Habakkuk

Technical Profile

• Name Meaning: Hebrew Ḥăḇaqqûq, possibly “embrace” (suggesting close holding or clinging).
• Period/Era: Exilic (late 7th century BC setting, on the eve of Babylonian domination).
• Main References: Habakkuk 1–3.
• Key Connections: Judah; the Chaldeans/Babylonians as the announced instrument of judgment; temple worship imagery (Hab 2:20).

Who was Habakkuk?

Habakkuk was a prophet to Judah whose recorded ministry consists of a dialogue with God about violence and injustice.
He questioned why God seemed to delay judgment and why a more wicked nation would be used against Judah.
The book preserves his complaints, God’s replies, and a concluding prayer-psalm of trust.

Key Events & Achievements

• Event 1: Presents a complaint about lawlessness and unanswered justice within Judah (Hab 1:2–4).
• Event 2: Receives the announcement that the Chaldeans will judge Judah and raises a second protest about divine purity and evil (Hab 1:5–17).
• Event 3: Records the vision of coming accountability (including “woes”) and ends with a liturgical prayer affirming God amid crisis (Hab 2:2–3:19).

Life Lesson & Legacy

Habakkuk models prophetic faithfulness by bringing honest lament to God while submitting to divine timing and judgment.

Key Verse

"Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith." — Habakkuk 2:4, ESV