The Bible Database Project

← People

Habakkuk
Illustration created for this project.

Related reading

The Prophets The prophets The Prophets Abraham J. Heschel Open ↗ NIV Study Bible Study Bible NIV Study Bible Zondervan Open ↗ ESV Study Bible Study Bible ESV Study Bible Crossway Open ↗

More in the bookshop.

Habakkuk

A prophet whose book is a dialogue rather than a sermon. He begins by asking how long he must cry for help while violence goes unanswered; told that God is raising the Babylonians, he protests that the cure is worse than the disease — how can a holy God use a nation more wicked than the one it punishes? The answer given him is to write the vision plainly, that the righteous shall live by his faith. The book ends with a psalm: though the fig tree does not blossom, yet I will rejoice.

Role: Prophet
Lived: c. 7th century BC
Belonged to: Prophets

What we know — and how we know it

Bible — stated in scripture (with verse) · 1 Archaeology — physical evidence · 1
Life, role & deeds
BibleHe questioned God over injustice and was answered that 'the righteous shall live by his faith' — words Paul would take up.
Habakkuk 2:4
The Habakkuk Pesher (1QpHab), one of the seven original scrolls found in Qumran Cave 1 (1947), now in the Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum, Jerusalem; editio princeps in Burrows, Trever & Brownlee (eds.), The Dead Sea Scrolls of St. Mark's Monastery, vol. 1 (ASOR, 1950) Unknown authorUnknown author — Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons) ArchaeologyA verse-by-verse commentary on Habakkuk was among the first Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran — one of the oldest witnesses to the book.
The Habakkuk Pesher (1QpHab), one of the seven original scrolls found in Qumran Cave 1 (1947), now in the Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum, Jerusalem; editio princeps in Burrows, Trever & Brownlee (eds.), The Dead Sea Scrolls of St. Mark's Monastery, vol. 1 (ASOR, 1950)

Where in scripture

Habakkuk

The revelation which Habakkuk the prophet saw.

Habakkuk 1:1

Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright in him, but the righteous will live by his faith.

Habakkuk 2:4 — 'The righteous shall live by his faith'

A prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet, set to victorious music.

Habakkuk 3:1

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, a public-domain translation.

Habakkuk 1:1Habakkuk 2:4Habakkuk 3:1

In their own words — 1 recorded saying

“How long, O Lord, will your ears be shut to my voice? I make an outcry to you about violent behaviour, but you do not send salvation.” — Habakkuk 1:2

Speaker attribution: Clear Bible MACULA (CC BY 4.0). Wording: Bible in Basic English (public domain).

In art