The Meaning of Habakkuk 3:1 Explained

Habakkuk 3:1

KJV: A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth.

YLT: A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet concerning erring ones:

Darby: A Prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth.

ASV: A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, set to Shigionoth.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

A prayer  of Habakkuk  the prophet  upon Shigionoth. 

What does Habakkuk 3:1 Mean?

Study Notes

Prayer
Prayer in the O.T. is in contrast with prayer in the N.T. in two respects:
(1) In the former the basis of prayer is a covenant of God, or an appeal to his revealed character as merciful, gracious, etc. In the latter the basis is relationship: "When ye pray, say, Our Father" Matthew 6:9 .
(2) A comparison, e.g. of the prayers of Moses and Paul, will show that one was praying for an earthly people whose dangers and blessings were earthly; the other for a heavenly people whose dangers and blessings were spiritual.

Verse Meaning

Habakkuk"s prayer is hymnic in form, like many of the psalms (cf. Psalm 16; Psalm 30; Psalm 45; Psalm 88; Psalm 102; Psalm 142), and it apparently stood apart from the rest of the book at one time, as this title verse suggests. "Shigionoth" may be the title of the tune that the prophet and later Israelites used to sing this song. But the Hebrew word is the plural form of the same word used in the title of Psalm 7 , but nowhere else. "Shiggaion" evidently means a poem with intense feeling. So another view is that the Israelites were to sing it enthusiastically. The intense feeling, in both contexts where the word occurs, is a vehement cry for justice against sin.

Context Summary

Habakkuk 3:1-19 - The Faith That Is Invincible
This psalm was intended to be sung by the captives during the Exile, which was near. In Habakkuk 3:3-15 there is a recital of the great events in the past. First Sinai, then the victories and deliverances of the book of Judges, the passage of the Red Sea and Jordan, the divine vengeance on the oppressors. But the prophet could not contemplate the future of the Chosen People without dismay. He longed to be at rest before those terrible Chaldean hosts burst upon the land. At the close he breaks into a sublime refrain which has been the solace and song of myriads of believers. If all God's gifts failed he would still possess the Giver. He could still triumph in God. Indeed, the divine Savior and Friend is often more apparent when the fields and the farmsteads are bare [source]

Chapter Summary: Habakkuk 3

1  Habakkuk, in his prayer, trembles at God's majesty
17  The confidence of his faith

What do the individual words in Habakkuk 3:1 mean?

A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet on Shigionoth
תְּפִלָּ֖ה לַחֲבַקּ֣וּק הַנָּבִ֑יא עַ֖ל שִׁגְיֹנֽוֹת

תְּפִלָּ֖ה  A  prayer 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: תְּפִלָּה  
Sense: prayer.
לַחֲבַקּ֣וּק  of  Habakkuk 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֲבַקּוּק  
Sense: a prophet of Israel who wrote the book by that name; probably lived about the 2th or 3th year of the reign of Josiah.
הַנָּבִ֑יא  the  prophet 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נָבִיא  
Sense: spokesman, speaker, prophet.
שִׁגְיֹנֽוֹת  Shigionoth 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: שִׁגָּיׄון  
Sense: song?.

What are the major concepts related to Habakkuk 3:1?

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