The writer described this book as an oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw in a vision or dream. This burden (Heb. massa", something lifted up) was a message predicting judgment on Judah and Babylon. [source][source][source]
"Habakkuk"s prophecy possesses a burdensome dimension from start to finish." [1][source]
We know nothing more about Habakkuk with certainty than that he was a prophet who also had the ability to write poetry (ch3). [source][source][source]
"Like Haggai and Zechariah in the books that bear their names ( Haggai 1:1; Zechariah 1:1) Habakkuk is called the prophet. This may mean that Habakkuk was a professional prophet on the temple staff ..." [2][source]
These temple prophets led the people in worshipping God (cf. 1 Chronicles 25:1). [3][source]
"One of the functions of temple prophets was to give responses to worshipers who came seeking divine guidance: when the problem was stated, the prophet inquired of God and obtained an answer." [4][source]
Context Summary
Habakkuk 1:1-17 - The Apparent Prosperity Of The Wicked
Habakkuk probably lived toward the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, when the Chaldeans were preparing to invade the land. Jerusalem was filled with wickedness. Crimes of violence and lawlessness had become so numerous that the prophet was appalled at the sight. He could only point to the fate of other nations, which must also befall Judah unless the people repented. Paul quotes Habakkuk 1:5 in Acts 13:41. The Chaldeans are compared to the leopard, the evening wolf, and the east wind. The prophet turns to Jehovah in an agony of expostulation and entreaty. Was He not from everlasting? Was He not Israel's Rock? The prophet's solace is the reflection, "We shall not die." An ancient reading is, "Thou canst not die." We are reminded of Revelation 1:18. O thou undying, unchanging, life-giving Savior, we cling to thee amid the storms that sweep the world, as limpets to the rock. [source]
Chapter Summary: Habakkuk 1
1Unto Habakkuk, complaining of the iniquity of the land, 5is shown the fearful vengeance by the Chaldeans 12He complains that vengeance should be executed by them who are far worse
What do the individual words in Habakkuk 1:1 mean?
Parse: 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.