Habakkuk, who was active around 612 BC, was a prophet whose oracles and prayer are recorded in the

Book of Habakkuk The Book of Habakkuk is the eighth book of the 12 minor prophets of the Bible. It is attributed to the prophet Habakkuk, and was probably composed in the late 7th century BC. Of the three chapters in the book, the first two are a dialogue betwe ...

, the eighth of the collected

twelve minor prophets The Minor Prophets or Twelve Prophets ( he, שנים עשר, ''Shneim Asar''; arc, תרי עשר, ''Trei Asar'', "Twelve") ( grc, δωδεκαπρόφητον, "the Twelve Prophets"), occasionally Book of the Twelve, is a collection of propheti ...

in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Christian and

Rabbinic tradition Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writ ...

Name

The name Habakkuk, or Habacuc, appears in the Hebrew Bible only in Habakkuk 1:1 and 3:1. In the Masoretic Text, it is written in he, חֲבַקּוּק (

Standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

''Ḥavaqquq'' Tiberian ''Ḥăḇaqqûq''). This name does not occur elsewhere. The

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...

transcribes his name into

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

as (''Ambakoum''), and the Vulgate transcribes it into

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

as ''Abacuc''. The etymology of the name is not clear, and its form has no parallel in Hebrew. The name is possibly related to the Akkadian ''khambbaququ'' ( akk, 𒄩𒄠𒁀𒄣𒄣, ''ḫâmbaququ'') the name of a fragrant plant, or the Hebrew root he2, חבק, meaning "embrace".

Life

Almost nothing is known about Habakkuk, aside from what is stated within the book of the Bible bearing his name, or those inferences that may be drawn from that book. His name appears in the Bible only in Habakkuk 1:1 and 3:1, with no biographical details provided other than his title "the prophet". Even the origin of his name is uncertain. For almost every other prophet, more information is given, such as the name of the prophet's hometown, his occupation, or information concerning his parentage or tribe. For Habakkuk, however, there is no reliable account of any of these. Although his home is not identified, scholars conclude that Habakkuk lived in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

at the time he wrote his prophecy. Further analysis has provided an approximate date for his prophecy and possibilities concerning his activities and background. Beyond the Bible, considerable conjecture has been put forward over the centuries in the form of Christian and Rabbinic tradition, but such accounts are dismissed by modern scholars as speculative and apocryphal.

Biblical account

Because the book of Habakkuk consists of five oracles about the Chaldeans ( Babylonians), and the Chaldean rise to power is dated circa 612 BC, it is assumed he was active about that time, making him an early contemporary of Jeremiah and

Zephaniah Zephaniah (, ) is the name of several people in the Hebrew Bible and Jewish Tanakh, the most prominent one being the prophet who prophesied in the days of Josiah, king of Judah (640–609 BCE) and is attributed a book bearing his name among the ...

. Jewish sources, however, do not group him with those two prophets, who are often placed together, so it is possible that he was slightly earlier than these prophets. Because the final chapter of his book is a song, it is sometimes assumed that he was a member of the

Tribe of Levi According to the Bible, the Tribe of Levi is one of the tribes of Israel, traditionally descended from Levi, son of Jacob. The descendants of Aaron, who was the first ''kohen gadol'' (high priest) of Israel, were designated as the priestly clas ...

, who served as musicians in Solomon's Temple.

Tradition

Habakkuk appears in

Bel and the Dragon The narrative of Bel and the Dragon is incorporated as chapter 14 of the extended Book of Daniel. The original Septuagint text in Greek survives in a single manuscript, Codex Chisianus, while the standard text is due to Theodotion, the 2nd-cent ...

, which is part of the

deuterocanonical The deuterocanonical books (from the Greek meaning "belonging to the second canon") are books and passages considered by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and the Assyrian Church of the East to be ...

Additions to Daniel The additions to Daniel comprise three chapters not found in the Hebrew/Aramaic text of Daniel. The text of these chapters is found in the Koine Greek Septuagint, the earliest Old Greek translation. The three additions are as follows. *The Pra ...

. Verses 33–39 state that Habakkuk is in

Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous sou ...

; after making some stew, he is instructed by an

angel of the Lord The (or an) angel of the ( he, מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה '' mal’āḵ YHWH'' "messenger of Yahweh") is an entity appearing repeatedly in the Tanakh (Old Testament) on behalf of the God of Israel. The guessed term ''YHWH'', which occurs ...

to take the stew to Daniel, who is in the lion's den in Babylon. After proclaiming that he is unaware of both the den and Babylon, the angel transports Habakkuk to the lion's den. Habakkuk gives Daniel the food to sustain him, and he is immediately taken back to "his place". Habakkuk is also mentioned in the ''

Lives of the Prophets The ''Lives of the Prophets'' is an ancient apocryphal account of the lives of the prophets of the Old Testament. It is not regarded as scripture by any Jewish or Christian denomination. The work may have been known by the author of some of the P ...

'', which also mentions his time in Babylon. According to the Zohar (Volume 1, page 8b) Habakkuk is the boy born to the Shunamite woman through Elisha's blessing:

Works

The only work attributed to Habakkuk is the short book of the Bible that bears his name. The book of Habakkuk consists of five oracles about the Chaldeans ( Babylonians) and a song of praise to

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

. The style of the book has been praised by many scholars, suggesting that its author was a man of great literary talent. The entire book follows the structure of a

chiasmus In rhetoric, chiasmus ( ) or, less commonly, chiasm (Latin term from Greek , "crossing", from the Greek , , "to shape like the letter Χ"), is a "reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses – but no repetition of wor ...

in which parallelism of thought is used to bracket sections of the text. Habakkuk is unusual among the prophets in that he openly questions the working of God. In the first part of the first chapter, the prophet sees the injustice among his people and asks why God does not take action: "O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save?"

Tombs

The final resting place of Habakkuk has been claimed at multiple locations. The fifth-century Christian historian Sozomen claimed that the relics of Habakkuk were found at Cela, when God revealed their location to

Zebennus Zebennus was a third-century bishop and Christian Martyr from Palaestina Prima (Modern Israel). Little is known about his early life, career or episcopacy in Eleutheropolis, however, he is credited that during his episcopacy he had a dream revealin ...

, bishop of

Eleutheropolis Eleutheropolis (Greek, Ἐλευθερόπολις, "Free City"; ar, إليوثيروبوليس; in Hebrew, בית גוברין, Beit Gubrin) was a Roman and Byzantine city in Syria Palaestina, some 53 km southwest of Jerusalem. After the Mu ...

, in a dream. Currently, one location in Israel and one in Iran lay claim to being the burial site of the prophet.

Tomb in Israel

The burial place of Habakkuk is identified by Jewish tradition as a hillside in the

Upper Galilee The Upper Galilee ( he, הגליל העליון, ''HaGalil Ha'Elyon''; ar, الجليل الأعلى, ''Al Jaleel Al A'alaa'') is a geographical-political term in use since the end of the Second Temple period. It originally referred to a mounta ...

region of northern

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, close to the villages Kadarim and Hukok, about six miles southwest of Safed and twelve miles north of

Mount Tabor Mount Tabor ( he, הר תבור) (Har Tavor) is located in Lower Galilee, Israel, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, west of the Sea of Galilee. In the Hebrew Bible (Joshua, Judges), Mount Tabor is the site of the Battle of Mount Tabo ...

. A small stone building, erected during the 20th century, protects the tomb. Tradition dating as early as the 12th century AD holds that Habakkuk's tomb is at this location, but the tomb may also be of a local sheikh of Yaquq, a name related to the biblical place named "Hukkok", whose pronunciation and spelling in Hebrew are close to "Habakkuk". Archaeological findings in this location include several burial places dated to the Second Temple period.

Persian shrine

A mausoleum southeast of the city of Tuyserkan in the west of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

is also believed to be Habakkuk's burial place. It is protected by Iran's

Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicraft Organization ( fa, وزارت میراث فرهنگی، گردشگری و صنایع دستی ایران, ''Vâzart-e Miras-e Ferhengi-ye, Gârdâshigâri-ye vâ Sânai'-ye Dâsti-ye Iran'') is ...

. The Organization's guide to the Hamadan Province states that Habakkuk was believed to be a guardian to Solomon's Temple, and that he was captured by the Babylonians and remained in their prison for some years. After being freed by Cyrus the Great, he went to Ecbatana and remained there until he died, and was buried somewhere nearby, in what is today Tuyserkan. Habakkuk is called both Habaghugh and Hayaghugh by the Muslim locals. The surrounding shrine may date to the period of the

Seljuq Empire The Great Seljuk Empire, or the Seljuk Empire was a high medieval, culturally Turko-Persian, Sunni Muslim empire, founded and ruled by the Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. It spanned a total area of from Anatolia and the Levant in the west to t ...

(11–12th century); it consists of an octagonal wall and conical dome. Underneath the shrine is a hidden basement with three floors. In the center of the shrine's courtyard is the grave where Habakkuk is said to be buried. A stone upon the grave is inscribed in both Hebrew and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

stating that the prophet's father was Shioua Lovit, and his mother was Lesho Namit. Both Muslims and Jews visit it to pay their respects.

Commemoration

Christian

On the

Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar The Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar describes and dictates the rhythm of the life of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Passages of Holy Scripture, saints and events for commemoration are associated with each date, as are many times special rule ...

, his feast day is December 2. In the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, the twelve minor prophets are read in the Roman Breviary during the fourth and fifth weeks of November, which are the last two weeks of the liturgical year, and his feast day is January 15. This day is also celebrated as his feast by the Greek Orthodox Church. In 2011, he was commemorated with the other

Minor Prophets The Minor Prophets or Twelve Prophets ( he, שנים עשר, ''Shneim Asar''; arc, תרי עשר, ''Trei Asar'', "Twelve") ( grc, δωδεκαπρόφητον, "the Twelve Prophets"), occasionally Book of the Twelve, is a collection of propheti ...

in the

calendar of saints The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

of the

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

on February 8. Habakkuk has also been commemorated in

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

. In 1435, the Florentine artist

Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Florence, he studied classical sculpture and used this to develop a complete Renaissance s ...

created a sculpture of the prophet for the bell tower of Florence. This statue, nicknamed '' Zuccone'' ("Big Head") because of the shape of the head, now resides in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. The

Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo it, Basilica Parrocchiale Santa Maria del Popolo , image = 20140803 Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo Rome 0191.jpg , caption = The church from Piazza del Popolo , coordinates = , image_size ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

contains a Baroque sculpture of Habakkuk by the 17th-century artist Bernini. Between 1800 and 1805, the

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian sculptor

Aleijadinho Antônio Francisco Lisboa ( or 1738 – 18 November 1814), better known as Aleijadinho (), was a sculptor, carver and architect of Colonial Brazil, noted for his works on and in various churches of Brazil. Little is known with certainty about his ...

completed a

soapstone Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in the ...

sculpture of Habakkuk as part of his ''Twelve Prophets''. The figures are arranged around the forecourt and monumental stairway in front of the ''Santuário do Bom Jesus do Matosinhos'' at

Congonhas Congonhas (Congonhas do Campo until 1948) is a historical Brazilian city located in the state of Minas Gerais. It is situated south from Belo Horizonte, the capital of state of Minas Gerais, by the highway BR-040. As of 2020, the city had a popul ...

Islam

Ali al-Ridha debate at al-Ma'mun's court

Although not mentioned by name in the Qu'ran, Habakkuk (), is recognized as an Islamic prophet because he is believed to herald the coming of last prophet and divine scripture

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...

and the Qu'ran in the Book of Habakkuk. In the court of Al-Ma'mun, Imam Ali al-Ridha, a descendant of

and chief Islamic scholar in the time of the

Abbasid Caliphs The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came to ...

, was asked by the

Exilarch The exilarch was the leader of the Jewish community in Persian Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) during the era of the Parthians, Sasanians and Abbasid Caliphate up until the Mongol invasion of Baghdad in 1258, with intermittent gaps due to ongoing ...

to prove that Muhammad was a prophet through the Torah. Imam Ridha asks "Do you know the prophet Habakkuk?" He said, "Yes. I know of him." al-Ridha said, "and this is narrated in your book, 'Allah brought down speech on Mount Faran, and the heavens were filled with the glorification of Muhammad and his community. His horse carries him over water as it carries him over land. He will bring a new book to us after the ruin of the holy house he temple in Jerusalem' What is meant by this book is the Qur'an. Do you know this and believe in it?" The Exilarch said, "Habakkuk the prophet has said this and we do not deny what he said."

Further evidence of prophethood

Although the Quran only mentions around twenty-five prophets by name, and alludes to a few others, it has been a cardinal doctrine of Islam that many more prophets were sent by

who are not mentioned in the scripture. Thus, Muslims have traditionally had no problem accepting those other Hebrew prophets not mentioned in the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...

as legitimate prophets of God, especially as the Quran itself states: "Surely We sent down the Torah (to Moses), wherein is guidance and light; thereby the prophets (who followed him), who had surrendered themselves, gave judgment for those who were Jewish, as did the masters and the

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

s, following such portion of God's Book as they were given to keep and were witnesses to," with this passage having often been interpreted by Muslims to include within the phrase "prophets" an allusion to all the prophetic figures of the Jewish scriptural portion of the

nevi'im Nevi'im (; he, נְבִיאִים ''Nəvīʾīm'', Tiberian: ''Năḇīʾīm,'' "Prophets", literally "spokespersons") is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the '' Tanakh''), lying between the Torah (instruction) and Ketuvim ( ...

, that is to say all the prophets of Israel after Moses and Aaron. Thus, Islamic authors have often alluded to Habakkuk as a prophet in their works,Najm al-Dīn al-Ṭūfī, ''al-Ta‘līq ‘alā al-Anājīl al-arba‘a wa-al-ta‘līq ‘alā al-Tawrāh wa-‘alā ghayrihā min kutub al-anbiyā’'', 381, tr. Demiri, ''Muslim Exegesis of the Bible in Medieval Cairo'', pp. 389–390 and followed the pronunciation of his name with the traditional salutations of peace bestowed by Muslims onto prophets after the utterance of their names. Some medieval Muslim scholars even provided commentaries on the biblical Book of Habakkuk, with the primary purpose of showing that the prophet had predicted the coming of

in Habakkuk 3:2–6, in a manner akin to the earlier Christian tradition of seeing in the book's prophecies allusions to the advent of Christ. For example, the medieval exegete Najm al-Dīn al-Ṭūfī (d. 716 AH/1316 CE) provided a commentary on select verses from the Book of Habakkuk, saying the prophet's words "for his rays become light" (Habakkuk 3:4) alluded to the spread of Islam; that his words "his glory comes to town, his power appears in his courts" (Habakkuk 3:4) referred to Muhammad's stay in the town of

Yathrib Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

and the help he received there from the ansar; and that his words "death goes before him" (Habakkuk 3:5).Najm al-Dīn al-Ṭūfī, ''al-Ta‘līq ‘alā al-Anājīl al-arba‘a wa-al-ta‘līq ‘alā al-Tawrāh wa-‘alā ghayrihā min kutub al-anbiyā’'', 381, tr. Demiri, ''Muslim Exegesis of the Bible in Medieval Cairo'', p. 391 Likewise, Habakkuk 3:5–6 also received similar commentaries from medieval Islamic thinkers. The famous and revered

Islamic scholar and polymath

Ibn Qutaybah Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muslim ibn Qutayba al-Dīnawarī al-Marwazī better known simply as Ibn Qutaybah ( ar-at, ابن قتيبة, Ibn Qutaybah; c. 828 – 13 November 889 CE / 213 – 15 Rajab 276 AH) was an Islamic scholar of Persian ...

, who served as a judge during the Abbasid Caliphate, said of the prophet Habakkuk: "Among the words of Habakkuk, who prophesied in the days of Daniel, Habakkuk says: 'God came from Teman, and the holy one from the mountains of Paran and the earth was filled with the sanctification of the praiseworthy one (''aḥmad'', which is a name of

in Islam), and with his right hand he exercised power over the earth and the necks of the nations,'" which has been interpreted by scholars to be a clear allusion to Habakkuk 3:3-4. Elsewhere, the same scholar glossed Habakkuk 3:4, 15 as follows: "The earth shines with his light, and his horses launched into the sea", again interpreting the prophecy to be an allusion to the coming of

. One further prophecy of Habakkuk which Ibn Qutaybah cited, from extra-canonical Hebraic literature, was "You shall be exceedingly filled in your bows ... O Praised One (Muhammad)." This final prophecy attributed to Habakkuk was also referred to by later scholars like

Ibn al-Jawzi ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿAlī b. Muḥammad Abu 'l-Faras̲h̲ b. al-Jawzī, often referred to as Ibn al-Jawzī (Arabic: ابن الجوزي, ''Ibn al-Jawzī''; ca. 1116 – 16 June 1201) for short, or reverentially as ''Imam Ibn al-Jawzī'' by ...

and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah.A. Mingana (tr.) of Ali Tabari's ''The Book of Religion and Empire'' (London: Bernard Quaritch Limited, 1922), p. 119.

Notes

Citations

References

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External links

* *
The Prophet Habakkuk
at Chabad.org 7th-century BC people Christian saints from the Old Testament Angelic visionaries Book of Habakkuk