Habakkuk 001 – Overview

The Cry of Habakkuk

The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet received. (NIV) The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. (KJV) The burden that Habakkuk the prophet hath seen: (Young’s Literal Translation) HABAKKUK — called a prophet, unusual in the book headings, only here and Zech 1:1. Neither in the scriptures nor outside sources provide any solid information as to the life of Habakkuk. Jerome and Luther trace the root of his name to a term meaning ‘to embrace.’ Martin Luther is quoted as saying, “Habakkuk signifies an embracer, or one who embraces another, takes him into his arms. He embraces His people, and takes them to his arms, i.e. He comforts them and holds them up, as one embraces a weeping child, to quiet it with the assurance that if God wills it shall soon be better.” Some relate his name to an Akkadian name of a plant or fruit tree. Habakkuk is also mentioned in the apocryphal “Bel and the Dragon” as appearing to Daniel in the lion’s den.