Habakkuk 3:8
Verse
Context
Habakkuk’s Prayer
7I saw the tents of Cushan in distress; the curtains of Midian were trembling. 8Were You angry at the rivers, O LORD? Was Your wrath against the streams? Did You rage against the sea when You rode on Your horses, on Your chariots of salvation? 9You brandished Your bow; You called for many arrows. Selah You split the earth with rivers.
Summary
Commentary
- Adam Clarke
- Keil-Delitzsch
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
Was the Lord displeased against the rivers? - Floods; here is a reference to the passage of the Red Sea. The Lord is represented as heading his troops, riding in his chariot, and commanding the sea to divide, that a free passage might be left for his army to pass over.
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary
To the impression produced upon the nations by the coming of the Lord to judge the world, there is now appended in Hab 3:8. a description of the execution of the judgment. Hab 3:8. "Was it against rivers, O Jehovah, against the rivers that Thy wrath was kindled? that Thou ridest hither upon Thy horses, Thy chariots of salvation. Hab 3:9. Thy bow lays itself bare; rods are sworn by word. Selah. Thou splittest the earth into rivers." The ode, taking a new turn, now passes from the description of the coming of God, to an address to God Himself. To the mental eye of the prophet, God presents Himself as Judge of the world, in the threatening attitude of a warlike hero equipped for conflict, so that he asks Him what is the object of His wrath. The question is merely a poetical turn given to a lively composition, which expects no answer, and is simply introduced to set forth the greatness of the wrath of God, so that in substance it is an affirmation. The wrath of God is kindled over the rivers, His fury over the sea. The first clause of the question is imperfect; Jehovah is not the subject, but a vocative, or an appeal, since chârâh, when predicated of God, is construed with ל. The subject follows in the double clause, into which the question divides itself, in אפּך and עברתך. Here the indefinite בּנהרים is defined by בּנּהרים. Hannehârı̄m, the rivers, are not any particular rivers, such as the arms of the Nile in Lower Egypt, or the rivers of Ethiopia, the Nile and Astaboras, the nahărē Khūsh (Isa 18:1; Zep 3:10 : see Delitzsch), but the rivers of the earth generally; and "the sea" (hayyâm) is not the Red Sea, but the world-sea, as in Nah 1:4 (cf. Psa 89:10; Job 38:8). It is true that this description rests upon the two facts of the miraculous dividing of the Red Sea and of the Jordan (Exo 15:18; Psa 114:3, Psa 114:5); but it rises far above these to a description of God as the Judge of the world, who can smite in His wrath not only the sea of the world, but all the rivers of the earth. עברה is stronger than אף, the wrath which passes over, or breaks through every barrier. Kı̄, quod, explaining and assigning the reason for the previous question. The riding upon horses is not actual riding, but driving in chariots with horses harnessed to them, as the explanatory words "thy chariots" (מרכּבתיך) clearly shows, and as râkhabh (to ride) always signifies when predicated of God (cf. Deu 33:26; Psa 68:34; Psa 104:3). Yeshū‛âh is governed by markebhōthekhâ, with the freedom of construction allowed in poetry, as in Sa2 22:33; Psa 71:7, whereas in prose the noun is generally repeated in the construct state (vid., Gen 37:23, and Ewald, 291, b). Yeshū‛âh signifies salvation, even in this case, and not victory, - a meaning which it never has, and which is all the more inapplicable here, because yeshū‛âh is interpreted in Hab 3:13 by לישׁע. By describing the chariots of God as chariots of salvation, the prophet points at the outset to the fact, that the riding of God has for its object the salvation or deliverance of His people.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Was the Lord displeased against the rivers?--"Was the cause of His dividing the Red Sea and Jordan His displeasure against these waters?" The answer to this is tacitly implied in "Thy chariots of salvation." "Nay; it was not displeasure against the waters, but His pleasure in interposing for His people's salvation" (compare Hab 3:10). thy chariots--in antithesis to Thy foe, Pharaoh's chariots," which, notwithstanding their power and numbers, were engulfed in the waters of destruction. God can make the most unlikely means work for His people's salvation (Exo 14:7, Exo 14:9, Exo 14:23, Exo 14:25-28; Exo 15:3-8, Exo 15:19). Jehovah's chariots are His angels (Psa 68:17), or the cherubim, or the ark (Jos 3:13; Jos 4:7; compare Sol 1:9).
John Gill Bible Commentary
Was the Lord displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers?.... Referring, as is commonly thought, either to the rivers in Egypt turned into blood, which was one of the plagues of that land, Exo 7:20 when the resentment of the Lord was not so much against them as against the Egyptians; and as a punishment of them for drowning the infants of the Israelites in them, and in order to obtain the dismissal of his people from that land: or else to the river Jordan, called "rivers", because of the largeness of it, and the abundance of water in it; against which the Lord was not angry, when he divided the waters of it, which was done only to make a passage through it for his people into the land of Canaan, Jos 3:16, was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation? the Red sea, when a strong east wind was sent, and divided the waters of it, which was no mark of displeasure against that; but for the benefit of the people of Israel, that they might pass through it as on dry land; and for the destruction of Pharaoh and his hosts, who, entering into it with his horses and chariots, were drowned; the Lord coming forth against him, riding on his horses and chariots, the pillar of fire and cloud, by which he defended Israel, and through which he looked, and discomfited the host of the Egyptians, and wrought salvation for his people; see Exo 14:19 with which compare Psa 114:3. The clouds are the chariots of the Lord, Psa 104:3 so angels, who are sometimes signified by horses and chariots, Psa 18:10 Zac 1:8 and here they may design the angels of Michael, or Christ, Rev 12:7 the Christian emperors, Constantine and Theodosius, whom the Lord raised up, and made use of as instruments to demolish Paganism, establish Christianity, and deliver and save his people from their persecutors, who came in like a flood upon them; and who, for their number and force, were comparable to rivers, yea, to the sea; and upon whom the Lord showed some manifest tokens of his wrath and displeasure; so people, tongues, and nations, are compared to many waters, Rev 17:15 and monarchs and their armies, Isa 8:7 and the Targum here interprets the rivers of kings and their armies: and it may be observed that some parts of the Roman empire are signified by the sea, and rivers and fountains of waters, on which the blowing of the second and third trumpets brought desolation; as the antichristian states are described by the same, on which the second and third vials of God's wrath will be poured, when he will indeed be displeased and angry with the rivers and the sea, figuratively understood, Rev 8:8.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
3:8-15 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), their approach to the Promised Land from the south, and their triumphs in the early conquest period (e.g., Judg 5:4-5; Pss 18:8-16; 77:16-20; a key New Testament example is Rev 19:11-21). 3:8 struck the rivers . . . parted the sea: See Exod 7:19-20; 14:15-31. • 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).
Habakkuk 3:8
Habakkuk’s Prayer
7I saw the tents of Cushan in distress; the curtains of Midian were trembling. 8Were You angry at the rivers, O LORD? Was Your wrath against the streams? Did You rage against the sea when You rode on Your horses, on Your chariots of salvation? 9You brandished Your bow; You called for many arrows. Selah You split the earth with rivers.
- Scripture
- Sermons
- Commentary
- Adam Clarke
- Keil-Delitzsch
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
Was the Lord displeased against the rivers? - Floods; here is a reference to the passage of the Red Sea. The Lord is represented as heading his troops, riding in his chariot, and commanding the sea to divide, that a free passage might be left for his army to pass over.
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary
To the impression produced upon the nations by the coming of the Lord to judge the world, there is now appended in Hab 3:8. a description of the execution of the judgment. Hab 3:8. "Was it against rivers, O Jehovah, against the rivers that Thy wrath was kindled? that Thou ridest hither upon Thy horses, Thy chariots of salvation. Hab 3:9. Thy bow lays itself bare; rods are sworn by word. Selah. Thou splittest the earth into rivers." The ode, taking a new turn, now passes from the description of the coming of God, to an address to God Himself. To the mental eye of the prophet, God presents Himself as Judge of the world, in the threatening attitude of a warlike hero equipped for conflict, so that he asks Him what is the object of His wrath. The question is merely a poetical turn given to a lively composition, which expects no answer, and is simply introduced to set forth the greatness of the wrath of God, so that in substance it is an affirmation. The wrath of God is kindled over the rivers, His fury over the sea. The first clause of the question is imperfect; Jehovah is not the subject, but a vocative, or an appeal, since chârâh, when predicated of God, is construed with ל. The subject follows in the double clause, into which the question divides itself, in אפּך and עברתך. Here the indefinite בּנהרים is defined by בּנּהרים. Hannehârı̄m, the rivers, are not any particular rivers, such as the arms of the Nile in Lower Egypt, or the rivers of Ethiopia, the Nile and Astaboras, the nahărē Khūsh (Isa 18:1; Zep 3:10 : see Delitzsch), but the rivers of the earth generally; and "the sea" (hayyâm) is not the Red Sea, but the world-sea, as in Nah 1:4 (cf. Psa 89:10; Job 38:8). It is true that this description rests upon the two facts of the miraculous dividing of the Red Sea and of the Jordan (Exo 15:18; Psa 114:3, Psa 114:5); but it rises far above these to a description of God as the Judge of the world, who can smite in His wrath not only the sea of the world, but all the rivers of the earth. עברה is stronger than אף, the wrath which passes over, or breaks through every barrier. Kı̄, quod, explaining and assigning the reason for the previous question. The riding upon horses is not actual riding, but driving in chariots with horses harnessed to them, as the explanatory words "thy chariots" (מרכּבתיך) clearly shows, and as râkhabh (to ride) always signifies when predicated of God (cf. Deu 33:26; Psa 68:34; Psa 104:3). Yeshū‛âh is governed by markebhōthekhâ, with the freedom of construction allowed in poetry, as in Sa2 22:33; Psa 71:7, whereas in prose the noun is generally repeated in the construct state (vid., Gen 37:23, and Ewald, 291, b). Yeshū‛âh signifies salvation, even in this case, and not victory, - a meaning which it never has, and which is all the more inapplicable here, because yeshū‛âh is interpreted in Hab 3:13 by לישׁע. By describing the chariots of God as chariots of salvation, the prophet points at the outset to the fact, that the riding of God has for its object the salvation or deliverance of His people.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Was the Lord displeased against the rivers?--"Was the cause of His dividing the Red Sea and Jordan His displeasure against these waters?" The answer to this is tacitly implied in "Thy chariots of salvation." "Nay; it was not displeasure against the waters, but His pleasure in interposing for His people's salvation" (compare Hab 3:10). thy chariots--in antithesis to Thy foe, Pharaoh's chariots," which, notwithstanding their power and numbers, were engulfed in the waters of destruction. God can make the most unlikely means work for His people's salvation (Exo 14:7, Exo 14:9, Exo 14:23, Exo 14:25-28; Exo 15:3-8, Exo 15:19). Jehovah's chariots are His angels (Psa 68:17), or the cherubim, or the ark (Jos 3:13; Jos 4:7; compare Sol 1:9).
John Gill Bible Commentary
Was the Lord displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers?.... Referring, as is commonly thought, either to the rivers in Egypt turned into blood, which was one of the plagues of that land, Exo 7:20 when the resentment of the Lord was not so much against them as against the Egyptians; and as a punishment of them for drowning the infants of the Israelites in them, and in order to obtain the dismissal of his people from that land: or else to the river Jordan, called "rivers", because of the largeness of it, and the abundance of water in it; against which the Lord was not angry, when he divided the waters of it, which was done only to make a passage through it for his people into the land of Canaan, Jos 3:16, was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation? the Red sea, when a strong east wind was sent, and divided the waters of it, which was no mark of displeasure against that; but for the benefit of the people of Israel, that they might pass through it as on dry land; and for the destruction of Pharaoh and his hosts, who, entering into it with his horses and chariots, were drowned; the Lord coming forth against him, riding on his horses and chariots, the pillar of fire and cloud, by which he defended Israel, and through which he looked, and discomfited the host of the Egyptians, and wrought salvation for his people; see Exo 14:19 with which compare Psa 114:3. The clouds are the chariots of the Lord, Psa 104:3 so angels, who are sometimes signified by horses and chariots, Psa 18:10 Zac 1:8 and here they may design the angels of Michael, or Christ, Rev 12:7 the Christian emperors, Constantine and Theodosius, whom the Lord raised up, and made use of as instruments to demolish Paganism, establish Christianity, and deliver and save his people from their persecutors, who came in like a flood upon them; and who, for their number and force, were comparable to rivers, yea, to the sea; and upon whom the Lord showed some manifest tokens of his wrath and displeasure; so people, tongues, and nations, are compared to many waters, Rev 17:15 and monarchs and their armies, Isa 8:7 and the Targum here interprets the rivers of kings and their armies: and it may be observed that some parts of the Roman empire are signified by the sea, and rivers and fountains of waters, on which the blowing of the second and third trumpets brought desolation; as the antichristian states are described by the same, on which the second and third vials of God's wrath will be poured, when he will indeed be displeased and angry with the rivers and the sea, figuratively understood, Rev 8:8.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
3:8-15 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), their approach to the Promised Land from the south, and their triumphs in the early conquest period (e.g., Judg 5:4-5; Pss 18:8-16; 77:16-20; a key New Testament example is Rev 19:11-21). 3:8 struck the rivers . . . parted the sea: See Exod 7:19-20; 14:15-31. • 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).