CHAPTER 1
1. The burden that Havaqquq the prophet beheld [while in an ecstatic state]:
Burden: or oracle.
2. O YHWH, until when will I shout aloud and You will not listen? [How long can I] cry out to You, “Violence!” and You will not deliver?
3. Why do you keep letting me see trouble and making me look at misery, while havoc and violence are in front of me, and quarrels have come about and legal disputes have arisen?
Trouble: the root term means to exert oneself in vain. Misery: or, toil. Havoc: or, oppression. Yaaqov (James) tells us that quarrels originate from our fleshly passions. They bring an inappropriate bias to our interpretations of the Torah, which will tilt the balance toward our personal advantage.
4. On account of this, the Torah is weakened, and justice cannot continue to proceed forth, because the guilty surround those who are vindicated; therefore, [the kind of] legal rulings [that] come forth are twisted.
Weakened: enfeebled or made slack. Of course this is done very effectively when men teach that the Torah is no longer in force today! Surround: hem in, entrap; Aramaic, devour. The imagery is of someone having been exonerated in court, but then attacked by the would-be prosecutors as soon as he leaves the courthouse. Twisted: i.e., they come out perverted (NASB) or distorted; Aramaic, sound judgment does not go forth. This applies anywhere that those who are in the wrong are given any voice once proven guilty. They should have no right to sue in return. What follows is YHWH’s response:
5. “Look among the nations! When you pay attention, you will be astounded. Be amazed! Because a work is being done in your day which you will not believe when [you] are told!
An undercurrent here is the fact that “among the nations”, YHWH is bringing Israel back to life, and Yehudah is not alone as she had feared.
6. “Because, watch! I am raising up the Khasdim—a bitter and hurried nation that marches across the wide spaces of a land to take possession of dwellings that do not belong to it.
Khasdim: Chaldeans. Hurried: impetuous, hasty, driven. Wide spaces: or possibly, breadth (and length, since the word is plural).
7. “Dreadful and held in awe it is; from itself proceed its legal right and its rise [to power].
It makes decisions for itself, not respecting any other accepted standard or authority. Its philosophy is ,“Might makes right. If I can do it, and I want to, I will.”
8. “Its horses are swifter than cheetahs, and keener than nocturnal wolves. Their horsemen will spread themselves out, and their war-steeds will come from afar. They will swoop down like an eagle that is in a hurry to eat!
Swifter: literally, lighter (i.e., of foot). Cheetahs: or, leopards, from a word meaning “spotted or speckled”, but the cheetah is far more fleet-footed than the leopard. Keener: more alert, sharper, able to pick up a scent. Eagle: The term can mean any bird of prey.
9. “All of it will come for [the purpose of] violence; the eagerness of their faces is forward, and they will gather in captives like the sand.
Eagerness: or, gathering, crowding, horde, their looking. Forward: or, in the east, in the ancient place; Aramaic, in the appearance/front of their faces they are like the east wind. Sand: often an idiom for the descendants of Avraham; this is precisely Havaqquq’s fear. The Babylonian system still holds us captive; YHWH cannot bring judgment upon it as long as we remain part of it, and thus we cannot go home.
10. “He will make mockery of kings, and commanders will be objects of derision to them. He will laugh at every inaccessible fortress, for he will pile up loose rubble and capture it.
This sounds very much like democracy, which laughs at the idea of true authorities, and today any military move can be justified in its name, even while actually in reality diminishing people’s democratic “rights”!
11. “At that time a wind will pass through, and he will cross over and commit an offense, [crediting] this his power to his elohim.”
If we give credit to YHWH, we have to live within the parameters He sets, and make sure that what we are doing lines up with His instruction.
12. Are You not since ancient [times], O YHWH, my Mighty Judge, my Holy One? We will not die, O YHWH; You have appointed them to judgment, and O Rock, You have laid a foundation to convict them [of wrongdoing].
Mighty Judge: Heb., Elohim, but Havaqquq is emphasizing YHWH’s righteousness and ability to put an end to such travesties. Convict: or prove, reprove, correct. He cannot imagine how YHWH could let the wicked get away with all of this:
13. [You have] purer eyes than to gaze upon evil, and You are not able to show regard for miserable, painful labor; why are You showing regard for those who deal treacherously? Will You [stand by] silently while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than he?
Gaze on: i.e., leaving nothing done about it.
14. Are You dealing with humanity like the fish of the sea or the teeming animals [that have] no ruler over them?
Humanity: Heb., Adam. Deal…like: i.e., just letting them be caught en masse as in a net or trap. People have been “burned” and swindled by so many that few want anyone in authority over them anymore, but the restored Adam, embodied in Israel, cannot be like this; we must have order and chain of command before we can return home. Christianity is also symbolized by the fish, and though there is a figurehead, there is no true authority there; everyone defines his own relationship with “God”. (Judges 21:25) They want everyone else—even Israel, who has higher standards--to live by their rules (or lack thereof).
15. He takes each one [of them in ambush] with a hook; he drags them away with his perforated [trap], and gathers them away with his dragnet. Over such [things] he is glad and rejoices!
This is the kind of person this Chaldean general is! Such brutality gives him his joy. Can YHWH use them, when all Yehudah is doing is arguing with one another? Why does YHWH abandon the nation that is less at fault? Yehudah is punished sooner because they have been taught a higher standard. Perforated trap: Aramaic, weapons.
16. So he slaughters [offerings] to his perforated [trap] and burns incense to his dragnet, because by them his portion [of territory] grows rich, and his food is plentiful.
17. Won’t he therefore empty out his trap? [Will he] spare none of the nations he keeps destroying?
CHAPTER 2
1. I will stand on the guard-post [to which I have been assigned] and station myself on the rampart, and keep watch to see what He will say against me, and what I will bring back when I am corrected.
After asking all the questions in chapter 1, Havaqquq is expecting to be corrected, because he is arguing with YHWH and knows YHWH cannot be wrong, but he cannot figure out by his own logic how YHWH can be just and yet do what He is planning to do. So he determines that he will do the work he has been given, and wait for YHWH’s rebuke. He braces himself for reproof, but cannot live without these questions resolved.
2. Then YHWH answered me and said, “Write the prophetic vision and make it clear on the slabs, so that the one who reads it may [do so] quickly,
3. “because the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it will blow to the end, but will not disappoint. Though it may delay, wait for it, because it will certainly come, and will not be late.
Blow: i.e., get out of the hearer’s hands to a place he cannot reach. Disappoint: or, tell a lie. Wait: with longing. Be late: hesitate, hold back, lag behind. A well-loved Jewish tenet about confidence that Messiah is still coming despite what it seems (taken from the 13 principles of Jewish faith) is based on to this verse. It may look like the master will never return, but be assured that he will. (Luke 12:45) YHWH tells Havaqquq that he is essentially right, but he just does not understand YHWH’s seasons. His questions are valid, but he needs to see a larger context. He is only wrong on timing. This is one prophecy that was NOT also applicable in the prophet’s own day, unlike most, which usually have a two-pronged fulfillment. Compare Daniel 10:14.
4. “Look! His swollen appetite is not level within him, and the righteous will survive by his [steadfast] faithfulness.
Swollen appetite: or, presumptuous self-life. Not level: volatile like water. The one who is only about himself is both leavened and unstable. The righteous, on the other hand, is firmly grounded. Faithfulness: or, firm confidence. This verse is quoted in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38, but as seen here this “faith” must be seen as confidence in something YHWH has actually promised, if it applies to us. He is speaking directly to Havaqquq’s doubts here.
5. “And no wonder, because wine deceives the proud warrior, and he cannot [be content to] stay home, who widens his appetite like the grave, and is himself like death—that is, he is never satisfied when gathering to himself all nations and collecting all the peoples for himself.
This is not alcoholic wine, but the power that makes one giddy enough to attack those whom he assumes could never be his equals and could never beat him. (Compare Rev. 18:3.) Babylon was not just a nation, but an empire that absorbed many other nations.
6. “Won’t these—all of them—take up a proverbial saying about him, and taunt him with a riddle that says, ‘Woe to him who increases what does not belong to him! How long can he weigh himself down with promissory notes?’
Babylon made promises to many nations that they plundered which they would turn out to be unable to keep. It is getting deeper and deeper in debt for its robberies and most of all its bloodshed.
7. “Won’t those who charge you interest rise up in an instant, and [won’t] those who make you tremble with terror wake up, and you become plunder for them?
8. “Because you have taken spoils from [so] many nations, all the peoples that are left will take spoils from you because of the human blood and violence of land, town, and all those who dwell in it!
As more accurate interpretations of the Word of YHWH are revealed to us, the “creditors” will call in the debts, and Church will have to more and more often close its mouth in shame for the blood it has shed in calling people heretics when they were more in tune with Scripture than it was. As we hold its feet to the fire, it will have to release Israel’s sheep, which they now hold captive.
9. “Woe to the one who is greedy for unjust gain for his own household, in order to set his nest on the height so as to be snatched away from the hand of evil!
Snatched away: i.e., out of reach of any that would try to attack it.
10. “You have given shameful advice to your household by cutting off [so] many peoples, and are missing the point of your life.
You could have done so many more positive things for all of humanity through this power you possess!
11. “Because a stone will cry out from the wall, and the wooden rafter will answer her:
12. “‘Woe to the one who builds a city on blood, and establishes a town through injustice!’
Compare Yirm. 22:13. No matter how impressive it is, this city cannot endure. The blood used as mortar to build the city will cry out like Hevel’s, and overturn the stones it has been used to hold together. Therefore, all their accomplishments are futile:
13. “Look here! Isn’t it from with YHWH [Master] of Armies that peoples must labor in the abundance of fire, and weary themselves for [what is] mere emptiness?
This sounds very much like Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes), which Havaqquq had undoubtedly studied. Aramaic, “Behold, great and virulent plagues are coming from the Master of armies, and fire will consume the labor of the nations, and the kingdoms shall weary themselves in vain.”
14. “Because the earth will be filled with the knowledge [of the reputation] of YHWH as [surely as] the waters form a covering for the sea [bed].
Yeshayahu 11:9 also includes the latter phrase here. Havaqquq may have been alluding to that prophecy, which is in the larger context of the return of Israel from all nations in the latter days.
15. “Woe to the one who gives drink to his fellow-citizen, joining your bottle with [his] nose, making him drunk in order to gaze at their exposed [private parts]!
One spills his secrets when drunk, and reveals his weaknesses, whether physical or psychological. Babylon bribed those it wanted to conquer with gifts that made them let down their guard, and it could thereby learn how to take advantage of their vulnerabilities.
16. “You are satiated more with disgrace than dignity, so you [go ahead and] drink too, and let your foreskin be exposed! The cup of the right hand of YHWH will be turned over on you, [spilling] the most disgraceful thing over what dignifies you,
YHWH will force the Chaldeans to become drunk as well, so their own bluff will be called. Indeed, it was during the drinking feast of Belshazzar that the Medes and Persians uncovered Babylon’s only vulnerable spot—where the Ferath river flowed under its gate—by diverting the water from its bed while they were not paying attention, and took the city without a battle. Likewise, Christians are the ones spreading democracy to the greatest extent today, and they consider themselves to have the high moral ground against terrorists who live what they believe, whether right or wrong. The system will finally prove to involve much idolatry. Those who thought they were in covenant with YHWH, but did not see themselves as part of either the House of Yehudah or the House of Efrayim (with which alone the Renewed Covenant of Yirmeyahu 31 is made) will find that they are not circumcised after all!
17. “because the [cruel] violence of Levanon will cover you over, and the devastation of beasts will cause them to go to pieces because of the human blood and violence of land, town, and all those who dwell in it!
18. “What is the benefit of a carved image? Because the one who forms it has carved it into shape—the molten metal image and a teacher of falsehood—because the one who forms [it] trusts in his frame on [which] he produces worthless things that cannot speak!
Yirmeyahu 47 tells us more about those who worship the work of their own hands. The idols are not only made mute but also suffocated by the molten metal that covers them:
19. “Woe to the one who tells the wood, ‘Wake up!’, the muted stone, ‘Rouse yourself! It will direct [us]!’ [Just] look at it—seized [in the grasp] of gold and silver, and there isn’t any breath within it!
20. “But YHWH is in a sanctuary dedicated to Him [alone]; let the whole earth hush due to His presence!”
It will take this whole long process—thousands of years, it turns out—to justly prove YHWH is in the right, but He is in control. It only looks as if His enemies know what they are doing. But no matter how many secrets they have elicited from those they torture, YHWH is firmly established in the right place. So He essentially tells Havaqquq, “Don’t ask Me that question again!”
CHAPTER 3
1. A prayer belonging to Havaqquq, concerning those who go astray:
Concerning those who go astray: Heb., Al Shigyonoth, possibly to the tune of a commonly-known song by this title. (Also used in Psalm 7.) It may mean “unconventional”, like “fusion” music today. The epilogue to verse 19 adds credence to this. An Aramaic targum adds, “…when it was revealed to him concerning the extension of time which He gives to the wicked, that if they return to the Torah with a perfect heart, they shall be forgiven, and all their sins which they have committed before Him shall be like [mere] sins of ignorance.”
2. “O YHWH, I heard Your report, and was afraid. O YHWH, revive Your work in the midst of the years! Make it known in the midst of the years! When You are perturbed, remember to be compassionate!
In the midst of the years: He was told the vision was for the end times. (2:3) Havaqquq was asking YHWH to do something about the Chaldeans in his own days as well, before the end was in sight. Remember to be compassionate: related to the curse “Lo-Ruhamah” in Hoshea 1, which applied to the Northern Kingdom. This may be a veiled reference to YHWH’s not forgetting about us either. He now returns to his prophesying:
3. “Eloah will come from Theyman, and the Holy One from Mount Pa’aran. Think about it.
His splendor has covered the skies, and His renown fills the land!
Theyman: now equated with Yemen, but at that time possibly only as far south as Edom; the name is related to the word for “right hand”, since when properly “oriented” to the east, the south is on the right hand. Pa’aran: An allusion to Deut. 33:2. The name means “especially beautiful”, and denotes an area south of the Land of Israel proper, west of the Aravah, and north of what is now known (incorrectly) as Sinai.
4. “His shining brightness has become like the light; He has rays [of light coming out] from His hand, and the concealing of its strength is there.
Rays of light: literally, horns; Aramaic, sparks issued from His glorious chariot; there He revealed His sh’kinah, which was hidden from the sons of man in the high fastness (an out-of-reach fortification).
5. “A [destructive] word goes before Him, and flaming sparks went forth to His feet.
Destructive word: or thing, matter; the Aramaic targum identifies this as the “angel of death”.
6. “He stood and measured a land; He looked and the nations were shaken loose, and the ancient mountains scattered themselves. The hills sank down [in humility] forever; to Him belong the travelings of eternity.
Travelings: or steps, caravans—the “march of time”?
7. “I saw the tents of Kushan under affliction; the curtains of the land of Midyan quivered.
Kushan: the name means “their blackness”. The tents of Qedar were known for being black, and the Bedouins of today still use black tents. Kushan “the doubly wicked” was a Mesopotamian king who oppressed Israel for eight years until Othniel, Kalev’s younger brother, delivered them. (Judges 3:7-11) The Aramaic targum makes a connection between the two passages, and links Midyan here with the story of Gid’on, who delivered Israel from that nation. Curtains: from another term meaning “to quiver”, so there is a play on words here.
8. “Did YHWH become furious against the rivers, whether Your anger was against the rivers or Your overflowing rage against the sea, since You mount [and ride] Your horses of Your chariots of deliverance?
9. “Your bow—oaths made to the tribes—will be exposed—laid bare! Think about it.
You will split a land [with] rivers.
Oaths: spelled and pronounced like the festival Shavuoth. The Aramaic sees these promises as His covenant with the tribes, for whom He cleft rocks and flooded the ground with the water that issued forth.
10. “Mountains saw You and writhed [in anguish]!
A [storming] downpour of water passed over.
The abyss employed its voice;
It lifted its hands high.
The interplanetary interactions employed in YHWH’s battles could cause crustal tides that would actually make the mountains undulate from beneath.
11. “Sun, moon stood still in her lofty abode; for the light of Your arrows
They went to the shining of your flashing spear-head.
Stood still: the Aramaic targum sees this as a reference to the long day of Y’hoshua at the plain of Giv’on, again caused by the gravitational pull of another heavenly body that made one point on the earth stand still (making the sun appear to stand still from that point of reference) while the rest of the globe wobbled around that point.
12. “You march [over the] land in indignation;
in anger You trample nations.
Trample: or thresh.
13. “You came out to rescue Your people,
to save Your anointed one.
You struck the head from the house of the wicked
to lay bare the base as far as the back of the neck! Think about it.
Came out: Aramaic, revealed Yourself. Anointed one: Heb., Messiah. While this can apply to anyone anointed by YHWH, it reminds us that although Y’shua’s name means “YHWH saves”, he needs YHWH to bring him deliverance from his enemies as well—the last one being death. (Psalm 22 and Luke 23:46, at his death where he quoted it, are one example.)
14. “You pierced the head of its decision-makers with his shafts;
They storm out to shatter me!
They rejoice as if to devour a weak [person] in the secret hiding place.
15. “You marched Your horses into the sea—a swelling of many waters.
The Aramaic targum interprets verses 14-15 as a reference to YHWH’s triumph over Pharaoh at the Reed Sea.
16. “When I heard, my stomach became upset;
my lips started quivering at the sound.
Rottenness was entering my bones,
and I will move my underside that was settled down for the day of distress.
To come up to the people, He will invade us with troops.
Upset: agitated, perturbed, disturbed, disquieted. The targum sees this verse as Babylon’s response. The greatest superpower on earth will be brought to its knees—and beyond—for never again after this would the Chaldeans be a people. What will come upon YHWH’s enemies reminds us in a frightening way to stay on His side, because anyone who is not is subject to being treated in the same way. Fear of YHWH is more than anything being afraid of His presence being taken away from us. Rottenness was entering my bones: Aramaic, fear took hold of my wise men. I will move…: or, so that I might rest in the day of trouble. To come up to the people: Aramaic, at the time of bringing up the exiles of His people. Troops: The text speaks of catastrophes of planetary proportions, for YHWH can bring an impregnable city to nothing by the larger forces at His disposal. But just as YHWH is in control of otherwise-unstoppable rivers, He is also in control of the armies that will destroy Babylon.
17. “Though the fig tree may not blossom,
and there be no [fruit] borne on the vines,
the achievement of the olive tree has been disappointing,
and the fields have produced no food,
the flock is cut off from the sheepfold,
and there is not [one] ox in the stalls,
“Fig tree”, “vine”, “olive tree”, "garden", and "flock" are all used elsewhere to describe Israel. There are “lost sheep of the House of Israel” (Mat. 15:24), cut off from our Land. With Yehudah as well about to be taken into exile, there is no hope for her except YHWH’s promises in the Torah that one day both Houses would repent and return to Torah and thereafter to the Land. So against all hope, Havaqquq hangs onto these promises:
18. “still I will triumph through YHWH; I will rejoice in the Elohim of my deliverance.
No matter how dire everything looks, with no security in sight whatsoever, the prophet reminds himself that YHWH is in control, and he can be confident that what He is doing will ultimately benefit those who love Him. (Rom. 8:28)
19. “YHWH, My Master, is My empowering, and He has emplaced my feet [firmly] like those of deer, and will cause me to tread on my high ridges!”
(For the chief musician on my stringed instruments.)
Stringed instruments: or, songs of mockery—probably in the sense that they include repetitive parts, for that is often how children mock. Aramaic, before Him I am playing my songs of praise.
WRITINGS OF THE PROPHET
Havaqquq
INTRODUCTION: Havaqquq’s name means “an embrace”. Alternately, it may be related to the Assyrian name for a plant, hambakuku. Most date the book to shortly after the battle of Karkhemish (605 B.C.E.) when the Khasdim (Chaldeans) routed the Egyptians (under Pharaoh Nekho) at the fords of the Ferath (Euphrates) and then marched westward to subjugate King Yehoyaqim of Yehudah. A Commentary on Havaqquq 1:4-2:20 was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, but it relates it to the history of the Qumran sect, not to the original context of the prophet’s message. He is puzzled as to how YHWH can use an extremely brutal, heartless empire to punish a kingdom that has been far less wicked in contrast.
Joyful in Spite of it All
In these readings for the Shavuoth season (Deut. 14:1-16:17), we see YHWH holding His people to the highest standards. But those standards are not in the character of religious extremism, whether ascetic or jihadist. Just be diligent about doing the right thing, be as generous as you can, contribute to both the teaching and guarding of YHWH’s principles, and—this is stated over and over—be just plain joyful! When it is time to celebrate, don’t let it be mixed with regret and make sure no one is left out! YHWH comes right out and says He wants to bless us, so He wants us in a position to be blessed.
But then we come to Havaqquq, which is also a Shavuoth seasonal reading. First we find the prophet overwhelmed at how far the holy culture has come from these ideals. There is strife, violence, perverseness, and the twisting of justice. He can hardly believe this is what Israel has come to, but what he sees next absolutely floors him, making no sense whatsoever: Israel may be doing wrong, but an army that has no qualms at all about preying on other human beings is marching our way (1:5; 2:4-5), and YHWH is doing nothing to stop it! He is not even saying a word about it! (1:12-13)
So Havaqquq shifts the burden of justice to the only One who could prevent this: Why is He letting these brutes get away with something so exponentially disproportionate to whatever Israel has done to deserve this? Like Honi the Circle Maker, he says, “I’m not leaving this spot until You answer me!’ Like Yaaqov, he says, “I will not let You go until You…explain this!!! It’s not anywhere near even being on the map.”
And what do you know? YHWH doesn’t refuse and say it is none of his mortal business; he humors him! He is reasonable, not capricious or mean-spirited. He tells Havaqquq that those who amass treasures that are not rightfully theirs will become targets for the ire of the oppressed masses (2:6-7) and that such arrogance—that they alone should have the right to be out of the reach of trouble--will eventually have its day of “come-uppance”.
So, though that day has not yet come, while there is only extreme suffering and confusion on the horizon, Havaqquq chooses to trust what YHWH says rather than what his eyes see, and exercise that joy for which the Torah calls, even though there would seem to be “nothing to be joyful for”, to paraphrase Tevya. And that “anyway joy” is what defines the difference between the run-of-the-mill goodness that may just be enough to get by and the kind of person YHWH is truly proud of. (2:4) Those He considers truly righteous are the ones in whom joy is steadfast, not just present in fair weather.
So look beyond the dark clouds on the horizon that boggle your mind to the end they will bring to the drought we might not want to admit is plaguing us, and thank YHWH for the outcome before it is visible, and be among those He is not ashamed to call His own.
