Habakkuk

No date

The book names no king and no year. How the dates are worked out

uncertain — traditionally "embrace" · Hebrew

Usually tied to a Hebrew verb meaning to embrace, though some lexicons compare an Akkadian plant name.

Prophet whose book gives no father, king or date. It is a dialogue with the Lord. Habakkuk asked how long he must cry out unheard about violence. The Lord answered that he was raising up the Chaldeans, a fierce and impetuous nation. Habakkuk asked how the Lord could keep silent while the wicked swallowed up the more righteous, then stood watch for the answer. He was told to write the vision plainly and wait for it. The book closes with his prayer, set to music, rejoicing in the Lord though fig tree and vine fail. The New Testament quotes its line that the just, or the righteous, live by faith.