The Meaning of Habakkuk 3:3 Explained

Habakkuk 3:3

KJV: God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.

YLT: God from Teman doth come, The Holy One from mount Paran. Pause! Covered the heavens hath His majesty, And His praise hath filled the earth.

Darby: God came from Teman, And the holy one from mount Paran. Selah. his glory covereth the heavens, And the earth is full of his praise.

ASV: God came from Teman, And the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, And the earth was full of his praise.

Discover Habakkuk 3:3

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Habakkuk 3:3?

MEANING: What does Habakkuk 3:3 Mean?

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

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Habakkuk 3:3?

What is the context of Habakkuk 3:3?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.

What does Habakkuk 3:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The prophet pictured Yahweh as rising over His people like the rising sun, appearing over Teman, a large town in Edom, and Mt. Paran, the mountain opposite Teman (cf. Deuteronomy 33:2-4). These locations were to the east of the Israelites as they exited Egypt.

The name for God used here, "Elohim," is in the singular, "Eloah," perhaps stressing the essential unity of God who is the Holy One. "Selah" is another musical notation meaning "to lift up" (cf. Habakkuk 3:9; Habakkuk 3:13). It probably indicates a place where the singers of this song were to pause. This pause may have been to modulate the key upward, to increase the volume, to reflect on what was just said, to exalt the Lord in some other way, or to raise an instrumental fanfare. ^[1]

The Strong One"s splendor covered the heavens like the sun after sunrise. The self-manifestation of His glory filled the earth with His fame. "Glory" (Heb. hod) describes primarily kingly authority (e.g, Numbers 27:20; 1 Chronicles 29:25; et al.), and here it has particular reference to Yahweh"s sovereignty over creation and history. This is evidently a description of the Lord"s appearance on Mt. Sinai to the Israelites" forefathers. Moses used similar terms to describe His coming then (cf. Deuteronomy 33:2).

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 3:3 mean?

God from Teman came and the Holy one from Mount Paran Selah Covered the heavens His glory and His praise was full of the earth

אֱל֙וֹהַ֙‪‬ מִתֵּימָ֣ן יָב֔וֹא וְקָד֥וֹשׁ מֵֽהַר־ פָּארָ֖ן סֶ֑לָה כִּסָּ֤ה שָׁמַ֙יִם֙ הוֹד֔וֹ וּתְהִלָּת֖וֹ מָלְאָ֥ה הָאָֽרֶץ

אֱל֙וֹהַ֙‪‬	God
Parse: Noun, masculine singular Root: אֱלֹוהַּ Sense: God.
מִתֵּימָ֣ן	from Teman
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular Root: תֵּימָן Sense: son of Eliphaz, grandson of Esau, and one of the dukes of Edom.
יָב֔וֹא	came
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular Root: בֹּוא Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
וְקָד֥וֹשׁ	and the Holy one
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adjective, masculine singular Root: קָדֹושׁ Sense: sacred, holy, Holy One, saint, set apart.
מֵֽהַר־	from Mount
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct Root: הַר Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.
פָּארָ֖ן	Paran
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular Root: פָּארָן Sense: wilderness area bounded on the north by Palestine, on the west by the wilderness of Etham, on the south by the desert of Sinai, and on the east by the valley of Arabah; the exodus was through this area and probably all 8 stops were in this area.
סֶ֑לָה	Selah
Parse: Interjection Root: סֶלָה Sense: to lift up, exalt.
כִּסָּ֤ה	Covered
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person masculine singular Root: כָּסָה Sense: to cover, conceal, hide.
שָׁמַ֙יִם֙	the heavens
Parse: Noun, masculine plural Root: שָׁמַיִם Sense: heaven, heavens, sky.
הוֹד֔וֹ	His glory
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular Root: הֹוד Sense: splendour, majesty, vigour.
וּתְהִלָּת֖וֹ	and His praise
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular Root: תְּהִלָּה Sense: praise, song or hymn of praise.
מָלְאָ֥ה	was full
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular Root: מָלֵא Sense: to fill, be full.
הָאָֽרֶץ	of the earth
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular Root: אֶרֶץ Sense: land, earth.

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

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