Habakkuk 3 is framed as a lament, in which the psalmist asks God to save him and his people from danger. The core of the psalm is a divine theophany, in which YHWH is described as coming from afar to battle his enemies in classic ancient Near East mythological fashion.
A close-up view of a wall relief depicting the God Assur inside a winged- disc. The hands of Ashurnasirpal II partially appear (making a gesture of worship). Neo-Assyrian period, 865-850 BCE. The British Museum, London. Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP via wikimedia
Published: May 18, 2018
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Last Updated: September 7, 2026
For discussion of the Book of Habakkuk, see Marvin A. Sweeney, The Twelve Prophets (2 vols.; Berit Olam; Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2000) 451-490; see also Theodore Hiebert, God of my Victory: The Ancient Hymn in Habakkuk 3 (Harvard Semitic Monographs 6; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1986).
The Hebrew word, maśśāʼ, is often misunderstood as “burden,” because of its derivation from the verb root, nśʼ, “to lift, carry.” The translation should be “oracle” or “pronouncement,” insofar as the verb conveys the idea of “lifting up” one’s voice to speak an oracle from G-d (see e.g., Num 24:3, which employs the verb to portray Balaam’s oracular speech; cf. Richard D. Weis, “Oracle. Old Testament,” The Anchor Bible Dictionary (ed., D. N. Freedman et al; New York: Doubleday, 1994) 5:28-29.
Sweeney, The Twelve Prophets, 480.
Ribeboth-kodesh appears to be a variant of Meribath-kadesh, indicating Kadesh in the Sinai wilderness (cf. Num 20:1, 13-14, 16; Deut 32:51; see Jeffrey Tigay, Deuteronomy [JPS Torah Commentary; Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1996/5746] 320).
Editor’s note: For more on this concept of YHWH’s abode being in the south, see Israel Knohl, “Hovav the Midianite: Why Was the End of the Story Cut?” TheTorah.com (2016).
Talmud Bavli Megillah 31a indicates two competing traditions for Shavuot’s lectionary: Deuteronomy 14:22-16:17 read together with Habakkuk 3, or Exodus 19:1-20:23 together with Ezekiel 1. The passage ends by saying that since in the diaspora, Shavuot is two days, both can be read. Thus, Habakkuk is now the haftarah for the second day of Shavuot. For discussion of the haftarah, see Michael Fishbane, Haftarot (JPS Bible Commentary; Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2002/5762) 445-450.
The etymology of the word is obscure. HALOT offers the following discussion:
[P]ossibly < Persian salā meaning song, sound of the strings (B. Hemmerdingen JTS 22 (1971):152); probably a technical term added later concerning the style of music or recitation; suggested meanings: 1. סלל, raising the voice to, a higher pitch, rd. סֹ֫לּוּ; 2. Aquila and Jerome: to be understood as “always” (from נֶצַח ?); or 3. pause, from Sept. διάψαλμα interlude of instrumental music; 4. siglum: a) abbreviation for סִימָן לִשְׁנוֹת הַקּוֹל sign to change the voice; b) for הַשָּׁר סֹב לְמַעֲלָה “da capo.”
The terms selah and neginot are associated with menaṣeaḥ here in Hab 3:19 and in the Psalms (e.g., Psalm 4), and therefore indicate the identity of Habakkuk 3 as a psalm.
James B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969) 365.
Pritchard, ANET, 365.
James B. Pritchard, The Ancient Near East in Pictures Relating to the Old Testament (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969), 180 [#536].
Pritchard, ANET, 94.
Pritchard, ANET, 131.
Pritchard, ANET, 131.
Many modern interpreters question whether Habakkuk 3 should be part of the book of Habakkuk because of its separate superscription, its distinct style, and the fact that the Qumran Pesher (commentary) on Habakkuk includes only Habakkuk 1-2 and not Habakkuk 3. If the chapter is indeed read on its own, then we have no indication of what enemy the psalm is picturing. Nevertheless, my own view is that a close reading of Habakkuk 3 in relation to Habakkuk 1-2 indicates that the two texts do indeed belong together. See my Berit Olam commentary (referenced above) for more details. Either way, in its canonical context, the psalm is about the Babylonians.
