Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

3:1 The word for prayer here usually refers specifically to a prayer of supplication (v. 2) but can also refer to prayer in general, including prayers sung corporately (e.g., Ps. 54:2; 55:1). Shigionoth occurs only twice in the OT (once in the singular and once in the plural) and may refer to an instrument or a type of psalm. The other usage of the word (Ps. 7:1) favors a type of psalm, and it may be related to Akkadian shigu, "a lament."

3:2 I have heard. Habakkuk had heard (perhaps in the temple) of God's great saving acts, which he recounts in vv. 3-15; see the Song of Moses (Ex. 15:1-21). in wrath remember mercy. A plea that when God judges, he will also be merciful--a classic statement of how God deals with his people.

3:3 Teman means "south"; with the reference to Mount Paran (Num. 13:3, 26; Deut. 33:2), it may suggest the time following Israel's exodus from Egypt. When the biblical authors refer to God's mighty acts in the exodus, they often use images to evoke the fear or awe of God (see Deut. 33:2; Judg. 5:4-5; Ps. 18:7-15; etc.). Selah is a term occurring often in the Psalms, of unknown meaning; it is probably some kind of musical direction.

3:4-5 Habakkuk likens God's presence at Mount Sinai to that of a thunderstorm with darkness and flashes of lightning (see Ex. 19:18-20; Ps. 18:9-14). Pestilence and plague are often used as pictures of divine judgment (Ex. 7:14-12:30; Lev. 26:25; Deut. 28:21-22; Ps. 91:3, 6).

3:6 eternal mountains. Mountains were considered part of the foundation of the earth, and thus their quaking was a sign of divine judgment. Earthquakes are frequently associated with God's power (Ex. 19:18; Ps. 18:7; Isa. 24:1-3; Jer. 4:24-26; 10:10; Mic. 1:3-4; Nah. 1:5).

3:7 Cushan . . . Midian. These Arab tribes living near Edom see God's power and are stricken with fear (see Ex. 15:14-16; Josh. 2:9-10).

3:8 God used his power over the Nile (Ex. 7:14-24) and Jordan Rivers (Josh. 3:14-17), as well as the Red Sea (Ex. 14:2-15:5), to demonstrate his greatness in the exodus. The chariot of salvation is a picture of God bringing deliverance to this people.

3:9 many arrows. Probably an image of thunderbolts sent by God. split the earth. An image of thunderstorms and floods cutting through the desert landscape.

3:11 sun and moon stood still. A reference to Joshua's victory at Gibeah (Josh. 10:12-13); the victory here will be equally sensational. God is pictured as a great warrior with his bow and spear.

3:12 threshed the nations. See Amos 1:3.

3:13 God fought for his people (your anointed) because they were his covenant people, a nation of priests (Ex. 19:6; Ps. 114:2). The head of the house of the wicked may refer to the pharaoh of Egypt or the leaders of Canaan; both felt God's displeasure. laying him bare from thigh to neck. The Hebrew is obscure, but it suggests a thorough defeat.

3:14-15 Another reference to the destruction that God brought on the Egyptians, who had set out to defeat the Israelites.

3:16 I hear. Habakkuk realizes that he must wait patiently for the destruction of his people and that God will then unleash his power against the Babylonians. people who invade us. That is, the Babylonians.

3:17-19 Anticipating great destruction at the hands of the Babylonians, Habakkuk has radically changed--he began by informing God how to run his world, and ended by trusting that God knows best and will bring about justice. Though the fig tree should not blossom. Verse 17 contains a frequently quoted list of material disasters in which all crops and livestock are lost, and as a result it is unclear how there will be food to eat. Yet even amid suffering and loss, Habakkuk has learned that he can trust God, and with that trust comes great joy, not in circumstances but in God himself: yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. Yahweh has become Habakkuk's strength (see Ps. 18:32, 39).

3:19 he makes my feet like the deer's. Habakkuk can have sure-footed confidence in God and can live on the heights even amid extreme circumstances (see Mal. 4:2). choirmaster. Probably the director of the temple musicians (see Psalms 4; 5; 6; 8; 9; 11; etc.). stringed instruments. Harps, lyres, etc. (see Ps. 33:2; 92:3; 144:9). This kind of liturgical notation suggests that Habakkuk meant this to be a "prayer" (Hab. 3:1) that the faithful would sing together.