Habakkuk 3:9

Thy bow was made quite naked,.... It was took out of its case, and arrows out of their quiver, and these made use of against the enemies of his people: this is put for all weapons of war; the sword

Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.

Thy bow; one part of armour put for the whole; or else the Lord here is represented as armed, in readiness to smite through all enemies, having his bow in his hand. Was made quite naked; the case taken off, that when it was to be used there might be no delay. According to the oaths of the tribes; in pursuance of his oath made to our fathers: he promised, and confirmed the promise by oath, that he would drive out the Canaanites, and this oath is here called oaths, because repeated and renewed at several times; and it is oaths of, i.e. to, the tribes, to raise their hope in their present low condition not Abraham here mentioned, lest they should be upbraided with degenerating and losing the right to the promises; but it is tribes, the right is in them. Even thy word of promise. Selah; note it well. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers: when they were to march through a dry and thirsty land where no water was, how should they subsist? What good to be defended from perishing by the sword of an enemy, and be left to perish for want of refreshing waters? This then is added to complete the mercy; our God made rivers in the desert for them, and satisfied them with streams out of the flinty rock.

Habakkuk 3:9 Thy bow was made quite naked, [according] to the oaths of the tribes, [even thy] word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.Ver. 9. Thy bow was made quite naked] sc. Out of the case. He meaneth, thy power was clearly manifested and powerfully exerted against the nations above mentioned; so that all men might see plainly that thou wert that man of war, Exodus 15:3, which shootest thine arrows at a certainty, and never missest thine enemies, thy buttmark, see Job 16:12. According to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word] i.e. According to thy promises to thy people, confirmed with oaths, even those sure mercies of David, or assured to David. Some render it, according to the oaths, those props of thy word. His word is sure and sufficient of itself; but, for our better settlement, and as a prop to our faith, he hath bound it with oaths; "that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation," Hebrews 6:18. For now we may say with Solomon, "For thy word’ s sake," nay, more, for thine oath’ s sake, "and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this," 2 Samuel 7:18; 2 Samuel 7:21. Thy love moved thee to make promise, yea, to give oath; and now thy truth bindeth thee to perform. All thy paths to thy people are mercy and truth, Psalms 25:10; not mercy only, but mercy and truth; not by a providence only, but by virtue of a promise ratified with an oath: this is sweet indeed; this deserves a Selah to be set to it. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers] Exodus 17:6 Psalms 78:15-16 Deuteronomy 8:15 Nehemiah 9:15. This cleaving the hard rock, and setting it abroach, this turning of the flint into a fountain, Psalms 114:8, was a work of omnipotence, and is therefore so much celebrated. It maketh much to the miracle that the earth was cleft with rivers; this importeth both the plenty and the perennity thereof; for the rock, that is, the river out of the rock, followed them, 1 Corinthians 10:4, lest in that dry and barren wilderness they should perish for want of water. The same God also who had given his people petram aquatilem, gave them pluviam escatilem (as Tertullian phraseth it), manna from heaven, quails in great abundance, and never was prince better served in his greatest pomp. He also defended them from the fiery serpents, and delivered them from a thousand other deaths and dangers; all which mercies are here implied, though one only be instanced; and all to ascertain the saints how much God setteth by them, and what he will yet do for them, as occasion requireth. As he made the world at first, that he might communicate and impart himself to his elect; so for their sakes doth he still preserve and govern it, ordering the world’ s disorders by an over ruling power, for his own glory and their eternal good.

(9) Thy bow was made quite naked.—Better, Thy bow shall be bared, even the chastisements sworn by Thy word. Selah. With rivers shalt thou cleave the earth. God’s chastisements, which are compared in Psalms 21:12 to arrows fitted to the string, are here represented as a bow taken out of the case, and so “made naked,” or “bared.” The word matteh, “rod,” “stem” (hence, also, “tribe”), used to denote an instrument of chastisement in Micah 6:9, Isaiah 30:32, here apparently means the punishment, or chastisement, of heathen iniquities, which God has sworn (see Deuteronomy 32:40-41) to execute. On the term Selah see Psalms 3:4 note. With rivers shalt thou cleave the earth, i.e., the rocks shall send forth new watercourses at Jehovah’s bidding, so that “rivers run in the dry places.” (See Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:11.)

Verse 9. Thy bow was made quite naked] That is, it was drawn out of its case; as the arrows had their quiver, so the bows had their cases. A fine oriental bow and bow-case, with quiver and arrows, are now before me; they show with what propriety Jehovah is represented as taking his bow out of its case, in order to set his arrow upon the cord, to shoot at his enemies. It is not the drawing out, or making bare the arrow, that is mentioned here; but the taking the bow out of its case to prepare to shoot. This verse appears to be an answer to the questions in the preceding: "Was the Lord displeased," c. The answer is, All this was done "according to the oaths of the tribes" the covenant of God, frequently repeated and renewed, which he made with the tribes, to give them the land of the Canaanites for their inheritance. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.] Or, "Thou didst cleave the streams of the land." Or, "Thou cleavedst the dry land into rivers." This may be a reference to the passage of Jordan, and transactions at Arnon and the brook Jabbok. See Numbers 21:13-15. In this verse we have Selah again, which, as before, may signify a pause, or some alteration in the music.

9. Thy bow was made quite naked] is made bare. The “bow” is the battle-bow. It is bared of its covering in order to be freely used and to discharge its arrows—a figure for the flashing thunderbolts, or for the missiles with which Jehovah smites the rivers and the sea. According to the oaths of the tribes] The words down to Selah form a riddle which all the ingenuity of scholars has not been able to solve. Delitzsch calculates that a hundred translations of them have been offered. The clause no doubt carries on the previous one, “thy bow is made bare,” just as it is taken up by the following one, “thou cleavest the rivers (or, currents) into dryland.” What must be described therefore is the discharge from the naked bow of the shafts which smote the rivers. The word rendered “tribes” (which have nothing to do here) may mean staves (Habakkuk 3:14), i.e. spears or shafts. The term “oaths” might more naturally be some derivative of the word seven and mean sevens, heptads (so Ewald), sevens of spears, with the meaning that Jehovah’s shafts were discharged not singly but in sevens. There still remains the expression word (A. V. even thy word), which is difficult to connect with the preceding. The idea that Jehovah’s arrows are really His “word,” whereby He rebukes and cleaves the sea, is not very natural. The multiplication of conjectures would serve no purpose. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers] The language certainly admits of this sense, but the connexion seems rather to require: thou dost cleave the rivers (or, water-currents) into dryland. Both the words “rivers” and “earth” are in the accus.; and only the connexion can shew which is the direct object and which the more remote (acc. of result).

Thy bow was made quite naked - The word is repeated for emphasis. Literally, (In) “nakedness, it was laid naked;” the sheath being laid aside and cast away, as Isaiah says, Isaiah 22:6. “Kir laid bare the shield.” Gregory, Mor.

Why did Jehovah manifest himself in terror? Habakkuk 3:8-11.In Habakkuk 3:8 the poet inquires of Jehovah why all this was done; in 9-11 he continues the description; but throughout the whole section