicked people, much less about his own oppressors.

5-11 To the sorrowful perplexities of the prophet, a divine answer is given here - without any deliberate preliminary - with the goal of convincing the prophet and all his contemporaries that the inattention of providence to what is happening in the field of human relations ( vv. 2-4

), only apparent, and that God’s judgment is soon ready to open on the unworthy generation of God’s chosen people.
In his answer to the prophet, God first of all (v. 5) demands from the Jews attention to his revelation and thereby already shows its extreme importance: terrible events are already hanging over their heads, which their life and history have never known before and which they are able to study and bring to light. to the horror of those over whom they will break out (this supposed here unexpectedness of the coming calamity of the invasion of enemies clearly shows that earlier, in v. 2-4, it was not about the Chaldeans). Second word of Art. 5 - according to the accepted Hebrew text baggoim, among the nations. Vulgate: in gentibus, LXX (as well as Peshito) read differently, apparently: bogedim, treacherous, evildoers (as below v. 13
, cf.
Zeph 3:4
,
Jer 12:1
) and conveyed: καταφρονηταί, glory. : contempt. Blessed Theodoret, accepting this reading of the LXX, in his explanation says: “God calls those who fearlessly break the law and those who suffer from insensibility disdainful” (p. 23), and Blessed Jerome, who himself leaned toward the current reading of the Hebrew text and conveyed the word in question in his translation in gentibus, at the same time, in his interpretation he mentions two unnamed codes, of which in one the beginning of Art. 5 read: “Look, scolders!”, and in another: “Look, apostates!”, and notes that with such reading “these words expose the insolence and contempt for God of the people on whose behalf the prophet exclaimed, their bold rebellion against the greatness of God, their reckless speeches, their censure of God’s providence and their apostasy from God, denouncing him of injustice” (pp. 136-137). Thus, the beginning of the 5th Art. in LXX has more expressiveness than in the accepted Jewish text, the meaning of which, as the same blessed Jerome explains, is “for the prophet to look closely and see among the nations that untruth, which, in his opinion, exists only among Israel alone, and that not only Judah and Israel, but also all the surrounding nations were devoted to the Chaldeans” (p. 137). Then in the opened “case (poal art. 5)” the following points are indicated: its main beginning is the will of God, pronouncing its judgment on the fate of the wicked; its visible instrument, the executor or executor of God's destinies at a given historical moment is the people - the Chaldeans, as harsh as they are cruel, as fast and powerful in the execution of their cruelties (vv. 6-10), and finally, its consequence for the executors themselves, that all together comprehensively depicts the enormous power of the terrible disaster.

The main idea of ​​the first divine answer is what is expressed at the beginning; Art. 6th provision that the coming invasion of enemies on Judea is not an accidental phenomenon, but is destined to take place according to the omnipotent will of God; It is God who will raise up the Chaldeans against Judea, He will arm them with invincible power, but they must consider themselves only His instrument, and forgetting this will be disastrous for them.

6 By the name "Chaldeans", Heb. Kasdim, LXX: χαλδαι̃οι, among the prophets, starting with the prophet. Habakkuk 1:6-11

and Jeremiah (
Jer 21:4
;
24:5
, etc.) denotes a people known in cuneiform monuments under the name Kaldu.
Initially, this tribe lived from the south of the biblical valley of Shinar or Mesopotamia, along the shores of the Persian Gulf, but in the 7th century it became extremely stronger, extended its aggressive aspirations to the north, and in 625, the leader of the Chaldeans Nabopolassar, on the ruins of already dying Assyria, laid the foundation for the Chaldean-Babylonian or New Chaldean Kingdom. These Chaldeans were Semites, as the Bible testifies ( Gen. 22:22
), and therefore cannot be identified with the Chaldeans of Kurdistan and Armenia, who were Aryans.
Both according to the Bible ( Genesis 22:22
;
11:28
), and according to wedge-shaped documents, the name of the Chaldeans was known several hundred years before their emergence as world-wide conquerors, but in this capacity they first appear in the prophecy of Habakkuk
1 In the book of the prophet Daniel ( 2:2,5,10
;
4:4
;
5:7,11
) the class of Chaldean sages - astrologers is named after the Chaldeans, since Chaldea was considered the fatherland of astrology: in this sense this term is also known among the classics., and for this reason First of all, he deliberately warns his listeners and readers about the terrible event of their invasion (v. 5), and then characterizes in great detail the properties of these terrible conquerors (vv. 6-11).
These properties, to a certain extent, completely correspond to the criminal properties of the Jews, and in this one cannot help but see the punitive action of God’s Providence. “On you 2 The addition “εἰς ὑμα̃ς”, on you, is essentially correct (cf. 2 Kings 12:11
;
Am 6:14
), appears in the LXX codices: 26, 106, 239 in Golmes.
“living in untruth and lawlessness, for the sake of which those who do not know the laws of Providence are upset, I will bring in the cruel and uncontrollable Chaldeans, who, out of greed for the things of others, take up arms against all nations” (Blessed Theodoret, p. 24). To characterize the militancy of the Chaldeans, the passage in question should be recognized as classic as Isaiah 5:26 et seq.
gives a classic description of the Assyrians.

The people are cruel, Heb. gagoi-gammar - bitter as wormwood - for all who taste communication with him - a formidable people, alien to humanity and mercy (cf. Jer 50:42

;
Deut 28:50
);
"unbridled", gannimgar, proper. fast, LXX: ταχινὸν, Vulgate: velocem, who walks across the latitudes of the earth in order to take possession of villages that do not belong to him (cf. 2:6
) - a people alien to settled life and culture, on the contrary, accustomed to predation and robbery; “a most warlike and unstoppable people, whose strength and military courage are witnessed by almost all the Greeks who wrote the history of the barbarians. And his business is not to cultivate the land with a plow, but to live by sword and robbery, and to capture cities that do not belong to him” (Blessed Jerome, p. 138). Indeed, in the depiction of the Chaldeans, for example, by Xenophon (Cyropedia III, 2), the gaiters of the prophetic description of the Chaldeans are reproduced very accurately.

7 Naturally, such a people is “terrible and formidable” for all surrounding peoples - “for cruelty, for indomitability in anger, for the inaccessibility of the heart, for cruelty in punishments” (St. Cyril of Alexandria), - mainly because they do not recognizes no other law over himself and believes that only to himself, and to no one else, he owes his superiority over other nations: “from himself (and not from God, as in Ps. 16:2

) there is a judgment (mishpat, rule, norm of activity) of him and the power (sows, greatness, LXX: λη̃μμα, slav.: taking, Vulgate: onus) of him” (v. 7) - “turns into law what comes to his mind "(Blessed Theodoret, p. 24): like their ancient ancestors, who dreamed of creating a name for themselves by building the Tower of Babel (
Gen. 11:4
), and especially following King Nebuchadnezzar, who idolized himself (
Isa. 14:13
), the Chaldeans do not recognize that that power and authority were given to them from the Lord (fn.
vv. 11-12
).

8-9 The more unlimited their strength seemed to the Chaldeans, the more lively and unhindered their desire for prey: “his horses are faster than leopards” - an animal as predatory as a lion ( Jer 5:6

;
Isa 11:6
;
Hosea 13:7
), but gifted with greater ease of running than him, like a whirlwind, so that it is almost impossible for the prey to escape from it;
“and quicker than the wolves of the evening” (8a) - exhausted by a long day of hunger and a vain search for food, and all the more greedily rushing to the prey found in the evening and by morning leaving nothing of it (in the LXX here, as well as in Sof 3:3
, instead of “evening”, Hebrew erev, there is “Arabian”, τη̃ς 'Αραβίας, and slav., LXX was read, obviously, not by erev, but by Arab, Arabia).
The long journey (“from afar,” that is, from Babylon, Isa 39:3
; cf.
Jer 5:15
) does not tire them; on the contrary, like eagles, they quickly fly to rich prey and, like eagles, without labor take possession (v. 8, cf.
Deut. 28:49
;
Jer. 4:13
;
5:16
;
Ezek. 17:3
).
“With all this the Prophet depicted their strength, courage and speed. For such among birds is the eagle, to which he likened horsemen; such among beasts are lynxes and Arabian wolves, whose speed he likened to the speed of horses” (Blessed Theodoret, p. 24). The success of the Chaldeans is undoubted and decisive: “all of them (without exception) go for robbery; the aspiration (Heb. megammat) of their faces forward (kadima)” - they rush further and further in greed for the things of others (v. 9a). The first half of Art. 9th, very dark as in Hebrew. In the Masoretic text, both in the LXX and in the Vulgate, “Symmachus expressed it more clearly: everything will become the prey of covetousness, the sight of their faces scorching in the wind. Just as the prophet depicted the speed of horses and riders in likenesses, so he likened the brutality of the faces to the scorching wind; for just as this wind scorches naked bodies, so one sight of the Chaldeans is enough for all that is brilliant to fade away in those who see them” (Blessed Theodoret, p. 24). “He gathers captives like sand” (9b) ( cf. 2:5
), that is, a great multitude (cf.
Gen. 32:12
;
Hos. 1:10
, etc.).

10 The hopes of the Jews for alliances with the kings of the earth, for the support of princes, for the inaccessibility of fortresses will be in vain - nothing will frighten, nothing will stop the aggressive movement of the enemy, who laughs at any attempt to defend against him (v. 10). “By playing more than by making any effort, he will destroy both legal kingdoms and illegal dominions; by encircling the trenches and using battering machines, they will destroy every strong stronghold to the ground” (Blessed Theodoret, p. 25); “He will be so powerful and proud that he will imagine defeating nature itself and taking by force the troops of his city, the most fortified. For he will come to Tire and, having made a mound in the sea, will make a peninsula out of the island and prepare for himself from the earth an entrance into the city between the waves of the sea. Therefore he will laugh at every fortification” (Blessed Jerome, p. 139).

11 In all this indestructible power of the world victor, of course, the omnipotence of God - Jehovah, the Lord mighty in battle ( Ps 23:8

).
But the winner will not understand this. Like Assyria before ( Isaiah 10:5-15
), so this new conqueror will forget to see in himself only the rod or instrument of God’s wrath: “then - following extraordinary successes - his spirit will change, transgress (the limit of modesty, humility) and sin;
his power will become his god” (v. 11) or, as Blessed Jerome explains (p. 140), “when nothing will anymore hinder his strength, then his spirit will change to pride, and, thinking that he is God, will erect a golden image for himself in Babylon, and he will call all nations to worship him,” so the greatest wickedness of the enemy - the victor will consist in the fact that he will not thank for his power the Almighty God, who owns the kingdom of man and at his own will gives both the kingdom and power, and strength ( Dan 4:14
;
2:37,47
, see
3:14-15
), but he will deify his very power, make it an object of reverence and cult (cf.
v. 16
), finally, as if he would declare himself God (cf.
Job 12:6
;
Eze 28:2
). This mention of the manifestation of the greatest wickedness of the enemy - the winner, as a consequence of his greatest power, ends the transmission of God's first, formidable answer to the prophet's complaints.

12-17 Upon receiving a strange answer from God ( vv. 5-11

), in the incomprehensible destinies of God, although the deeply religious spirit of the prophet, a new bewilderment involuntarily arises, why did God decide to punish the Jews precisely through the Chaldeans, whose greater criminality, compared with the first, is revealed already from the first divine answer?
How can the destructive work of the wicked be reconciled with the divine election of Israel, with the holiness, mercy and Justice of God? Feeling this bewilderment, the prophet once again, with the boldness of faith, asks God: to what extent will the dominion of the wicked pagans extend over God’s chosen people (vv. 12-17), as he previously asked about the predominance of the wicked over the righteous in his own people ( vv. 2-4
) .

The basis for the prophet’s new bold appeal to God is the special, gracious relationship of Jehovah God with Israel, which began long ago - under the Sinai Covenant ( Exodus 19:4-6

), as well as the true concept of God and His properties, given in the Old Testament revelation and is highly characteristic of the prophets.
The highest, infinite perfections of God serve for a theocratic society as the surest guarantee and guarantee of its salvation by the power and mercy of God. The true God of Israel exists “from the beginning” of Hebrews. mikkedem, Greek ἀπ' ἀρχη̃ς, Vulgate: a principio, - this property of Him is known to Israel from the first moment of its existence (cf. Ps 73:12
), but He is always inherent in Him, as the eternal God (
Deut 32:27
).
He, further, is Jehovah - a unique being and in all words and deeds equal to Himself, faithful and unchangeable ( Exodus 3:14
;
6:2
;
1 Cor 1:9
), “exceeding all things” (Blessed Theodoret, p. 25).
In the liveliest feeling and consciousness of his belonging to God's chosen people, to whom the terrible threat of God is pronounced, the prophet calls Jehovah his God, his Holy One, meaning himself, of course, not in an individual sense - against which the immediately following plural verb would speak. part “we will not die,” but as a representative of an entire people, on whose behalf, as the people of the covenant, he calls out to the God of the covenant: “Are you not, O Lord my God, my Holy One,” and this is said with a feeling of meekness, humility and repentance - not you, who created us from the beginning and by whose mercy we are held to this day” (Blessed Jerome, p. 144). But the main support of the hope of the prophet (and in his person the entire people of God) is the property of the holiness of God: “My Holy One,” that is, the Holy One of Israel - an expression found especially often in the prophet Isaiah ( Isaiah 1:4
;
30:11
;
43: 3.14
;
49:7,
etc.).
The holiness of God means not only the inaccessibility, the endless eminence of God above all earthly things ( 1 Sam. 6:20
) and the horror and reverence He inspires in people (
Ps. 98:3,5,9
;
110:9
), but also the fact that His name cannot be subjected to dishonor with impunity (
Eze 39:7
) and He does not tolerate sin and loves only truth (
Isaiah 5:16
), but also in general the highest perfection of God (
Isaiah 6:3
), and more particularly the boundless goodness, love and mercy of God (
1 Samuel 2:2
;
Isaiah 57:15
;
Hosea 11:15
;
Hosea 11:9
;
Exodus 21:4
).
The holiness of God is a mortal horror for the sinner, but for the believer, for the righteous, it is the basis of hope “in the holy name” of God ( Ps 32:21
), hope for life from God - therefore the prophet is for himself and all believers in his people (cf.
2:4
will completely perish, and the word of God’s promises will not be fulfilled for us for the sake of the greed of our enemies, “We will not die!” Many ancient and modern interpreters saw this “lo namut” as one of the examples of the so-called “tikkunim-soferim”, proofreadings of the scribes; it was assumed that the original reading was: lo tamut, "You will not die", and then this expression, which seemed seductive, was replaced by the one in the text (see A. Geiger. Urschrift u. Uebersetzungen der Bibelän ihrer Abhängigkeit, vd inner Entwicklung der Sudenthums Breslau 1857, p. 309). However, this guess is not confirmed by anything; on the contrary, they obviously read the ancient translations, so the LXX has οὐ μὴ ἀποθάνωμεν.

In the second half of Art. On the 12th the prophet develops the same confidence on the positive side: like other inspired men of his people (cf., for example, Ps 118:18

;
Jeremiah 46:28
), he expresses the conviction that the grave disaster of the Chaldean enslavement will be only temporary, pursuing the goal of correction, the admonition of Israel, and not its destruction.
He here connects this hope with the name of God - Tzur, rock, stronghold, a concept figuratively denoting the same thing that is directly expressed in the name Jehovah (cf. Deut. 32:4,37
;
2 Sam. 2:2
;
Ps. 17:32
;
Exod. 26:4
).
Starting from Art. 13, the prophet, from looking at the chosen people (v. 12), turns to the wicked people - the instrument of Jehovah’s wrath, and in this way he is even more confirmed in his bold prayer to the One who judges righteously the peoples and tribes of the earth ( Ps 66:5
).
And first of all, dwelling on the previously mentioned (v. 12) property of the holiness of God, the prophet affirms (like the Psalmist, Ps 5:5-6
) that everything that is morally unclean is unworthy of the sight of the brightest eyes of the Most Holy God (cf.
Isa 7:8
). and from here (as above
v. 3
) he concludes that God cannot look with indifference at the extreme oppression (devouring, Heb. Bala in Piel.) by the wicked Jews, who, despite all their guilt before the righteousness of God, are still more righteous than their enslavers.
“This does not mean that the oppressed is completely righteous, but only that he is more righteous than his oppressor” (Blessed Jerome); “just as Sodom and Gomorrah seem righteous in comparison with Jerusalem (cf. Matthew 11:24
), and just as the publican in the Gospel is justified more than the Pharisee (
Luke 18:10-14
), so here the one who is tormented is truly sinful; however, he is more righteous than the one who oppresses him” (aka, p. 149). This prophetic (and together with the entire people) bewilderment is revealed further, until the end of the chapter (vv. 14-17).

14-16 V st. 14-15, the concept of the complete defenselessness of the peoples in general and Israel in particular before the predation of the Chaldeans is expressed in a figurative comparison of the victims of their predation with a fish, living as if in anarchy, and therefore easily caught (cf. Am 4:2

).
If these two verses figuratively express a thought that was directly expressed in part already above in Art.
10 , then verse 16 represents a similar figurative expression of the thought about the self-deification of the Chaldeans, expressed earlier in
Art.
eleven ; that the Chaldean-Babylonians actually made sacrifices to the instruments of war (as is known, for example, about the Scythians and Sarmatians, from the messages of Herodotus, History IV, 59,62, and Clement of Alexandria, Protrept. 64), nothing is known from history. Blazh. Theodoret in explanation of Art. 16 says “having fallen into the passion of arrogance, the reason for what is being done (the enemy - the Chaldeans) considers his own strength alone, and commands that Divine honor be given to it. The divine Daniel revealed this to us more clearly, saying that the king of Babylon built a golden image, and forced the entire multitude of his subjects to worship it” (p. 23).

17 Art. 17 presents a conclusion summarizing the prophet’s previous questions of bewilderment: “Will there be no end to the slaughter of the nations?”

Habakkuk chapter 2 interpretation

Habakkuk 2:1-4

I stood on my watch and, standing on the tower, watched to find out what He would say in me, and what should I answer to my complaint? 2 And the Lord answered me and said: Write down the vision and write it clearly on the tablets, so that the reader can easily read it, 3 for the vision still belongs to a certain time and speaks of the end and will not deceive; and even if it slows down, wait for it, for it will certainly come true, it will not be canceled. 4 Behold, an arrogant soul will not rest, but the righteous will live by his faith.

• About the purification through suffering of the servants of God in the last days of the wicked world. About perseverance and faith to the end.
• See: Jeremiah 30:7,11,14,15,17,23,24. Job 36:7-11. Hebrews 12:3,4,6,11. Hebrews 5:7,8. Luke 18:1-8.
• “It is good for him who patiently waits for salvation from the Lord. It is good for a man when he bears the yoke in his youth; sits alone and is silent, for He has placed it on him; He lays his mouth in the dust, [thinking]: “Perhaps there is still hope”;
• But when they trample under their feet all the prisoners of the earth, when they judge a person unjustly before the face of the Most High, when they oppress a person in his work: does not the Lord see?” (Lam. 3:26-29,34-36).

Habakkuk 2:4,5,10,17,20

Behold, an arrogant soul will not rest, but the righteous will live by his faith. 5 An arrogant man, like fermenting wine, does not rest, so that he expands his soul like hell, and like death he is insatiable, and gathers all nations to himself, and captures all nations for himself. 10 You have planned dishonor for your house, destroying many nations, and you have sinned against your soul. 17 For your wickedness in Lebanon will fall upon you for the destruction of the feared animals, for the shedding of human blood, for the devastation of the country, the city and all those living in it. 20 But the Lord is in His holy temple: let all the earth be silent before Him!

• About the iniquity of the last king [and the beast, whose number is 666]. Punishment from the Almighty.
• See: Isaiah 10:5-8,11,12,24,25. Isaiah.36:1,2. Isaiah.37:1,21,36. Rom.15:4. Rev. 13:9,10. Daniel 8:23-25. Luke 21:9,10,12. Daniel 7:25. Daniel 11:35,36,41,42,45. Daniel 12:1. (see article "Caution! Assyria!".

Habakkuk 2:5-8,13

An arrogant man, like fermenting wine, does not calm down, so he expands his soul like hell, and like death he is insatiable, and gathers all nations to himself, and captures all tribes. 6 But won’t they all pronounce a parable about him and a mocking song: “Woe to him who enriches himself beyond measure with what is not his own—for how long? - and burdens himself with collateral!” 7 Will not those who torment you suddenly rise up, and will robbers rise up against you, and you will be theirs to plunder? 8 Since you have robbed many nations, you will also be robbed by all other nations for the shedding of human blood, for the destruction of the country, the city and all those living in it. 13 Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts that the nations labor for the fire and the nations torment themselves in vain?

• About vengeance on the Almighty Yahweh, the wicked king appointed by the devil. God will take away the spiritual light, as a result of which the nations, in their delusion, will begin to destroy each other (see Zechariah 14:6,7,13. Rev.16:13-16).
• Look: (2 Chron.20:1-4,14,15,22-24. 1 Corinth.10:11.). Joel.3:1,2. Galatians 4:26. Rom.2:28,29. Isaiah.54:11,13,15,16. Isaiah.41:5-8,11. Zechariah 12:3. Ezek.38:2,4-6,8,17. Daniel 11:41,43-45. Zechariah 14:12,13.

Habakkuk 2:15,16

Woe to you, who serve your neighbor drink laced with your malice and make him drunk so that you can see his shame! 16 You are filled with shame instead of glory; Drink and show your shame, and the cup of the right hand of the Lord will turn to you and the shame will return to your glory.

• About the spirit of intoxication and delusion, as a punishment from the Most High God (see Jeremiah 25:15-27. Isaiah 30:27,28.).
• Look: (Mark 4:23,24.). Gen.9:20-26. Gen.10:6,8-11. Nahum.1:1. Nahum.3:1. Nahum 1:11. Nahum.3:4,11. Daniel 8:23. Daniel 11:32. Daniel 8:24. Jeremiah 25:15-17,26,27,29. Isaiah 30:27,28.

Habakkuk 2:17

For your villainy in Lebanon will fall upon you for the destruction of frightened animals, for the shedding of human blood, for the devastation of the country, the city and everyone living in it.

• About revenge on the last king for the extermination of nations, and mainly for the extermination of the spiritual land of Israel, I.E. true Christians.
• See: Isaiah 37:22-24,26,27. Daniel 10:14. Numbers 24:24. Daniel 11:30,31. Rev. 13:5-10. Luke 21:24. Rev. 16:17. Rev. 11:18.

Habakkuk 2:18-20

What is the use of an idol made by an artist, this litago of a false teacher, although the sculptor, when making dumb images, relies on his work? 19 Woe to the one who says to the tree, “Get up!” and to the dumb stone: “Wake up!” Will he teach you anything? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, but there is no breath in it. 20 But the Lord is in His holy temple: let all the earth be silent before Him!

• Serves as a warning against worshiping human devices of power; to those who will live under the events predicted in Matt. Chapter 24 Dan. 11:29-45. from worshiping the beast king (see Rev. 14:9,10. Rev. 13:4,8.).
• See: Daniel 11:29,30. Isaiah 31:1. (Jer.42:19). Daniel 11:40,42. Isaiah 19:1,4. Isaiah 31:3,4,7-9. Isaiah.2:12,14,15,17-21.

The eighth place among the books of the 12 minor prophets is occupied in both the Hebrew and Greek Bibles by the book of the prophet Habakkuk, Heb. Habakuk

, LXX: Αμβακουμ (or: 'Αββακουμ, as in code. 51, 97, 106, 228, 310 in Golmes et al.), Vulg.:
Habacuc
.
The Hebrew name of the prophet is pronounced by the rabbis, Blessed Jerome and many new interpreters from Hebrew. Ch. habak
, hug.
According to the explanation of Blessed. Jerome, the name of the prophet is understood in the sense of embrace
or, as we will use more expressively in Greek: περιληψις i.e.
embrace...
the prophet is called
embrace
either because he is the beloved of the Lord, or because he enters into an argument, a struggle and , so to speak, in hand-to-hand competition with God, so that his name comes from the competitor, that is, the one who clasps (the opponent) with his hands (
Blessed Jerome
. Two books of interpretations on the prophet Habakkuk to Chromitius. Russian translation. Creation. Part 14 Kiev 1898, pp. 130-131), based on the prophet’s bold call on God to resolve the issue of justice (Hab 1.2-4).
Such word production in relation to the name of the prophet Habakkuk is quite common in modern times, but next to it there is now another, according to which the name of the prophet is derived from the Assyrian root hambakuku
, meaning a certain garden plant (similar to, for example, the female name Susanna Dan 13.1 Chapter Luke 8.3 is also taken from the world of plants - means lily): the form of the name of the prophet in LXX can speak in favor of this production.
However, traditional production has its advantages, since it is not only fully justified by the laws of word formation in the Hebrew language (an analogy in this case is represented, for example, by the word teballul
, thorn, in Lev 21.20), but also corresponds to the general content and main idea of ​​the book of the prophet Habakkuk.
Prof. M. A. Golubev (“The Book of the Prophet Habakkuk” in Christ. Reading.
1867, II, 681 ff.) rightly notes: “In the significant name of
the one who eats
with God, sending wicked and terrible people against his people (just as Jacob fought with God , saying with firm faith: “I will not let you go until you bless me” (Gen. 32.36), or as if
embraced
by God and
embracing
the people of God - comforting them, after terrible revelations, with the hope of a better future, just as a mother embraces or comforts a crying person child (cf. 1 Thess. 2.7; Gal. 4.19,20), - in the name of
Habakkuk

burden
is already indicated : for the former it is the burden of correction or admonition (cf. Habakk 1.12), for the latter it is the burden
of destruction fire
(cf. Hab 2.13) or irrevocable destruction (pp. 705-706).

Reliable information about the life and activities of the prophet Habakkuk has not been preserved, since neither the prophetic book belonging to him, nor the historical sacred books report anything about this subject. Only the non-canonical part of the book of the prophet Daniel, Dan 14.33-37, contains a legendary story about a certain prophet Habakkuk, a contemporary of the prophet Daniel, to whom the first, at the command of God, brought food from Palestine to Babylon, to the lions’ den. The information reported about the prophet. Habakkuk, partly depend on this apocryphal story, partly are based on arbitrary guesses and, in general, are unlikely. This is, for example, the opinion of the rabbis, who saw in Habakkuk the son of the pious Shunammite

, who heard from the prophet Elisha a promise that in a year she would hug - Heb.
Hobeket
son (2 Kings 4.16);
This opinion is contradicted by its chronological inconsistency: the life time of the prophet Elisha - the end of the 10th and the beginning of the 9th century BC. does not fit the time of the prophet Habakkuk, the writer of the book, since, according to the data contained in it, it was written much later, namely in 7th century BC; Moreover, the supposed connection of this prediction with the name Habakuk
is a completely arbitrary guess.
There are two different traditions about the origin of the prophet. According to one, in pseudo-Epiphanius and pseudo-Dorotheus and in our Fourth Menaion (on December 2), the prophet Habakkuk came from the tribe of Simeon and was the son of a certain Asaphat, from the village of Bethkhozir. According to another, reflected in one codex (Cod. Chisianus) inscriptions of the Greek apocrypha about Bel and the dragon and defended by some new researchers (especially Delitzsch), the prophet was from the tribe of Levi, like Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The basis for this latter opinion is the mention in Hab 3.1 of “his stringed instruments” ( beginotav
) musical in the temple, but decisive evidence of the Levitical origin of the prophet cannot be seen here, since King Hezekiah is not a Levite, in gratitude for his healing he expresses his intention to do everything days of their lives to praise Jehovah with the sounds of the stringed musical instruments
of the Neginot
(Isa. 38.20).
On the contrary, the failure to mention in the book of the prophet his Levitical origin, while the belonging of the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel to the priestly family is directly stated in their books (Jer 1.1; Eze 1.3), may raise serious doubts about the historical correctness of the opinion about the belonging of the prophet Habakkuk to the tribe of Levi. Synagogue and Christian traditions are thoroughly examined and critically illuminated in Delitzsch's
, De Habacuci propheta, vita alque aetate, adiecta ditriba de Pseudodorotheo et Pseudoepiphanio. Leipzig. 1843.

With such a paucity of information about the life and work of the prophet Habakkuk, it is quite indisputable, however, those usually accepted in works about the book of the prophet remain. Habakkuk provisions: 1)

that he served as a prophet in the kingdom of Judah, which is proven by the complete absence in his book of any hint of a ten-tribe kingdom;
2)
that the placement of his book in the canon after the book of the prophet Nahum and before the book of the prophet Zephaniah indicates the time of Habakkuk’s activity - between the second half of the reign of Manasseh, around the middle of the 7th century, when the prophet Nahum acted, and the beginning of the reign of Josiah, when Zephaniah began his prophetic activity ( Soph 1.1).
In the particular definition of the time of Habakkuk’s prophetic ministry, the opinions of researchers differ, since, according to the remark of Blessed Augustine, three of the minor prophets, Obadiah, Nahum and Habakkuk themselves do not speak about the time of their prophecy; it is not indicated when they prophesied in the chronicles of Eusebius and Jerome (De Civit. Del, Lib. XVIII, cap. XXXI, Russian translation, part VI, Kyiv 1887, pp. 49-50). But it is obvious that from the Orthodox Church point of view, the opinion that considers Habakkuk a contemporary of the Babylonian captivity is unacceptable: this opinion clearly sins with rationalistic disbelief in the historical reliability of prophetic predictions of the future. (A similar opinion about the time of the life of the prophet Habakkuk - of course, without these rationalistic premises - was also expressed by Blessed Jerome, p. 132). The book itself contains data that allows us to date its writing to the middle of the 7th century. BC, approx. 650 The prophet threatens in the name of God, ch. I (Hab 1.5-6), to his contemporaries, the Jews, for their wickedness, v. 3-4, an unexpected and amazing disaster - the invasion of the Chaldean people, which they had never seen before. This disaster has not yet arrived, the prophet only foresees its approach (Hab 3.2,16); Jerusalem and the temple still exist (Hab 2.20), and worship is properly performed in the temple (Hab 3.1-19), although lawlessness and all kinds of wickedness reign in public life (Hab 1.2-4); divinely appointed royal power also exists (Hab 3.13). The external and internal signs indicated here are equally suitable for the second half of the reign of Manasseh, upon his return from the captivity of Babylon (2 Chronicles 33.11). In fact, the prediction about the event of the invasion of the Chaldeans must be attributed earlier than their invasion itself, which took place in the 4th year of the reign of Joachim (2 Kings 24.1 ff.), i.e., according to the most probable calculation of approx. 604-600 BC (see Interpretation of the Bible,
vol. II, p. 57:5), it is necessary to push back several decades, if the very prediction about this to the prophet’s contemporaries seemed incredible ch.
I, art. 5. Of course, the Jews heard about the Chaldeans earlier than the time we assume (see Isa 39.1; Isa 23.13; Micah 4.10), but in this case the almost literal similarity between the words of the prophet about the invasion of the Chaldeans Hab 1.5 with the expression of the sacred writer 2 Kings 21.10-12 is remarkable. about threats to the Jews of the time of Manasseh, uttered by unnamed prophets (see Interpretation of the Bible
, vol. II, p. 529).
In all likelihood, the prophet Habakkuk should also be included among these prophets. The features of internal Jewish life - namely: the normal performance of worship, and on the other hand, lack of rights in public life - fully correspond to the general character of the second half of the reign of Manasseh, when, on the one hand, worship of Jehovah was restored in the Jerusalem Temple (2 Chron. 33.15-10), after its desecration by idolatry in the first half of Manasseh’s reign (2 Kings 21.2ff.), on the other hand, the repentant Manasseh could not eradicate violence and oppression among the people (cf. 2 Chronicles 33.17). Whether the prophet Habakkuk survived the destruction of Jerusalem is not known for certain, although pseudo-Epiphanius has news of that. that the prophet Habakkuk not only survived the fall of the kingdom of Judah, but also died just two years before the return of the Jews from captivity. (See Prof. M. A. Golubev
, pp. 685-695). During the time of Eusebius, the grave of the prophet was shown at Kiel in Palestine, in the tribe of Judah, near Eleutheropolis. The memory of the Holy Prophet in the Orthodox Church is celebrated on December 2.

From what has been said so far, it is clear that, in its content, “the prophecy of Habakkuk is directed against Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Chaldeans; so that, just as before Nahum, followed by Habakkuk, had a prophecy against Nineveh and the Assyrians, who defeated the ten tribes called Israel, Habakkuk receives a prophecy against Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar, by whom Judah, Jerusalem and the Temple were subjected to pogrom” ( Blessed. Jerome

, With.
132). At the same time, the attention of the prophet, as, undoubtedly, of the pious Jews of his time, was occupied by the thought of the internal disorders of the religious and social life of his fatherland and mainly of the main evil of the time - the predominance of force over law, the wickedness of judges, the complete ruin of positive law and the decline of the very sense of legality (Hab 2.2-4). This was the subject of sad bewilderment and severe grief for the entire community contemporary to the prophet Habakkuk, and he boldly expressed the latter’s thoughts and moods in his “complaint” to Jehovah. This side of Habakkuk’s prophetic view is noted with sufficient prominence in the church service to the prophet (Mineaion, month of December, 2nd day). Here, by the way, we read: “Wonderful Habakkuk, the dawn of the Spirit was received, he was all Divine, and the wickedness of the judges, and the unrighteous judgment in vain is indignant
, showing the righteousness of Christ and the Master, kindly and with a warm thought,
as if we are oppressed,
it flares up” (Stichera on “I cried to the Lord ", 1st);
and again: “How long, O Lord, does the prophet say, I will cry to You and you will not hear; What kind of wickedness have you shown me as judges
?”
(Canon canto 1st, trop. 2nd); “You upheld every virtue, you hated every evil from your mind, and you abhorred the righteously wicked, all-blessed
” (canto 2, trop. 2).
As a prophet, as a divinely appointed “guardian” of the people (Hab 2.1; cf. Is 52.8; Is 56.10; Jer 6.17; Eze Jer 3.17; Jer 33.2,6,7), Habakkuk was more zealous than others about the holiness of the trampled law of God and, like many God-enlightened the men of the Old Testament (cf. Job 21.6-9; Ps 70.2-3; Jer 12.12) especially asked the question “why daring people are more successful in the affairs of well-behaved people, and why punishment does not follow the wicked in their footsteps” ( Blessed Theodoret
, Commentary on book of the prophet Habakkuk, Russian translation, 2nd edition, Sergiev Posad, 1907, p. 22).
However, “it was not the prophet himself, as some assumed, who suffered from doubt, but he introduces the questions of others, and offers a teaching about what they are seeking... That he did not offer us his own thoughts, but, preparing a preventative medicine for the indignant, he presented the prophecy in the form of bewilderment and decisions on it, this is evidenced by the very beginning of the prophecy” ( he
, pp. 21-22).
What gave these bewilderments particular strength and urgency was the fact that the Chaldeans, chosen by God to punish the Jews and other nations, were themselves more wicked than the Jews, they exalted themselves in their own strength, putting it in place of God, and committed unbridled atrocities (Hab 1.9-16). Under such circumstances, the question of the relationship of God's providence to manifestations of the evil human will arose with particular force. That is why the entire first
chapter of the book of the prophet.
Habakkuk has the appearance or form of the prophet's bewildered complaints and lamentations about the incomprehensible long-suffering of God towards the oppressors of God's people (pp. 9-16). Chapter two
gives the Divine answer to the groanings of the prophet and the people;
the essence of this answer is the idea that “an arrogant soul will not rest, but the righteous will live by his faith”
(v. 4), which also implies the inevitability of the death awaiting the Chaldeans according to the judgment of God (Hab 2.8-13, 14-17), which together will ensure the subsequent salvation of Israel (cf. v. 20).
The Divine threats and promises received by the prophet lead him into an exalted, inspired mood, which is resolved by a wondrous “prayer” or prayerful song of praise, depicting the most majestic appearance of Jehovah into the world for the judgment of the enemies of His Kingdom and for the salvation of His chosen ones, headed by His anointed one. This is the content of the third
and last chapter of the book of the prophet Habakkuk.

From this it is clear that, despite its small volume, the book of the prophet Habakkuk has a very important - both historical and doctrinal significance. Just as the book of the prophet Nahum marks the conclusion of the Assyrian period in the history of biblical Israel, so the book of the prophet Habakkuk marks the beginning of Chaldean influence in this history. Then the image of the Epiphany in ch. III, based on the ancient biblical image of the Sinai Legislation (Deut. 33.9, etc.), is very characteristic of the pre-exilic prophetic view, meanwhile, after the captivity of Babylon, God's revelations to the prophets already had a different form - apocalypses. But the internal, ideological side of the book is much more important. Here the most important thoughts of Old Testament biblical theology and Old Testament teaching about the Kingdom of God and the coming salvation in Christ are expressed with great clarity. Very expressively, first of all, the already mentioned question about the relationship of the world-ruling Providence of God to the relationships of human life in general and in particular with the manifestation of evil human will in these relationships is posed and definitely resolved. The Prophet testifies that the great world pagan powers are also subordinate to the authority of Jehovah, that He puts them forward for judgment over other nations, and then, when they do not recognize his world-ruling power and deify their own powers (Hab 1.5-7 seq.; Hab 2.16), they They themselves become the subject of God’s judgment and punishment (Hab 2.5-8, 10-13, etc.), therefore, no God-fighting force can resist. With great certainty, then, the positive internal properties of the members of the Old Testament Kingdom of God are indicated: their firm, alien hesitation, faith and fidelity to God (Hab 2.4), their patience, humility and complacency in sorrows (Hab 3.16), their complete devotion to God with exultation about salvation given by Him (Hab 3.18). Particularly remarkable is the prophet’s sublime ethical view of the moral nature of Jehovah, the “Holy One of Israel” (Hab 1.12), the Lord of Hosts (Hab 2.13): “in Thy pure eyes

(Jehovah)
is not accustomed to look at evil deeds, and you cannot look at oppression"
(Hab 1.13). With such lofty teachings, the prophet, as it were, goes beyond the Old Testament and enters in spirit into the realm of the New Testament. And the Orthodox Church sees in the book of the prophet Habakkuk a particularly clear prophecy about the coming Christ the Savior; in the service to the prophet we read, for example: “On the Divine guard, honorable Habakkuk heard the mystery of your coming to us, Christ, ineffable: and your preaching prophesies most clearly, Foreseeing also the wise apostles, like horses, the tongue of many nations, disturbing the sea” (verse on the Gospel proclamation 2nd). “Having preached the Lord of glory, and prophesied the coming from the Holy Virgin, which was manifested, and seeing what was shown, blessed Habakkuk rejoiced” (Can. 9, tr. 2). The opening words of the second chapter of the book “on my watch”... served as the basis for the irmos of the 4th song of the Easter canon (“On the Divine God-speaking Habakkuk be with us”...) Especially the third chapter of the book, appointed by the prophet for singing in the temple, and already in In the Old Testament, which undoubtedly had liturgical use, it had a strong influence on the construction of church songs, namely the fourth song of the canon, and many of the words and expressions of the prophet from this (III) chapter are constantly heard in church irmos: “Lord, I heard Thy ear and was afraid...” , “From the mountain-shaded thickets you came…”, “Your virtue covered the heavens, O Christ,” and many others. etc. Not without significance, therefore, the remark of one commentator (Kleinert) that after Isaiah, the most powerful evangelist among the prophets was Habakkuk.

However, this does not at all give grounds to attribute the origin of the book to a later time and split it into parts written at different times (as, for example, Rosenmuller, Marty, etc. do). In addition to what was said above about the historical situation, the origin of the book of the prophet shortly after the book of the prophet Nahum, generally no later than the half of the 7th century. BC is evidenced by the universally recognized purity and correctness of the book’s language and the form of speech, thanks to which it comes closer to the ancient prophetic era, for example, the time of the prophet. Isaiah than to being close to captivity. Delitzsch’s remark is absolutely correct: “If we divide all the prophets, according to the features that appear in them, into two kinds, into the prophets of the school of Isaiah and the prophets of the school of Jeremiah: then Habakkuk, obviously, belongs to the most ancient one - the school of Isaiah. The form of his language is always classical, full of rare, partly peculiar to him, words and phrases; his view and presentation bear the imprint of independent strength and modern beauty. Despite the strong desire and high flight of his thoughts, his prophetic book represents a finely demarcated, skillfully rounded whole; nowhere (from other books of the Bible) is the form of mutual conversation between God and the prophet so well carried out, nowhere is prophetic speech so closely fused with lyrical speech (even before the construction of stanzas, Chapter II, and before musicality, Chapter III). In content and form, he, like Isaiah, is relatively much more independent of his predecessors than other prophets: everything reflects the time of the highest prosperity of prophecy, the time when the place of sacred lyricism, in which the religious shadow of the church had previously been expressed, appeared, through the most powerful action of God, prophetic poetry with its trumpet voice, in order to reawaken the disappearing consciousness in the spiritually dying church, so that if the time of the prophetic activity of the prophet were to be determined solely from the form of his prophecy, then we would feel forced to attribute it to Hezekiah or , at least to Manasseh” (Cit. s. XII-XIII, see Prof. Golubev

, With.
689, note.
).
And according to another researcher, the book of the prophet Habakkuk “in its individual lyrical parts belongs to the most significant works of biblical literature. For Havakuk, form and content are always in the purest harmony. Complaint and consolation, suffering and joy complement each other; a wonderful sense of proportion and imperturbable clarity are combined with fiery fantasy, and thus we can say that these speeches emanate Greek beauty, which is especially strong in the prayer of the prophet ch. III" ( Gustav Karpeles
. History of Jewish Literature. Translation edited by
A. Ya. Garkavi
. T. I (St. Petersburg 1896), p. 104).

Of the German commentaries and studies about the book of the prophet Habakkuk, one can name (except for the already mentioned work of Delitzsch). 1)
Cumpach
, Der Prophet Habakuk.
Brixen. 1870. Also in the series: a) Lange
Bibelwerk.
Th. XIX, U. Kleinert
(Bielef and Leicz, 1868 (ss. 126-157 and b)
K. Marti
, Das Dodecapropheton. Tubingen. 1904, ss. 326-356.

Of the rabbinic commentaries, the most remarkable are: V. Aearbanel

, Comment air le livre, de Habakkuk, ed. 5. Munk. Paris. 1843.

In Russian - more or less brief remarks about the book of the prophet Avvakum in the manuals of the Horde, Smaragdov, Metropolitan. Arseny Khergozersky, prof. A. A. Olesnitsky, Spassky

.
An extensive and serious isagogical-exegetical work (already mentioned above) belongs to the late professor of St. Petersburg. Spirit. Academy to M. A. Golubev
: “The Book of the Prophet Habakkuk” in
Christ.
Read 1867 vol. II, p. 681-743, 861-919.

Habakkuk chapter 3 interpretation

Habakkuk 3:1,2

Prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, for singing.

2 Lord! I heard Your rumor and was afraid. God! complete Your work among the years, among the years reveal it; In anger, remember mercy.

• Prophetic prayer for the Great Day of God Yahweh and the coming of the Lord Christ.
• See: Jeremiah 30:6,7,23,24. Micah 7:15,16,18,19. Dan. 12:1.

Habakkuk 3:3

God is coming from Teman, and the Holy One is coming from Mount Paran. His majesty covered the heavens, and the earth was filled with His glory.

• The story of the descent and salvation of Israel from Egyptian captivity, deliverance from Pharaoh and the procession among other nations; was a way of deliverance in the last days from the wicked world of Satan.
• See: Deut.33:1,2. Judges.5:4.

Habakkuk 3:3(b,c),4

His majesty covered the heavens, and the earth was filled with His glory. 4 Its shine is like sunlight; from His hand are rays, and here is the hiding place of His power!

• “From the hand of His hand are the rays” - the Sun and the Moon - two witnesses in the sky (Gen. 1:14,16.) ...
• “The hiding place of His power” - here we mean the King, the Son of the Most High Christ,
• "Born" from the Kingdom of God, i.e. Heavenly Jerusalem.
• In the vision of the Apostle John it was shown: “And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun; under her feet is the moon, and on her head is a crown of twelve stars. And she gave birth to a male child, who must rule all nations with a rod of iron...” (Rev.12:1,5. Dan.7:13,14.).
• See: Gen.1:14,16-18. Mark 4:23-25. Gen.37:3,5,9,10. Rev.12:1,5. Psalm 2:6,7,12.

Habakkuk 3:12.5

You walk through the earth in anger and trample down the nations in indignation. 5. Plagues go before His face, and a burning wind follows His steps.

• About the vengeance of the Almighty for his people [the prophets] with executions (see Revelation. 16th chapter).

• For example: submission to Nebuchadnezzar [the “golden head”, the king-of-kings - Dan. 2:37,38.] - is an image of submission to Christ at His second coming. Anyone who refused to submit was punished with four plagues: “If any nation and kingdom does not want to serve him, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and does not bend his neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish this people with sword, famine and pestilence, says the Lord until I destroy them by his hand” (Jer. 15:3; 27:8. Compare: Psalm 2:6-12.).
• See: Deut.5:1. Deut.28:15,21,22. Amos.5:15. Amos.4:10. Deut.30:2,3,6,7.

Habakkuk 3:6-16

He stood and shook the earth; He looked up and made the nations tremble; the age-old mountains fell apart, the primeval hills fell; His ways are eternal. 7 I saw the tents of Ethiopia sad; the tents of the land of Midian shook. 8 Has your anger burned against the rivers, O Lord? Is it Thy indignation on the rivers, or Thy wrath on the sea, that Thou hast mounted Thy horses, Thy chariots of salvation? 9 You have drawn your bow according to the oath promise made to the tribes. You cut the earth with streams. 10 When the mountains saw You, they trembled and the waters rushed in; the abyss gave its voice, raised its hands high; 11 The sun and the moon stood still in their place before the light of Your flying arrows, before the radiance of Your sparkling spears. 12 You walk through the earth in anger and trample down the nations in indignation. 13 You come forth for the salvation of Your people, for the salvation of Your anointed. You crush the head of the wicked house, stripping it bare from the foundation to the top. 14 You pierced the head of his leaders with his spears, when they rushed like a whirlwind to defeat me, in joy, as if thinking to devour the poor man secretly. 15 You and your horses made a way across the sea, through the depths of great waters. 16 I heard, and my bowels trembled; at the news of this my lips trembled, pain penetrated into my bones, and the place beneath me trembled; but I must be calm in the day of disaster, when the plunderer comes against my people.

• The events that happened to Israel during the exodus from Egypt and wandering along the path to the Promised Land serve as an example and prototype for us: “ everything that was written before was written for our instruction, so that through patience and the consolation of the Scriptures we might maintain hope” ( Rom.15:4). By understanding the essence and significance of those events, we can have true understanding and justified faith during the time of the end of the wicked world.
• See: Psalm 134:9-12. Acts 13:19. Psalm 134:13,14. — Daniel 10:14. Isaiah.41:8-12,14. (Galatians 3:28,29.) Rev. 13:1,2. Rev. 17:9,10,15. Rev. 19:19. Psalm 75:10,11. Micah.7:15,20.

Habakkuk 3:6,7

He stood and shook the earth; He looked up and made the nations tremble; the age-old mountains fell apart, the primeval hills fell; His ways are eternal. 7 I saw the tents of Ethiopia sad; the tents of the land of Midian shook.

• About the great disaster coming to the nations of the world. About the vengeance of the Heavenly God on his enemies.
• See: Isaiah 2:12,14,15,17-21. Rev. 6:15-17.

Habakkuk 3:8,10,12,14,15

Has Your anger kindled against the rivers, O Lord? Is it Thy indignation on the rivers, or Thy wrath on the sea, that Thou hast mounted Thy horses, Thy chariots of salvation? 10 When the mountains saw You, they trembled and the waters rushed in; the abyss gave its voice, raised its hands high; 12 You walk through the earth in anger and trample down the nations in indignation. 14 You pierced the head of his leaders with his spears, when they rushed like a whirlwind to defeat me, in joy, as if thinking to devour the poor man secretly. 15 You and your horses made a way across the sea, through the depths of great waters.

• The troubled sea is an image of the nations of the world rebelling against the people of God. The taming of sea waters and wind-spirits is a prophetic action pointing to salvation from the Most High through the Intercessor King Christ Jesus. (See prophetic action: Luke 8:23-25.).
• See: Matthew 8:24-27. (Galatians 3:29. Psalm 123:1-6.). Isaiah 17:12-14. Luke 18:8.

Habakkuk 3:8,13-16

Has Your anger kindled against the rivers, O Lord? Is it Thy indignation on the rivers, or Thy wrath on the sea, that Thou hast mounted Thy horses, Thy chariots of salvation? 13 You come forth for the salvation of Your people, for the salvation of Your anointed. You crush the head of the wicked house, stripping it bare from the foundation to the top. 14 You pierced the head of his leaders with his spears, when they rushed like a whirlwind to defeat me, in joy, as if thinking to devour the poor man secretly. 15 You and your horses made a way across the sea, through the depths of great waters. 16 I heard, and my bowels trembled; at the news of this my lips trembled, pain penetrated into my bones, and the place beneath me trembled; but I must be calm in the day of disaster, when the plunderer comes against my people.

• The destruction of Pharaoh's army in the Red Sea was a prophetic act of God. This indicated the destruction of those who would be at enmity with the followers of Christ [with those who would be led by the great Moses-Christ].
• See: Gen.3:14,15. Exodus 14:5-7,15,22-28. (Colossians 2:17. Psalm 27:1,2. Psalm 88:20-26,39,45,46,50-52.). Isaiah 26:20,21. Isaiah 27:1-5. Isaiah 10:24-26. Daniel 12:1. Micah.5:5,6,9. Rev. 17:14. Zechariah 14:12,13.

Habakkuk 3:16

I heard, and my insides trembled; at the news of this my lips trembled, pain penetrated into my bones, and the place beneath me trembled; but I must be calm in the day of disaster, when the plunderer comes against my people.

• The time of the sign of the end of the wicked world will be the most difficult time for the followers of Christ (in the entire history of Christianity). About the manifestation of faith in the Almighty.
• See: Jeremiah 30:6-9,11,15,16,22-24. Daniel 11:35. Luke 21:12,13,16,17,19,25-28.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

Even though the fig tree did not blossom, and there was no fruit on the vines, and the olive tree failed, and the field yielded no food, even though there were no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 even then I will rejoice in the Lord and be glad in God. my salvation. 19 The Lord God is my strength: He will make my feet like a deer’s, and He will lead me to my heights!

• The care of the Most High Yahweh for Elijah and Jeremiah during the famine and disaster in Israel is a prophetic image of consolation that the Heavenly Father will take care of the true followers of Christ during the sign of the end of the wicked world.
• See: 1 Kings 17:1-4,6-9. Jeremiah 37:21. Jeremiah 40:2-5. Rom.15:4. Hebrews 13:5,6. Isaiah 41:14. Isaiah 49:15. Daniel 8:23,24. Matthew 24:10,11. Luke 21:16-19. Matthew 10:28-31. Matthew 6:26,33. Micah.7:15-20.

Publications

About this theme:

• An animated video about Archpriest Avvakum and the Old Believers can already be seen on YouTube
• Old Believers and the Great Schism. The experience of conciliarity under the conditions of the “kingdom of Caesar”
• “Bryn Faith” of the Bryn Forest
• Sealed altars on Rogozhsky - a tragedy of the 19th century
• Will we be able to revive the former glory of Irgiz?
• 350 years of the beginning of the Solovetsky seat
• NEW VIDEO: Lecture on the topic “The Schism of the Russian Church in the mid-17th century: Prerequisites and implementation of the reform. Ideology and figures of the early schism"

Keywords: Church History

FROM THE BOOK OF INTERPRETATIONS*

[FROM INTERPRETATIONS OF PSALM]

Psalm: “Your youth will be renewed like an eagle”*. Interpretation: Honor the Alphabet, and understand how the eagle is renewed. If you pay attention, we will tell you. When the eagle grows old and becomes dilapidated all over, then it finds a source of pure water and flies up with great difficulty, as high as it is, soars to the heavenly fire, that is, it flies up near the sun, and all the decay on it burns out; he again returns to the long-prepared source of clean water and washes himself contentedly in it, and, once again operanate, becomes young instead of old. Well, soul, do the same. If you have promised sins, may your youth be renewed like an eagle; also take refuge in heavenly fire, which consumes the thorns of our sins*. With Pavel the river: “Our God is fire, payadayai*.” And wash yourself with pure natural water”*, even if you are baptized again for the second time, according to Scripture, before the second baptism for a sinner is tears and repentance. May your youth be renewed like an eagle.

…Psalm: “The Lord has prepared His throne in heaven, and His kingdom possesses all.”* Interpretation: Our Lord Jesus Christ reigns over all creation, over the faithful and the unfaithful, Greeks, Jews and the demons themselves. His kingdom will not be stopped, and his kingdom will have no end. Hear, O Nikonite, what the prophet says, for the kingdom of the Lord is eternal and time will not cut short. Even if you speak whorely to your own destruction, speaking without reason; “There will be no end to his kingdom,” and I do not wonder at you: you are already drunk, you have become drunk from an adulterous wife, who sits on many waters and rides on scarlet beasts. The whore was drinking too much wine and drinking too much. Dressed up thief-whore; he rides in royal scarlet and pours water from a golden cup*. She made the Roman and Polish kingdoms drunk, and many surrounding villages, and even came to our Rus' * in the year 160 *, and gave the king and queen drunk: so he became drunk; you won’t be able to sleep through those places; constantly drinks the blood of Jesus' witnesses. Well, do you mean about that wife, the child of the church? Every whore heresy is spoken. Heretics all have feminine weakness: just as the harlot wants to defile everyone, so the apostate Nikon and his comrades strive to smear everyone with the filth of their fornication, so that they may lead away from God the great and the small, the rich and the poor, the humble and the poor, the old and the young; young men and virgins and mothers' wet breasts—the heretic seeks to destroy all of these and incline them to the devil.

…Psalm: “You laid the word of crime on me: food and sleep will not cause you to rise again”*. Explanation: The Jews lied to Pilate against Christ, wanting to crucify Him*, and swearing with the verb: “If he comes down from the cross, I will trust in God, that we may see and have faith in Him!”* And today’s Jews, putting true believers in the fire, also swear They say: “If he is righteous and holy, he will not burn!” And some will not burn, and they will cut them with reeds, and they will lay piles of cut firewood, and burn the faithful into the ashes, just as there, on the cross of Christ, a man stabbed a dead man in the ribs with a ragatina *. The whore's son has curried favor, he receives five rubles from the sovereign's salary, and cloth, and a cellar! He pleases us, the great sovereign, as much as possible. Oh, oh, poor things!

Psalm: “For the man of my peace, who trusteth, O eater of my bread, magnify his heel upon me.”* Interpretation: This was said about Judas the traitors. The enemy of God stepped on the neck of Christ in the next world, he forgot his bread and salt; everything was in his hands, and he had the reliquary and the carried burden*. What about Judas? And now there are many of them; Every Judas flatters and deceives, loving perishable things and silver more than his own life.

…Psalm 41: “In the same way the trees long for the springs of water, my soul longs for thee, O God.”* Interpretation: Elen is a light and fast beast, feeds on moss, and winter and summer nibbles its food near the ground, and at the right time it devours snakes and swallows them alive into its womb; the serpent, when it begins to torment the womb, the tree flows quickly to the source of water and, drinking the flowing water, kills the serpent within itself and is again healthy and alive: if it still does not receive water in that hour, the serpent kills it (about this it is written in Alphabet). It is fitting for us to have a desire for God. Having slain the mental serpent, the hedgehog of the demon that has nested in us, we are arranging eternal death with our many wiles and various passions. Even though we are in our bellies, we strive to seek the flowing water (living water, with which the Savior gave water to the Samaritan woman, and said to her: “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again; and whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again; but the water that I will give him, there will be in him a fountain of water flowing into an eternal belly."* This is the living water in the Gospel and in all the holy scriptures. Fill it, listener, with the serpent within you.

…Psalm: “By your beauty and your kindness, come and sing and reign, for the sake of truth, and meekness, and righteousness, and your right hand will guide you wondrously”*. Interpretation: You are strong, Christ, when you presently place your bow on the scepters of Satan and hastily create with your red kindness, overthrowing the devil; reign over sin, for the sake of meekness and true righteousness; Your right hand will guide you wonderfully. Wisely the Lord defeated the devil, brethren; deceived him, as if a fisherman had caught a fish with his hook. Eusebius of Samosadtsky * writes: “just as a fisherman with a fishing rod catches a fish, so Christ, having put on the flesh of the Divine, hid himself and caught the devil.” You're a big fool, you can't deceive Adam in his nutritious breed! You yourself are caught in a loop like a mad dog! Come on, this is what Christ the Son of God did - he stabbed him with a wooden spear, which is a three-part cross, and he ordered us to defeat him with the same cross and gave us the power to step on the serpent, and the scorpion, and all the power of the enemy.

Scanned pages from the book:

https://nashavera.com/media/uploads/2017/12/18/str-101-103-iz-knigi-zhitie-protopopa-avvakuma-im-samim-napisannoe-i-drugie-ego-sochineniya-1979. pdf

COMMENTS

* “The Book of Interpretations” is the second book in time of writing. It was titled by one of its first publishers, P. S. Smirnov, in accordance with its content: it includes Habakkuk’s interpretations of the psalms, parables and wisdom of Solomon, the book of the prophet Isaiah and the teaching of Habakkuk himself, “What is the Christian mystery and how to live in the faith of Christ.” The “Book” is accompanied by an address to Simeon and a greeting to “all who honor and listen.” The addressee of the “Book” is Semyon Ivanovich Krasheninnikov (Simeon), monastically Sergius, a fellow countryman and one of Avvakum’s favorite students. The “book” was probably started in 1673. The first part of it talks about living prisoners of thieves and Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (died on the night of January 29-30, 1676), but it is finished (judging by the words of Avvakum, that “twenty-three summers and half a summer and a month” have passed since the exile to Daury) - in 1676, the “Book of Interpretations” was printed according to the complete list of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. (GPB, collection of Bogdanov, 0.1.339.).

* “Your youth will be renewed like an eagle” - from the Psalter. SP, 5.

* When the eagle grows old... the thorns of our sins. - This interpretation is very close to the text of the Physiologist - a medieval collection of works, mostly fantastic, about animals, stones and trees (see: Karneev, pp. 196-197).

* “Our God is a fire” - from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews, xii, 29.

* “...And wash yourself with pure natural water” is an inaccurate quote from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews, X, 22.

* “The Lord is prepared in heaven... possesses everyone” - from the Psalter, SP, 19.

* ... you got drunk from an adulterous wife ... pouring from a golden cup, - Habakkuk uses an apocalyptic image, where in the form of a wife sitting on a “scarlet beast” and holding in her hand a golden cup, “full of abomination and the filthiness of her fornication,” a symbolically sinful city is depicted Babylon (Apocalypse, XVII, 3-6).

* She intoxicated the Roman and Polish kingdoms... and even came to our Rus'... - Avvakum here clearly proceeds from the teachings of the so-called Book of Cyril, according to which 1000 years after the birth of Christ the Roman Church fell into “Latinism”; 600 years later Western Rus' fell into union, and 60 years later Rus' had to beware of the same fate.

* ...in 160... - That is, in 7160, or according to our account in 1652, when Nikon became patriarch.

* “The word that is unlawful... will not rise again” - from the Psalter, X, 9.

*...Jews lie...let him crucify... - According to the Gospel tradition, the Pontic hegemon Pilate proposed to the people to release, in accordance with custom, one of the two condemned - Jesus or the robber Barrabas. The bishops who hated Jesus persuaded the city residents to shout for the release of Barrabas, and Pilate ordered Jesus to be crucified, although he himself was confident of his innocence (Gospel of Matthew, XXVII, 15-24).

* ... swearing at the verb: “if he comes down from the cross... we have faith in him!” - According to the Gospel, when Christ was nailed to the cross, those passing by him said, mockingly: if you are the Son of God, then save yourself (Gospel of Matthew, XXVII, 39-42).

* ...on the cross of Christ... the archer stabbed with a horn. - This refers to the episode told in the Gospel of John, XIX, 34-35.

* “For the man of my peace... magnify my heel” - from Psalms, XL, 10.

* ...This was said about Judas, traitors... a swept-away burden. — Judas is one of the twelve apostles of Christ, who betrayed him for 30 pieces of silver.

* “In the same way the tree desires... my soul desires you, O God” - from the Psalter, XL, 1, 2.

*...Elen... is arranging for eternal death. - Wed. with the Physiologist, where the description of the deer, like that of Habakkuk, is attributed to Psalm 41 (see: Karneev, pp. V-VI). The word that the deer “feeds on moss and spends winter and summer nibbling its food near the ground” is not found in the Physiologist. This detail is the result of Archpriest Avvakum’s personal observations of reindeer.

* “living waters... to her: “... flowing into the eternal belly.” — The living water that Christ gives to those around him is his teaching. The meeting of Christ with the Samaritan woman who gave him drink is told in the Gospel of John, IV, 7-14.

* “Thy beauty ... thy right hand” - from Psalms, XLIV, 5.

* Eusebius of Samosadsk - Bishop of Samosata (IV century).

Source: https://wysotsky.com/0009/133.htm#18.