Hab 3:2-15 | TNotes | STEP | 3:2 Habakkuk stands in awe before the Sovereign One who sits enthroned in his holy Temple (2:20 ). • In light of God’s message of Judah’s coming chastisement, Habakkuk prays that God, who has miraculously intervened on Israel’s behalf in the past, will once again make known his work of redemption (see also Ps 77 ).

3:2 ^a Habakkuk stands in awe before the Sovereign One who sits enthroned in his holy Temple (2:20 ^b).

• In light of God’s message of Judah’s coming chastisement, Habakkuk prays that God, who has miraculously intervened on Israel’s behalf in the past, will once again make known his work of redemption (see also Ps 77 ^c).
Summary for Hab 3:3-15: 3:3-15 ^d The prophet praises God’s power to save. These two praise stanzas (3:3-7 ^e and 3:8-15 ^f) are a poetic reflection upon Israel’s exodus experience. Although Habakkuk’s focus is upon God’s redemption of his people, his imagery occasionally reflects ideas found in ancient Near Eastern tales concerning the gods (e.g., pestilence and plague, 3:5 ^g; river and sea, 3:8 ^h; sun and moon, 3:11 ⁱ). This imagery reminds Habakkuk’s original readers that the Lord alone is the one true God who is sovereign over all these things. 3:3 ^j Edom (Hebrew Teman): Teman was one of Edom’s chief cities (see also Job 2:11 ^k; Jer 49:7 ^l); the term could refer to the entire region of Edom where the city was located (cp. Obad 1:9 ^m). Habakkuk’s use of the term in conjunction with Mount Paran suggests that he had the broader region in mind.

• Holy One is a prominent title for God, as holiness is his defining characteristic (Hab 1:12 ⁿ; see also Exod 15:11 ^o; 2 Kgs 19:22 ^p; Ps 77:13 ^q; Isa 6:3 ^r).

• Mount Paran: The region of Paran included the mountain range west and south of Edom and northeast of Mount Sinai, as well as a broad desert area in the Sinai Peninsula.
3:4 ^s brilliant as the sunrise: The Lord, who once appeared on Mount Sinai and filled the southern land with his glory, fills the heavens with his splendor.
Summary for Hab 3:5-6: 3:5-6 ^t God is the divine warrior who intervenes on behalf of his own (see 3:8-15 ^u; see also Isa 63:1-6 ^v). 3:5 ^w Habakkuk personifies pestilence (see Deut 32:24 ^x) and plague (see Exod 7–12 ^y; Amos 4:10 ^z) as soldiers in God’s army, fulfilling his purposes.
3:7 ^aa Midian occupied the southern part of the region just east of the Jordan (see Gen 36:35 ^ab); the nation was trembling in terror at the earth-shaking power of God’s presence (Hab 3:6 ^ac).
Summary for Hab 3:8-15: 3:8-15 ^ad The Lord is a divine warrior for his people, moving in redemptive power on their behalf. The motif of God as divine warrior spans both Old Testament and New Testament: It is seen in Israel’s exodus from Egypt, their movement to Mount Sinai (Exod 15:1-18 ^ae), their approach to the Promised Land from the south, and their triumphs in the early conquest period (e.g., Judg 5:4-5 ^af; Pss 18:8-16 ^ag; 77:16-20 ^ah; a key New Testament example is Rev 19:11-21 ^ai). 3:8 ^aj struck the rivers ... parted the sea: See Exod 7:19-20 ^ak; 14:15-31 ^al.

• chariots of salvation: An ironic echo of the Egyptian chariots, which pursued the Israelites when God led them to escape through the Red Sea (Exod 14:9 ^am).
Summary for Hab 3:9-11: 3:9-11 ^an Only God controls the forces of the natural world.
3:10 ^ao waters: See study note on 3:8; see also Exod 15:1-18 ^ap.
3:11 ^aq sun and moon: See Josh 10:12-13 ^ar.
3:15 ^as sea ... waters: The section ends as it began (3:8 ^at).