HABAKKUK: INTRODUCTION TO THE LITERARY STRUCTURE

A copy of the unedited, referenced analysis abstracted below will be sent on request. (elmerphd21@hotmail.com)

Preliminary Observations

A first reading of this short book reveals some peculiar features. The opening statement clearly establishes the book of Habakkuk as belonging to the prophetic genre. However, much of what follows would seem to be more at home in the Psalter. There is a definite doxology at v. 2:20 followed immediately by the sort of heading one is used to seeing in the Psalms. Finally, the book ends with another such musical designation. These two liturgical inscriptions (at 3:1, 19b) undoubtedly bracket the last major literary section in Habakkuk. The cryptic word selah, a frequent liturgical notation in the Psalms, is also scattered throughout the last part of the book (3:3,9,13) as another unifying factor for ch. 3. Although this chapter is not included in the Habakkuk Commentary of the Qumran community (1), the treatment below should help to demonstrate that ch. 3 is firmly planted as an integral part of the whole book.

Another obvious literary feature of the book is the series of woes (“Woe to him who...”) appearing in ch. 2 (vv. 6,9,12,15,19). These repeated phrases are clearly indicative of five markers for sub-units within that chapter.

The last clue to the book’s divisions is provided by the direct addresses to Yahweh, many of which are introduced by the question Why?, thus presaging the transition from prophetic to speculative thought in the Bible, in the view of at least one commentator.

Due to these structural features above, there is a great deal of agreement among scholars regarding the division of the book into major sections, as well as recognition of its theological unity. It remains to assemble the individual parts into a coherent architecture for the whole.

A common way of plotting the dialogue between the prophet and Yahweh in chapters 1 and 2 is shown below:

A. Prophet’s complaint / question (1:2-4)

B. Yahweh’s response (1:5-11)

A'. Prophet’s complaint / question (1:12-17)

B'. Yahweh’s response (2:2-?)

The limits of Section B' above are variously defined in the literature as containing 2:2-4, 2:2-5 or 2:2-20. Whichever proposal one adopts, there are still major portions of the book unaccounted for. One can begin by first recognizing that there is really not that much distinction in genre between the “oracle” of chs. 1 and 2 and the “prayer” of ch. 3. Both consist of prayer-and-answer elements. This gives rise to an incipient ABA structure to the book, with a “woe” section (2:6-20) forming the center around the roughly parallel elements present in 1:1-2:5 and ch. 3. The final structure arrived at is summarized in Figure 1. Note that the resulting literary arrangement of sections, two parallel series bracketing a center section, is perfectly mirrored in the structure of the center section IIB.

The Structure of Habakkuk

I. The Oracle (1:1-2:1)

A. Superscription (1:1)

B. Prophet's Request (1:2-4)

C. Divine Answer (1:5-11)

D. Question of and Statements about Yahweh (1:12-17)

E. Prophet's Word of Confidence (2:1)

II. The Vision (2:2-20)

A. Divine Answer (2:2-5)

B. The Woes (2:6-19)

1. woe one (2:6-8)

2. woe two (2:9-11)

3. woe three (2:12-14)

4. woe four (2:15-17)

5. woe five (2:18-19)

A'. Concluding Doxology (2:20)

III. The Prayer (3:1-19)

A. Superscription (3:1)

B. Prophet's Request (3:2)

C. Divine Answer as Theophany (3:3-7)

D. Question of and Statements about Yahweh (3:8-15)

E. Prophet's Word of Confidence (3:16-19)

Theological Implications

Now that the points of structural emphasis can be clearly discerned, it is possible to make some closing statements regarding the theological intent of Habakkuk’s prophecy:

1. Two verses that can be easily overlooked, the opening superscription and the closing liturgical instructions (“...with my stringed instruments”), when taken in tandem give strong indication that the author Habakkuk was at the same time a prophet and priest of Israel.

            2. Although Habakkuk goes beyond his prophetic predecessors in questioning Yahweh's actions, the concluding words in each of the three sections outlined above are of resounding confidence in God.

            3. The interesting complex of words “come” and “go forth” occurs at two places in the text: Section I (1:4-9) and the parallel Section III (3:3-16). The references in the first case are to the appearance of the Babylonian enemy while it is Yahweh or “the day of trouble” which appears in judgment on them in Section III.

            4. Section III is bracketed by similar statements of faith.

            5. The third woe, with its wonderful conclusion “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea,” is identified as one of the focal points of interest, not only of Section II, but also of the whole book. Interestingly, the words “waters” and “sea” appear again in the stirring conclusion to the last theophany in the book (3:15). As in the Book of Job, Yahweh's actual appearance is the only, but most appropriate, response to the speculative questioning of the protagonist.